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Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 17 May 2026

May 20, 2026May 20, 2026 Ben Clark

Covid infection levels in England have fallen back to historically lower levels. The slight rise seen two weeks ago has subsided. The risk level remains Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1422 people in England infected.

Another Assisted Dying Bill?

May 18, 2026May 19, 2026 admin

Lobbyists and a few MPs are saying that they want to introduce another Assisted Dying or Assisted Suicide Bill into Parliament, despite the failure of the last Bill. BuDS and other disabled-led organisations oppose this. Read on for more information.

How Could We Get Another Bill?

Lobbying organisations who want to legalise medically-assisted suicide, and a few MPs who support them, have said that they want to introduce another Assisted Dying or Assisted Suicide Bill into the next session of Parliament.

Parliament sessions are rather like school terms. Most Bills which do not become law in one session fall, or cease to exist, at the end of that session. This is what happened to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, the Private Members Bill (PMB) introduced in the last session of Parliament by Kim Leadbeater MP.

The current session of Parliament began on 13 May 2026. The Government did not announce in the King’s Speech that they would be introducing a Government bill to introduce assisted suicide in this session, so that seems to be ruled out. However, if an MP who wins the ballot to introduce a Private Members Bill in this session choose to introduce a bill about assisted suicide, the whole cycle could begin again.

The ballot for MPs to win the opportunity to introduce a PMB will be held on 21 May 2026. Between 450 to 500 MPS are eligible for the ballot and there are only 20 places, of which realistically only the top five have a good chance of getting a Bill through to law. So, MPs have around a 1 in 95 chance of being picked and then getting a Bill through.

29 MPs have said that they will introduce an assisted suicide bill if they are successful in the ballot. This means that there is about a 1 in 4 chance that one of the top five MPs in the Private Member’s Bill ballot will be an MP who has said they will introduce a new assisted suicide bill. However, of course, we cannot be sure that, even if picked, those MPs will follow-through on their promise. A lot has happened since February 2026, not least the local council elections and the current Labour leadership campaign.

Do We Need Another Bill?

BuDS, and other disabled-led organisations, are very firmly of the opinion that another assisted dying or assisted suicide Bill is NOT needed. We say this for seven main reasons:

1. The Public Don’t Want It

Reliable polling by Statistica and More in Common about the issues most important to British people shows that the top ten issues are: the economy, immigration, health & the NHS, defence & national security, taxation, housing, crime, environment/climate, education, and the cost of living. Legalising assisted dying or assisted suicide is not identified by any poll as an important issue for the British public. When asked directly if assisted dying is an important issue for the country at the moment, 96% of people told a More in Common poll that it was not.

Assisted dying is a hugely complex, difficult and complex issue. The Prime Minister and Government put a huge amount of time, money and effort into supporting Kim Leadbeater’s former Bill, but failed to produce a workable piece of legislation which professionals said they could work with and which had broad popular support. The next Bill will face the same problems, complexities and resistance as the first Bill, using up Ministerial time, officials’ time and a huge amount of Parliamentary time.

If politicians pursue a subject like assisted suicide which the vast majority of people don’t think is important, it will look like they are wasting their time, and Parliament’s time, on a ‘hobby-horse issue’ which only lobbyists and die-hard supporters care about. With so many huge and important issues facing the country, politicians risk being seen as out of touch and uninterested in the issues which face ordinary people.

2. Parliament Doesn’t Want It

The lobbyists backing assisted suicide have said incessantly that ‘the House of Commons backed Kim Leadbeater’s Bill’, that it has ‘democratic legitimacy’, and that the House of Lords should yield to the views of the elected Commons.

All these claims are false. The reality, which the lobbyists refuse to admit, is that a minority of MPs voted for Kim Leadbeater’s Bill at Third Reading in the Commons, the last Commons vote held. A majority of MPs in the Commons is 326, but only 314 voted for the Bill. This means that Kim Leadbeater’s Bill cannot be said to have the backing of the House of Commons, only of a minority of MPs.

Furthermore, Kim Leadbeater’s Bill was passed by the Commons at Third Reading by a majority of only 12 MPs. It cannot be said to have ‘democratic legitimacy’ on such a close minority vote. It is worth remembering that the Assisted Suicide Bill introduced into the Scottish Parliament was roundly rejected by MSPs.

