Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Gainsborough, called for hospices and care homes to be exempted from the Labour government's increase in National Insurance contributions.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir Edward explained that "a lot of the debate on assisted dying revolves around the lack of hospice places to help people pass in the best way possible".

"Similarly," Sir Edward continued, "much of the debate on the NHS is about the lack of care home spaces."

"Leaving aside the cross-party name-calling, may I beg the Minister to consider exempting hospices and care homes from this national insurance increase?"

Speaking for the Government, Care Minister Karin Smyth MP replied that she "understood" Sir Edward's point and that the Government "will continue our conversations with all affected providers in the normal way".

[A clip of the exchange can be viewed on Twitter here: https://x.com/EdwardLeighGB/status/1857057997337321642]