Summary

Media caption,

Moment assisted dying bill vote result is announced

  1. We're now ending our live coveragepublished at 19:05 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Jenna Moon
    Live Page Editor

    Thanks for staying with us as we’ve covered the debate over assisted dying and today’s vote in the House of Commons.

    Today's session saw five hours of debate from MPs about assisted dying.

    The bill, introduced as a private members' bill by MP Kim Leadbeater, passed its second reading with a vote of 330 to 275. That doesn’t mean it will become law just yet. Instead, the legislation can now stand up to further interrogation and could undergo amendments.

    Those against the bill have argued that it lacks safeguards. Others fear that it can be used as a coercive measure against people experiencing abuse. Proponents, on the other hand, believe it offers “common sense” and a compassionate death for people who are terminally ill.

    Our live reporting on the vote is ending for the day, but we have coverage across the BBC on the bill and its impacts.

  2. Everything you need to know about today's votepublished at 19:01 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Kathy Brisbourne holds a placard as supporters of assisted dying gather outside the Parliament as British lawmakers debate the assisted dying law, in LondonImage source, Reuters

    We'll be closing this live page shortly.

    Here's a quick rundown of everything you need to know about what the BBC's political editor Chris Mason has called a momentous day in Parliament:

  3. Today's vote - in picturespublished at 18:54 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Kim Leadbeater speaking to House of Commons from the benches with sheets of paper in her right handImage source, UK Parliament
    Image caption,

    Labour MP Kim Leadbeater - who brought the bill to the House - kicked off this morning's debate in the Commons

    The House of Commons with benches on other side of the middle aisle. Seats are full of MPs with many standing up in the aisle so they can see the results be announcedImage source, UK Parliament
    Image caption,

    The Commons was filled with MPs giving passionate speeches all morning - and the room was packed to hear the final result

    Woman looks ecstatic holding Campaign for Dignity in Dying placard among crowd of demonstrators wearing bright pinkImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    There were emotional celebrations outside parliament after the vote, where supporters had camped out since the early hours

    Woman wipes tears from her eyes among a crowd of demonstrators. T-shirts reading 'not dead yet' can be seen, as well as a number of different placardsImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Those protesting the bill had been there too - and demonstrators could be seen tearful after the result was announced

  4. 'If my end isn't looking too good... there could be some solace and kindness'published at 18:45 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Music teacher Nathaniel Dye has stage four bowel cancer which is in his liver, lungs and brain. He lost his fiancée in 2011, and his mother to the same cancer he has.

    He supports the bill.

    "The thought that that kindness could be there in death if I face a horrible, horrible death... I might actually survive to see the possibility of assisted dying come into law...

    "If my end isn't looking too good and all the hope is gone, then maybe there could be some solace and some kindness."

  5. What happens now that the vote has passedpublished at 18:27 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    The assisted dying bill has cleared its first hurdle in parliament.

    The bill will now go to committee stage, where a detailed examination will takes place. MPs can table possible amendments to the legislation during this stage.

    It's set to face further scrutiny and will be taken to a vote in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until 2025 at the earliest.

    It will become law only if both the House of Commons and House of Lords agree on the final wording in the document.

    Some MPs have indicated that their continued support at a further vote depends on being assured of appropriate safeguards in the bill.

    Kim Leadbeater, a Labour MP and co-sponsor of the bill, has suggested an assisted dying service would not be up and running for around another two years from the point the law was passed.

  6. Dame Esther Rantzen hopes her family could travel with her to Dignitaspublished at 17:56 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    A file photo of Dame Esther RantzenImage source, PA Media

    Dame Esther Rantzen has told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme that she hopes today’s vote means her family can join her when she travels to Dignitas for an assisted death.

    The broadcaster previously revealed she had joined the assisted dying clinic in Switzerland following a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.

    She tells the BBC: "I am wondering whether (the vote) means I can say to my family, 'come with me to Switzerland, say goodbye to me there'... because when they come home again, I'm not sure the police would prosecute them, I'm not sure they would be investigated for assisting my suicide."

