Another Labour Minister to oppose assisted suicide bill

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, has confirmed he will not support the upcoming bill to legalise assisted suicide.

The vote, scheduled for 29 November, was introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater as a Private Member’s Bill but opposition to the bill has been growing within Labour, with several senior members expressing reservations about its scrutiny and timing.

Darren Jones, who represents Bristol North West, emphasised that such a significant change in law should not be handled via a Private Member’s Bill.

“Private Member’s Bills don’t get anywhere near the same level of scrutiny and debate as the Bills put forward by the Government,” he said. He added that he would “either abstain or vote against the Bill on these grounds.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has allowed MPs to vote according to their conscience on the matter. However, Jones joins Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood in opposing the legislation, highlighting internal Labour divisions over the issue.

Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, also voiced her concerns, stating, “I do not share the reported enthusiasm for the assisted suicide Bill. It is painfully late to be bringing forward a draft Bill, with so little time to consider its contents.”

Social policy charity CARE has shared similar concerns with this Bill and urges its supporters to write to their MPs to highlight the dangers in rushing the Bill through the Commons.