MPs could vote on assisted dying before Christmas if Keir Starmer gives green light
Campaigners have demanded a vote in the Commons on legalising assisted dying.
MPs could vote before Christmas on whether to legalise assisted dying after Sir Keir Starmer backed plans to fast-track it through the Commons, it has been reported
Labour sources have said "the wheels are turning" to arrange a vote once this year's party conferences are over.
The Daily Express has supported Dame Esther Rantzen’s calls to make time in Parliament for a debate and free vote on assisted dying through the Give Us Our Last Rights crusade.
Sir Keir has shown his support for the vote, previously telling the Childline founder: "We need to make time. We will make the commitment."
The Prime Minister is said to have decided to accelerate the process after Labour dominated the results of the annual Private Members' Bill ballot for MPs to put forward their own legislation.
Labour backbencher Jake Richards, who came 11th in the ballot, has offered to put forward an assisted dying Bill.
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But as he is too low in the list to guarantee a debate, Labour MPs higher up are being urged to take up the proposal.
A Labour source said: “The wheels are turning. It has been made clear to the MPs at the top of the ballot that the PM backs a change in the law.”
If passed, it would be the most significant legislation to effect social change since the 1960s, when Harold Wilson's Labour Government reformed laws on abortion, the death penalty and homosexuality.
England’s first ever Citizens’ Jury on assisted dying has ruled that the law should change to give terminally ill people the option of ending their lives with dignity.
A landmark project led by the esteemed Nuffield Council on Bioethics brought together 30 people who were representative of the country’s diverse population.
During seven meetings over eight weeks, they spent 24 hours hearing evidence and discussing in detail whether and how the law should change.
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In a final vote, 20 jury members agreed (including 16 “strongly”) that assisted dying should be legalised. Seven disagreed (two “strongly”), one person was undecided, and two could not attend due to illness.
Overall, a clear majority of 71% who took part in the vote were in favour of changing the law.
The Express crusade has amplified the voices of assisted dying campaigners for more than two years and secured a three-hour parliamentary debate on the topic in April.
A Private Member’s Bill recently introduced in the House of Lords on the issue is set to have its second reading on November 15.
