More than 100 Labour MPs call on PM to stop assisted dying bill being blocked | Assisted dying
More than 100 Labor MPs have called on Keir Starmer to stop the House of Lords blocking the assisted dying bill and give him more time to return to the Commons; It is certain that the law will now fall due to lack of time.
The private member’s bill, sponsored by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater, will fall when the parliamentary session ends in May because his peers have introduced numerous amendments and lengthy debates to prevent it coming to a vote.
Some deputy ministers (parliamentary private secretaries) are also believed to have written separate letters to the prime minister. Ministers told the Guardian they had also raised the issue with Starmer, saying it would be a way of showing some leadership on an issue popular with the public, as well as showing that the Lords would not allow the elected House of Commons to thwart his will.
Opponents of the bill, which proposes more than 1,200 amendments, say they do not deliberately lie and are not fit for purpose. In a private letter to Starmer, Labor MPs wrote that he should ensure that parliament returns to the House of Commons in the next session after the king’s speech.
If it passes the House of Commons again, it will mean supporters can use parliament. Act of Parliament To bypass further interference from the lords. This will be the first time the Parliament Act 1911 has been invoked for a private member’s bill.
The letter stated that Starmer would not need to sacrifice the impartiality of the government regarding the issue himself, and that it was a fundamental democratic principle that the Lords should not obstruct the will of the House of Commons. The bill was accepted by MPs with a majority of 23 votes in June last year.
To use the Parliament Bill, supporters will either need to win the vote on a new private member’s bill, or Starmer could agree to give the government time to allow the bill to be voted on again in the House of Commons.
The Lords debated for more than 100 hours but after 11 days only half of the amendments had been considered. There are only three more days devoted to the bill before the end of the session; It will need to complete the report stage and third reading, as well as any amendments sent back through the House of Commons. Supporters of the bill said it was “literally impossible.”
Starmer is understood to have also received letters from Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green, Plaid Cymru and Reform MPs urging him to give the bill time, bringing the total to around 150.
They argue that the vast majority of amendments that were mooted too quickly came from a small number of colleagues who opposed the bill.
Lord Falconer, the bill’s sponsor in the second chamber, said there was “absolutely no hope” it would make it onto the statute book this session without a “fundamental change” in the tactics employed by its opponents.
The letter was coordinated by consultant doctor and Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket MP Peter Prinsley. “A small number of peers are using procedural tactics to block the bill in the House of Lords and it now looks likely they will block it from returning to the House of Commons before the end of this session,” he wrote in his cover letter to the Prime Minister.
“While we fully respect the Government’s neutrality on the principle of assisted dying, we are sure you will agree that we cannot be neutral on the fundamental democratic principle that it is for the elected House of Commons to decide on this matter.
“Our voters all over the country strongly support the amendment and it is clear to us that the issue must be resolved as soon as possible. Our request is simple. Whether or not the bill comes back with a private member’s vote on the bill after the king’s speech, there will be time for parliament to decide in the next session. This will remain a matter of conscience for MPs, the impartiality of the government will be preserved and the government will not need to take up the time allotted to its business.”
Lawmakers who opposed the bill said bringing it back would reinforce its flaws. Labor MP Jess Asato said: “The bill sponsor rejected 99% of the proposed improvements and changes in the House of Lords and so the bill still contains the same errors and problems. “We know this is true because experts such as the Royal Colleges and professionals told the Lords this.
“Any MP who votes to pass this bill will have done so knowing it is unsafe and will harm vulnerable people.”
Starmer, a supporter of assisted dying, has so far appeared reluctant to intervene to help advance the bill. Liberal Democrat MP Vikki Slade said it would be “a disgrace for democracy and, more importantly, a tragedy for everyone who trusted the legislation and waited so long, especially my own father”.
Starmer said he would not intervene further in the parliamentary process. “This is a matter of conscience,” the Prime Minister said last week. “It is the duty of parliament to pass the law and decide on any changes. It is the other party’s job to review. It is our responsibility to make sure that any law is workable, effective and enforceable.”
