by Charles Moore, Telegraph
The Prime Minister is wrong to stand aside on a matter of life and death
Andy Burnham says he will not vote on the second reading of the assisted dying bill which will be debated in the Commons on Sept 11. He wants this issue, which is treated by Parliament as a matter of conscience and therefore unwhipped, to be “a genuinely free vote”. Ministers “should not express views about the implications of the bill for their department’s responsibilities”, he says.
Mr Burnham is partly right, but ultimately wrong.
His strength lies in recognising something Sir Keir Starmer never did – that the Government should have no collective view on the matter. Although Sir Keir maintained formal government neutrality, he let the bill’s supporters brief on his active backing. Proponents of assisted suicide rode high on the mercifully brief wave of Starmerite enthusiasm after Labour’s victory in July 2024. The equivalent will not happen this time.
Mr Burnham’s weakness, however, consists in bad moral logic. Since the bill is a matter of conscience for MPs, that includes him. Traditionally, it has been clear where prime ministers stand on such matters. Margaret Thatcher always supported the return of capital punishment for murder, but never asked her governments or MPs to do the same. Her side lost, without party splits.