    Dame Esther says that while she does wonder if the vote will "change things a little bit for me", she adds that it wouldn't make a difference in the way she wants: "I would love to be able to die at home, surrounded by my children and close friends, and have the kind of good death we would all hope for. That's what I'd love.

    "But I don't think the law can possibly change in time."

    She adds that she has been "heartened by what's happened in Parliament today".

    The vote in the Commons today does not mean that the law has been changed, but it is a significant step and means the bill can now progress for further scrutiny.

  7. Watch: Campaigner says vote a 'victory for common sense'published at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    David Pearce, a campaigner with the group Dignity in Dying, earlier called the vote a "victory for common sense and compassion".

    He says the decision to progress the bill to a third reading shows a huge turn around since the last vote in 2015".

    Media caption,

    'A victory for common sense and compassion'

  8. 'I just felt a huge relief'published at 17:26 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Hannah Karpel
    Reporting from Westminster

    ​​Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying is pictured on Whitehall near Parliament

    ​ ​​Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying embraced Kim Leadbeater as she left Parliament.

    Sarah has been working in support of the Assisted Dying campaign for the last 17 years, hearing from terminally ill people and their families. ​​ ​​

    “What we saw today were Parliamentarians really listening to families. I’m absolutely thrilled that they have listened. This is a vote for compassion and common sense.”

    But she’s aware there is still a long journey ahead: “it’s not over by any means. It will be the best part of a year in terms of future stages, but for now I’m just so relieved.”

  9. Who is Kim Leadbeater, MP at the centre of assisted dying bill?published at 17:15 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    BBC Radio 4

    BBC Radio 4’s Profile programme has been taking a closer look at the woman at the centre of this intense, and highly charged debate.

    Before her life in politics, Kim Leadbeater worked in furniture sales and as an exercise instructor, before becoming a lecturer. But it was the murder of her sister, Jo Cox, in 2016 that saw her thrust into the public eye.

    After years of promoting social cohesion, she became an MP in 2021 in the same constituency her sister had represented.

    Her mum, Jean Leadbeater, told Profile: “Jo would be immensely proud, hugely proud of her.

    “It (the Bill) has taken its toll because for the last few months, all she's talked about is death.”

    Listen to Profile live on BBC Radio 4 at 19:00 on Saturdays.

  10. How did my MP vote?published at 17:04 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    As we've been reporting, MPs backed the assisted dying bill by 330 to 275 this afternoon.

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer and former PM Rishi Sunak were among those to vote in favour, while new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner voted against.

    You can find out which way your MP voted on the BBC News website here.

  11. Bill will 'open conversations' for nation's vulnerablepublished at 16:56 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Your Voice, Your BBC News

    By Emily Doughty

    We're hearing more now from more people around the country who are reacting to news that MPs have voted in favour of assisted dying at the bill's second reading.

    We've been hearing from BBC readers all day as part of as part of Your Voice, Your BBC News.

    Angela Kenny from Colchester is surprised the bill is passed, but says "I am relieved that it has".

    The 72-year-old says that the next stage "brings up more questions, but that is not a bad thing", adding “It is a starting point, but we will need to see where it goes."

    However she also believes that palliative care needs to be at the heart of the discussion.

    "Choice is about not having assisted dying as well, there needs to be consideration for palliative care and hospices,” Kenny says.

    Angela Kenny is shown in this selfie image.Image source, Angela Kenny / Handout
    Image caption,

    Angela Kenny is relieved the bill has passed

    However, Mark Bonnington has called the outcome “disappointing” though like Angela believes that “we will need to see what will happen at the next stage”.

    He believes that now bill is on the agenda it will have an impact on the conversation about end-of-life care.

    “This will open conservations for a lot of vulnerable people”.

    The 62-year-old from Durham is concerned about the future. “I don’t trust provisions not to slip. Lots of people will take advantage of this maybe not now, but in five, ten years’ time."

    Mark Bonnington is pictured in his gardenImage source, Mark Bonnington / Handout
    Image caption,

    Mark Bonnington says the bill will open up conversations for vulnerable people

  12. 'We want to get it right as a society’published at 16:43 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Tom ShakespeareImage source, Tom Shakespeare

    Prof Tom Shakespeare, an academic who researches disability, says he’s very pleased with the result today.

