Fewer than one in ten voters consider assisted suicide a priority for their local MP, a new mega-poll has revealed.
The mega-poll of over 10,000 people, reported in the Daily Mail, revealed that, in every single constituency in Great Britain, a majority of voters do not want their MP to support a law pushed through Parliament without full scrutiny and consent of both Houses of Parliament. This suggests that there is no public mandate in any constituency for the assisted suicide Bill to be brought back and forced into law.
The poll, the largest on assisted suicide since Leadbeater’s Bill was initially introduced in October 2024, was commissioned by think tank The Other Half and carried out by Whitestone Insight.
This is important as assisted suicide campaigners have made it clear that they are going to attempt to resurrect Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill in the new parliamentary session.
Their plan involves persuading an MP who was successful in the Private Members’ Bill ballot to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill – and then use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords to force it into law. Lauren Edwards and Andrew George came second and fourth respectively in the ballot, and both voted in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill at its Third Reading in the House of Commons. They are rumoured to be coming under the most pressure to bring back the assisted suicide Bill.
Taking the unprecedented route of using the Parliament Acts to bypass House of Lords’ scrutiny of a Private Members’ Bill would be politically explosive and divisive, setting a precedent that may worry many MPs. It would be the first time ever that the Parliament Acts would be used for a Private Members’ Bill.
Assisted suicide campaigners are now likely to focus their efforts on convincing those in favour of assisted suicide who placed highly in the ballot – Lauren Edwards and Andrew George – to bring forward an identical version of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill as their Private Members’ Bill of choice.
Poll reveals that assisted suicide is not a priority for the public
The poll revealed that, nationally, only 8% of the population supports pushing a non-manifesto commitment into law without approval and full scrutiny from both Houses of Parliament. This suggests there is little support for reviving the assisted suicide Bill and using the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords to force it into law.
Even in Spen Valley, the constituency of the sponsor of the assisted suicide Bill, Kim Leadbeater, 61% of people agreed that they would not want their MP to support a law pushed through without approval from the House of Lords and the House of Commons without full scrutiny. Only 8% of people disagreed.
When respondents were asked what their priorities for the Government were, legalising assisted suicide came at the very bottom of the list. Just 7% of the public considers it a priority.
Majority of public would rather back legislation to improve NHS and end-of-life care
In every constituency in Great Britain, the majority of voters agreed that Parliament should prioritise reducing NHS waiting lists and improving social care before considering whether to legalise assisted suicide.
Similarly, in every constituency, the poll revealed that voters believe members of the House of Lords have a duty to scrutinise, amend, or, if necessary, block any legislation that they believe could put vulnerable people at risk. The House of Lords Constitution Committee and Hansard Society have both confirmed that Peers are constitutionally free to reject the Bill. As the Bill is not a Government Bill and was not in any Party election manifesto, there is no convention requiring the Lords to pass it.
Fiona Mackenzie MBE, CEO of The Other Half, said, “This polling clearly shows that the public does not want assisted dying introduced via the back door using the Parliament Act. In every constituency in Great Britain, voters say they do not want their MP to back a law pushed through without the approval of both Houses of Parliament. This should be a warning to any MP thinking of giving in to pressure from assisted dying campaigners to use the Private Members’ Bill ballot to revive Kim Leadbeater’s Bill”.
“Assisted dying is a proposed law change that should require the highest level of scrutiny, not a procedural manoeuvre to get around the House of Lords to push it into law”, she continued.
Andrew Hawkins, founder of Whitestone Insight, said “Large national polls can sometimes hide big local differences, which is why MRP is useful. But what is striking here is how consistent the picture is across Great Britain”.
“In every constituency we modelled, more voters said they would not want their MP to support a law being pushed through without sufficient scrutiny, or the approval of both Houses, than said the opposite”, he added.
“Voters are effectively saying: if Parliament is dealing with a life-and-death issue, they expect Parliament to do its job properly and the polling paints a picture of an electorate that is wary of unintended consequences”.
“It expects MPs and peers alike to scrutinise any legislation rigorously”, Hawkins said.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “This polling has revealed what we always knew to be true: that there is no mandate for the assisted suicide Bill to be brought back and forced onto the statute book without the consent of Parliament”.
“The assisted suicide Bill received its due scrutiny in Parliament, and ran out of time, as many bills do each Parliamentary session. There was nothing untoward about this, and the public agrees”.
“Those MPs who ranked highly in the Private Members’ Bill ballot should listen to the views of their constituents in this regard, and elect to bring forward a different piece of legislation of their choosing – not the assisted suicide Bill”.
