MPs fear assisted dying could become divisive election issue

This would mean that if the bill is passed later this year, it may not come into force until after the next general election.

MPs have privately raised concerns to The Yorkshire Post that this could lead to the subject becoming a divisive issue during campaigning.

“I don’t want this to be an issue that could be exploited in 2029,” one said.

Harrogate and Knaresbrough MP Tom Gordon has put forward an amendment, which could be debated this Friday, which would cut the potential implementation time to two years.

He said: “What I worry about is the delay for implementation from two years to four, which would kick it past this Parliament.

“And I worry, if we’re in a position where this bill does become an act of Parliament, people will struggle to understand why they can’t have access to something MPs have voted for.

“That’s what worries me is that there’s no other country in the world that has taken longer than two years to implement.

“We’re now in a situation where you’ll end up with it being an election issue, and I don’t think that’s helpful for anyone or good for politics.”

Kim Leadbeater’s proposal would see terminally ill people with six months to live be able to seek an assisted death with the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.

The Spen Valley MP said she was proposing the longer timeframe “with some reluctance” and acknowledged the upset felt by campaigners for change.

She insisted the four-year timeframe is “a backstop, it’s not a target” as she pledged to “hold the Government’s feet to the fire” on implementing legislation should the bill pass.

MPs initially passed the bill at second reading with 330 in favour, and 275 against.

Since then, the proposed legislation has changed significantly, with Ms Leadbeater changing the sign off from a High Court judge to an expert panel.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to skip the House of Commons debate on assisted dying on Friday, reports have suggested, with his Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, already coming out against it.

Ahead of this, Ms Leadbeater told the Parliament Matters podcast that she is hopeful some MPs who rejected it at that stage might now change their minds and support it after “additional safeguards” were added.

She said: “There might be colleagues who were nervous at second reading and voted against and I would like to think some of them would revisit the Bill and say ‘do you know what? This is good for me. I can see the additional changes that have been made, and I would support it’.”