In a further sign that the tide is turning against Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill, reports are emerging that opposition to the Bill among MPs is growing, as two more MPs have changed their minds and indicated they will vote against the Bill at Third Reading later this month.
Last November, the Bill passed its Second Reading by 55 votes. If 28 MPs switch their stance, it will be defeated at Third Reading.
Labour MP Markus Campbell-Savours, who voted for the Bill at Second Reading, is now likely to vote against the Bill due to concerns about terminally ill people feeling pressured to end their lives to avoid being a burden.
Campbell-Savours said “I want to see safeguards that will ensure that assisted dying is not overextended to include those in situations where there are alternative ways to improve the quality of their lives”.
“I would also be very concerned if legislation produced a situation where people who considered themselves a burden on their families and friends felt pressured to end their life”.
Frustrations over amendments being opposed
Labour MP Josh Fenton-Glynn also announced his plans to vote against, having abstained at Second Reading because he “was not convinced the safeguards were strong enough”. Despite being “in favour” of assisted suicide, Fenton-Glynn shared his frustrations about amendments on coercion being blocked, saying “We see quite a few of the amendments which are specifically aimed at stopping coercion being opposed by the supporters of the bill […] I don’t think chances to make the bill safer have been taken”.
Fenton-Glynn also expressed his frustrations about the debate at Report Stage, which was branded by critics as “chaotic” and “a disaster” after MPs debated only two of over 100 amendments put forward before running out of time. Fenton-Glynn said “Frustratingly it was a day that felt like Parliament’s rules and procedures got in the way of debate and better legislation rather than facilitating it”.
Tide is turning against Leadbeater Bill as concerns deepen
There is now a growing sense that the tide is turning against the Leadbeater Bill, with Campbell-Savours and Fenton-Glynn being the latest MPs to announce a switch of stance, in addition to a significant number who have already declared their switch to opposing the Bill prior to this month’s Third Reading vote.
Joining Reform’s Lee Anderson and his former colleague Rupert Lowe who publicly declared in February that they would be changing their vote, Liberal Democrat MP Brian Mathew, who initially backed the Bill at Second Reading, has indicated he has changed his mind and will vote against it at Third Reading.
Jonathan Hinder MP announced that, while he had voted in favour of the assisted suicide Bill at Second Reading, his “concerns have only deepened” over the course of Committee Stage and that he would now be voting against the Bill. Hinder is joined by former Conservative Minister George Freeman, who explained his change of stance, telling Times Radio that there is a risk of a “suicide culture” and a “Dignitas industry” being created if the Leadbeater Bill becomes law.
Labour MP Debbie Abrahams and Conservative MP Charlie Dewhirst, who did not vote at Second Reading, both told The Telegraph they now intended to vote against. Dewhirst said he “can’t support it in all good conscience” because “[t]here seems to be a lack of protections, for example, for people with autism. And it really feels to me that it’s far wider than we were assured it was going to be to start with”.
Explaining his reasons for changing his mind, Conservative MP Andrew Snowden complained that the Bill had “already been watered down from its original safeguards”, whilst Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling is now “marginally against” the assisted suicide Bill. Labour MP Karl Turner has also changed his position from voting for the Bill to abstaining.
Some MPs who abstained from voting at Second Reading have now moved to opposing the Bill, including Labour MP for Crawley, Peter Lamb, and Emma Hardy MP. Liberal Democrat MP Bobby Dean and former minister, Sir David Davis MP, who both previously voted for the Bill, are now reported to be undecided.
“Even the BBC is noticing. More switchers going public”
It is also being seen as significant that it was the BBC who reported on Campbell-Savours and Fenton-Glynn’s decisions to switch sides, and that opposition to the Bill is “growing”. Journalist Dan Hitchens previously argued the BBC was showing a bias towards promoting assisted suicide, complaining to the BBC for “publishing twice as many pro [assisted suicide] articles as anti (36 to 17)”, between 1 October and 15 December 2024. This was a key period in the assisted suicide debate, with Second Reading taking place on 29 November 2024.
Responding to the BBC report, Nikki da Costa, former Director of Legislative Affairs at 10 Downing Street, said “Even the BBC is noticing. More switchers going public”.
The numbers switching sides have not gone unnoticed, with former Conservative MP Lord Jackson saying “It does feel like things have changed in regards to the Leadbeater Bill”.
“There is now a steady stream of MPs flipping against the Bill and, if this continues, it looks like it will be a knife-edge vote”.
Strong criticism of “revolting” Bill from assisted suicide supporters
A further sign of the balance tipping against the Bill is that some assisted suicide supporters are speaking out against the Bill. Labour Councillor Jack Deakin, who said he supports assisted suicide “in principle”, gave a scathing assessment of the Bill, saying “The bill is scarier and more revolting by the day as the truth unravels further. Assisted suicide has gone awfully wrong for other countries – I worry we will be the worst”.
Jamilla Hussain, who describes herself as “one of the few palliative care consultants who leans pro [assisted suicide]”, warned of potentially “devastating outcomes for families” under the Bill, saying “I am deeply concerned about the provision that there is no requirement to inform family or next of kin until after the assisted death has occurred”.
“This could result in devastating outcomes for families who are excluded from a process that their loved one may not have fully understood or been able to navigate independently”.
Professor Katherine Sleeman, a specialist in palliative care who supports assisted suicide in principle, warned of the dangers of legalising assisted suicide under the Leadbeater Bill, saying “Introducing assisted dying into an already fragile system will erode trust. Some groups may withdraw further from healthcare, fearing we’re there to kill them”.
“This law won’t just affect people who want assisted dying. It’ll affect everyone approaching the end of life. The ordinary people who never wanted this—they’re the ones who may suffer most”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Campbell-Savours and Fenton-Glynn are the latest in a growing list of MPs and organisations to change their stance and vote against, confirming The Guardian’s assessment that support for the Bill is ‘ebbing away’”.
“With the BBC commenting on the growing numbers opposing the extreme Leadbeater Bill, and even those who are sympathetic to assisted suicide sharing deep concerns about this disastrous legislation, it is clear that the tide is turning against the Bill”.
“It is becoming clear that this dangerous Bill can be defeated. MPs must listen to these concerns and vote against the Bill at Third Reading”.