    "All the cautions, all the difficulties, all the things you have to achieve make this a good bill," he says.

    He acknowledges that many other disabled people are fearful of the change, because "people don’t listen to disabled people".

    But he says those fears should be alleviated in part because the bill does not include the word "suffering", like it does in Canadian legislation, which many opponents have used as an example of a "slippery slope".

    Tom wants better palliative care to be available too, but says "we need assisted dying and that would placate or at least enable people to understand that we want to get it right as a society. We want better provision.”

  13. A momentous day in Parliament, whatever happens nextpublished at 16:33 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Chris Mason
    Political editor

    MPs voting in favour of assisted dying is not the end of the debate - but this is still a hugely important moment.

    A law has yet to be passed, but Parliament has taken a step towards a colossal social change in England and Wales.

    The law around those who are dying hasn’t changed yet - and may not do - but it has never been closer to happening.

    I spent an hour or so after the vote standing in and around what is known as the Members’ Lobby, talking privately to MPs - the magnitude of what has just happened is not lost on any of them.

    “Parliament has done something very special today, and it was an utter privilege to be in there, to get to speak and to get to vote,” said a newly-elected Labour MP who backs a change in the law.

    Another MP, a Conservative who voted against the Bill, noted the silence that greeted its passing today.

    “It felt like a collective sense of ‘what have we just done?’” they noted.

    There are those of total conviction on each side of the argument - and others still deeply conflicted.

    This topic will be a long running, passionate and keenly fought argument in 2025, with the prospect of it becoming an era defining change in the law, where the actions of parliamentarians tilt society in a direction from which it may never turn back.

  14. BBC Radio 5 Live listeners react to assisted dying votepublished at 16:26 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    BBC Radio 5 Live has been hearing reaction from people on both sides of the assisted dying debate.

    Helen, calling from Hove, says her mother Christine died aged 74 in 2023.

    "My mother shouldn’t have suffered, it brings back for me questions - pain cannot always be controlled in palliative care nor at a hospice," she says. "We have to have our own choice. If you’re terminally ill – you have no choice."

    "She wanted to be able to live a life on her terms. She wasn’t scared of death, she was scared of dying a horrific death – which is what happened at the end," she adds.

    Colin, calling from Dorchester, says he was a friend's full-time carer for nearly 25 years and that he is disappointed in the vote.

    "When I started, she was told she had months to live. She wanted to die. She tried to end her life. She would have welcomed today's bill - she would have qualified for death," he says, adding: "The doctors were wrong in saying she had months to live."

    "She died a few years ago – lived for more than 25 years," he says.

  15. Kim Leadbeater speaks to bill's proponentspublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Hannah Karpel
    Reporting from Westminster

    A little earlier, Kim Leadbeater came outside to speak to supporters gathered in front of Parliament.

    Proponents of the bill greeted the MP with cheers.

    "Let’s talk about you, your stories. It’s all of you that have inspired me," Leadbeater says. "The trauma that you have had, that you should never have had to deal with.

    If we can change the law to make sure other people don’t have to have that trauma then that’s got to be a good thing."

    Kim Leadbeater stands with supporters dressed in pink in front of Parliament.
  16. Opponents 'appalled and completely shocked' by bill's passingpublished at 16:10 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Emily Doughty
    Live reporter

    BBC readers from around the country are reacting to the news that MPs have voted in favour of assisted dying at the bill's second reading.

    Earlier, we heard from two people who were opposed to the bill. They've weighed in again on their reaction to today's vote as as part of Your Voice, Your BBC News.

    Mary Maycock from Swindon is “appalled and completely shocked” that the bill has passed.

    Living with stage four cancer, the 58-year-old was given a 50% chance to live past six months when she was first diagnosed 13 years ago. She is now concerned for people in her situation saying, “six months was subjective based on a doctors opinion.

    “How can you make this decision based on an opinion? I had enough fight to live, this is now going to make this fight so much harder.”

    She is concerned about how access to palliative care might affect people’s decision. “I think in the postcode lottery of palliative care I am on the right side of things, but I am scared of dying in this system.”

