Staff Of Pro-Assisted Dying MPs Canvass Opinion In Parliament Ahead Of Vote
Kim Leadbeater joins campaigners in favour of legalising assisted dying outside parliament (Credit: Matt Crossick/Empics/Alamy Live News)
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The staff members of MPs in favour of legalising assisted dying started a canvassing operation in Parliament before recess, PoliticsHome has learned.
Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults expected to die within six months, was approved by the House of Commons with a majority of 55 votes in November. MPs are not whipped in votes on the legislation as it concerns a matter of conscience.
The next Commons debate on the Labour MP’s bill was expected at the end of April, but Leadbeater has now announced that it will take place on 16 May.
“I have listened carefully to members on all sides of the issue who have told me that they would welcome more time to consider the amendments to the bill in committee, to see the new version of the bill as a result of these important changes, and other related matters,” Leadbeater wrote in a letter to all MPs, published on Tuesday.
She also told MPs she wanted to give the Welsh government more time to consider the amended bill, and that she had learnt the impact assessment for the bill will not be published this week. "Clearly members will want the opportunity to look at that ahead of Report Stage", Leadbeater added.
In the run-up to parliamentary recess, which begins today, PoliticsHome understands that MPs' staffers were sent out to knock on the office door of each MP twice, in an effort to gather information on how they intend to vote and hold conversations with sceptics.
During Committee Stage, the safeguard requiring a High Court judge to approve assisted death applications was removed and replaced with a three-member panel comprising a psychiatrist, a social worker and a lawyer.
While Leadbeater has said she believes "the amendments in committee have significantly strengthened what was already the most robust assisted dying legislation in the world", critics have said the High Court judge change undermines the promises made by the bill's proponents at Second Reading.
Some MPs in the pro-assisted dying camp have said they are nervous about the narrowness of the Second Reading majority and the possibility of yes-to-no switchers putting the continued passage of the bill at risk.
A source close to Leadbeater did not agree that their camp was nervous about the bill passing at Third Reading. They added that they did not recognise the description of efforts to contact MPs as a “canvassing operation”, describing the activity as not unusual.
While some MPs say they are undecided on how to vote later this month, only Rupert Lowe and Reform UK’s Lee Anderson have publicly declared their clear intention to switch from a yes vote to a no at the next stage of the bill.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who has been critical of the bill while recently expressing appreciation for the “constructive approach” taken by Leadbeater, has reconfirmed that he will not be voting for it at Third Reading.
