MPs will have a chance to vote again on assisted dying later this year as a way of “restoring a bit of faith in our democratic processes”, the woman launching a new bid to change the law has said.
Labour MP Lauren Edwards insisted she is going into the debate “entirely with my eyes open” and is prepared for pushback on an issue which resulted in hours of impassioned debate and the eventual fall earlier this year of an attempt to legalise assisted dying.
On Wednesday she will reintroduce the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons, and announce a date for its next debate and vote, expected to be in September.
The Private Member’s Bill, first brought by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater in 2024, passed two votes in the House of Commons but peers ran out of time to conclude their debate in the Lords before Parliament was prorogued in April.
Peers faced accusations of filibustering the Bill after more than 1,200 amendments were put forward, with more than 800 of those tabled or sponsored by seven peers.
Opponents branded the Bill it “hopelessly flawed” while supporters accused them of a “denial of democracy”.
The Bill proposed allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
Rochester and Strood MP Ms Edwards described the the Bill as “very good, world-leading, robust legislation” and said she was disappointed and frustrated at how it petered out earlier this year.
In an interview with the Press Association, she said: “I’ve been a supporter of assisted dying, and think that the legislation that Kim (Leadbeater) and Lord Falconer worked on in the last session was very good, world-leading, robust legislation.
“And I was really disappointed and quite frustrated when the House of Lords, a very small minority, really sought to filibuster the process, which meant that it couldn’t go through all of its stages, and so on a point of principle wanted to bring it back, so that that work can continue.”
Asked if she is prepared for negativity in the face of a Bill opposed by some MPs, peers and other campaigners, she said she was but that ensuring “dignity and choice” for terminally ill people was her goal.
She said: “I’m prepared for it, and entirely expect it, and went into this entirely with my eyes open.
“That is just the nature of our politics now, and it’s entirely something that I’m prepared to go through, because if I can introduce this legislation and it goes through all of its processes and becomes law, that is far more important.
“What that will mean for the people who will be directly affected is far more important, that we have an opportunity to give them dignity and choice at the end of their life.”
The second Commons vote, which took place in 2025, saw the majority in favour of the Bill narrow to 23 from a previous majority of 55.
Asked if she is concerned MPs in the Commons might change their minds and vote against it this time around, she said: “I think the question for my colleagues in the House of Commons is really about restoring a bit of faith in our democratic processes and saying please support this Bill so that we can respect the will of the chamber and we can have it go through the usual processes in the House of Lords, just like any other form of legislation.
“We (MPs) will have the opportunity to have a final vote on that in the usual way once it returns from the Lords.”
Polling last month suggested assisted dying is a priority for only 7% of those surveyed on what they would want their MP to work on if they could make a change to the law.
Reducing NHS waiting lists, controlling immigration, lowering energy prices and growing the economy all came above the option of “legalising assisted suicide” in the Whitestone polling of more than 5,000 GB adults online in May.
But Ms Edwards said while those are also important issues, her Bill is a priority for terminally ill people who support it and their loved ones.
She said: “All of those are valid priorities and things that should be dealt with.
“They’re not necessarily things that are best dealt with through a private member’s bill, and what I’m facing is a situation where proper parliamentary process has been frustrated by a very small minority in the House of Lords who haven’t allowed the legislation to be scrutinised in the usual way.
“I also think about all of those people who potentially would need this legislation to help themselves or help a member of their family who want to have choice and dignity at the end of their life, if they are facing a situation that is determined within the Bill.
“It’s a priority for those people.”
While unable to give a firm timeline on the Bill process, Ms Edwards said: “I am operating on the basis that it will be a year dedicating myself to this project.”
Previously an implementation period of up to four years had been agreed from the moment the Bill would become law to an assisted dying service being up and running.
Dame Esther Rantzen, a leading voice in the campaign to legalise assisted dying, said she was “deeply grateful” to Ms Edwards for taking up the Bill.
Ms Edwards described Dame Esther’s message as “very kind” and said she hoped to speak with her soon on the issue.
Opponents including Labour MP Ashley Dalton have voiced concern, claiming the Bill would “hand sweeping unchecked powers over life and death and our NHS to future governments, whatever their political persuasion” and argued it “isn’t safe or a priority for the people who put us in power”.
There is a chance that the Parliament Act could be used to get the Bill through.
That Act, a rarely used piece of legislation, allows for Bills that have been backed by the Commons in two successive sessions but rejected by peers to pass into law without Lords approval.
Ms Edwards said it was not her intention that the Parliament Act should apply to the Bill, saying there would be “no need for that if peers complete their unfinished business in the normal way but we cannot allow an unelected minority to frustrate the democratic process for a second time.”
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “Our position on this is longstanding.
“The Government is neutral on the matter of assisted dying and the passage of the Bill and it’s therefore for Parliament to decide and any reintroduction of the bill would be a matter for parliamentarians.
“But more broadly, we are absolutely committed to ensuring that everyone receives high-quality, compassionate care through to the end of their life.”