Support in Parliament for assisted dying or suicide, as measured by votes, signatures of motions, and positive speeches, has fallen significantly since 2024. Months of debating and the testimony of experts has perhaps shown MPs that the subject is far more difficult, complex and controversial than it first appeared. The loud slogans of the lobbyists (who have spent around £5 million on adverts, public relations and campaigns) have been proven empty and simplistic.

Another assisted suicide bill therefore will struggle to make progress in Parliament. Kim Leadbeater’s Bill benefited from the strong personal support of the Prime Minister, Kier Starmer, who made support for the Bill something of a loyalty issue for Labour backbenchers. The Government also gave official support to the Bill and, through the Whips, helped it through the House with considerable extra time. A future Bill is unlikely to enjoy these privileges, even if Mr Starmer remains as PM.

3. It Will Polarise and Split Parliament and Politics

Assisted dying or suicide is an issue about which many people have strong views. It is an issue which divides opinion. The evidence from Kim Leadbeater’s Bill is that assisted suicide, especially a scheme which legalises the medical euthanasia of NHS patients, fiercely divided and polarised Parliament and political parties, especially the Labour party. Another Bill will reignite all the arguments, debates and disagreements of the past.

Many days of Parliamentary time, and many hours of media coverage, will be dominated by political disagreement and conflict on a matter of policy which the public has clearly said is not important to them. Parliament has much more important causes on which to spend its limited time and energy.

At a time when there are huge critical issues which do divide the country, when people are looking to politicians and politics for leadership and unity in the national interest, it would be appallingly bad optics for Westminster to spend days and weeks quarrelling over assisted suicide for NHS patients, a policy which has never appeared on any party manifesto or featured in an election campaign.

4. Nobody Has A Workable Plan

Kim Leadbeater’s Bill when first introduced into the Commons in November 2024 set out a scheme where High Court judges, sitting with experts, would individually scrutinise and approve a tiny number of assisted suicides. When the Bill went into Commons Committee, this entire scheme was swept away and another scheme was set out in the Bill, where vaguely defined ‘expert panels’ would check only whether the right procedure had been followed in assisted suicides. By the time the Bill got to the Lords, the scheme had become a full-blown medically-assisted suicide service for thousands of people, provided by the NHS for NHS patients and part of the NHS bureaucracy.

Here’s a table showing what various organisations thought about the Bill:

Organisation	Opinion
Royal College of Psychiatrists	“cannot support this bill”
Royal College of Physicians	“not in line with good clinical … practice.”
Disability Rights UK	“one of the most damaging pieces of legislation in recent times”
British Geriatrics Society	“It does not include adequate safeguards”
MIND	“It’s really clear the safeguards … are not adequate”
BEAT and other eating disorders groups	“people with eating disorders … are at grave risk”
Liberty	“For the law to protect everyone, it needs to be fixed and certain-but this Bill is anything but”
Prof Sir Louis Appleby, Government suicide prevention adviser	“very dangerous”
Lords Delegated Powers Committee	“insufficient detail … for proper Parliamentary Committee scrutiny”
Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse	Are the safeguards adequate? “No”.
National Down Syndrome Policy Group	“Should we be helping you to be less of a burden to the state?’ That is what it looks like to a lot of people with Down syndrome.”
King’s College London’s Complex Life and Death Decisions Group	“not fit for purpose”
Sir James Munby, former president of family division of the High Court	“lamentably short of providing adequate safeguards”
Association for Palliative Medicine	“The APM opposes any change in the law … 84.3% [of members] oppose a change in the law.”
Gold Standards Framework Centre	“lack of effective safeguards”
Simon Stevens, ex-NHS CEO	“Evident and substantial risk”
British Association of Social Workers	[Asked about the safeguards:] “Not enough”
OSJCT (Britain’s 2nd biggest not-for-profit care provider)	“Risks to older, vulnerable people … are substantial”
Table source: Dan Hitchins

Any future Bill would have to put forward either one of the three former plans, all of which have been demonstrated to be unworkable, or come up with a fourth option created in the last few weeks, without any public or expert consultation. Such a fourth plan would be as doomed as the other three.