    Ruth Leech is pictured with her son. They're dressed in winter coats and are standing outside.Image source, Ruth Leech

    Ruth Leech echoes Mary’s disappointment. She says “this is not the outcome I would have liked”.

    The 59-year-old from Portsmouth’s mind is now on how the bill will develop.

    “Hopefully even if I don’t agree, Parliament will be incredibly careful with the nuts of bolts of it”.

    She is concerned, though, for people who are vulnerable. “There will be people who are vulnerable whose lives will be ended,” she says. However, the mum of four believes that “if there is more focus on palliative care that is a good thing.”

  17. Debate highlights need for better end-of-life care, charities saypublished at 16:02 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Two end-of-life care charities, both of which took a neutral stance on today's assisted dying debate, say there must now be a greater focus on improving palliative care.

    Hospice UK's chief executive, Toby Porter, says: "We have been encouraged throughout the debate of recent weeks that people on all sides have been unified on one point. MPs today have been abundantly clear on this. Palliative and end of life care in the UK is currently not sufficient.

    "People are not getting the care they need. This must change."

    The Sue Ryder charity also says there is a need to "fix" end-of-life care.

    "MPs have a duty to ensure no one feels an assisted death is their only option simply because the care they need isn’t available," its chief executive James Sanderson says.

  18. Photos show joy, disappointment after assisted dying votepublished at 15:53 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Campaigners on both sides of the debate gathered outside Parliament today to voice their opinions about the assisted dying bill.

    We can now bring you photos showing how demonstrators reacted to the news that the bill had passed its second reading. As a reminder, MPs voted 330 to 275 in favour of the bill.

    Six women wearing pink campaign clothes, look happy and relieved at the news.Image source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Campaigners with Dignity in Dying watch as the bill passes its second reading

    Demonstrators look disappointed, as they hold posters objecting to the billImage source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Opponents to the bill react, some crying, as Parliament votes in favour

    Demonstrators dressed in white medical coats hold posters that read "Don't make doctors killers"; behind them is a large model of a judge in a white wigImage source, NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
    Image caption,

    Some demonstrators protested the vote, carrying posters that read "first do no harm" and "if in doubt vote no"

    Labour MP Kim Leadbeater (centre) and Rebecca Wilcox (right), daughter of Esther Rantzen, among supporters of Dignity in Dying as they celebrate the result of the vote
    Image caption,

    Labour MP Kim Leadbeater (centre) and Rebecca Wilcox (right), daughter of Esther Rantzen, among supporters of Dignity in Dying as they celebrate the result of the vote

  19. 'It scares the life out of us'published at 15:46 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Philip Friend is at the Not Dead Yet rally outside Parliament and says there are several people in wheelchairs sobbing.

    "This puts us at real risk," he says.

    "Those with disabilities rely on their doctors, will they now offer us treatment that is effectively a suicide?"

    He doesn't believe that five hours was enough time to debate such a serious issue, and thinks many MPs voting today haven't had enough time in office to fully consider the potential impact of the legislation.

    "Social care is hopeless, the NHS is in bits, is the easy option now going to be assisted dying? It scares the life out of us."

    He says the Not Dead Yet campaign will now move on to target the next stage of voting on the bill and will be "back to fight another day".

  20. Dame Esther Rantzen 'thrilled' by resultpublished at 15:36 Greenwich Mean Time 29 November 2024

    Dame Esther RantzenImage source, PA Media

    Dame Esther Rantzen says she is "absolutely thrilled" with the result.

    The Childline founder and broadcaster told the PA news agency: "I listened to the debate and it was very deeply felt.

    Members of Parliament, whether they opposed it or proposed it, had obviously given it a great deal of thought, and right up to the end of the debate, I had no idea whether it would be voted through or not."

    Dame Esther also described Kim Leadbeater's introduction of her bill as "extraordinary".

    "She put it all very clearly, taking interventions all the way through, and answering them without ever losing the thread of her argument.

    "I was lost in admiration. She's an extraordinary person."

    The broadcaster previously revealed she had joined Dignitas, the assisted dying clinic in Switzerland, after a terminal lung cancer diagnosis.