Kemi Badenoch, a Conservative leader, has announced she will vote against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill when it returns to the House of Commons this week. Despite supporting the principle of assisted dying, Badenoch stated that MPs must remain "clear-eyed" about what she described as the Bill's "fatal flaws" and warned against a potential attempt to bypass full parliamentary scrutiny.
The Bill, reintroduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards, aims to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to apply for an assisted death. This marks another attempt to pass the legislation after it failed in the previous parliamentary session. Although it passed two votes in the Commons, it ultimately fell in the House of Lords due to time constraints, with opponents accused of "filibustering."
Badenoch, who twice voted against the Bill in the last session, explained her position in an article for The Telegraph. She wrote that while she understands the desire to end prolonged suffering, her vote as a legislator is based on the effectiveness and safety of the proposed system, not solely on emotional response. "It is not enough to ask what we want the law to achieve; we need to question whether the system we build to achieve it will work," she stated. She added that everything she has seen since her initial vote has strengthened her resolve.
The minister also expressed concern over suggestions that supporters might use the Parliament Acts to compel the Lords to pass the Bill. Badenoch views this as a matter of "appropriate use of constitutional power," arguing that serious concerns raised during legislative scrutiny, particularly on life-and-death matters, should not be simply overridden.
Sarah Mullally, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has also urged the Commons to block the Bill. In a separate article, Mullally, who is also a former chief nursing officer for England, warned that involving medical professionals in ending patients' lives would signal a societal belief that some lives are not worth living, with the National Health Service actively involved in its delivery.
The previous iteration of the assisted dying Bill passed its Third Reading in the Commons by a majority of 23 votes. However, some MPs who previously supported it, including former Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Josh Simons, are no longer in Parliament. Additionally, some current MPs who previously backed the Bill have indicated they would not support using the Parliament Acts to force its passage through the Lords. Andy Burnham, who replaced Starmer as Prime Minister, has signaled opposition to reviving the Bill, arguing for a more immediate focus on improving palliative and social care.
Despite these challenges, Edwards asserted this week that assisted dying has long been supported by a substantial majority of the public. She plans to ask MPs on Friday to send the Bill back to the Lords, suggesting that the Lords can amend it as they see fit, but should not be allowed to frustrate the will of the elected chamber a second time.