Rantzen: MPs backing assisted dying Bill will protect people from ‘bad death'
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will now head to the Lords after clearing the Commons on Friday afternoon, with MPs voting 314 in favour, 291 against, majority 23.
Dame Esther, a notable supporter of campaign Dignity in Dying who has stage four lung cancer, told the PA news agency: 'This will make a huge positive difference, protecting millions of terminally ill patients and their families from the agony and loss of dignity created by a bad death.
'Thank you, Parliament.'
Dame Esther Rantzen's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, speaks to the media while on the phone with her mother (Yui Mok/PA)
Campaigners inside Parliament and outside in Parliament Square were jubilant and tearful following the result of the vote.
Some MPs lined up to shake hands with or hug Kim Leadbeater, the Bill's sponsor through the Commons.
Ms Leadbeater described the vote as a 'result that so many people need'.
The Labour MP for Spen Valley said: 'Thank goodness we got the result that so many people need, but I also feel that it was done really respectfully and the atmosphere in the chamber was very civilised.'
Outside, a cheer erupted as the result was announced on a livestream to a crowd who had huddled together in anticipation. Many cried and hugged each other, while others popped champagne.
Dame Esther's daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, called her mother in front of supporters and told her she wished she was here.
Ms Wilcox came to Parliament Square following the vote and hugged fellow campaigners and friends.
She told PA that she gave Ms Leadbeater's mum a 'big hug' following the result and added: 'I don't know whether to have a drink or a really big cry.
'There were a few of us in the public gallery and we were all holding hands. I felt like we were on a rollercoaster.
'It was the longest pause when everyone came in and we were waiting for the four and when I heard a three for the 'ayes' I was quite positive.
'It was quite extraordinary. I turned around and gave Kim's mum a great big hug.'
Rebecca Wilcox celebrates with Dignity in Dying campaigners (Yui Mok/PA)
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, told the crowd: 'This is for all the people who couldn't be here today. This vote sends a clear message. Parliament stands with the public and change is coming.'
Sian Berry, a Green Party MP and one of the proposers of the Bill, told PA: 'We all have experience of loved ones at the end of their lives that have influenced this. So many of my constituents have written to me telling me their stories. You really feel the importance of what you're doing this for.
'I'm confident we have made the Bill robust and I do believe this reflects public opinion.'
Supporter Tim Murphy, 39, from London, said: 'My friend David went to Dignitas four years ago and he had to die sooner than he should have had there been a workable law in this country.
'This will impact so many people. So much of the [opposition] campaign has been hypothetical situations in the future but not taking into consideration the actual deaths that have occurred.'
Those opposed to the Bill were visibly disappointed. People had gathered to pray before the vote but the crowd of white-shirted campaigners quickly dispersed following the result. Many packed up their signs and left the square and did not speak to the press.
Dignity in Dying campaigners in support of the assisted dying Bill celebrate in Westminster (Yui Mok/PA)
Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England who sits in the House of Lords, said: 'Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need – a principle that I know is shared by those of all faiths and none.
'We must oppose a law that puts the vulnerable at risk and instead work to improve funding and access to desperately needed palliative care services.'
Sean Redfearn, 26, representing Christian Concern, said: 'It's disappointing the nation is stepping closer for people to take their own lives.'