5. The Bill doesn’t meet Basic Human Rights Requirements

Before a Bill is given Royal Assent, a Secretary of State on behalf of the Government must formally certify that it meets the UK’s human rights obligations under common law, the Human Rights Act, and the European Convention on Human Rights. While neither the Westminster nor Holyrood Bills reached that stage, a similar assisted suicide Bill did pass through the Tynwald, the Isle of Man’s tiny Parliament. However, the Lord Chancellor was unable to certify that the Bill met basic human rights requirements. Given the similarity of the Bills, that decision means that the Westminster and Holyrood Bills would also fail to meet human rights requirements. A complete redraft by highly skilled lawyers would be needed.

6. It Looks Like Another Attack on Disabled People

Every single disabled-led organisation in the UK, representing millions of disabled people, has rejected the Westminster and Holyrood Bills. Disabled people have vehemently protested about the Bills, and disabled MPs and Peers inside Parliament have led the resistance to them. The opinions of disabled people matter. Only disabled people are eligible for euthanasia. The lives of disabled people are most affected by any assisted dying or assisted suicide bill. Any scheme brought forward should command the confidence and support of disabled people as a first, basic, quality measure.

Yet disabled people and their organisations have not even been consulted. Bringing another Bill back without any attempt to address the real concerns of disabled people looks like another attack on disabled people, and brings the Government and Parliament into disrepute.

7. There Still Hasn’t Been A National Conversation about Assisted Suicide

As a society, Britain has worked for many decades to prevent suicide. Changing the law so that people can encourage and support people to take their own life is a huge change in culture and attitude. That change, and its implications, needs to be properly explored and discussed before any legislation is introduced, if that’s even necessary.

BuDS has long called for a national conversation on assisted suicide, led by a Royal Commission, Select Committee enquiry or similar. Proper research can be commissioned to establish the need, if any, for assisted suicide. Doctors and other professionals can be properly consulted. The public can learn more about the various options and reach an informed view for themselves. Then, at the conclusion of this national conversation, the Government can decide whether to legislate to change the law, in full knowledge of the ideas and options which are safe and command support, and those which do not.

It is futile, time-wasting and divisive to keep allowing single-issue lobby groups, and their celebrity supporters, to keep hijacking Parliament with emotional, unworkable and dangerous Bills. Dying people deserve a grown-up, mature conversation and measured response.

Hantavirus Outbreak

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 admin

The media are getting very excited about Hantavirus and its possible risk to human health. BuDS researchers have used only high quality scientific and academic sources to cut through the hype and give you the facts that you need to know.

This article is accurate up to 16 May 2026.

Do I need to be worried about Hantavirus?

No. Unless you come into contact with rats, mice or other rodents, or you are a close contact of passengers on the MV Hondius cruise ship, you do not need to worry about Hantavirus.

What is Hantavirus?

Hantavirus is a family of animal viruses infecting rats, mice and other rodents. Each species of rodent tends to have its own Hantavirus, which they carry without getting ill.

How Do You Catch Hantavirus?

With the exception of Hantavirus Andes (see below), you can only catch Hantavirus from an animal, specifically a rat, mouse or other rodent, or from its urine or droppings.

There are many hantaviruses but only some of them can be caught by humans.

Humans who have contact with rat, mouse or other rodent’s urine or droppings can sometimes catch Hantavirus from that urine or droppings. If droppings become dry and dusty, the dust can also transmit the virus to humans who breathe it in. Contact with rodents, or being bitten by them, can also pass the virus to humans.

The World Health Organization estimates that 100,000 people globally catch Hantavirus every year from rats, mice and other rodents. In Europe, there are several thousands of cases every year.

Tests

There are reliable laboratory tests for many of the Hantavirus family of viruses, including the Andes variant. These tests can confirm that a person is infected with a Hantavirus. However, the tests may not work in the earlier stages of infection.

How Serious is Hantavirus?

Most people who catch Hantavirus from a rodent will have typical flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting. With good medical care, most people will make a full recovery.

European hantaviruses can sometimes lead to a serious condition called haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). This condition affects the kidneys and blood vessels and can lead to low blood pressure, bleeding disorders and kidney failure. However, most people with HFRS will make a good recovery and very few will die.

South American Hantaviruses can sometimes lead to Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS). HCPS is a very dangerous and severe respiratory illness, and around half the people who develop it can die. However, many of these deaths occurred in areas without access to advanced medical care, so it isn’t known what percentage of people with HCPS might die if they had first-class medical care.

