Parties, cabinet and families are divided – and the euthanasia bill still has a long way to go | euthanasia

AAs a few quiet murmurs broke out in a respectful, thoughtful House of Commons chamber after the historic vote on euthanasia in England and Wales, one person in the public gallery had a particular interest in the outcome.

Back in 2015, Rob Marris, the former Labor MP for Wolverhampton South West, introduced the previous attempt to pass a bill to change the law. It was comprehensively defeated.

On Friday he returned to the House of Commons for the first time since resigning as an MP in 2017. The bill under discussion was remarkably similar to the one he had put forward nine years earlier, but he and other euthanasia advocates were desperately hoping that the mood among their MPs had changed.

As the debate progressed and a number of MPs gave thoughtful and heartfelt speeches against any change in the law, Marris feared that the opportunity would once again be lost for another decade. When the vote came in after five hours of dignified but passionate discussion, it came as a surprise.

“People who I expected would support the bill did not do so in their speeches,” he said shortly after leaving the chamber. “I thought maybe the flood wasn’t with us. But there is still a long way to go before this law is passed.”

He and other MPs who were present at the last vote on the issue noted a satisfactory symmetry after Friday’s vote. In 2015, 330 MPs voted against euthanasia for terminally ill people. Last week 330 voted in favor of the bill put forward by Labor backbencher Kim Leadbeater.

This about-face was seen by some MPs as a clear reflection of a debate that had reached a tipping point. But just as Marris warned, others who support the idea now say the hard work must continue to hold wavering lawmakers.

For advocates of change, the vote was a moment in which Parliament finally reflected the public’s long-held views. Surveys regularly show a majority in favor of euthanasia.

The latest opinion poll for the observer found that almost two-thirds (64%) support making euthanasia legal, while a fifth (19%) are against it.

But the current campaign to give terminally ill people with six months to live the right to euthanasia has gained serious traction over the past year.

It began last December with interventions by two public figures from outside Westminster. Firstly, the observer revealed that actress Diana Rigg passionately advocated for the legalization of euthanasia in a message recorded shortly before her “truly horrific” and “dehumanizing” death from cancer in 2020.

Just a few days later, television presenter Esther Rantzen, who was suffering from lung cancer, announced that she had joined the Dignitas euthanasia clinic in Switzerland. She backed a change in England and Wales, saying there should be a choice “how and when you want to leave”.

Meanwhile, former health ministers Stephen Dorrell and Alan Milburn said they supported a change.

Crucially, Labor confirmed that if it came to power, it would provide time and expert advice to an assisted dying bill if MPs supported it in a free vote in the House of Commons. Keir Starmer previously supported Marris’ bill in 2015 and continues to support a new law.

Momentum increased in July when Charles Falconer, who was Lord Chancellor in Tony Blair’s government and who first addressed the issue of euthanasia in 2013, introduced a private members’ bill to the House of Lords.

But he and other activists knew that it was a vote in the House of Commons that was truly necessary to have any real chance of success. By the fall, the issue had become a regular point of public discussion.

Yet it is a peculiarity of Westminster’s obscure traditions that the opportunity for this sea change in social policy came not through public pressure but through a small ball bearing the number 238.

The ball – one of 458 in a bowl – was randomly selected in mid-September as part of the raffle to decide which MPs would have the opportunity to introduce their own private members’ bills. Leadbeater is ahead.

Tory MP Nusrat Ghani, tasked with picking out the balls, responded with unerring foresight. “Well done, Kim,” she said. “You’re No. 1 and, my goodness, you’re going to be very busy indeed.”

When it came, it was a vote that divided those closest to him. Left standard-bearers John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn found themselves in different divisional lobbies – one of the rarest of political occasions.

McDonnell had recently concluded that he was willing to vote to give people more choice over how they die, while Corbyn remained concerned about security arrangements.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage voted against the bill, but his deputy and former leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, voted for it.

Parties split, the cabinet split – and even families were divided. Danny Kruger, a leading opponent of what he called “assisted suicide”, is at odds with his mother, television presenter Prue Leith.

But the only real political impact was some anger towards Wes Streeting, the health minister, for opposing the bill. Ministers were advised to stay out of the public debate.

While Streeting has spoken openly about his fears of a “chilling decline”, some in the party believe he sees this as a significant distraction from his huge task of reforming the NHS to reduce waiting times.

But overall there was broad agreement that last week’s thoughtful debate showed Parliament at its best.

“I kept telling my colleagues that it would be a day when Parliament showed itself in this way,” said a Cabinet minister. “That almost always happens in these moments. I knew there would be no shenanigans.”

The passage of the bill’s second reading on Friday is a historic moment in itself, but as Marris and others have said, obstacles remain before it becomes law, and the hard work for Leadbeater and other leading advocates still lies ahead.

All sides of the debate now agree that the bill should be given sufficient time to ensure that expert evidence is provided, impact assessments are carried out and the bill is improved line by line where necessary.

This means it will be studied and scrutinized by a cross-party committee for months before coming back to Parliament around April.

The 55-member majority achieved in the vote appears robust by normal parliamentary standards, but passage of the bill cannot yet be guaranteed.

Some MPs have backed the bill to continue debate and are waiting for assurances before signing it into law. Among them is former Brexit minister David Davis observer has heard from other MPs in the same position. In addition, there are the 31 MPs who did not cast a vote, but who could still be decisive.

More detailed debates lie ahead. However, looking back on Friday’s events, some of those who have been involved in the euthanasia debate for years reflected that despite the many new MPs in Parliament, almost everyone had decided to engage with the issue and have an opinion.

“If that is the template for this Parliament, it will be a very, very impressive Parliament,” said Lord Falconer. “Whatever else happens in this Parliament will be remembered for this incredibly historic change.”