MPs are to debate and vote on whether to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill people who have six months or less to live. Ministers will be allowed to follow their consciences in a free vote as the government is remaining neutral.
Here is what cabinet ministers have previously said and how they have voted on the contentious issue.
Keir Starmer
The prime minister voted in 2015 to allow assisted dying. Last December he confirmed this was still his view, saying: “I personally do think there are grounds for changing the law. Traditionally this has always been dealt with through a private member’s bill and a free vote, and that seems appropriate to me.”
Angela Rayner
The deputy prime minister voted against changing the law in 2015 and her view is not believed to have changed.
Rachel Reeves
The chancellor is undecided and has not previously voted on the issue. She told the Times earlier this year: “I haven’t made up my mind about assisted dying. I would need to give it more consideration. I can understand why people would want it … My worry would be that people would feel under pressure: ‘I’m no good for anybody; people would be better off without me.’ That would worry and scare me, so I’d want to make sure that the right safeguards were in place.
Ed Miliband
The energy secretary was one of the first cabinet ministers to confirm he would vote for assisted dying after it was confirmed that a bill would be brought forward. He told ITV: “I think the current situation is rather cruel, actually. I think people having control over their own life and their own death is something that is the right thing to do. Obviously there have to be proper safeguards and I understand the concerns of some people on these issues, but my personal view will to be vote in favour of this bill.”
Wes Streeting
Having voted for assisted dying in 2015, the health secretary is now undecided. He has said the time for a debate has come, but said in July this year: “Is palliative care in this country good enough so that that choice would be a real choice, or would people end their lives sooner than they wish because palliative care, end-of-life care, isn’t as good as it could be?”
David Lammy
The foreign secretary voted against the assisted dying bill in 2015. Last year he spoke on his LBC show about being “torn” because of his strong Christian faith. “I’m worried that we start somewhere and that it sort of ends up leading to legalised murder,” he said. “I’m just worried that certain types of people might find themselves encouraging others to help them go, not because they want to go or should go but more because of the financial burden.”
Shabana Mahmood
The justice secretary has expressed views against assisted dying and voted against it in 2015. She said earlier this year: “I don’t intend to support it in the future … I feel that once you cross that line you’ve crossed it for ever. If it just becomes the norm that at a certain age, or with certain diseases, you are now a bit of a burden … that’s a really dangerous position to be in.”
Pat McFadden
The Cabinet Office minister supported assisted dying in 2015 but has not been drawn on his position since.
Jonathan Reynolds
The business secretary said earlier this month that he was still against assisted dying, having voted against it in 2015. “I would really worry about how we would protect vulnerable people from that,” he said.
Liz Kendall
The work and pensions secretary spoke in favour of assisted dying legislation in 2015, when she voted for the bill, describing it as a “step forward as a country” and saying the safeguards were strong. “We don’t talk about what might make a good death and it’s something other countries, I believe, may be more open about,” she said at the time.
Louise Haigh
The transport secretary voted for assisted dying legislation in 2015.
Bridget Phillipson
The education secretary said last year there was an “argument for having a vote”, having voted against changing the law in 2015.
John Healey
The defence secretary was absent for the vote on assisted dying in 2015 but voted in favour of a different bill in 1997.
Hilary Benn
The Northern Ireland secretary voted for assisted dying in the past and still holds views in favour of changing the law.
Ian Murray
The Scottish secretary has previously voted in favour of changing the law, and in relation to Scotland’s legislation, he has said he is not against the principle of assisted dying.
Lucy Powell
The leader of the House of Commons voted for changing the law in 2015.
Jo Stevens
The Welsh secretary voted for changing the law in 2015.
Peter Kyle
The science secretary voted for assisted dying in 2015 and gave a strong speech in favour of changing the law. He said at the time: “In the most profound moment in everyone’s life, the moment of death, we have no control at all. For those in the knowledge of their imminent death, I think this is wrong.”
Not known: Yvette Cooper, the home secretary; Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary; Steve Reed, the environment secretary.
