On Friday 11 September 2026, MP Kim Leadbeater-Labour MP for Spen Valley’s revived assisted suicide bill, which has been brought back to Parliament by Lauren Edwards MP, will have its pivotal Second Reading vote in the House of Commons. Prime Minister The Rt Hon Andy Burnham told Labour MPs he will not vote on the bill despite his previous statements in July 2025 when he said: “I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first.
“That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care.
“I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.
Saying he had his “own personal views on the issue”, Burnham went on: “However, I am also clear that this is a matter for parliament to decide and my role, as the prime minister, will be to lead a government that implements the will of parliament in this area – whether that is to change the law or not.
“I also do not want to unduly influence the debate as prime minister and for every colleague to know it is a genuinely free vote. For these reasons, I have taken the decision that it is most appropriate for me not to vote at second reading.”
BACKGROUND: In England and Wales, a new attempt to legalise assisted dying was signalled in June 2026. The bill which mirrors Kim Leadbeater’s failed [Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow terminally ill adults with less than six months to live to request medical assistance to end their lives
Lauren Edwards Labour MP for Rochester and Strood announced she will reintroduce the failed bill to the parliament as a private member’s bill.
The UK Christian Medical Fellowship said things have changed significantly since the bill was first tabled in late 2024. They reported that in response to concerns by the House of Lords, Lord Falconer - the bill’s sponsor - proposed more than seventy amendments.
On 29 November 2025 MPs voted 330:275 to give Kim Leadbeater’s bill a second reading. It was then examined by a Committee, amended and debated at report stage. On 20 June 2026 MPs voted 314:291 to pass the bill to the House of Lords. There was a reduced majority of 23 when it was passed to the House of Lords.
The bill was extensively scrutinised in the House of Lords, revealing all the dangers of legalising assisted suicide and failed to pass as peers ran out of time to conclude debate before the end of the parliamentary session in April 2026.
On 11 September 2026 the bill will have its Second Reading vote in the House of Commons. If passed at Second Reading, it may dominate the remainder of the parliamentary session and longer. There is a concern the Parliament Acts could be used to force this Bill into law. Under the Parliament Acts, legislation can be forced onto the statute book without the consent of the House of Lords only if the same bill has been passed by the House of Commons in two successive parliamentary sessions.[1]
The Christian Medical Association – an organisation of 4,000 doctors, 500 medical and nursing students, and 450 nurses and midwives reported several MPs who voted for assisted suicide have publicly said they would oppose using the Parliament Acts. They stated “This is a private member’s bill addressing profound questions of life, death, and medical practice. It should not be forced through Parliament without both Houses retaining and exercising their full roles in revising and safeguarding.” [2]
The introduction of the bill has been criticised by other Labour MPs with concern about timing on such a controversial issue after the resignation of the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on 22 June 2026 Right to Life UK reported The Royal College of Physicians, Hospice UK, Sue Ryder charity, the British Association of Social Workers and the British Geriatrics Society have all reiterated their serious concerns with the re-introduction of an assisted suicide bill.
Alithea Williams, SPUC’s Public Policy Manager, said:
“It’s incredibly disappointing that this MP is choosing to bring back this dangerous and divisive bill. That Ms Edwards is taking forward an identical bill – that not a single royal college, medical body or disability organisation could support – shows the extreme arrogance of the assisted suicide lobby. Instead of addressing any of the myriad concerns raised, they are opting to try to steamroller it through.” [3]
[1]https://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/publications/briefings/assisted-dying-bill-parliament-act
[2] https://www.cmf.org.uk/the-assisted-suicide-bill-returns-now-is-the-time-to-kill-this-bill/
2/09/2026 2:33 PM
[3] https://righttolife.org.uk/news/press-release-mps-who-supported-assisted-suicide-bill-now-oppose-it-being-forced-through-via-the-parliament-acts-suggesting-bill-likely-to-fail-if-it-comes-back
The Right to Life Australia Inc. defends the right to life of all human beings from conception until natural death. We lobby government for legal protection of the most vulnerable in society – the unborn baby, elderly, sick and those with disabilities.