Assisted dying: MPs back bill to give some terminally ill people right to end lives in England and Wales – live
MPs vote for assisted dying bill by majority of 55
The Speaker is reading out the results:
Ayes: 330
Noes: 275
Key events
-
Rishi Sunak explains why he voted for assisted dying bill
-
How MPs voted on assisted dying bill, by party affiliation
-
MPs vote for assisted dying bill by majority of 55
-
MPs vote on assisted dying bill
-
Robert Jenrick claims bill will be changed ‘fundamentally’ by ‘activist judges in Strasbourg’ if it’s passed
-
No 10 hints Louise Haigh’s resignation linked to breach of ministerial code
-
David Davis backs bill, but says government should allocate four days for its report stage debate
-
Heidi Alexander becomes transport secretary
-
Badenoch says she’s against bill, citing teenager gender treatment as example of why NHS safeguards too weak
-
Death, for many, is ‘misery, torture and degredation’, not something noble, says Kit Malthouse, backing bill
-
Diane Abbott says she worries about people feeling they have to die because they’re burden,
-
Kruger urges MPs not to back ‘state suicide service’ and ‘worse world, with different idea of human value’
-
Danny Kruger urges MPs to vote down bill if they have reservations, as he gives opening speech from its opponents
-
Leadbeater rejects claims bill will be ‘slippery slope’, leading to scope of assisted dying being expanded
-
Leadbeater says she is open to toughening wording of bill to protect people with learning disabilities
-
Kim Leadbeater opens debate on her assisted dying bill
-
Speaker says MPs will not get vote on amendment that would have blocked bill to allow full policy review instead
-
How the debate, and voting, will take place
-
What is the real view on the assisted dying bill in Downing Street?
-
MPs to start debating assisted dying bill at 9.30am
-
Haigh says her conviction based on ‘genuine mistake’, and claims court accepted this
-
Tories say Starmer’s decision to put Haigh in cabinet when he knew of her conviction ‘obvious failure of judgment’
-
Starmer tells Haigh she has ‘huge contribution to make in future’ as he accepts her resignation
-
Louise Haigh resigns as UK transport secretary after admitting phone offence
Here is video of the moment the result was announced.
Six cabinet ministers were among the Labour MPs voting against the bill: Angela Rayner, deputy PM; David Lammy, foreign secretary; Wes Streeting, health secretary; Shabana Mahmood, justice secretary; Bridget Phillipson, education secretary; and Jonathan Reynolds, business secretary.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, and Anneliese Dodds, the development minister, also voted against. They both attend cabinet, but are not full cabinet ministers.
Rishi Sunak explains why he voted for assisted dying bill
Rishi Sunak was one of the 23 Tory MPs who voted for the bill. But until today he had not commented on the issue. He has now published an article for the Darlington and Stockton Times explaining why he is in favour. Here is an extract.
I believe that, where possible, we should prevent suffering. I know from speaking and listening to many of you, that too many people have to go through painful, traumatic, drawn-out deaths. These moving, deeply personal stories have left a profound impression on me. This bill will make these ordeals, which are so traumatic for patients and their families, less frequent: it will reduce suffering. The worry with legislation such as this is always that it could be abused, used to pressure people into ending their lives; or as a way to remove those who are perceived as a burden to the state or their family. But my judgement is that this bill is sufficiently tightly drawn to prevent that. Pressuring someone into ending their life will be a criminal offence and under this bill, people can only request help to die if they have a terminal disease that they will pass away from within the next 6 months in the independent, professional opinion of two doctors.
Here is the graphic from the Commons website illustrating the voting.
How MPs voted on assisted dying bill, by party affiliation
Here are the number of MPs voting by party.
For the bill
Conservatives: 23
Independent: 1
Greens: 4
Labour: 234
Lib Dems: 61
Plaid Cymru: 3
Reform UK: 3
SDLP: 1
Against the bill
Alliance: 1
Conservatives: 92
DUP: 5
Independents: 14
Labour: 147
Lib Dems: 11
Plaid Cymru: 1
Reform UK: 2
TUV: 1
UUP: 1
Did not vote
Conservatives: 3
Deputy Speakers: 3
Labour: 18
SNP: 9
Sinn Fêin: 7
SDLP: 1
Speaker: 1
The division list for the vote is now on the Commons’ website.
Keir Starmer was seen having a chat with Nigel Farage in the chamber as the division was taking place. This is from the i’s Eleanor Langford.
Keir Starmer is now in the Chamber having just cast his vote on the assisted dying bill
He had a quick chat with Nigel Farage before taking his seat on the front bench
Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, says the Commons is now moving on to deal with a bill about ferrets (the animal welfare [import of dogs, cats and ferrets] bill – another private member’s bill, tabled by Danny Chambers) and he suggests some MPs might want to leave the chamber.
Kim Leadbeater, sponsor of the bill, is moving a motion saying the public bill committee for the bill should have the power to take evidence.
That goes through on the nod.
(Normally government bills committees have this power, but not committees dealing with private members’ bills.)
MPs vote for assisted dying bill by majority of 55
The Speaker is reading out the results:
Ayes: 330
Noes: 275
Keir Starmer has voted for the bill.
The tellers for the ayes are Sarah Owen and Bambos Charalambous.
And the tellers for the noes are Harriett Baldwin and Florence Eshalomi.
