Kim Leadbeater has earned plenty of praise for her Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life), or assisted suicide, Bill. The Labour MP even won a gong for Political Speech of the Year award for her opening contribution to the parliamentary debate.
If we cannot trust Parliament to debate life-and-death decisions responsibly, how can we trust it to implement them?
“We saw Parliament at its best because the tone, the compassion, and the understanding that was shown was something we can all be proud of,” says Leadbeater, who has also described the bill as “Parliament at its best”. If only this were true. The reality is that the bill – which enters the Report Stage this week – shames parliament. Its distortions, rushed judgments, and procedural failures should embarrass those who are responsible.
The failings go back to when the bill was published last year, barely two weeks before an initial vote. This was scarcely enough time for proper debate.
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