Treatment & Vaccines

There is no specific treatment or cure for Hantavirus infections. However, advanced medical care and antiviral treatments are often successful. Most deaths from Hantavirus infections occur in areas with limited access to advanced healthcare.

There is currently no vaccine to protect against Hantavirus infections, although some are under development.

Hantavirus Andes

Hantavirus Andes is a small family of variants of a South American Hantavirus (ie, there are several Andes viruses, not just one). It is the only Hantavirus known to pass from human to human, rather than from a rodent to a human. Infection with the Andes variant can develop into Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), which can be fatal.

There have been several small outbreaks of the Andes Hantavirus in recent years, all in South America. None of these outbreaks have spread outside the immediate area of the first cases. The latest outbreak, in Argentina, spread further than any other outbreak but isolating cases brought it to a halt, although not until 11 people had died.

There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that Andes Hantovirus is a virus which can cause a large-scale epidemic or global public health emergency. All the evidence from this present outbreak and all previous outbreaks shows that simple public health measures like isolation of infected people and their contacts will quickly bring any outbreak to an end.

The MV Hondius

The MV (motor vessel) Hondius is a small cruise liner which mainly operates in and around South America. Passengers on cruise ships are typically crowded together, and conditions are ideal for the spreading of infectious diseases. During the Hondius’ most recent voyage, in April and May 2026, an outbreak of Andes Hantavirus occurred on the ship.

What is the Risk to the Public of the MV Hondius Outbreak?

The risk to the general public is very low. Andes Hantavirus does not spread easily between people (see below). This means that, even when infected passengers or crew have carried the virus to their homes and families, the further spread of the virus can be easily controlled.

The WHO, ECDC and other health authorities across the world are carefully tracing everyone that could possibly have caught Andes Hantavirus from a member of the crew or passenger of the MV Hondius. This includes not just their families and friends, but people sitting near them on aircraft or public transport, medical staff, drivers, etc. All these people will be medically monitored and asked to self-isolate. In this way, the future spread of the Andes virus eventually will be stopped.

We say eventually, because stopping the chain of infections will not happen quickly, but over a period of months. It may be several months before the chain of infections is finally stopped, especially if a few people are missed off the list by mistake. Sadly, because Andes infections can be fatal, there will be more deaths too.

The media will report excitedly about every new case and death, but the important thing to remember is that there will be no uncontrolled epidemic of Andes Hantavirus cases. There will be a linked chain of a limited number of infections over future weeks and months which will eventually stop. That will be the end of this Andes outbreak.

How Long Before People Show Symptoms of Andes Hantavirus?

People do not have symptoms of illness as soon as they catch Andes Hantavirus. Symptoms can appear between 1 and 6 weeks after infection. However, most people show symptoms between 2 and 4 weeks after infection. This means that we will not know until the end of May which passengers on the MV Hondius are going to get ill. Some people may give Andes Hantavirus to family members, friends or work colleagues before they realise they have the virus.

When Are People Contagious for Andes Hantavirus?

With most viruses, people are not actively spreading the virus in their breath and bodily fluids from the moment they are infected. Different viruses have different periods when the person is actively spreading the virus. This is known as the contagious period. For example, people infected with Covid-19 are most contagious in the two-week period before they start to show symptoms.

For Andes Hantavirus, doctors thought until recently that the contagious period was from the day that a person started to show the first symptoms of illness until they died or recovered. Now, doctors think that infected people may be contagious for up to two days before they start to show symptoms. However, the most contagious period is the first week after first starting to show symptoms.

Knowing the period when people are contagious helps with contact tracing and isolation. It is only the contacts of infected people from a few days before they started to show symptoms that are at risk of also developing Andes Hantavirus. People exposed to infected people weeks before they showed symptoms are not at risk. This vital point is not being properly explained by the media.

How Infectious is Andes Hantavirus?

Viruses pass between people in three main ways.

Aerosol. This is where tiny particles of virus are suspended in the air breathed out by infected people. If other people then breathe in enough particles of virus, they can catch the virus too. The risk to other people then depends on how long the virus can live in the air, and how much is needed to trigger an infection. A virus which can live a long time in the air, or which only needs a small amount to trigger an infection if breathed in, will be extremely infectious. One infected person could create a big cloud of virus in a crowded room or hall and everyone in that hall potentially could catch the virus by breathing it in. A virus which lives a shorter time in the air, or which people need to breathe in a lot to catch, would be less infectious. Many common viruses spread by aerosol including measles, influenza and Covid-19. Viruses spread by aerosol are often called airborne viruses.

