by Kevin Yuill, spiked
Why are Labour MPs trying to revive such a dangerous piece of legislation?
Labour MP Lauren Edwards has brought the assisted-dying debate back to Westminster, reintroducing the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The bill received its first reading in the House of Commons last Wednesday, formally marking its return to parliament.
The legislation, first introduced in 2024 by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, ran out of time in the House of Lords earlier this year. Supporters of the bill accused opponents in the Lords of deliberately blocking it by tabling more than 1,200 amendments.
There are substantial difficulties for Edwards, who must present the exact same bill if she wants the Parliament Act of 1911 and 1949 to come into effect. These acts allow for the same legislation, if passed in the House of Commons in consecutive parliamentary sessions, to automatically become law.