How Scottish MPs voted on Westminster assisted dying legislation as Bill passes in first vote

A majority of MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, supported a Bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives. But most Scottish MPs who voted on Friday opposed the legislation, with 17 supporting it and 29 voting against.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to end their lives, subject to the approval of two doctors and a High Court judge.

Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who has put forward the Bill, said debate in the Commons on the issue was “long overdue” and, while not an easy subject, it is the job of parliamentarians to “address the issues that matter to people”.

The SNP did not vote on the legislation as it only affects England and Wales. Among Scottish Labour MPs, just 13 backed it, while 22 voted against.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray did not vote as he is in Singapore on a trade visit, and neither did Douglas Alexander, the Labour MP for East Lothian and a trade minister.

All five Scottish Tory MPs voted against the Bill. Meanwhile, four of Scotland’s six Liberal Democrat MPs voted for it, with the remaining two opposed.

Opponents warned of the risks of providing a “suicide service”, and raised concerns around coercion and who might be caught up within the eligibility criteria.

The Bill will next go to committee stage where MPs can table amendments, and on Friday a motion was approved to allow the committee considering the Bill to have the power to send for people, papers and records as part of its sessions.

The Bill will face further scrutiny and votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, meaning any change in the law would not be agreed until next year at the earliest.

Ms Leadbeater has said it would likely be a further two years from then for an assisted dying service to be in place.