The House of Commons has voted in favour of assisted dying by a narrow majority of 23. After four and a half hours of debate, MPs this afternoon backed Kim Leadbeater’s bill by 314 votes to 291. That is a marked drop in support from the legislation’s second reading in November, when MPs endorsed it with a majority of 55. The bill will now go to the House of Lords, where peers will scrutinise it.
In the Lords, peers have mixed feelings
Today’s debate was striking for the number of considered speeches made across the House. Diane Abbott spoke for a sizeable chunk of MPs when she said she backed the principle of assisted dying, but was against the specifics of this legislation. Vicky Foxcroft, who resigned as a Labour whip last night over proposed welfare cuts, warned of the impact on disabled groups. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, advocates of assisted dying dwelt more on principles than on details. Leadbeater warned of the alternative: of ‘suicide attempts, post-traumatic stress disorder, lonely trips to Switzerland, police investigations’ if her bill had been rejected.
‘The fight continues,’ said one opponent of the legislation after it cleared the Commons. In the Lords, peers have mixed feelings. Some MPs who backed assisted dying are confident that a majority of peers will support the bill. But some, like Tanni Grey-Thompson, have sworn to oppose it. Others are simply infuriated by the prospect of performing a clean-up job for MPs.
Traditionally, peers do not substantively amend Private Members’ Bills. But a piece of legislation that has been chopped and changed repeatedly between second and third reading could require significant amendment between now and its implementation in law.
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