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Assisted dying bill: Recap vote and debate as it happened as MPs back reform

A previous debate in the Commons. Photo: UK Parliament via Flickr.

MPs have voted in favour of the first assisted dying bill presented to Parliament in almost ten years.

Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow those with less than six months to live who wish to end their lives to be able to do so, if approved by two doctors and a High Court judge and provided they have the mental capacity to make such a choice.

Only those in England and Wales who are already dying would be eligible, with disability and mental illness excluded.

In the vote, 330 MPs voted in favour, while 275 voted against – a majority of 55.

MPs shared personal stories of their own and from constituents as they convey their reasoning for voting either for or against the bill.

It will now receive greater scrutiny at committee stage and in the House of Commons, before receiving a third reading in the House of Commons.

2.50pm: How your MP voted

A total of 234 Labour MPs voted in favour of the assisted dying bill, with 147 against. You can find the full list of MPs and how they voted here. That’s it from us on this blog, but follow more developments and debate across the site.

Note that Labour MPs Sarah Owen and Bambos Charalambous acted as ‘tellers’ for the pro-bill side, whose role is to count votes.  Tellers act for the side they suport, but do not actually vote. Likewise Florence Eshalomi acted as a teller for the anti-bill side.

2.22pm: Assisted dying bill passes

MPs have passed the assisted dying bill at second reading by 330 to 275, a majority of 55.

2.17pm: Keir Starmer ‘appears to vote yes’

2.09pm: Division taking place

MPs are now voting on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – the result should be announced by 2.30pm.

2.07pm: Justice minister addresses Commons

Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones has paid tribute to campaigners who have spoken on both sides of the debate and said the government will “respect its duty to the statute book”.

1.58pm: Final speech in debate

The final speech is taking place in the assisted dying bill debate, before the wind-ups, with an address from Liberal Democrat MP Vikki Slade.

1.55pm: Kim Leadbeater addresses point of order

Kim Leadbeater has sought to correct the record by saying the serving judiciary have made no public comment one way or the other on her assisted dying bill.

The Speaker is in the chair in the chamber, suggesting we are nearing the end of the debate and that MPs will soon be voting on the bill.

1.50pm: Latest look at our tracker

Currently, our tracker of how Labour MPs are voting has 132 set to vote in favour with 94 against.

1.45pm: ‘Seeing my dad suffer so terribly convinced me we have to have change in law’

Monmouthshire MP Catherine Fookes has reflected on her father’s passing from a terminal illness. She said he suffered greatly during his final days, but was well looked after by palliative care staff and died at home surrounded by family.

She said: “Seeing him suffer so terribly convinced me we had to have a change in the law so people who are terminally ill have a choice.”

1.40pm: ‘Diagnosis not an exact science’

Brent East MP Dawn Butler said that a diagnosis of six months is not an exact science and expressed hope that conversations would continue around assisted dying regardless of if the bill passes or fails. She confirms she will be voting against.

1.30pm: Will the bill pass?

Some MPs against the bill told LabourList they expected it to pass, despite even some supporters acknowledging powerful speeches had been made against. However, others said it remained too close to call.

1.25pm: ‘Our wider societal and cultural norms will be changed forever’

James Frith, MP for Bury North, has said the bill would have an irreversible change to the health service and would move the focus away from improving life as it draws to a close, but to ending life.

“I believe it poses significant risks. Our wider societal and cultural norms will be changed forever,” he said.

1.20pm: Vote on bill ‘expected around 2pm’

1.15pm: Florence Eshalomi gives moving address

MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green Florence Eshalomi has given a moving address in the chamber in opposition to the bill and said: “We should be helping people to live comfortable pain free lives on their own terms before we think about making it easier for them to die.”

She expresses concern about the treatment disabled people from minority backgrounds receive and said: “True compassion should have equality at its heart.”

1.05pm: Alex Davies-Jones to take responsibility for bill if it passes

1.00pm: Wes Streeting PPS to vote against bill

Zubir Ahmed, PPS to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, has said he will vote against the bill today “after deep consideration, investigation and reflection”.

12.45pm: ‘Parliament at its best’

Jake Richards, MP for Rother Valley, has said the debate on assisted dying is “Parliament at its best”. He is voting in favour of the bill today, and had initially planned to use his private members’ bill to prompt a debate on assisted dying.

12.40pm: How are Labour MPs planning on voting

We have been updating our tracker as more Labour MPs indicate which way they will vote.

Currently, 130 Labour MPs plan on voting in favour of the bill, with 90 voting against. There are 81 undecided, 11 absent or abstaining and 91 MPs have not said publicly or told LabourList how they plan to vote.

12.25pm: ‘This bill is more important than most of the bills in your manifesto’

Veteran Conservative David Davis has urged the government to “give us the time to get this right” and give the assisted dying bill four days at the report stage.

He plans on voting for the bill at this stage “on principle” but urged Labour to allow the time to give the bill proper scrutiny. He said: “This bill is more important than most of the bill in your manifesto.”

12.20pm: Disability campaigner Marie Tidball MP to vote in favour


Marie Tidball, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, has said she plans to vote in favour of the bill at second reading, describing the decision as “one of the hardest” she has had to make.

She said that she did not expect to be voting for the bill, but that it is right for people to have the option of assisted dying. However, she did say she would like to see some changes to the bill in committee stage.

“People deserve dignity in death, and for those who choose not to end their lives in this way, they and their loved ones should feel reassured and safe in the knowledge they will receive the very best of care,” she said.

12.00pm: Heidi Alexander appointed Transport Secretary

While the debate is going on in the Commons, Keir Starmer has appointed Swindon South MP Heidi Alexander as Transport Secretary, following Louise Haigh’s resignation. You can read more on that news here.

