If I were still an MP I’d be voting against Kim Leadbeater’s bill on assisted dying

Abstract

I’m often asked if I miss working in the House of Commons. Of course I do; it’s one of the most amazing places in the world and remains the cockpit of our nation. There are obviously days I miss it more than others, usually around the big national moments. Whatever your view of Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill—the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill— its second reading this month will be one of those big moments. Kim is a friend of mine, and we spoke before she decided to put her bill forward after it topped the private members’ ballot at the start of the new parliament. My advice was to proceed with great care, to remember that this will take over your career in many ways, and to read the report produced earlier this year by the Health and Social Care Committee, which I chaired, on the subject of assisted dying/assisted suicide.1 We did that work (one of the biggest select committee inquiries in history, as it turned out) to inform any future parliamentarians facing a bill of this kind. It’s been humbling to see how many MPs, peers, and journalists are accessing …