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MPs have voted in favour of the assisted dying bill following a fierce commons debate.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill received 330 ayes and 275 noes, a majority of 55 votes.
In a sign of the level of feeling on the divisive issue, more than 160 MPs made bids to speak during Friday’s Commons debate – the first on the issue in almost a decade.
The bill will now go to the committee stage where MPs can table amendments, before facing further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.
The law would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge.
Warning: this article contains information that people might find distressing, including accounts of human suffering.
BREAKING: MPs vote in favour of the assisted dying bill
MPs have voted in favour of the assisted dying bill following a fierce commons debate.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill received 330 ayes and 275 noes.
In a sign of the level of feeling on the divisive issue, more than 160 MPs made bids to speak during Friday’s Commons debate – the first on the issue in almost a decade.
The bill will now go to committee stage where MPs can table amendments, before facing further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.
The law would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge.
Supporters of the legislation celebrate outside parliament
Supporters of the assisted dying Bill wept and hugged each other outside Parliament as the news came through that it had been passed by MPs.
The crowd in Parliament Square erupted into cheers as they watched the results on their phones.
Joshua Cook, 33, from Huddersfield, who has Huntington’s disease – an incurable neurodegenerative disease, said it was a “relief”.
“It is a weight off my mind, as a terminally ill person, and you can just look around here, at people who are truly affected by this,” he said. “It’s a relief it’s history, finally we are getting towards having a society that shows love and compassion above the need to just keep people alive.”
Kim Leadbeater says ‘there is plenty of time to get this right’
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, the Bill’s sponsor, said there was plenty of time to get it right as it underwent further scrutiny in Parliament.
She told the BBC: “We have shown Parliament in its best light today. Very respectful, very compassionate debate, irrespective of the different views that people hold.
“We take the Bill to the next stage now, we continue the process and it will be a very thorough process but we also have to champion all the issues that have been talked about today, whether that is palliative care, whether that is the rights of disabled people, the NHS. All those things are important.”
Spen Valley MP Ms Leadbeater said a “thorough, robust” committee would now work to make the Bill “the best it possible can be”.
Amid concerns about rushing the Bill through the Commons, she said it could face another six months of parliamentary scrutiny, adding: “There is plenty of time to get this right.”
Dame Esther Rantzen says vote is unlikely to impact her own life
Dame Esther Rantzen said Friday’s vote is unlikely to make any impact on her own life.
She said: “It doesn’t really change my situation because it’s going to take probably almost two years for it to change the law, and I’d be astonished if the drug I’m on manages to extend my life that far.”
Dame Esther said she thinks she will have to go to Dignitas in Switzerland.
“But I will do so in the knowledge that future generations will be spared the ordeals we have to suffer at the moment, as long as the third reading is voted through,” she said.
How the cabinet voted
Members of the Cabinet who voted for the assisted dying legislation were:
- Chancellor Rachel Reeves,
- Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden,
- Home Secretary Yvette Cooper,
- Defence Secretary John Healey,
- Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband,
- Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall,
- Science Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle,
- Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander,
- Environment Secretary Steve Reed,
- Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy,
- Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn,
- Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens,
- Commons Leader Lucy Powell.
Members of the Cabinet who voted against the assisted dying legislation were:
- Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner,
- Foreign Secretary David Lammy,
- Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood,
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting,
- Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson
- Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds
There was no vote recorded for Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray.
Dignity In Dying says vote marks ‘historic step’
Dignity In Dying said Friday’s vote marks a “historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people”.
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of the campaign group said: “This is a historic step towards greater choice and protection for dying people.
“Parliament has listened to dying people and is reflecting their views, at last.
“Many will be feeling overwhelming relief and gratitude that, today, our country has moved closer than ever before to a safer and more compassionate law.”
She added: “Significant though this moment is, this is just the start of the journey for the Bill.”
Christian Concern says legislation will create ‘more suffering and chaos in the NHS’
Christian Concern has said the vote in favour of assisted dying marks a “very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country”.
Andrea Williams, the group’s chief executive, said: “Today is indeed a very Black Friday for the vulnerable in this country, but this is not over.
“The proposals in this dangerous Bill have been completely exposed. The proposed safeguards are completely meaningless, and more and more MPs are waking up to that reality.
“This Bill will create more suffering and chaos in the NHS, not less, and if it goes through, the vulnerable will become more vulnerable.
“MPs are voting for the Bill at this stage in the hope that it will be fixed, however, the legislation is framed in a way that means it can’t be changed.
“It must be stopped at third reading, and we will not give up working to protect life and the most vulnerable in this country from these reckless and rushed proposals.”
Watch moment MPs vote in favour of historic assisted dying legislation
Watch moment MPs vote in favour of historic assisted dying legislation
Assisted dying could be legalised in England and Wales after a historic vote saw proposed legislation clear its first hurdle in Parliament. A four-and-a-half hour debate in the Commons on Friday (29 November) heard arguments from MPs about a need to give choice to dying people. A majority of MPs supported a Bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives. MPs voted 330 to 275, majority 55, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at second reading.
Assisted dying bill: How did my MP vote?
Christian Action Research and Education says result is ‘deeply troubling’
Ross Hendry, chief executive of Christian Action Research and Education (CARE), said: “Today’s vote is deeply troubling, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised people in England and Wales who are fearful of a change in the law.
“Legalising assisted suicide would diminish the value we ascribe to human life in our legislation and our institutions and create a two-tier society where suicide prevention doesn’t extend to all people. This would be a moral failure, and a huge step backwards.
“As with other assisted suicide Bills in the past, there are no safeguards in this Bill that will rule out coercion of vulnerable people, and people ending their lives because they feel like a burden or lack proper support. There is no such thing as a ‘safe’ assisted suicide law.
“Parliament does have a responsibility to build better support for those who are dying but not through this dangerous Bill. We need a national conversation on how we ensure excellent, universally accessible end-of-life and palliative care, and stronger support for marginalised groups.
“We would urge parliamentarians to focus on this positive endeavour, and dismiss the dangerous, and disproven campaign for assisted suicide.”
