Friday 29 November 2024
The House of Commons has voted to support assisted dying, by a majority of 55. The Private Members’ Bill, introduced by Kim Leadbeater MP, passed with 330 in favour and 275 against. More than a third of the cabinet were against the move. This is how the cabinet voted:
Aye votes (14):
- Keir Starmer, Prime Minister
- Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary
- Pat McFadden, Minister for the Cabinet Office
- John Healey, Defence Secretary
- Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary
- Liz Kendall, Work and Pensions Secretary
- Peter Kyle, Science Secretary
- Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary
- Steve Reed, Environment Secretary
- Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary
- Lucy Powell, Leader of the House of Commons
- Hilary Benn, Northern Ireland Secretary
- Jo Stevens, Wales Secretary
- Alan Campbell, Chief Whip
Nay votes (8):
- Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister
- David Lammy, Foreign Secretary
- Shabana Mahmood, Justice Secretary
- Wes Streeting, Health Secretary
- Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary
- Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary
- Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury
- Anneliese Dodds, Equalities Minister
Abstentions (1): Ian Murray, Scotland Secretarywhich the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Home Secretary all decided to support.
92 of the 121 Conservative MPs voted against. Those in favour included Rishi Sunak, Oliver Dowden and Mel Stride. Kemi Badenoch voted against.
61 of the 72 Liberal Democrat MPs voted in favour.
Reaction
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, known for his Christian faith, opposed the bill and said he was “very disappointed” at the result. He hoped it would be strengthened at committee stage to be as safe as possible, or defeated at the 3rd stage of the bill.
Bishop John Sherrington, Catholic lead bishop for life issues, said: ““We are disappointed that MPs have voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill progressing through parliament. We believe that this bill is flawed in principle and also contains particular clauses that are of concern. We ask the Catholic community to pray that members of parliament will have the wisdom to reject this bill at a later stage in its progress”. They have deep concerns about doctors, hospices and care homes who object. The vocation to care for people during sickness, disability and old age is the sign of a compassionate society. Improving the quality and availability of palliative care offers the best pathway to reducing suffering at the end of life. Full statement here
The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullaly, the Church of England’s lead bishop for health and social care, said she had been deeply moved by the debate: “The Church of England believes that the compassionate response at the end of life lies in the provision of high quality palliative care services to all who need them. Today’s vote still leaves the question of how this could be implemented in an overstretched and under-funded NHS, social care and legal system. Safeguarding the most vulnerable must be at the heart of the coming Parliamentary process, today’s vote is not the end of the debate.” Statement here
Moments in the debate:
Kim Leadbeater said stories were at the heart of the debate and recounted several where people had died in pain. As did many other MPs. She said it was clear that public opinion is very much in favour of a change in the law and believed that the vote would be beginning of the debate.Danny Kruger warned of coercion and said people would be exposed to harm. There should be more and better palliative and hospice care and the issues were too comprehensive to be dealt with in this bill, He argued it would change the terms of the Suicide Act 1961.
Mother of the House, Diane Abbott, said the safeguards were not sufficient and the involvement of a judge could simply be a rubber stamp.
Rachael Maskell said funding for palliative care and hospice services needed to be fixed before discussing the proposed assisted dying law.
Tim Farron said “To legalise assisted dying is to create the space for coercion that will undoubtedly see people die who would not have chosen to do so. There are no safeguards in this bill that will prevent this”.Conservative MP Neil Shastri-Hurst, who has been a surgeon and a medical barrister, said he had failed patients, by not being able to give them “the death they deserve”.
BBC live reporting of the debate here
