Treasury minister won’t vote in favour of assisted suicide Bill

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has said he will not vote to change the law on assisted suicide.

Darren Jones, deputy to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, said he could not vote in favour, given the lack of scrutiny that Kim Leadbeater’s Private Member’s Bill will face in the House of Commons.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is due to be debated at the end of this month, and would allow those deemed to be terminally ill to receive help to kill themselves. However, despite the debate being only weeks away, the details of the Bill have not yet been released to MPs.

Complex issue

Mr Jones said: “My view is that a Private Member’s Bill is not the right way to try to introduce a change in law on such a complex issue.

“This is because Private Member’s Bills, which are introduced by backbench MPs, don’t get anywhere near the same level of scrutiny and debate as the Bills put forward by the Government – and legalising assisted dying is far from a straightforward issue.

“I therefore plan to either abstain or vote against the Bill on these grounds.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said that Labour MPs would be granted a free vote on the issue, meaning they will not be told by party whips which way to vote, though the Prime Minister has said he is favour of changing the law.

Labour opposition

Multiple MPs have expressed their concerns over a change in the law, with Labour stalwart Diane Abbott the latest to signal her opposition.

She wrote on social media: “I do not share the reported enthusiasm for the Assisted Dying Bill. And it is painfully late to be bringing forward a draft bill, with so little time to consider its contents.”

Last month, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he would vote against the Bill. He voted in favour in 2015, but now says “I worry about palliative care, end-of-life care not being good enough to give people a real choice. I worry about the risk of people being coerced into taking this route towards the end of their life.”

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood also said she opposes the Bill due to her belief in the “sanctity and the value of human life”.

Kemi Badenoch

New Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch says she has some sympathy for pro-assisted suicide arguments, but does not think legalisation is workable.

Speaking at the annual Tory party conference last month, Mrs Badenoch said: “On assisted suicide, personally I am sympathetic to assisted suicide but I know how government works. I have seen it from the inside. I do not trust any government or civil service to be able to deliver this.”