Make assisted dying laws a reality, urges former Yorkshire MP who lost father to suicide

Paul Blomfield, who was the Labour MP for Sheffield Central until stepping down ahead of this year’s General Election, has been a long campaigner for assisted dying, since his father took his own life following a terminal cancer diagnosis.

He has now taken on the role of Chair of Dignity in Dying, a campaigning group for a change in euthanasia laws.

Mr Blomfield has expressed his hopes that the country will see new assisted dying legislation introduced under the new Government, after Keir Starmer indicated his support for law change.

If assisted dying were to become legal in the UK, it would follow other countries who have passed laws including Australia, Canada and ten states in the USA.

Mr Blomfield is hoping one of the 20 MPs selected by ballot to present a Private Member’s Bill in Parliament this year will choose to make assisted dying legislation their focus.

Labour’s Jake Richards, MP for Rother Valley, has already indicated he will use his slot to present a Bill to “reform our archaic assisted dying laws.”

Paul Blomfield said: “This is a campaign I’ve been in for most of my time in Parliament.

“It’s personal experience that leads many people to think about and support the campaign for a change in the law.

“My father’s death was an experience shared by more than 600 people with terminal illness who take their own lives every year.

“Labour have made a commitment to finding parliamentary time for a debate, which is critical.

“So, that significantly changes the situation. There’s been a huge change in the make-up of Westminster, and in our conversations with MPs we’ve found about two to one are in favour of law change.”

An overwhelming majority of people in Yorkshire are supportive of law change on assisted dying in Great Britain, with three-quarters of people (77 per cent) in favour of legalisation, according to Dignity in Dying.

And two-thirds of people (66 per cent) agree that legalising assisted dying would be safer than the current ban.

Mr Blomfield said he would advocate for a free vote in Parliament should legislation be introduced, reflecting similar votes on matters of conscience including abortion.

Reflecting on his father’s death, he said: “I think legislation would have made an enormous difference.

“He had had a good life, and he’d often seen his friends die badly. He didn’t want that for himself.

“But nevertheless, I was shocked when I discovered he’d acted to take his life. The thing that struck me was it was a very lonely decision. He couldn’t talk to me or his partner as it would have implicated us. He died a lonely death.

“He died too soon. He did have a terminal diagnosis, and I think if he’d had the confidence of knowing that he could have had laws to enable him to end his life when he’d wanted, he would have lived longer.

"I think he acted while he still felt he had capacity, in fear of what was coming.”