PM to abstain in Assisted Suicide vote

The Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that he will abstain in the vote at Second Reading of Lauren Edwards’ Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill next week. The Bill, which is largely similar to Kim Leadbeater’s Bill, would introduce the possibility of assisted suicide for consenting adults who have a terminal illness and six months or less to live.

Writing to Labour MPs on Friday, Mr Burnham said: "My role, as the prime minister, will be to lead a government that implements the will of Parliament in this area – whether that is to change the law or not. I also do not want to unduly influence the debate as prime minister and for every colleague to know it is a genuinely free vote. For these reasons, I have taken the decision that it is most appropriate for me not to vote at Second Reading."

As a conscience vote, it is traditional for the government to stay neutral, but ministers are allowed to vote themselves. At each stage of the Leadbeater Bill, Mr Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer (who has just stood down as an MP) voted for the introduction of assisted suicide. Mr Burnham also said that “there is no single right position”, and that “It is vital that those different views are treated with dignity and respect”.

The new PM’s views on assisted suicide have been difficult to pin down: while he was mayor of Greater Manchester, he suggested that he was open to the principle of assisted suicide, having been shaped by personal experience.

However, when he was questioned by Sky News in July after becoming Prime Minister, he said: “Personally, I think there's something that needs to happen first and that's the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care. I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care. That's the way I see this and that's the position that I will stick to.”

The vote at Second Reading, which is expected to take place on Friday 11 September, is expected to be very close, and needs just 12 MPs to change their vote for the Bill to fail. Mr Burnham’s predecessor in Makerfield, Josh Simons, voted for the Bill.