MPs have voted in favour of legalising assisted dying, as a historic piece of legislation cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons.
The commons voted by 330 to 275 in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The proposed legislation now progresses to committee stage where MPs will debate and vote on amendments.
The proposed law would make it legal for over-18s who are terminally ill to be given medical assistance to end their own life in England and Wales. The bill, proposed by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, sets out detailed requirements in order to be eligible.
Five hours had been set aside for MPs to air their views. Follow the debate along below, as it happened.
POLITICS Live:
02.25 pm — MPs vote in favour of legalising assisted dying
The commons votes by 330 to 275 in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
02.05 pm — Dr Kieran Mullan, a shadow justice minister, now sums up the assisted dying debate for the Conservative Party
The frontbencher said: “It is not for me to make the case for His Majesty’s Opposition as we have not taken a collective view and like many members I have struggled greatly with this decision.
“I don’t believe there is a perfect choice to be made today, just different versions of imperfection.”
01.34 pm — Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans says palliative care “has limits”.
Speaking in support of the assisted dying bill, Evans told the House: “To reject [the bill] at second reading is not just a vote against assisted dying, it is to silence the debate for another decade, to say that the status quo is acceptable.”
01.16 pm —
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick on the assisted dying bill:“This Act, if passed, will be subject to activist judges in Strasbourg [the ECtHR] — they will change it fundamentally and we have to be prepared for that.”
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T13:13:38.403Z
12.15 pm — David Davis to back assisted dying bill at second reading
The former Conservative cabinet minister said: “I want to say this to the government. I understand perfectly well that they are trying to maintain a route of strict neutrality but there is a distinction here between neutrality and responsibility and I think they need to focus on the issue of responsibility.
“This bill is more important than most of the bills in your manifesto and I am not trying to be rude. …
“So it deserves four days in report stage in government time over the course of several weeks. We don’t need a royal commission, this House can do this, but it needs to be given the option to do it.”
12.00 pm — Father of the House to vote against assisted dying bill
Sir Edward Leigh told the House of Commons: “What sort of society are we? Are we a society that loves our NHS, that loves life, that loves caring, that loves the hospice movement?
“Or are we a society which believes that there is despair? So I will be voting for hope at 2.30pm and I will be voting against this Bill.”
11.42 am — Conservative MP says assisted dying bill could face legal challenge
Dr Ben Spencer said: “There are many questions but in this bill the most prominent problem is that in a legal context if the availability of assisted dying is limited to only those who are terminally ill, it is discriminatory to either those with or without terminal illness.
“Either their right to autonomy is greater than others or the values of their life is worth less.”
11.35 am — Former home secretary James Cleverly accuses Lib Dem MP of “misrepresenting” what MPs are voting on.
Layla Moran, the Lib Dem chair of the health select committee, said she will be voting for the bill.
She told the commons: “To those MPs who might be minded to vote for it on principle but are worried about the details, about how we might change a word here or the role of clinicians or MPs or whatever it may be, may I urge them to reconsider the question they are asking themselves today. This is the second reading.
“The media is asking all of us are you for or against this Bill. I would urge you think of this question differently. The question I think we will be answering today is do I want to keep talking about the issues in this Bill.”
Intervening, James Cleverly responded: “She is misrepresenting what we are doing at this point with this bill. We are speaking about the specifics of this bill. This is not a general debate.”
11.14 am — Conservative MP Kit Malthouse rejects argument that the assisted dying bill should be voted down due to the impact it could have on the NHS and judges.
Malthouse, who is a co-sponsor of the bill, says: “These people are already dying. They are already in the National Health Service. They are entitled to care.
“And even if you think there is an impact, are you serious;ly telling me that my death, my agony, is too much for the NHS to have time for?”
He added: “We send things to the NHS and the judges from this House all the time. Is anyone suggesting that we shouldn’t be creating the new offence of spiking because the judges are overworked? Of course not.
