by Lord Jackson, The Critic
Peers are the last hope for opponents of Assisted Suicide
There were reports in the days leading up to Third Reading in the House of Commons of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill that the Prime Minister would not attend the decisive vote. In the event, Sir Keir Starmer rocked up to the Commons on Friday, 20 June and duly voted for the Billl. In doing so, he almost certainly took a number of his colleagues with him. Had he stayed away, as sections of the media had speculated, the result of the vote, already narrow, could have been reduced, perhaps to single figures or maybe even reversed.
Since becoming Labour leader, the Prime Minister has often been accused of changing his mind. There is a suspicion that he doesn’t believe in much at all, with critics questioning what “Starmerism” entails. Yet apparently the creation of a state-sanctioned suicide service is an issue worthy of him giving support and using up political capital. Despite the clear political risks associated with continuing to support a flawed Bill that had been widely criticised over the previous nine months, he persevered in backing this cause.
However, despite squeezing through the Commons at Third Reading, with a much reduced majority compared to Second Reading, it would be premature for Ms Leadbeater and her cheerleaders to celebrate just yet. This is a Private Members’ Bill not covered by the Salisbury Convention, and there is no reason why the Lords won’t be able to amend or even vote down the Bill. Many of the Bill’s fiercest critics lie in wait in the House of Lords, and they will not hold back when it comes to resolutely standing up for the myriad of different vulnerable groups of people that will all be put at risk should this ill-thought-out legislation make its way onto the statute book.