Assisted Dying Bill

This Friday 29th November will be very different to usual Private Member’s Bill Fridays, when MPs are usually in their constituencies, because the bill being debated is the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Assisted Dying is a topic that constituents have written to me regularly about since my election in 2019, on both sides of the debate. This has obviously increased markedly with the tabling of Kim Leadbeater’s bill, and the legislation currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament, sponsored by my Liberal Democrat colleague Liam McArthur. Indeed, the fact that there is similar legislation in Scotland is something that I’ve given great consideration as I determine how to approach Friday’s vote. Were the Holyrood bill to be successful, is it likely that Westminster will require to permit some legislative change in order to give that bill full effect. That’s one of the reasons I’ve decided that I will take part in the Assisted Dying debate and vote here in Westminster.

I’ve spoken to a number of constituents and reviewed constituent correspondence. Just last week we received two deeply personal and handwritten letters, one arguing for me to support the legislation, and the other urging me to oppose. Polling statistics suggest that a majority of the constituents of North East Fife do support Assisted Dying.

A major concern of mine is the limited opportunity that the Private Members Bill process allows to debate and scrutinise more complex issues. I have sympathy with that view, and those of the Institute for Government, who point out that although the big social reforms of the 1960s, such as abortion, were dealt with via Private Members legislation, pre-legislative scrutiny, with Government support, did take place.

That said, legislation has now come forward for consideration by Parliament, and it needs to be engaged with. It’s likely that the whole session on Friday (5 hours) will be taken up in the debate, which is longer than the time given to some Government legislation. Friday is also not the final step in the process. If the bill does pass, it goes forward to a Bill Committee for line by line scrutiny, before further consideration by the whole House. I think it’s important that such a sensitive bill goes through as much scrutiny as the process allows.

For that reason, I will be voting Aye on Friday to ensure that scrutiny takes place. I’ll be listening closely to the debate and, if successful, its further stages, before making a final decision on whether I support its content at the remaining stage in the Commons. I’m grateful to those who have written or spoken to me about their own personal experiences and will commit to undertaking further consultation should the bill proceed.