Droplet. This is where particles of the virus float in tiny droplets of water suspended in the air breathed out by infected people. The droplets remain floating in the air for a short time. If other people then breathe in enough droplets containing the virus, they can catch the virus too. However, because the water droplets breathed out by people cannot travel very far, or last very long in the air, viruses spread by droplet are much harder to catch than those spread by aerosol. Common viruses spread mainly by droplets include RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), adenoviruses, and human metapneumovirus).

Surfaces. This is where particles of the virus float in tiny droplets of water suspended in the air breathed, coughed or sneezed out by infected people, and those droplets then fall out of the air and settle on surfaces. If someone else touches that surface, the virus can get onto their hands, and if the person then touches their mouth, nose or eyes, the virus can get inside their body and cause an infection. Some viruses can survive in water droplets on surfaces for hours or even days. Common viruses mainly spread by surfaces include norovirus and the common cold. Sometimes viruses spread in this way are said to be spread by fomite.

Andes Hantavirus outbreaks in South American before the voyage of the MV Hondius gave the WHO and health authorities an opportunity to study the situations in which people caught the virus from another person. They found that nearly everyone who caught Andes Hantavirus from another person had spent a lot of time near the infected person, often sharing a bed or bathroom, providing personal care, or sharing a small cabin or room. People who did not spend time very close to an infected person did not seem to catch the virus. This strongly suggested that Andes Hantavirus spread mainly by droplet and surface infection.

Since the outbreak on the MV Hondius, health authorities have noted that some people seem to have caught Andes Hantavirus by being in the same indoor space close to an infected person. This does not confirm that Andes Hantavirus is spread by aerosol, because droplet or surface infections might also explain how the infections occurred. However, to be cautious, the WHO, ECDC and UKHSA have upgraded their advice about how Andes Hantavirus might be spread.

The new advice says that anyone who spends more than a brief time within 2 metres of an infected person indoors is at high risk of catching Andes Hantavirus, unless they have taken public health precautions. If a person is indoors and meets an infected & contagious person only briefly, or is more than 2 metres away, or they meet outdoors, their risk of catching the Andes Hantavirus is classed as low.

This advice suggests that WHO and other health authorities feel that droplet or surface infection is still the main way that Andes Hantavirus spreads between people, but they are not ruling out short-range aerosol spread as well. They do not seem to think, based on the evidence so far, that Andes Hantavirus spreads mainly by aerosol, that is to say it is not primarily an airborne virus which can be caught simply by breathing in the exhaled breath of an infected and contagious person.

Importantly, WHO and national public health authorities have said that medical and care staff working with infected people should take precautions in case Andes Hantavirus is spread by aerosol. This mainly means that medical and care staff will wear PPE respiratory masks rather than surgical ones. These masks, when properly worn, filter virus out of the air breathed in by the wearer.

People at High Risk of Catching Andes Hantavirus

The current advice from the WHO and ECDC is that the following groups of people are at high risk of catching Andes Hantavirus. This does not mean that they will catch the virus, only that they are at high risk of doing so.

An important condition is that people taking infection control precautions are not at high risk, even if they have spent time with or cared for contagious patients with Hantavirus, These precautions are wearing a PPE respiratory mask, eye protection, a gown and gloves.

The groups of people at high risk are those who, without having taken these infection-control precautions:

Were exposed to the saliva, blood, or other bodily fluids of an infected person while they were contagious, or handling their personal items, worn clothes or bed linen (remember, infected people are only contagious from a few days before they show symptoms and while they have symptoms, not all the time)
Had direct physical contact, including potential exposure to saliva or other bodily fluids, with an infected person while they were contagious. This means giving an infected person personal support and care, such as healthcare, feeding or washing; or sharing a bed space or bathroom; or intimate contact, etc.
Being in close proximity with an infected person while they were contagious, meaning being indoors within 2 meters for at least 15 minutes, or being indoors with them on multiple occasions. This would include personal face-to-face encounters, sharing meals, social gatherings, sharing a small vehicle like a taxi, and being in the same room, unless the room was very large.
Being within 2 metres of an infected person while they were contagious on public transport, ie near them on the same plane, bus, coach, or train carriage.

