Palliative care minister to vote for assisted dying

Stephen Kinnock suggests a change in the law could actually improve NHS end-of-life care

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The palliative care minister has said he will vote to legalise assisted dying next week.
Stephen Kinnock suggested a change in the law could actually improve NHS end-of-life care despite Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, planning to vote against the proposed legislation because palliative care is so poor.
MPs will debate and vote next Friday on legislation, which would legalise assisted dying put forward by Kim Leadbeater, a Labour backbencher, with Sir Keir Starmer allowing his MPs a free vote on the issue.
The law would allow terminally ill adults expected to die within six months to legally take their own lives as long as this was supported by a High Court judge and two independent doctors.
On being asked by ITV News whether he planned to support Ms Leadbeater’s Private Member’s Bill, Mr Kinnock said: “I will be voting for the Bill on November 29. I don’t think it’s an either/or question on hospices and palliative care.
“We, of course, have to work hard to improve hospices and palliative care but evidence shows that often countries and places that go with assisted dying can actually see improvements in palliative care coming from that.”
When pressed on Mr Streeting’s claim that assisted dying could come at the expense of other parts of the NHS, Mr Kinnock replied: “You’re asking me a direct question about my view, I’m giving that to you.
“I think that assisted dying is the right thing to do from the point of compassion. Hundreds of people a year are taking matters into their own hands in uncontrolled environments.
“It’s not safe, it’s not compassionate and I think it’s also right that people should have the choice to die a good death in the warm embrace of the people that they love. So it’s the compassionate thing to do [for] them.”
Mr Kinnock and Mr Streeting both voted to legalise assisted dying when Parliament last had its say in 2015.
Mr Streeting told ITV’s Good Morning Britain last month: “I’ve come down this time on voting against the Bill on the basis that I worry about palliative care, end-of-life care not being good enough to give people a real choice.
“I worry about the risk of people being coerced into taking this route towards the end of their life.”
The Prime Minister told reporters at the G20 summit in Brazil this week he will vote on the issue but declined to say how. He voted to legalise the practice as a backbench MP in 2015.
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At least seven members of the Cabinet are expected to back the legislation next Friday.
Ed Miliband, Hilary Benn, Jo Stevens, Lisa Nandy and Louise Haigh have all publicly spoken in favour of legalising assisted dying.
Peter Kyle, the Science Secretary, has told constituents he will vote in favour while Jo Stevens, the Welsh Secretary, voted in favour of the previous attempt to change the law.
At least five members of the Cabinet are expected to abstain or vote against, the most senior of whom is Angela Rayner, Sir Keir’s deputy.
Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday she will once again vote against assisted dying, as she did in 2015.
As well as Mr Streeting, Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, is poised to vote against changing the law, while Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, has said he will either oppose or abstain.
It is understood at least three more Cabinet ministers will stay out of the public debate until the Commons vote takes place.
Supporters of assisted dying argue it will provide dignity for terminally ill people in their final months and that they should be able to choose how to end their own lives.
But critics have warned of a “slippery slope” and there are fears of coercion, while questions have also been raised about the prospect of just five hours of debate being allocated to Ms Leadbeater’s Bill.
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