Hopes rise for assisted dying bill as Labour minister declares support

Hopes are rising that the assisted dying bill will clear its next major hurdle this month after a Labour minister confirmed he would vote for it, having previously abstained. Sir Chris Bryant said he had “heard the cries of people who are absolutely miserable” and now supports the legislation.

The science and culture minister told Sky News: “The Government doesn't have a formal position at all and individual members are free to choose how they vote. I'm not going to hide my own personal preference. I abstained on the first time round, I decided I wasn't going to vote because I wanted to hear the debate. I have listened to a lot of the debate."

Sir Chris, MP for Rhondda and Ogmore, said he did not want anybody to take their own life because they feel like a burden on society.

But he added: “I also have heard the cries of people who are absolutely miserable, and that's why I will be voting for the Bill."

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s landmark bill will return to the Commons for another lengthy debate on Friday. A third reading vote is expected to take place a week later, at the end of a further day of debate on Friday June 20.

A number of MPs have also publicly declared plans to change their vote from abstention to against.

These include Markus Campbell-Savours, the Labour MP for Penrith and Solway, who said he was “a supporter of assisted dying” but believes the current bill crosses “red lines for protecting the vulnerable”.

He said: "I want to see safeguards that will ensure that assisted dying is not overextended to include those in situations where there are alternative ways to improve the quality of their lives.”

Other MPs who have indicated that they have turned against the bill include Tory former minister George Freeman, and Tory MPs Mike Wood and Andrew Snowden.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is backed by the Daily Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade, which has fought to change the law for more than three years.

It passed second reading by a majority of 55 votes in November, meaning there have not yet been enough publicly declared changes of position for it to fall.

Campaigners remain cautiously optimistic that it will retain majority backing, with some MPs thought to be privately planning to change their votes to support it.

As the national debate surges once more, around 1,000 doctors have written to MPs to raise concerns about the legislation.

In a letter published this week, doctors who oppose it warned that “this Bill poses a real threat to both patients and the medical workforce, and we urge you to vote against it”.

Criticising the parliamentary process, they added: "We are concerned that the private member's Bill process has not facilitated a balanced approach to the collection of evidence and input from key stakeholders including doctors, people with disabilities and other marginalised groups.”

When questioned about the process last week, Leader of the House Lucy Powell MP told the Commons the Bill had received a significant amount of time for scrutiny. Describing the process as “incredibly through”, she said: “Second reading had a full day of debate.

“There was over 90 hours of committee stage debate, and so far there has already been one day on the remaining stages, likely to be a further two, and that would be more time than has been given to most substantial pieces of government legislation.”