The WHO with national public health authorities, such as UKHSA in the UK, will trace all high-risk contacts of Andes Hantavirus patients and advise them to self-isolate away from their family, in case they may have the virus. They will also have daily medical checks and be regularly tested for the virus. If any of these people do test positive or develop symptoms, their high-risk contacts will also be traced and the same procedure repeated.

The WHO advise that high-risk contacts should self-isolate for 42 days. This period, it is thought, will allow symptoms of Andes Hantavirus to develop if a person is infected. After 42 days without symptoms or a positive test, the person will be regarded as free from the virus.

People at Low Risk of Catching Andes Hantavirus

The WHO and ECDC currently say that people who have had contact with an infected person who is contagious in the following circumstances are at low risk of catching Andes Hantavirus. This does not mean that they will not catch the virus, but that they are at low risk of doing so.

The groups of people at low risk are those who, without having taken infection-control precautions:

Were onboard the MV Hondius or another ship but didn’t share a cabin or have direct or prolonged indoor contact with an infected person who was contagious.
Shared public transport, ie a plane, bus, coach, or train carriage, with an infected person who was contagious but were more than 2 metres away from the infected person
People who briefly met an infected person who was contagious indoors, eg as they passed through an port or airport
People who only met an infected person who was contagious out of doors, without close or lengthy contact

These low-risk contacts will also be traced and their health monitored, in case they do test positive or develop symptoms. However, they will not need to self-isolate like high risk contacts.

Risk to the UK General Public

The risk to the general public in the United Kingdom from Andes Hantavirus is very low indeed. The risk of meeting someone who is infected and contagious with Andes Hantavirus is extremely small. Nobody needs to take any special precautions against Andes Hantavirus.

This is because the British passengers and crew from the MV Hondius who are high-risk for catching Andes Hantavirus are under medical monitoring. The low-risk passengers and crew and the contacts of all the passengers and crew are also being medically monitored. Anyone who shows signs of Andes Hantavirus will be quickly spotted and isolated. This means that the risk of a member of the public coming across someone with the virus is extremely small.

It is likely that more people in the UK will develop the virus and become ill, and some may die. It is also likely that contacts of the original passengers and crew will develop the virus too, and some may die. Andes Hantavirus is a dangerous virus and sadly there will be casualties.

A Controlled Chain of Infections, not an Epidemic

Coming weeks and months will see a linked chain of a limited number of Andes Hantavirus infections over future weeks and months. These infections will eventually come to an end, as the chain of infection is slowly broken. That will be the end of this Andes outbreak.

The key thing is that there will be no uncontrolled epidemic of Andes Hantavirus cases. The virus will not spread over the world and infect millions of people like Covid did in 2020. Andes Hantavirus is not as infectious as Covid, because Andes is not a mainly airborne virus like Covid. This alone makes a global epidemic of Andes Hantavirus very unlikely. The fact that this outbreak happened on a cruise ship, and so contacts can be easily traced, makes an uncontrolled epidemic extremely unlikely.

Sources

BuDs has used only World Health Organisation (WHO), European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publications as soyurces of information for his article.

Questions

If you have any questions about Hantavirus, please use the form below to ask them, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Covid infection risk remains historically lower. Risk level Moderately Low at 1 in 1251. Precautions still needed in High-Risk indoor places.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 10 May 2026

May 12, 2026May 12, 2026 Ben Clark

Covid infection levels in England have risen slightly but remain at historically low levels. The risk level remains Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1251 people in England infected.

A pie chart showing the approximate councillor share across all English councils after the 2026 May elections.

English Council Elections 2026 – A Different Perspective

May 8, 2026May 8, 2026 Ben Clark

The election results for English council elections are still coming out, but we wanted to share with you a different perspective to the one you will see in the media.

The media report ‘the English council election results’ and give you all the statistics for those elections. But there are 317 councils in England, and only 136 (43%) had elections today. And, of those councils which did have elections, most of them only elected a third or half of their councillor seats. So, the English council election results do not tell the whole picture. In fact, these election results tell a very partial picture, because more than half of councils did not even have an election and few elected their whole council.

Carers Bucks Gives Up Bucks Council Contract

May 7, 2026May 7, 2026 admin

Carers Bucks has given up its £4 million council-funded contract to support carers in Buckinghamshire. In a shock move, Carers Bucks decided not to re-apply for the contract, which has been awarded to Mobilise Ltd instead. While no formal announcement has yet been made, many observers fear that the Carers Bucks charity may now close later in the year.

