Assisted dying: profound societal change is coming - today, I felt proud of British politics

One such conversation has stayed with me this week; as we navigated through the daily wrestle over what it is we should write about, we shared a thought: ‘hasn’t Parliament had a good week this week.’ Depressingly, we were surprised. Surprised because of late, the House of Commons has been nought but a willy-waving parlour for inadequate men. Boris Johnson, Bellowing John Bercow, Lounge Lizard Rees-Mogg. Panto-politico-performances that have put point-scoring before policy making.

Though the stench of Johnson’s rotten-to-the-core Government hangs in the air, I find myself this week thinking to myself, ‘thank God they have gone', because I cannot imagine the chamber debating the weighty matters of decriminalising abortion and legalising assisted dying in the same way as it has this week.

Decorum and decency have prevailed in the debates which, at times, have clearly weighed heavily on the consciences of MPs. One observation during the third reading today ahead of the final vote offered this: though you may remain unsure as to where to cast your vote, be assured that today, perhaps more than any other day, we are doing that which we were elected to do. So, so true.

It was like watching MPs and British politics drag itself out of the populist rabbit hole and into the light and it was genuinely uplifting; the bill in question, that of legalising assisted dying in this country, could not have been a more fitting, momentous, profound, emotive issue for the book to be closed on clown-faced politics in this country. When you step back and consider that what MPs were asked to do is give permission to terminally ill adults, often living with crippling fear, anxiety and pain, to seek assistance to end their own lives -- the responsibility is monumental.

In all the years I have been interested in politics, I have rarely been more moved by the testimonies given both as part of the debates on decriminalising abortion and on legalising assisted dying in this country. Rarely, too, have I felt proud of politics in this county.

In the end, today, following a vote in the lobbies, MPs made a huge decision: 314 in favour, 291 against the assisted dying bill, a result that will, in and of itself, cause division: devastation and upset for some, relief and elation for others. As the nation awaited the result, an almost mournful silence descended upon the chamber - that silence alone a reflection of the magnitude of this moment...a moment that will change our society in the most profound way imaginable.

As analysts, commentators and experts debate what that means, one significant takeaway from today is that politics in this country is, when done properly, a beacon exemplar that is the envy of the world. We are extremely lucky to have it.

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James

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