The Economist first argued on its cover for the legalisation of assisted dying in 2015, the year that I became editor, and it is a subject we have returned to several times since. I’m pleased that, at last, legislation has a good chance of soon entering into the statute book in Britain. As our leader argues, the case for allowing assisted dying is, at its core, one of individual freedom, and as such it is a natural position for a liberal newspaper to champion. Although I know that many readers will not share our view, we believe that people should have the right to choose the manner and timing of their death. I hope you find the analysis from our Britain correspondent, Georgia Banjo, interesting, thought-provoking and persuasive.

In the rest of the world, our cover this week looks at the next housing disaster. About a tenth of the world’s residential property by value is under threat from global warming. The severe weather brought about by greenhouse-gas emissions is shaking the foundations of the world’s most important asset class. The potential costs to homeowners are enormous, as this week’s briefing outlines. Who should pay up? Homeowners? Taxpayers? These questions will be very hard to resolve, however in a leader we argue that if politicians put off finding answers, the cost and complexity will only grow.