'There is no progress as progress suggests flourishing and there's no flourishing with allowing the ending of a life.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
21 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. 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.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
Glasgow Times
29 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Opponents of assisted dying vow to fight on as MPs back Bill
Ms Leadbeater's Bill passed what could be its final Commons hurdle by 23 votes, down from the majority of 55 it secured when MPs first voted on it in November. The Spen Valley MP declared 'thank goodness' after the result while Rebecca Wilcox, daughter of campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, said it was 'wonderful' the result had come ahead of her mother's birthday. But opponents vowed to fight on against what they called a 'deeply flawed Bill'. 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.' But Ms Leadbeater told the PA news agency she hoped there would be no 'funny games' in the Lords, as her Bill faces further tough hurdles in the upper chamber. She added: 'I would be upset to think that anybody was playing games with such an important and such an emotional issue.' Meanwhile, one of the leading opponents of the Bill, Conservative Danny Kruger, described its supporters as 'enemies', saying he felt 'like Evelyn Waugh at the time of the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939'. In a series of tweets on Friday night, the East Wiltshire MP accused assisted dying campaigners of being 'militant anti-Christians' who had failed to 'engage with the detail of the Bill'. He added: 'It's the revenge of the middle-aged against their dependents.' Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End Of Life) Bill will now proceed to the House of Lords, where it will undergo further scrutiny before becoming law, should peers decide to back the legislation. But some peers have already spoken out against the legislation, with the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, saying they 'must oppose' the Bill as 'unworkable and unsafe'.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lords peers vow to fight law on assisted dying as they warn it may not 'see the light of day' despite narrow backing by MPs
Campaigners last night vowed to fight the assisted dying Bill in the Lords after MPs moved to legalise it in a historic vote. In a sign of the concern about the Bill, it passed through the Commons by just 23 votes yesterday – 32 fewer than when MPs backed it in principle in November. MPs questioned whether there was a clear mandate to introduce one of the most significant social changes in Britain for decades. And peers vowed there would be an 'attritional' fight when the legislation, decried as a 'bad Bill' after multiple amendments were laid and safeguards stripped out, moves to the House of Lords. One warned that it may not 'see the light of day'. The Commons voted 314 to 291 in favour of allowing terminally ill people to end their lives with the help of the State, meaning that when abstentions are included, a majority of MPs did not back the Bill. Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves voted in favour, while opponents included Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will undergo further scrutiny in the Lords, but peers said there was 'no constitutional reason' why it could not be amended significantly or even thrown out by the Upper House. Following an emotional debate in the Commons, Ms Leadbeater described the vote as a 'huge moment in time' and said it would 'correct the profound injustices of the status quo and offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people'. TV presenter Dame Esther Rantzen, who has terminal lung cancer and led the campaign for assisted dying, said: 'This will make a huge positive difference, protecting millions of terminally ill patients and their families from the agony and loss of dignity created by a bad death.' But leading opponent Danny Kruger – whose mother, Dame Prue Leith, was outside Westminster campaigning in favour of the legalisation yesterday – said the vote showed support 'is ebbing away very fast'. The Tory MP added: 'I'm hopeful now, inspired by that debate and by the falling away of support for the Bill, that the Lords will feel they have a real job to do – to examine closely how the Bill will operate and to introduce their own amendments to make it safer, or to reject the Bill altogether.' Tory peer and former Cabinet minister Mark Harper said it was possible the Bill may not 'see the light of day'. Lord Harper, who is against assisted dying, told the Mail: 'It's not a government Bill and it wasn't in anybody's manifesto, so there is no constitutional reason why the Lords shouldn't do its job properly and amend the Bill considerably if required.' Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson – a leading opponent of assisted dying – said disabled people were 'absolutely terrified' about the Bill as she vowed to add significant safeguards in the Lords. It is thought it will take four years to implement the Bill should it clear the remaining stages this year and receive royal assent, meaning the first assisted death in Britain would take place by 2029. This would mark the first time the State sanctioned a death since capital punishment was abolished in 1965, and the Government forecasts that up to 4,500 people could end their lives early each year within a decade. Under the legislation terminally ill people in England and Wales diagnosed with less than six months to live will be allowed to seek medical help to die Opening the debate in the Commons, Spen Valley MP Ms Leadbeater said her Bill proposed a 'robust process that goes further than any other piece of legislation in the world'. She added: 'Giving dying people choice about how they die is about compassion, control, dignity and bodily autonomy. Surely we should all have the right to decide what happens to our bodies and decide when enough is enough.' But after the vote, Tory MP Greg Smith said: 'It is not too late for us to step back from the brink and pull the plug on this Bill, which now lacks majority support in the Commons. I trust the House of Lords to scrutinise the Bill in depth and hope it will never reach royal assent.' Catherine Robinson, from campaign group Right To Life UK, said: 'The Bill leaves the Commons lacking a majority, with fewer than half of all MPs voting for it at its final stage. We will be fighting this Bill at every stage in the House of Lords, where we are confident it can be overturned given its continued loss of support.' The assisted dying Bill that returned to the Commons yesterday was significantly changed from the one presented to MPs at the second reading vote in November. Among radical amendments were the removal of the High Court safeguard – with a senior judge replaced by so-called 'suicide panels' made up of a lawyer, psychiatrist and social worker. The proposed legislation will allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. Subject to approval by two doctors and an 'expert panel', the terminally ill person would take an approved substance, provided by a doctor but administered only by the person themselves. Religious groups expressed horror at the Bill's passing. Bishop of London the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, who sits in the House of Lords, said her peers 'must oppose' the Bill due to the 'mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe'.
