Senior MP ‘worried that vulnerable people will get swept up’ in assisted dying

A senior MP has said she is “worried that vulnerable people will get swept up in the assisted dying route”, after plans received their first approval from MPs.

A historic Commons vote on Friday means that assisted dying could be legalised in England and Wales, after proposals cleared their first parliamentary hurdle.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those who backed the plans which would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months life expectancy to end their lives.

Mother of the House and Labour MP Diane Abbott told the BBC that what people “really need is access to hospice care”.

She was one of 275 MPs who voted against the legislation on Friday.

Asked why, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I am very worried that vulnerable people will get swept up in the assisted dying route, when actually what they really need is access to hospice care and proper end-of-life care.”

She said that she has “every sympathy” for other positions, but wants people to “not see supported suicide as the only option” if they have concerns such as being a “burden” or worries about the family finances.

Ms Abbott added: “If we’re thinking about choice, we also have to think about the choice of people who, if they could get support, could end their life peacefully and happily, but might find themselves, either because they don’t want to be a burden, or they’re worried about the their families’ finances being drained by the cost of care, or even there’ll be a few people that think, oh, I shouldn’t be taking up the hospital bed, I think they should have a genuine choice and not see supported suicide as the only option.”

Ms Abbott was one of the MPs who had indicated that she would not be backing the Bill ahead of Friday’s debate.

In a letter published in The Guardian last week, she and Conservative Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh shared their concerns about the parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill and how the legislation would be implemented “in practice”.

MPs voted 330 to 275, majority 55, to approve Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at second reading on Friday.

Fifteen members of the Cabinet were among those who backed the plans, including the Prime Minister, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Eight members voted against, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

The Bill will next go to committee stage, where MPs can table amendments, and on Friday a motion was approved to allow the committee considering the Bill to have the power to send for people, papers and records as part of its sessions.

The Bill will face further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.

Some MPs indicated during the debate that their support for the Bill might not continue at a further vote, if they are not convinced of the safeguards.

Ms Leadbeater has said it would likely be a further two years from then for an assisted dying service to be in place.