Campaigners have vowed to redouble efforts to defeat Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill after it passed its first hurdle, with MPs voting in favour of the Bill at Second Reading by 330 votes to 275.
A large number of MPs who voted for the Bill indicated that they were only doing so with a view to debating the Bill at further stages. As the vote margin was 55 votes, it would only take 28 MPs to move their vote to opposing the Bill for it to be voted down at Third Reading. This provides a clear path for those opposing the Bill to defeat it at Third Reading.
234 Labour MPs voted in favour of the Bill and 147 against it. 61 Liberal Democrats voted in favour of the Bill, with only 11, including party leader Ed Davey, voting against it.
The Bill was strongly criticised before the debate for lack of time to properly scrutinise it and for the proposed legislation, which, if it eventually becomes law, will enable medical professionals to provide lethal drugs to people who are thought to have fewer than six months left to live so that they can end their life by suicide.
Three former Conservative Prime Ministers and the former Labour Prime Minister before Keir Starmer all came out in opposition to the assisted suicide Bill, as well as the Mother and Father of the House, Diane Abbott and Sir Edward Leigh.
A large number of MPs from across the political spectrum came together to give powerful speeches against the Bill during the debate today. They made it clear that this dangerous and extreme change to our laws would put the vulnerable at risk and see the ending of many lives through assisted suicide.
Although the Bill has passed Second Reading, the vote was far closer than commentators originally predicted and it now has a number of stages to complete in the Commons and Lords before it could become law.
Serious concerns remain about how this legislation would operate in practice, and the strong response from MPs across all parties shows these issues won’t simply disappear.
Campaigners have called for the Government now to provide a detailed impact assessment, outlining how this Bill would affect the NHS and our judicial system. MPs need full clarity on its real-world consequences before they are asked to vote again.
Strong opposition from doctors and people with disabilities
The Bill has passed Second Reading at the same time as many elderly people go into winter with their Winter Fuel Payment cut by the Government, as palliative care services are in crisis with 100,000 people dying each year needing palliative care but not receiving it, and a wider healthcare system also in a state of crisis, with Labour’s own Health Secretary describing the NHS as “broken”.
Ahead of the vote today, more than 3,400 medical professionals signed an open letter to the Prime Minister warning that assisted suicide cannot be introduced safely while the NHS is “broken”.
In particular, there has been strong opposition to introducing assisted suicide from doctors who specialise in working with people with incurable conditions at the end of their life.
A survey of palliative care doctors who are members of the Association for Palliative Medicine found that 82% oppose the introduction of assisted suicide. The results of the Association for Palliative Medicine survey have been mirrored in a more recent survey of doctors by the British Medical Association, which found that 83% of palliative care doctors oppose a change in the law to introduce assisted suicide, with only 6% supporting such a change.
A recent landmark poll reported in The Telegraph found that the public does not support making legalising suicide a priority, with the general public placing legalising assisted suicide at 22nd out of a list of 23 possible priorities for the new Government.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “This is just the first stage of a long journey through the Commons and then the Lords for this dangerous assisted suicide Bill. We are now going to redouble our efforts to ensure we fight this Bill at every stage and ensure that it is defeated to protect the most vulnerable”.
“Several MPs who supported the Bill made it clear they did so to allow further debate in later stages. With the vote passing by a margin of 55, just 28 MPs switching their stance to oppose the Bill could ensure it’s defeated at Third Reading. This provides a clear path toward this Bill being defeated at Third Reading”.
“A very large number of MPs spoke out against this extreme proposal in Parliament today. They made it clear that this dangerous and extreme change to our laws would put the vulnerable at risk and see the ending of many lives through assisted suicide”.
“Serious concerns remain about how this legislation would operate in practice, and the strong response from MPs across all parties shows these issues won’t simply disappear”.
“The Government must now provide a detailed impact assessment, outlining how this Bill would affect the NHS and our judicial system. MPs deserve full clarity on its real-world consequences before they are asked to vote again”.
“This Bill can and must be defeated in Parliament. It still has a long way to go and presents an acute threat to vulnerable people, especially in the context of an overstretched healthcare system. Even members of the Prime Minister’s owncabinet recognise this problem and that, within this environment, certain people will likely be particularly vulnerable to coercion”.
