MPs have voted in favour of legalising assisted suicide as Labour’s massive majority allowed the legislation to clear its first hurdle in the House of Commons by 330 votes to 275. The Telegraph has more.
The Commons voted by 330 to 275, a majority of 55, in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, was among the 330 MPs who voted in favour of the Bill.
The decision to give the Bill a second reading means it will now face further scrutiny and votes in the weeks and months ahead on what will be a long road to potentially becoming law.
A five hour debate on the subject showed the Commons was split down the middle on the issue and numerous MPs said they would support the Bill but would want to see it improved down the line.
Kim Leadbeater said MPs had “done what needed to be done” as she welcomed the fact that her assisted dying Bill cleared its first major Parliamentary hurdle.
She told Sky News: “I am nearly in floods of tears because it has been a really emotional process. But I am incredibly proud that I think today we have seen Parliament at its best.”
She added: “I think we have done what needed to be done which is to take this really important piece of legislation to the next level.”
Rishi Sunak was one of 23 Tory MPs who voted in favour of the legislation. The former Prime Minister had been silent on how he would vote in the run up to today.
Other senior Tories who backed the Bill included Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge and Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.
Jeremy Hunt, the former Chancellor, also voted in favour.
Danny Kruger, who spoke against the Bill, said he hoped MPs would still reject the legislation at a later date.
Mr. Kruger told Sky News: “I’m very disappointed that we lost a second reading. It was actually Parliament doing its job, we didn’t know how it was going to go today, I think the debate was influential. I’m very sorry that I and others didn’t manage to persuade enough colleagues to win.
“But what really did come across is that everyone agrees we need to improve palliative care, which is my main concern, and a lot of people expressed real concern about this Bill. And what they said was it’s only the second reading, so it’s only headline support in principle to the Bill that they’ve given.”
He added: “It goes into committee now, it comes back to the House, so there will be a third opportunity to improve it if we can, and if we can’t then I hope we’ll be able to reject it.”
Andrea Williams, the Chief Executive of Christian Concern, which opposed the Bill, said: “Today is indeed a very black Friday for the vulnerable in this country, but this is not over.
“The proposals in this dangerous Bill have been completely exposed. The proposed safeguards are completely meaningless, and more and more MPs are waking up to that reality.
“This Bill will create more suffering and chaos in the NHS, not less, and if it goes through, the vulnerable will become more vulnerable.
“MPs are voting for the Bill at this stage in the hope that it will be fixed, however, the legislation is framed in a way that means it can’t be changed.
“It must be stopped at third reading, and we will not give up working to protect life and the most vulnerable in this country from these reckless and rushed proposals.”
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.