The sponsor of the Assisted Suicide Bill appeared to go into hiding on Friday as her deeply flawed effort was savaged by a succession of MPs during the Report Stage. hearing. MP Simon Hoare suggested Kim Leadbeater’s absence was “a discourtesy to the House” as she vanished for about 45 minutes.
As the flaws and unworkability of the proposals were laid bare, two more MPs joined a number of MPs who announced earlier in the week that they will be switching their vote to oppose the Bill at Third Reading having either supported or abstained on it at Second Reading.
A large number of MPs gave strong speeches highlighting the serious problems with the Bill. Leadbeater and supporters of the Bill were very much on the back foot and those MPs opposing the Bill were strongly on the offensive.
During the debate, it was revealed that two MPs who either voted for the Bill or abstained at Second Reading would now be voting against the Bill.
Shortly before the debate came to a close, Jonathan Hinder MP announced on X that, while he had voted in favour of the assisted suicide Bill at Second Reading, his “concerns have only deepened” over the course of Commitee Stage and that he would now be voting against the Bill. He specifically mentioned the removal of the High Court judge safeguard as one of his reasons for turning against the Bill and the fact that, under the Bill, doctors are permitted the raise the option of assisted suicide with a patient unprompted.
Labour MP for Crawley, Peter Lamb, who abstained from voting during the vote at Second Reading, said “I do not believe that the case has been made for a change in the law, and I therefore believe I am obligated to oppose the passage of the bill through the remaining stages of the process”. Like many other MPs over the course of the day, Lamb cited the need to invest in palliative care as his most significant concern and also lack of parliamentary time available for consideration of the Bill.
Several other MPs have also announced this week that they are going to be changing their vote to oppose the Bill.
These MPs have joined Reform’s Lee Anderson and former colleague Rupert Lowe, who publicly announced in February they would be changing their vote to oppose the Bill.