“They will cope as they have done with all sorts of things that we have sent from this House over the years and we should not countenance the idea that some logistical problem is going to get in the way of giving us a good death…”
10.59 am —
Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell on assisted dying: “The status quo is cruel and dangerous”
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T11:00:37.754Z
10.50 am — Diane Abbott, the veteran Labour MP and mother of the House, says: “I do not believe that the safeguards are sufficient.”
Abbott, speaking in opposition to the bill, also warns of the risk of people being coerced into ending their life early.
10.47 am —
Kruger concludes his remarks: "The Rubicon was a very small stream, but on the other side lies a very different world, a worse world, with a very different idea of human value – the idea that our individual worth lies in our utility"
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T10:45:35.751Z
10.41 am —
On a point of order, Labour MP objects to Danny Kruger's 'offensive' use of the word 'suicide'Kruger: "The value of actually have a bill in black and white is that we do need to see what the law really is: what this bill would do, it would amend the Suicide Act of 1961."
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T10:38:40.772Z
10.30 am — Danny Kruger leads opposition to bill
The Conservative MP says: “This bill is too comprehensive and there is too much in it to address in the process of a private members’ bill.”
Kruger adds that “the definition of terminal illness is, in essence, the essential flaw in this bill”.
10.23 am — Kim Leadbeater’s peroration:
Kim Leadbeater's peroration: "This will be a thorough process, focussed on one of the most significant issues of our time. An issue that people across the country clearly want us to address – none more so than the many families who are facing the brutal and cruel reality of the status quo."
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T10:19:50.835Z
09.52 am — Kim Leadbeater responds to concerns about ‘coercion’ after MP interventions
The Labour MP says that coercion can actually work the other way, with people feeling pressured into prolonging their suffering.
She added: “Assisted dying is not a substitute for palliative care. It is not an either or.”
09.50 am —
Kim Leadbeater on her assisted dying bill: "This debate is long overdue"
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T09:51:06.435Z
09.46 am — Kim Leadbeater says majority of the public want to legalise assisted dying
The Labour MP told commons: “It is clear that public opinion is very much in favour of a change in the law.”
She added: “It may not be that surprising that most people believe as I do that we should all have the right to make the choices and decisions we want about our own bodies.
“Let’s be clear, we are not talking about a choice between life or death, we are talking about giving dying people a choice of how to die.”
09.40 am — Kim Leadbeater begins speech
The Labour MP says she believes the move to legalise assisted dying is “long overdue”, arguing the current law is “failing people” and must be changed.
09.33 am — The assisted dying debate begins
NEW: Assisted dying debate is underway in the House of Commons as speaker addresses MPs: "This is a time for the House to show itself at its best"My live blog will have all the latest: www.politics.co.uk/news/politic…
— Josh Self (@josh-self.bsky.social) 2024-11-29T09:37:44.664Z
09.30 am — Where do Labour cabinet ministers stand on assisted dying bill?
Where do Labour cabinet ministers stand on assisted dying bill?
09.25 am — Kim Leadbeater issues statement
In a statement overnight, the MP behind the bill, Kim Leadbeater, said she believes people will “look back” on this moment as “one of the great reforming parliaments of our generation”.
She said: “We’re modernising our public services, rebuilding our economy and strengthening the fabric of our society.
“And I hope this parliament will also be remembered for this major social reform that gives people autonomy over the end of their lives and puts right an injustice that has been left on the statute books for far too long.
“People will be looking in on parliament as it debates this important change to the law – a change that, when we most need it, could bring comfort to any one of us or to somebody we love.
“I hope parliament will show itself at its best and most compassionate and that MPs will show themselves, as they have in the past when major social reforms have come before them, ready to correct injustice and reduce human suffering.”
09.20 am — Good morning and welcome to “Politics Live”, Politics.co.uk‘s rolling coverage of the day’s key moments in Westminster.
Here’s what’s happening today:
- MPs will debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Stay with us and we’ll bring you all the latest developments as they unfold.
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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