All main councils in England are funded by the Government to commission services to support carers in their area. For many years, Buckinghamshire Council has given a contract to Carers Bucks, a local registered charity, to provide those services. From 1 July 2026, however, a private health entrepreneur, Mobilise Ltd, will be supporting Bucks carers instead.

Details of the service that Mobilise will provide in Bucks is not yet clear. However, Mobilise has the carers support contract for many councils, including Milton Keynes, Luton & Bedford, and the service provided there is primarily online. Carers in those areas can apply online for ‘dynamic digital carers’ assessments’ which creates an online ‘personalised support plan’. This is claimed to allow social workers to ‘proactively track a carer’s needs’ and help them to receive ‘continuous tailored support’. This digital, online, model, if rolled out in Bucks, would be very different from that provided by Carers Bucks, which is based on more traditional face-to-face and group support for carers.

Under contract and employment law, Carers Bucks will transfer information, paid staff and some resources to Mobilise Ltd when they take over. However, it is not clear whether activities, groups and volunteers provided by Carers Bucks outside their council contract will survive after 30 June.

Carers Bucks have said that its CareFest events in June will go ahead as planned. Billed as a celebration of carer friendly communities, the events may now be a bittersweet marking of the end of Carers Bucks’ long history in the voluntary sector in Bucks.

Covid infection risk continues to fall. Risk level Moderately Low at 1 in 1597. Precautions still needed in High Risk indoor places.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 03 May 2026

May 6, 2026May 6, 2026 Ben Clark

Covid infection levels in England have fallen again to a new low. The risk level remains Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1597 people in England infected.

As regular readers will know, BuDS researchers use highly reliable data to calculate prevalence. We independently confirm our results using all other available data. As Covid-cautious people ourselves, we rely on these estimates just as much as we know our readers do.

What’s Causing the Rise in Cancer?

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026 Andrew

New Study Gives Better Understanding

A major new research study has given scientists and doctors a better understanding of why cancers have been on the increase in the UK and many other countries for many years.

Cancers On The Rise

Cancers of all kinds have been increasing in adults in the UK and in other countries for many years. The reasons for this rise are unclear and there are many different theories among scientists and doctors.

It is well-known and proven that lifestyle risk factors like smoking, diet, alcohol use, exercise and obesity increase the risk of developing cancer. One theory is that people are simply becoming unhealthier, that is to say they are exposed to more of these lifestyle risk factors. If that is the case, say some scientists, growing un-healthiness might be a simple reason why cancer rates have gone up.

The Study

Published in the British Medical Journal for Oncology, the study tested the theory that growing un-healthiness explains why cancer rates are going up. The study looked specifically at younger (20 – 49 years old) adults in the UK between 2001 and 2019. It asked whether increases in lifestyle risk factors in these adults over this period explained why cancer rates increased in this group in that period. In other words, were these younger adults living less healthy lives over that period and that was why they were getting more cancers?

The researchers first worked out which cancers had become more common in adults aged 20 to 49 years old in the period from 2001 to 2019 – there were eleven. They then looked at how lifestyle risk factors were affecting this age group over the same period, and whether lifestyle risk factors affected more people or less. They then ran a statistical analysis to see if the rate of increase in cancers in matched up to the changes in lifestyle risk factors, taking into account other factors which might confuse the comparison.

The study showed that, apart from obesity, lifestyle risk factors were affecting the same number or fewer younger adults from 2001 to 2019. In other words, younger adults were not living un-healthier lives and exposing themselves to more lifestyle risks over that period, except that more of them were seriously overweight.

Cancers related to obesity did increase as expected. There was a clear link between more younger people being overweight and more younger adults getting cancer.

However, cancers not linked to obesity also increased in younger adults between 2001 to 2019, even though lifestyle risk factors affecting those adults did not increase in that period. This shows, according to the researchers, that changes in lifestyle risk factors do not explain most of the rise in cancers in younger adults between 2001 to 2019, although some of the rise was due to more younger adults being obese.

The study recommends that more research is done to explain why cancer rates are increasing in younger (20 – 49 years old) adults in the UK and in many other countries. The study also recommends that people should be encouraged and helped to avoid cancer lifestyle risk factors and in particular to maintain a healthy weight, to reduce their risk of developing cancer.

