MPs reject assisted dying bill for England and Wales

MPs voted 286 to 270 against a bill that would have allowed terminally ill adults in England and Wales to seek medical assistance to end their lives, according to The Guardian and BBC reports. The result, a majority of 16, came after a four-hour debate in the House of Commons on Friday.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, introduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards, would have permitted adults with fewer than six months to live to apply for help to end their own life, subject to safeguards including approval from two doctors and an expert panel.

The bill failed at its second reading, the first chance MPs had to vote on the measure. It was a near-identical version of legislation brought forward in the last parliamentary session by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, which passed the Commons but ran out of time in the House of Lords after peers tabled more than 1,200 amendments.

After the result was announced, some MPs cheered and hugged in the Commons chamber, while anti-assisted dying activists celebrated in Parliament Square. Supporters of the measure gathered outside Parliament, many wearing pink caps and T-shirts with slogans such as "Give me choice over my death". Some were in tears, others stood in shocked silence, according to The Guardian.

Edwards said voters wanted change and "will not understand why that couldn't happen because a minority in the House of Lords used procedural devices to block it and MPs balked at insisting that they do their job". She added: "Parliament has dropped the ball today. It will be picked up again, as it must be, because the law as it stands is simply too cruel and too unjust to be allowed to stand."

Dame Esther Rantzen, the 86-year-old broadcaster and campaigner who has terminal cancer, told the BBC the outcome was "so sad that people in this country won't have the choice" that terminally ill adults in other countries have. "I am sure a change in the law will come. I am deeply sad that it won't come soon enough for many of the people who need it, it's a tragic day," she said.

Opponents of the bill, including Labour MPs Ashley Dalton, Meg Hillier and Jess Asato, said the legislation was "unsafe and unworkable". In a joint statement they said none of the relevant royal medical colleges, professional groups or experts would attest to the safety or workability of the bill.

The vote marked a drop in support from June 2025, when MPs backed a similar bill by 314 votes to 291. This time 270 MPs voted in favour, a fall of 45, while the number opposed remained almost unchanged at 286.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham did not vote on the bill, having previously described it as "a matter for Parliament to decide". He has said he believes the debate on assisted dying should be paused until social care is improved. His predecessor Keir Starmer had voted in favour of the earlier bill.

Supporters of a change in the law have said they will try to bring forward legislation again. Kim Leadbeater told the BBC another attempt could come as soon as next year. Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said "thousands of terminally ill people will continue to suffer against their wishes in their last days and weeks" but that she still believed law change was "inevitable".