11.50am: Meg Hillier speaks movingly about daughter’s illness

Hackney South and Shoreditch MP Meg Hillier has spoken movingly about her experience with her daughter’s illness.

She said: “My daughter was very ill a few years ago. She was admitted to hospital with acute pancreatitis as a teenager, so this bill would not have covered her at that point, but I did not know for many months whether she would live or die.

“For the first five days, she did not sleep and she did not eat and was crying out in pain. But I saw what good medicine can do that palliated that pain, that got her to a place that she was saved and her pain was managed.”

Hillier intends to vote against the bill today.

11.45am: ‘If we vote against, it will be the end of the conversation’

11.30am: The moment Kim Leadbeater opened debate on assisted dying debate

11.25am: Bill ‘too flawed to amend’

Rachael Maskell, who is opposed to the bill, has said that the proposal on assisted dying MPs are debating is “too flawed to amend” and said “death, as is life, is too precious to get this wrong”.

She expressed concern about failed procedures, where in other countries people have vomited when their bodies have rejected the medicine used for assisted dying, and also cited fears about how similar legislation has been rolled out in Oregon.

11.15am: Assisted dying bill won’t be adopted as government bill if it passes

Should the bill pass this afternoon, civil servants will begin work to analyse its workability, but The Guardian reports it will not be adopted as a government bill.

The bill would not return to Parliament until next April and will not get additional “government time” should MPs vote to pass the bill at second reading.

11.00am: Former Tory Cabinet minister changes mind on assisted dying

Andrew Mitchell said he has changed his mind on assisted dying, having previously voted against. He spoke of how he had tears in his eyes listening to harrowing stories from constituents about how they suffered at the end of their life.

He said: “I believe that we should give our constituents, our fellow citizens, this choice. I want this choice for my constituents. I want it for those whom I love, and indeed, I want it perhaps one day for myself.”

10.45am: Mother of the House Diane Abbott addresses Commons

Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP and Mother of the House Diane Abbott is addressing the House of Commons, expressing her concerns about the bill.

She thanked Kim Leadbeater for sparking a national conversation on assisted dying but said that MPs in 1969 decided “on a point of principle” that the state should not be involved in taking a life when it voted to abolish the death penalty.

“It was a good principle in 1969 and it remains a good principle today,” she said.

10.25am: Conservative Danny Kruger makes case against

Conservative MP Danny Kruger is making a speech to make the case for voting against the bill, stating that the bill is “too big for the time it’s been given” and encourages those who have doubts to vote against.

10.20am: Fenton-Glynn after amendment not picked

Josh Fenton-Glynn has spoken to LabourList after his amendment to stop the second reading was not picked by the Speaker. He said: “We put on the record the wish for greater discussion and debate. It’s welcome that Kim has indicated a willingness to extend the scope and remit of the committee stage. I remain undecided on the issue.”

10.10am: Read the bill here

The bill can be read in full on Parliament’s website here, along with its explanatory notes.

09.50am: Leadbeater opens debate

Kim Leadbeater, the MP who has tabled the private members’ bill, is opening the debate and has recalled examples of the “heartbreaking reality and human suffering which far too many people are experiencing as a result of the status quo”.

She said that the debate on assisted dying is long overdue.

09.40am: Commons packed for debate

Packed chamber for the start of the assisted dying debate

[image or embed]

— John Rentoul (@rentouljohn.bsky.social) November 29, 2024 at 9:35 AM

09.35am: Proceedings begin in Parliament

The Speaker has confirmed that more than 160 MPs want to speak in the debate and has urged those wanting to speak to “restrict themselves” to around eight minutes.

Guidance will be reviewed as the debate goes on, with the Speaker looking to maximise the number of members who can speak.

The debate will move to a close by around 2pm.

The Speaker has described the debate as “one of the most of the important debates this House has had”.

The “wrecking amendment” has not been selected” for debate.

09.20am: What to expect from today

Proceedings in the House of Commons begin in around 10 minutes, with the Speaker Lindsay Hoyle set to confirm whether he has selected the so-called “wrecking amendment” for debate.

The bill’s proponent, Kim Leadbeater, will give the first speech in the debate, with 175 MPs putting in to speak during the five hour debate.

The result is expected shortly after 2.30pm.

09.15am: ‘I don’t want to die in pain’

Arguing in favour of assisted dying, an anonymous disabled Labour member, who recently retired after 45 years as a hospice nurse, said that they do not want to die in pain.

Read their piece for us here.

09.05am: ‘Oregon is no assisted dying utopia’

Passionate cases on the assisted dying debate have been made on both sides of the argument. In this piece for LabourList, Newcastle-upon-Tyne East and Wallsend MP Mary Glindon argues that Oregon, sometimes cited by those backing the bill, is not the “gold standard for legislation”.

“Oregon is no assisted suicide Utopia. If it is the best model supporters can point to, MPs ought decisively to reject a risky change in the law,” she said

8.55am: What is the ‘wrecking amendment’?

An amendment proposed by a handful of cross-party MPs aims to prevent the bill’s second reading due to a lack of time for sufficient debate. It instead calls for an independent review and public consultation of the existing law and proposals for change.

The amendment is backed by a number of Labour MPs, including Anna Dixon, Polly Billington, Josh Fenton-Glynn and Jack Abbott.

8.30am: How do MPs plan on voting?

Currently, 106 Labour MPs have announced they will be supporting the bill when it goes for second reading, with 78 planning to vote against. 73 Labour MPs have said they remain undecided on the bill.

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