How MPs voted over assisted dying bill

MPs have backed a proposed law that would legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people, in the first vote on the issue in a decade.

The vote on Friday, which resulted in 330 MPs in favour and 275 against, came after five hours of passionate debate.

The bill has now passed its second reading, although it will be followed by months of parliamentary scrutiny and approval before it can become law.

Of the nine MPs across Coventry and Warwickshire, five voted for the bill and four voted against it. How did each MP vote and why?

Rachel Taylor, Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, said she would vote for the bill to progress to the next round because “now is the right time for parliament to debate this difficult issue”.

Ms Taylor said that, with the right safeguards, terminally ill people "should be given the choice of a shorter, less painful death on their own terms”.

She told BBC Radio CWR: “Fundamentally this bill is about allowing people, in very tightly defined circumstances, to have choice and control over how their lives will end."

She also said that currently some people could circumvent the law by travelling to Switzerland to end their lives, if they had the money to do so, and this did not feel fair to her.

The UK’s healthcare system was not ready for assisted dying, Taiwo Owatemi, Labour MP for Coventry North West, said.

“I believe that it will place not only a practical burden on our medical and healthcare professionals, but also an ethical one,” the cancer pharmacist said in a letter to her constituents ahead of the vote.

She added she had considered the legislation's “ethical, social and practical implications”, and she had also researched assisted dying in the US.

The lack of information around the medication used for assisted dying was deeply unsettling, she said.

John Slinger, Labour MP for Rugby, said he was undecided on some aspects of assisted dying, but he would support the bill going through to the next round as it would then be scrutinised further.

In a post on X ahead of the vote, Mr Slinger said if the bill passed Friday's vote then it would be further assessed in later stages of its passage through Parliament.

"If an MP’s mind is 100% made up against it, they’ll vote No & vice versa," he said.

“If my colleagues have doubts but haven’t made their minds up (which is my position) surely it’s logical to vote yes on Friday?”

He added that there were "lots of opportunities left for scrutiny".

Sir Jeremy Wright, Tory MP for Kenilworth and Southam, said he would vote against the bill - but he added that this was one of the hardest decisions he had made in his 20 years as a parliamentarian.

He said the promoter of the bill, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, had worked hard to include safeguards for vulnerable people.

But he expressed a number of concerns, including how doctors would judge whether someone had been coerced into assisted dying.

“I am most concerned about the signal we send with this legislation,” he said.

"I do not want to live in a society where anyone, even the terminally ill, can believe that their lives are not valuable and valued to their last moments, and I fear that this bill, though it is not its intent, brings such a society closer.”

Zarah Sultana, independent MP for Coventry South, said the insights of disability rights organisations, constituents and legal experts had informed her decision to vote against the bill.

She said she had “profound concerns about the bill’s lack of adequate safeguards and the significant risk it poses to vulnerable individuals”.

MS Sultana added “individuals from already marginalised communities may face undue pressure to consider assisted death."

She said the country should focus on strengthening health and social care, rather than “rushing into legislative changes”.

Matt Western, Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington, said he had voted for the bill because "in principle, I believe in the notion of assisted dying."

In a letter posted on his Facebook page shortly after the vote, he said his vote did not signify "unwavering support" for the bill and the issue of assisted dying would need further debate as it progressed through parliament.

Mr Western added that, because the bill stated that it only applied to terminally ill people, it was "absolutely robust" and would not lead to a slippery slope.

Jodie Gosling, Labour MP for Nuneaton, voted for the bill and said she wanted to continue the discussion about it.

Ms Gosling said she believed “this issue should not be rushed” and the bill deserved more time “so we can explore the complexity of the issues, not least of which [is the] discussion about how we improve palliative care”.

The MP also thanked her constituents for sharing their experiences, which she said “have been incredibly valuable”.

Mary Creagh, Labour MP for Coventry East, said she voted against the bill because "its safeguards are inadequate".

In a letter to constituents, Ms Creagh pointed to "the possibility of unconsciously coercing people into assisted dying because they feel they are a burden or have no-one to care for them".

The MP added she was concerned about the impact on the NHS, which would have to provide a new service at a time when it was "so overstretched".

She also said the UK was struggling with a lack of access to affordable palliative care.

Manuela Perteghella, Lib Dem MP for Stratford-on-Avon, voted in support of the bill but she has not yet issued a statement with the reasons for her decision.

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