Politics latest: Bill legalising assisted dying passed in the Commons by slim majority
MPs have voted in favour of The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - also known as the assisted dying bill - in the Commons today. Watch the latest below.
Friday 20 June 2025 16:30, UK
Assisted dying:
- MPs vote in favour of assisted dying - by a majority of 23
- The bill will now head to the House of Lords
- Find how your MP voted
- Anger as MP arrested for alleged sex offences voted by proxy
- Ashish Joshi: A historic moment precipitated by a brutal murder
- How do the proposals work?
- Medical group outlines concerns with legislation
- Most Brits support the bill
- Live reporting by Tim Baker
This bill passed the Commons, but only just - with a majority of just 23.
And that shows the more people think about this issue, the "more they have had doubts".
That's according to Dr Gordon MacDonald, the chief executive of Care not Killing, who singled out his main concern with the bill.
"Our biggest concern is for people who are vulnerable, who will feel under pressure to end their lives," he told our presenter Samantha Washington.
"That pressure might come from external forces, either family members or people in the care system or the NHS.
"But it's more likely to just be internalised pressure that people feel that they are a burden on their family or their friends."
They're "conscious of the costs of care", he said, and think they should do the "decent thing as they would see it".
"Which is, of course, a terrible message for society to send out to people," he continued.
But he hasn't given up hope of defeating the bill.
"We will see what happens when it gets to the House of Lords," he pointed out.
"The Lords, as I've said, will hopefully give it more rigorous scrutiny than happened in the Commons."
That all the more important as public opinion remains "quite fluid", he said, when told the majority of people support the bill.
"That [opinion] tends to change when presented with the practicalities of it," he said.
While the bill's supporters mark a momentous day, the legislation's passage into law is not yet complete.
It still has to go through the House of Lords - and one peer has already come out in a bid to rally opposition to it.
Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England, warned of a "postcode lottery in palliative care".
"This private member's bill has received a third reading in the face of mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society," she said.
"If enacted, this legislation would come into force amid serious shortfalls in adult social care, a postcode lottery in palliative care and well documented pressures on the NHS, multiplying the potential risks to the most vulnerable."
It doesn't prevent terminally ill people who see themselves as a burden on their family from choosing to die, she added.
"Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need - a principle that I know is shared by those all faiths and none," she said.
One of this bill's most prominent supporters was terminally ill former broadcaster Esther Rantzen.
It's her birthday this weekend, and her daughter has described the legislation's passing as an "early present".
Rebecca Wilcox told our presenter Samantha Washington it's not a present that will "work for her" - but she "didn't think that she was going to live to see the debate".
"Let alone see a conclusion that went our way," Wilcox added.
"She told me again about her conversation with Sir Keir [Starmer], and how he promised that if a bill came forward, she would live to see it.
"And he kept his promise. Many politicians don't, but he really did."
The bill still has to pass through the House of Lords and it is likely to face legal challenges.
But Wilcox said today was the "big hurdle".
"A couple of things, very small, may change, but I really think the bill as it is, is a really strong bill with safeguarding at its core," she said.
"It has been scrutinised again and again and again and by experts."
A bit more now from Kim Leadbeater, who we spoke to moments ago.
Speaking to our correspondent Liz Bates, the MP who drove this bill forward stressed this gives people a choice.
"You do not have to do it," she said.
"And that's the thing I would keep reiterating to people - we've got an extremely well safeguarded piece of legislation here.
"Only people that want to make this choice would get through that entire robust process."
It means "so much to people", she added, and she said "they're the people who've got me through it".
"I'm not going to pretend it's been easy," she said.
The process has been "extremely thorough", she said, and was "always driven... by human emotions and the need to change the law".
People with less than a year to live were there today, she added, because "they know how much it means to give dying people free choice, dignity and autonomy".
By Tamara Cohen, political correspondent
Dan Norris, the MP suspended from Labour after arrest on suspicion of rape and child sex offences voted in favour of assisted dying - by proxy.
Mr Norris, the MP for North East Somerset,is banned from parliament while the investigation takes place.
Despite being suspended from the Labour party, a Labour party whip was allowed to vote on his behalf under House of Commons rules.
One Labour MP voting "no" said: "This looks like the political equivalent of punching yourself in the face".
A Labour spokesperson said: "Members without the party whip are allowed a proxy vote under rules agreed by the House."
The Conservative MP Patrick Spencer, who was in court this week to plead not guilty to two counts of sexual assault, also voted by proxy - against the bill.
The rules were put into places so constituents whose MP is suspended can still be represented.
But there was anger at MPs who were ill, and one who was at a dying relative's bedside, were unable to vote.
Adam Jogee, the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, said he was called to his father-in-law's bedside as he neared the end of his life - and was unable to vote remotely.
He wrote on X: "It beggars belief that this wasn't possible."
After 15 years reporting from parliament, our lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge said she's not sure she's seen a more moving debate.
A lot of it was shaped by personal experience from all sides - but what everyone agrees is on is far too many people are suffering awful deaths.
Now, something in our society has shifted, as she explains in the clip below...
We've just caught up with Kim Leadbeater, the MP behind this bill.
Speaking to our correspondent Liz Bates, she described the passing of the bill as "surreal" and a "huge relief".
"A huge amount of work has gone into getting us to this day," she said
"I think we had a very respectful debate - the chamber was, again, at its best, which I think was really important.
"But the important thing is we've got the bill over the line, which means so much to so many people. And I pay tribute to the families and people I've met in these recent months.
"This bill is about them. It's not about employees. It's about those people."
Asked about the silence that fell on the chamber for much of the debate today, Leadbeater said it was important for discussions to remain "deeply respectful", adding she acknowledges people disagree with her on this issue.
"This is the right thing to do, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't believe that firmly, strongly," she said.
"It was quite a surreal moment, but also deeply respectful, which is, again, how I've tried to conduct this debate throughout the whole thing.
"We've got to learn to disagree better in this country, and sometimes we don't do it well. But I think at times in this debate, we've seen that done very, very well."
Frank Tate-Sutton is speaking to Sky News health correspondent Laura Bundock.
Frank is terminally ill and wanted assisted dying to be brought in.
She tearfully tells Laura how she is relieved the bill has passed the most recent hurdle.
"These are happy tears", she says.
Frank says her quality of life is "very important - and I'm losing it".
She goes on to say: "I don't want to die without dignity, without it being my choice, without my family knowing that this is what I want."