MPs to start debating assisted dying bill at 9.30am
MPs will start debating the assisted dying bill – or the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, to give it its proper name – at 9.30am. We will be focusing on the debate most of the day, while continuing to cover the repercussions of the Louise Haigh resignation.
Here is Jessica Elgot’s overnight story about the vote.
And here is a 125-page Commons library briefing on the bill, and the issues it tackles. If you want to read about this in detail, it’s invaluable.
The vote will take place at 2.30pm.
Key events
Oliver Dowden, the former Conservative deputy PM, asks Leadbeater what assurances she can give that “judicial activism” won’t lead to the courts interpreting the bill in a way not intended by MPs.
Leadbeater says the courts have repeatedly said they want parliament to decide this matter. And she says her bill is strictly drafted.
Leadbeater says she wants palliative care to be better.
And so there is a requirement in the bill for the secretary of state to report to MPs on the state of palliative care.
Leadbeater talks about the safeguards in her bill.
Simon Hoare (Con) intervenes, and asks how the two doctors who would have to approve an assisted dying request under the bill would be able to know that the patient had not been coerced into ending their life.
Leadbeater says at the moment there are no checks at all to prevent coercion.
Richard Burgon (Lab) says he is concerned about societal coercion. Elderly people pay thousands of pounds a month for care. What assurances are there that someone won’t feel that they have a duty to end their life early to save the family money.
Leadbeater says we are not having these conversations at the moment. And she says coercion can happen the other way (with people feeling obliged they need to stay alive for the sake for their family, when they really want to end their life).
Leadbeater said she wanted to tell MPs some of the stories that inspired her to take up this cause.
Warwick was married to his wife, Anne for nearly 40 years. She had terminal peritoneal cancer, which meant she couldn’t breathe properly. She spent four days gasping and choking, remaining awake throughout despite being given the maximum dose of sedatives and eventually died of suffocation. She had to get Warwick to end her life, but as he stood over her with a pillow, he could not do what she asked. He did not want that to be her final memory of him. Anne had excellent palliative care, but it simply could not ease her suffering.
Tim fell in love at first sight. When he met his wife, Louise, he proposed after just three days, but Louise got cancer twice, and at the end, the morphine simply could not control her pain. In desperation, she managed to smash a small glass bottle and tried to take her own life, not realizing that her toddler daughter had got into bed with her. Tim found her. He says, ‘You get to a point where you stop praying for a miracle and start praying for mercy.’
Former police officer James waved his mum off as she embarked on her final trip to Dignitas. She had terminal vasculitis. James desperately wanted to accompany his mum and hold her hands during her final moments, but he knew, because of his job as a police officer, it was just not possible. Indeed, she insisted he must not go with her. So she went alone, no one to hold her hand, no proper goodbye or funeral.
These are just a few examples of the heartbreaking reality and human suffering which far too many people are experiencing as a result of the status quo.
Kim Leadbeater opens debate on her assisted dying bill
Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who has tabled the private member’s bill, is opening the debate.
She says this is a complex issue, but it is MPs’ job to address complex issues.
It is our job to address complex issues and make difficult decisions. And I know for many people, this is a very difficult decision, but our job is also to address the issues that matter to people. And after nearly a decade since this subject was debated on the floor of the house, many would say this debate is long overdue.
Leadbeater says she has tried to ensure this debate is “robust, of course, but most importantly, respectful and compassionate”. For the most part that has been the case, she says.
Speaker says MPs will not get vote on amendment that would have blocked bill to allow full policy review instead
The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, is speaking now.
He says more than 160 MPs want to speak.
It is not customary to put a time limit on speeches in these debates, he says.
But he says he will start by requesting an eight-minute limit on speeches. He says after that he may ask for shorter speeches, and he retains the right to impose a limit, he says.
He says he expects to move to the winding up speeches at about 2pm.
And he says he is not calling the reasoned amendment, that would have denied the bill a second reading to allow for a full policy review instead.
How the debate, and voting, will take place
Eleni Courea
The debate is about to start. The Speaker should announce at the very start whether he’s going to accept the reasoned amendment (not expected to as no precedent) and give guidance around how the debate will be conducted.
He cannot impose time limits but will likely appeal to people not to speak too long: 3-4 min
Kim Leadbeater and Danny Kruger will make the opening statements of 20-25 mins with interventions
There is expected to be a vote on a closure motion at 2-2.15pm and a vote on the substantive motion at 2.30pm (assuming the reasoned amendment hasn’t been called, if it has there needs to be an earlier vote on that too)
If the bill passes, Leadbeater will move a secondary motion to allow the public bill committee to take oral and written evidence. Then the bill will go to the public bill committee, not expected until the new year
Leadbeater can pick the committee membership and has committed to it reflecting a balance of views; the committee of selection has to approve the names. The govt will appoint a minister, expected to be from justice as the bill would change criminal law
If it passes the government will move a money resolution fairly soon (will check when this means) and also has to publish an impact assessment; when is up to thembut it’s likely to be before the bill goes to committee stage
The bill can’t be filibustered as the speaker can intervene and stop someone from speaking if they try (or just go on too long) and a closure motion can be brought at any point
Leadbeater will see her parents and the families of people affected by the current law who are in the public gallery for the debate; then she’ll do interviews in central lobby. She’s pleased that there has been a respectful and compassionate debate and has had messages even from people who disagree with her praising the way she’s conducted herself
What is the real view on the assisted dying bill in Downing Street?
