MPs vote against assisted suicide bill

This afternoon, after five hours of debate, MPs voted against the assisted suicide bill. It was voted down by 286 to 270.

The bill was first introduced last year by MP Kim Leadbeater, and while MPs initially voted it through the House of Commons, it then ran out of time in the House of Lords. An almost identical bill was introduced by Lauren Edwards this June. Now that it has failed a second time, it is unlikely there will be any further attempts to introduce assisted suicide for several years.

Evangelicals react

Evangelical reaction has been hugely celebratory.

Ross Hendry, CEO of Christian Action, Research and Education (CARE) stated, “This result means that this dangerous and irredeemably flawed assisted suicide bill will not become law. The Psalms teach us to give thanks to God for He is good, and His love endures forever (Psalm 136v1). He has truly and wonderfully heard the prayers of many of you, the team at CARE and Christians across the whole country.”

Minister Niv Lobo shared on X: “Hallelujah! What a mercy. A horror that our nation has come so close to the undoing of so many. What a blessed relief!”

Paul Huxley, from Christian Concern, was among demonstrators outside Westminster Abbey when the vote came in. On X, he wrote: “[The cheers] would have been [ten] times as loud except some of us couldn't quite believe it. I was mostly in tears of relief and joy behind one of the placards.”

Danny Webster, director of advocacy and research for the Evangelical Alliance (EA), commented, calling for the Government to turn its attention to improving palliative care: “Parliament has voted to reject dangerous and unworkable plans that would have put the most vulnerable at risk. It is essential that people, especially the vulnerable, are treated with care and compassion at the end of their lives and not encouraged to end their lives early. With the rejection of assisted suicide, we continue to call on the Government to ensure palliative care provides the best possible support for people at the end of life.”

Similarly, Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, Chief Executive of Right To Life UK (a charity that opposes the introduction of assisted suicide), said that this was a “remarkable victory” and urged MPs to focus on end-of-life care provision. “After a two-year-long national debate, the country has decided to reject assisted suicide, settling the issue for a generation,” he said. “But as this debate ends, the real fight has only just begun… The postcode lottery for outstanding palliative care has gone on for too long. We must now all come together to address the challenge of providing excellent palliative care to everyone who needs it, when they need it, and wherever they live."

An impassioned debate

The debate was full of impassioned speeches, with many MPs from across the political spectrum opposing the bill.

Labour MP Janet Daby was among those who changed their vote from last year. During the debate she stated that she could not “in good conscience” support changing the law, despite previously voting in favour of it.

“Following my vote in favour of assisted dying, for the following two nights I had nightmares about dying and death,” she said. “I had to wrestle with myself knowing that I was not entirely comfortable with the decision I had made, and my conscience was not at peace. And I cannot again in good conscience vote for the bill.”

Labour MP Ashley Dalton, who has stage four cancer, spoke powerfully: “People have been terrorised - I have been terrorised - with tales of people vomiting up their own faeces, as though this is commonplace during death. It is vanishingly rare.

"The answer is not to terrify people and their families. It is to sort out palliative care and social care first... A terrible death or an assisted death is not a choice; it is a threat."

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey united in their opposition to the bill, and were joined by senior Labour figures including Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting.