GEIS-新闻详情

Keir Starmer says good case for ending ban on assisted dying

2023-12-22 00:00:00.0 独立报-英国新闻原网页

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email

Please enter a valid email address

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email

{{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }}

Sir Keir Starmer has backed calls to legalise assisted dying – signalling that a Labour government could support a new vote in parliament.

The Labour leader said there were “grounds for changing the law” to let people who want to end their lives be given help under clinical controls.

Dame Esther Rantzen has called for a Commons vote on assisted dying, after revealing that she has registered with the Dignitas clinic.

The Childline founder and broadcaster, 83, has stage four lung cancer and earlier this week said she has joined the assisted dying facility in Switzerland.

Sir Keir – who backed a change in the law when ending the ban was defeated in the Commons in 2015 – said on Thursday it deserved careful attention.

RECOMMENDED

Iran executes child bride who killed abusive husband

Alex Batty reveals he lied about escape to protect his mother

Do This Everyday to Ease Eczema Flare-UpsSuperfood Reviews | Sponsored Sponsored

A woman in her 40s drank "Ceramide" and her skin became…URUHIME MOMOKO | Sponsored Sponsored

“On the question of assisted dying, there are obviously strong views both ways on this, which I respect,” Sir Keir told reporters during his pre-Christmas visit to British troops in Estonia.

Promoted stories

Left with unused foreign currencies? PayNow it to yourself.Hong Leong Finance

by Taboola by Taboola

Sponsored Links Sponsored Links

“And that’s why traditionally, this has always been dealt with a private member’s bill and a free vote and that seems appropriate to me,” he said.

He added: “I personally do think there are grounds for changing the law, we have to be careful – but it would have to be, I think, a free vote on an issue where there are such divided and strong views.”

Keir Starmer is in Estonia to visit British troops

" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/21/10/ebc974aa56f190f253b30e46ead81ae8Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzAzMjQwMzE4-2.74924492.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/21/10/ebc974aa56f190f253b30e46ead81ae8Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzAzMjQwMzE4-2.74924492.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/12/21/10/ebc974aa56f190f253b30e46ead81ae8Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzAzMjQwMzE4-2.74924492.jpg" data-gallery-length="3" class="i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content">

Keir Starmer is in Estonia to visit British troops

(PA Wire)

Cabinet minister Mel Stride this week suggested he would support another free vote in parliament on legalising assisted dying.

A bill to legalise assisted dying in the UK under strict controls was defeated, 330 votes to 118, in 2015. It is still banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

Mr Stride said he “wouldn’t be adverse” to a fresh debate and vote in the Commons. The work and pensions secretary said he would want to take a “fresh look at it and come to a decision”.

But he made clear that Rishi Sunak’s government was not bringing forward a fresh bill.

Fellow cabinet minister Michael Gove, when asked about Dame Esther’s case, told reporters: “I’m not yet persuaded of the case for assisted dying – but I do think that it’s appropriate for the Commons to revisit this.”

Asked about the issue on Thursday, health secretary Victoria Atkins said the issue was always treated as a “matter of conscience”, with MPs given a free vote.

She initially declined to say whether she thought it was time for another, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today: “As health secretary, I think actually, it’s right that I don’t express an opinion on this.” But she added: “I think that if there was a will in parliament, it will happen.”

Esther Rantzen has revealed she is considering assisted dying in Switzerland

(PA)

Dame Esther told BBC Radio 4 that she believed more people would want to choose the manner of their death if they were allowed – saying she would organise a free vote if she were PM.

She also told the PA news agency: “I would say to parliamentarians: ‘Think of the people you love in your own life, maybe who are older, maybe who are unwell, and think how you would wish them to spend their last days and weeks’.

“It is agonising to watch someone you love suffer. Nobody wants that for their family. And we live in a day and age when it’s perfectly possible to offer people a gentle, peaceful death.”

Senior Tory Kit Malthouse, former minister at the Home Office, said he had been “working the tea rooms” in favour of a new vote.

The co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on end-of-life choice said that “the sentiment in parliament has moved significantly since 2015”.

RECOMMENDED

What to know about the new Covid variant surging in the US

Woman shares how she got sick from using reusable water bottle

Belly Fat Removal Without Surgery In Singapore: The Price Might Surprise YouLiposuction | Search Ads | Sponsored Sponsored

Start today!Interactive Brokers | Sponsored Sponsored

In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to murder or other charges. Legislation is being put forward by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, with the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill due to come before Holyrood next year.

The health and social care committee is due to publish its report into assisted dying and assisted suicide in England and Wales, having launched an inquiry in December 2022 to examine different perspectives in the debate.

More about keir starmer Esther Rantzen Assisted Dying euthanasia Labour

Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

8Comments

1/ 3Starmer says good case for ending ban on assisted dying

Starmer says good case for ending ban on assisted dying

Keir Starmer is in Estonia to visit British troops

PA Wire

Starmer says good case for ending ban on assisted dying

Esther Rantzen has revealed she is considering assisted dying in Switzerland

Starmer says good case for ending ban on assisted dying

‘I personally do think there are grounds for changing the law,’ said the Labour leader

Getty

Promoted stories

Navy Quest Game

Play this game for 1 minute and see why everyone is addictedPlay for free. No Installation. This game will keep you up all night.Navy Quest Game| Sponsored Sponsored

Undo

Best Hearing Aids

Seniors Born Before 1967 Are Eligible For Invisible Hearing AidsBest Hearing Aids| Sponsored Sponsored

Learn More

Undo

Body Design News

People who can't lose weight may not have tried "this"!Body Design News| Sponsored Sponsored

Learn More

Undo

BuzzDaily Winners

Immerse Yourself in our Boundless Gaming Universe (Sign Up Free)BuzzDaily Winners| Sponsored Sponsored

Undo

PanzerQuest

If you have a mouse, this game will keep you awake all night long.PanzerQuest| Sponsored Sponsored

Play Now

Undo

Hair’s Rich

Watsons-bought "Japan's hair growth gel" worked so wellHair’s Rich| Sponsored Sponsored

Learn More

Undo

investing.com

Greta Thunberg's Car Shocks The World, Proof In Picturesinvesting.com| Sponsored Sponsored

Undo

Medline Reviews

How I Finally Slept After Struggling with Insomnia for YearsShocking benefits of ashwagandha for insomnia: how my sleep quality improved.Medline Reviews| Sponsored Sponsored

Shop Now

Undo

news More than 170 Epstein associates to be named after judge unseals court records

Undo

news What is Rudy Giuliani’s net worth?

Undo

culture Madonna says she was in an ‘induced coma for 48 hours’ during latest health scare

Undo

Promoted by the Independent

Turn to the sleep experts Emma to solve your slumber troublesSponsored FeaturePromoted by the Independent| Sponsored Sponsored

Undo