Assisted dying vote 'could be held in weeks' as PM backs plans to fast-track it through Commons
15 September 2024, 07:45
A vote on assisted dying could be held in weeks as Keir Starmer backs plans to fast track it through the Commons.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A vote is expected to take place much sooner than originally planned - and could even happen before Christmas.
Labour sources have said "the wheels are turning" to arrange a vote once this year's party conferences are over, according to the Mail on Sunday.
It comes after Dame Esther Rantzen appealed to the Prime Minister to make time for Parliament to debate and vote freely on assisted dying earlier this week.
Sir Keir has shown his support for the vote, previously telling the Childline founder: "We need to make time. We will make the commitment."
Dame Esther revealed late last year that she had joined Dignitas after being diagnosed with terminal cancer and has since been pushing for a change in the law.
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast in April, she said that she would open a bottle of champagne live on air if a free vote on assisted dying goes ahead.
Dame Esther Rantzen joins Nick Ferrari
Labour dominated the results of the annual Private Members' Bill ballot for MPs to put forward their own legislation last week.
And now Sir Keir is understood to be urging those higher up on the list to take up the proposal.
A Labour source told the Mail on Sunday: "The wheels are turning. It has been made clear to the MPs at the top of the ballot that the PM backs a change in the law."
Kim Leadbeater, who represents Spen Valley, is currently at the top of the list, followed closely by Clive Lewis, who represents Norwich South, in fourth.
One Labour MP on the list claimed they had been offered two extra staff members to help draft the bill, if they agreed, according to the paper.
Caller describes her husband’s final moments without assisted dying
However, it is an issue which has split the party, with justice secretary Shabana Mahmood having said: "I don't intend to support it... I know some MPs who support this issue think, 'For God's sake, we're not a nation of granny killers, what's wrong with you'… [But] once you cross that line, you've crossed it forever.
"If it becomes the norm that at a certain age or with certain diseases, you are now a bit of a burden… that's a really dangerous position."
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has also said he is conflicted over the decision.
He previously told LBC: "I totally understand - to the extent I can understand – why you would want that right to choose and right to die on your terms through legal assisted dying.
"My only hesitation, because I think I’m sold on that principle, is how we get the legal framework right so that no one ever feels coerced – directly or indirectly – to exercise assisted dying without those checks and balances in place and making sure we’ve got the right palliative care in place.
"I think as a country we need a much broader conversation about how to have good deaths."
