Assisted dying: All you need to know ahead of the next crunch parliamentary vote

Ms Leadbeater has previously said there is nothing in the Bill to say they have to, nor is there anything to say they do not have to, adding on the Parliament Matters podcast that this is 'the best position to be in' and that nobody should be 'dictating to hospices what they do and don't do around assisted dying'.

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Wales Online

10 minutes ago

• Wales Online

Dame Esther Rantzen urges Lords not to block assisted dying legislation

Dame Esther Rantzen urges Lords not to block assisted dying legislation The Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill cleared the Commons with a majority of 23 votes, but opponents have vowed to continue their resistance in the unelected chamber (Image: PA Archive/PA Images ) Dame Esther Rantzen has called on the House of Lords not to impede the progress of pivotal legislation in relation to assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill passed the Commons with a majority of 23 votes on Friday, yet it faces staunch opposition in the Lords, where critics are ready to propose amendments that would introduce additional restrictions and safeguards. Welsh Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has said that she hopes there will be some amendments when it comes to the Lords to "make it stronger". ‌ Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Dame Esther remarked: "I don't need to teach the House of Lords how to do their job. They know it very well, and they know that laws are produced by the elected chamber. ‌ "Their job is to scrutinise, to ask questions, but not to oppose." She continued, highlighting the role of the Lords: "So yes, people who are adamantly opposed to this bill, and they have a perfect right to oppose it, will try and stop it going through the Lords, but the Lords themselves, their duty is to make sure that law is actually created by the elected chamber, which is the House of Commons who have voted this through." Dame Esther, who celebrates her 85th birthday on Sunday and is living with terminal cancer, conceded that the bill is unlikely to be enacted in time for her own benefit, suggesting she may have to travel to Zurich's Dignitas clinic instead. Article continues below Baroness Grey-Thompson told BBC Breakfast about the upcoming debate in the Lords: "We're getting ready for it to come to the Lord's and from my personal point of view, about amending it to make it stronger. "We've been told it's the strongest Bill in the world, but to be honest, it's not very high bar for other legislation. "So I do think there are a lot more safeguards that could be put in." ‌ Conservative Lord and disability rights advocate, Lord Shinkwin voiced his opinions on the close margin in the Commons and emphasised the importance of scrutiny by the House of Lords. He expressed to Today: "I think the House of Lords has a duty to expose and to subject this Bill to forensic scrutiny" and noted that "I don't think it's a question of blocking it so much as performing our duty as a revising chamber". Lord Shinkwin further commented: "The margin yesterday was so close that many MPs would appreciate the opportunity to look at this again in respect of safeguards as they relate to those who feel vulnerable, whether that's disabled people or older people." ‌ Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who guided the Bill through the Commons, shared with the PA news agency her hopes that the Lords would not obstruct the legislation, which risks running out of time if delayed in the upper chamber. She remarked: "I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue." A faction of 27 Labour MPs who opposed the proposed law stated: "We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. ‌ "As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill." On the other hand, one of the staunchest critics of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described the current period as "these are apocalyptic times". The East Wiltshire MP, whose stance diverges from his mother's, Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith—who backs the legalisation—took to Twitter on Friday evening. In his dispatch, he labelled proponents of assisted dying as "militant anti-Christians" and criticised them for their lack of engagement with "engage with the detail of the Bill". Article continues below

