MPs have rejected a renewed attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, dealing a sharp blow to campaigners after Parliament’s previous effort failed in the House of Lords. Labour MP Lauren Edwards’s bill was defeated 286-270 on Friday 11 September, leaving supporters furious and opponents relieved after one of the most intimate and divisive questions in modern politics.
The vote came at the bill’s second reading, its first full opportunity to pass through the Commons. It would have permitted assisted dying in England and Wales in narrowly defined circumstances, but the 16-vote margin reflected a coalition large enough to stop it despite polling that has generally shown public support for reform.
Earlier progress gives way to anger
Edwards’s attempt followed a closely watched campaign led by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater. Her private member’s bill passed its second reading in the previous parliamentary session by 330 votes to 275 and was later approved 313-291 at the third reading. It exhausted the remaining parliamentary time in April after a small group of peers introduced hundreds of amendments.
Friday’s defeat left a bitter taste for campaigners, many of whom had expected politicians to reflect what they see as the wishes of the public. MPs who backed the proposal cheered and embraced one another in the chamber, while anti-assisted dying campaigners celebrated in Parliament Square.
Edwards said voters wanted change and would struggle to understand why Parliament had not acted. “Will not understand why that couldn’t happen because a minority in the House of Lords used procedural devices to block it and MPs balked at insisting that they do their job,” she said.
Leadbeater also spoke of the people who had campaigned long