Snapshot of opinion puts opposition at 42 per cent and support at 36 per cent, but undecideds could still swing the vote this month
Eleanor Hayward, Health Editor
Thursday May 01 2025, 12.01am, The Times
Many MPs appear to have changed their mind now a High Court judge will not have to sign off each death The assisted dying bill may no longer have the backing of enough MPs to pass into law, according to a new poll.
A new survey of 103 MPs by the pollster Whitestone Insight, commissioned by the anti-euthanasia group Care Not Killing, suggests that more MPs now oppose the bill than support it.
The poll, carried out in March and April, asked MPs how they intended to vote at the third reading. Forty-two per cent said they would vote against, 36 per cent said they would vote for, 13 per cent were undecided, 5 per cent planned to abstain and 8 per cent preferred not to say.
Some MPs have turned against the bill as it has gone through the committee stage, during which the bill lost its requirement for a High Court judge to sign off each assisted dying application. Dozens of MPs are thought to have only backed the bill at its second reading because of this requirement.
Asked if they agreed that “replacing a High Court judge’s oversight of the assisted dying bill with a panel gives me more confidence in it”, 41 per cent disagreed and 30 per cent agreed. The poll, weighted by factors including party, age and length of service, found that MPs elected last summer were less likely to oppose the bill.