In the run up to today’s vote on the assisted dying bill, it has been hard to work out Downing Street’s take on the debate. Keir Starmer voted for assisted dying in 2015, as director of public prosecutions he issued landmark guidance intended to clarify in what circumstances someone helping a relative to die for compassionate reasons might avoid prosecution and he has said recently he supports legislation in principle. But he has not argued publicly for the bill in recent weeks, and cabinet ministers opposed to the bill have been able to make their case forcefully.
In her excellent background ahead of today’s debate, Jessica Elgot explains what has been going on. She says:
When [Kim] Leadbeater decided she would take up the cause, there was a private approach to Downing Street to see if there were objections – and there were none.
Starmer has been studiously neutral in the lead-up to the vote, but privately he has been appalled by the public comments of his cabinet ministers – particularly [Wes] Streeting, whom he has told to stop his interventions.
The prime minister’s own view was formed during his time as director of public prosecutions: that the current law is not fit for purpose and puts families at risk of arrest and where patients take their own lives in ways that are dangerous and painful.
He will vote on Friday, though he has not confirmed which way, and there is a strong feeling among the bill’s proponents that it will be a decisive moment.
“When you watch the prime minister walk through the yes lobby, lots will think: ‘that’s good enough for me,’” said one MP.
When Leadbeater first adopted the bill, there were raised eyebrows. She had never spoken on the issue previously, though her sister Jo Cox, the former MP who was murdered by a far-right terrorist, had been a strong advocate.
But the prime minister is an outlier in his own operation. “There was no No 10 machine behind this,” said one ally. “The machine is not actually sure they want this to happen.”
Senior aides are frustrated the cause is dominating the conversation and the divisions it is causing. “It’s a nightmare,” one official said. “If it passes, it will eat up so much time. And it’s causing divisions among our MPs when we have worked so hard to try to build bonds between them.”
“Keir wanted it to happen,” another staffer said. “It’s that simple. There isn’t anyone else who thought this was a particularly great thing to do in the first months of a Labour government.”
You can read Jess’s full article here.
James Cleverly, the former Tory home secretary, has posted this on social media about why he thinks Louise Haigh’s resignation raises questions about Keir Starmer’s judgment.
Questions about Starmer’s judgement
If the conviction was unacceptable to him why did he appoint Haigh to ShadCab after she told him about it?
If it was declared to Proprietary & Ethics on her appointment to Cabinet (must have been), why is he throwing her under the bus now?
MPs to start debating assisted dying bill at 9.30am
MPs will start debating the assisted dying bill – or the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill, to give it its proper name – at 9.30am. We will be focusing on the debate most of the day, while continuing to cover the repercussions of the Louise Haigh resignation.
Here is Jessica Elgot’s overnight story about the vote.
And here is a 125-page Commons library briefing on the bill, and the issues it tackles. If you want to read about this in detail, it’s invaluable.
The vote will take place at 2.30pm.
Some Labour figures have been paying tribute to Louise Haigh on social media.
This is from the MP Toby Perkins.
Very sad to see Lou Haigh stand down, she was doing a great job as Transport Secretary. I very much hope she will be back in the cabinet in the future. She was doing a great job and will be a real loss.
And this is from the former MP Ben Bradshaw.
Sorry about the loss of Louise Haigh, who was proving to be a very effective Minister in sorting out our transport system. Unless there’s something we don’t know, it sets a low bar for resignations under @Keir_Starmer after years of Tory Ministers trying to brazen things out.
— Ben Bradshaw (@BenPBradshaw) November 29, 2024
George Eaton from the New Statesman says Louise Haigh’s place in cabinet may have been at risk anyway following the incident last month when she condemned DP World, the parent firm of P&O Ferries, shortly before it was due to attend a government investment conference.
Some in Labour already expected Louise Haigh to be moved at the next reshuffle following the DP World row.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT rail union, has paid tribute to Louise Haigh. He said:
Louise achieved a great deal during her time as transport secretary including laying the foundations for the public ownership of our railways – a landmark achievement that prioritises the needs of passengers and workers over private profit.
Her vision and dedication have set the stage for a fairer, more efficient, and publicly accountable transport system.
I want to thank her on behalf of RMT and wish her every success in the future.