Spectator

an hour ago

• Spectator

Tories will remember this assisted dying vote

'I judge a man by one thing, which side would he have liked his ancestors to fight on at Marston Moor?' So said Isaac Foot, the Liberal MP and father of Michael. For some Tories, both in and out of parliament, Friday's assisted dying debate will carry a similar weight in judgements of character. Some 80 per cent of Tory MPs voted against Kim Leadbeater's Bill at Third Reading, with 92 against, 20 in favour and five registered abstentions. Of the 25-strong new intake, elected last year, just four backed Leadbeater's Bill: Aphra Brandreth, Peter Bedford, Ashley Fox and Neil Shastri-Hurst. Social conservatives note that the Tories were much more aligned on assisted dying than Reform, which split by three votes against to two in favour. Only six MPs backed both this measure and Tuesday's abortion liberalisation vote: Brandreth, Shastri-Hurst, Luke Evans, Kit Malthouse, Andrew Mitchell and Laura Trott. A striking number of senior Tories were among the 20 who supported assisted dying including Rishi Sunak, Oliver Dowden and Jeremy Hunt. Six shadow cabinet members backed it too including Mel Stride, Victoria Atkins and Chris Philp. 'That's the end of his leadership hopes', remarks one opponent. Among those who opposed assisted dying, there is praise for Kemi Badenoch. The Tory leader had previously supported the concept in principle before coming out strongly against Leadbeater's Bill in November. Her argument centred on the legislative process: that insufficient time was dedicated to the Bill and that MPs ought to serve as scrutineers, not campaigners. Her robust stance since then has impressed begrudging internal critics. 'She did do a good job', admits one MP who backed a rival candidate. Friday's vote showed Badenoch's thinking to be firmly in-line with the majority of her own MPs on this issue. There is frustration among some of her supporters that if twelve Tory proponents had changed their mind, Leadbeater's Bill would have been sunk. Perhaps, in time, assisted dying will become accepted wisdom in Tory circles. Those in favour cite its public support and point to the party's history of belatedly backing 'progressive' measures. In March 2003, it was a minority of modernisers who disregarded Iain Duncan Smith to back scrapping Section 28. Within five years, one of them, Boris Johnson, was standing for Mayor of London. Within ten, a Tory PM was championing same-sex marriage. But for those still reeling and angry from yesterday's vote, it certainly doesn't feel that way today.

North Wales Chronicle

4 hours ago

• North Wales Chronicle

Rantzen warns peers not to hamper progress of assisted dying law

The Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill cleared the Commons with a majority of 23 votes on Friday, but opponents have vowed to continue their resistance in the unelected chamber. The legislation could face a difficult passage through the Lords, with critics poised to table amendments to add further restrictions and safeguards to the Bill. Dame Esther told BBC Radio 4's Today: 'I don't need to teach the House of Lords how to do their job. They know it very well, and they know that laws are produced by the elected chamber. 'Their job is to scrutinise, to ask questions, but not to oppose. 'So yes, people who are adamantly opposed to this bill, and they have a perfect right to oppose it, will try and stop it going through the Lords, but the Lords themselves, their duty is to make sure that law is actually created by the elected chamber, which is the House of Commons who have voted this through.' Dame Esther, who turns 85 on Sunday and has terminal cancer, acknowledged the legislation would probably not become law in time for her to use it and she would have to 'buzz of to Zurich' to use the Dignitas clinic. Paralympian and crossbench peer Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson told BBC Breakfast: 'We're getting ready for it to come to the Lord's and from my personal point of view, about amending it to make it stronger. 'We've been told it's the strongest Bill in the world, but to be honest, it's not very high bar for other legislation. 'So I do think there are a lot more safeguards that could be put in.' Conservative peer and disability rights campaigner Lord Shinkwin said the narrow Commons majority underlined the need for peers to take a close look at the legislation. He told Today 'I think the House of Lords has a duty to expose and to subject this Bill to forensic scrutiny' but 'I don't think it's a question of blocking it so much as performing our duty as a revising chamber'. He added: 'The margin yesterday was so close that many MPs would appreciate the opportunity to look at this again in respect of safeguards as they relate to those who feel vulnerable, whether that's disabled people or older people.' Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who steered the Bill through the Commons, told the PA news agency she hoped peers would not seek to derail the legislation, which could run out of parliamentary time if it is held up in the Lords. She said: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' A group of 27 Labour MPs who voted against the legislation said: 'We were elected to represent both of those groups and are still deeply concerned about the risks in this Bill of coercion of the old and discrimination against the disabled, people with anorexia and black, Asian and minority ethnic people, who we know do not receive equitable health care. 'As the Bill moves to the House of Lords it must receive the scrutiny that it needs. Not about the principles of assisted dying but its application in this deeply flawed Bill.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, said 'these are apocalyptic times'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP – who is at odds with his mother, Great British Bake Off judge Dame Prue Leith in her support for legalisation – accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'.