What Does This Mean For You?

Whatever your age, your lifestyle has a lot to do with your risk of developing cancer. This study has identified obesity, or being seriously overweight, as having a proven link to being at higher risk of developing cancer. So, keeping your weight in a healthy range is important. You can find resources to help you manage your weight below.

While this study has shown that there is not such a clear connection between other lifestyle risks and the causes of cancer, it is an established medical fact that reducing your lifestyle risks will reduce your risk of developing cancer. You can find resources to help you reduce your cancer risks below.

Covid & Cancer

This study looked at adults between 2001 and 2019, before the Covid pandemic, and therefore does not say anything about any link between Covid & cancer. Covid is still a new virus, and time is needed to assess and prove its effects. It will not be possible for some years to look back on the health records of people who caught Covid and show whether they experienced higher rates of cancer than people who did not catch Covid.

It is known that there are several biological means by which Covid might cause cancer, and it is not unusual for viruses to cause or be linked to cancers. For example, one study showed that Covid causes inflammation inside the body which can cause dormant cancers to become active and spread to other parts of the body. This study proved that cancer relapse rates were 1.5 times higher in cancer survivors who caught Covid compared to cancer survivors who did not catch Covid.

It is not yet possible to say that Covid causes cancer or affects cancer survival rates. However, avoiding Covid infections is a good thing to do in any case, as the virus is well-known to have many damaging impacts beyond the immediate acute symptoms.

Resources

Here are some resources and information which may help you. Click the button to visit them.

BMJ Oncology Study

Help to Manage Weight

Help Reduce Cancer Risk

Covid Risk For Cancer Survivors

Historically low Covid infection risk. Covid risk level Moderately Low at 1 in 1346. Spring Covid boosters recommended.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 26 April 2026

April 29, 2026April 29, 2026 Ben Clark

Covid infection levels in England have continued to fall and remain at the lowest levels recorded since 2020. The risk level remains Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1346 people in England infected.

This estimate is based on highly reliable data and is independently confirmed by all other available data, However, Covid has not vanished and people could still catch the virus in high-risk indoor places.

A group of disabled people protesting outside the Houses of Parliament against the Assisted Dying Bill

BuDS Welcomes Failure of Assisted Suicide Bill

April 24, 2026April 24, 2026 admin

BuDS Disability Service has welcomed the Parliamentary failure of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill today, Friday 24 April. This Bill is commonly known as the Assisted Dying or Assisted Suicide Bill. This failure at Westminster marked the defeat of all the Suicide Bills attempted to be rushed through British parliaments by lobbyists in the last two years.

Welcoming the Parliamentary failure, BuDS said:

“The failure of the Bill is good news for dying people, for the NHS and for Britain. We say this for two main reasons:

This Bill would have done nothing to address the humanitarian concerns that many people have about end-of-life care. It was a lobbyist Bill designed to introduce suicide on demand for NHS patients, something which no political party or politician had ever even mentioned before this Bill was introduced.
The Bill was dangerous because it did not protect the basic human rights of British people. This was said from the start by disability and human rights groups like BuDS but was dramatically proven when the Lord Chancellor had to prevent a similar Bill, in the Isle of Man Parliament, from becoming law on these exact grounds”.

Much has been said about how this Bill has been ‘blocked’ by unscrupulous Parliamentary tactics, especially by ‘unelected Lords’. The reality is rather different. This Bill was not Government legislation, but a Private Members Bill (PMB). PMBs cannot be used to make complex and controversial legal reforms because they do not have enough Parliamentary time, even in the best of circumstances, to make such broad changes. The Terminally Ill Adults Bill was doomed to fail from the start by the incompetence of its sponsors and multimillionaire lobbyist backers, not by any Parliamentary blocking.

The passage of this Bill through Parliament has proved that the welfare of dying people and the protection of vulnerable people cannot be left to opaquely-funded, multimillionaire lobbying groups, especially those ideologically committed to suicide and euthanasia. A properly informed national conversation about end-of-life care and assisted suicide must happen before there is any future attempt at legislation. A Royal Commission or similar independent official body must now look at all the issues, consult widely, gather objective evidence and make recommendations. BuDS and other disabled-led organisations are ready to play their part in that conversation.