On 16 October 2024, Kim Leadbeater (Labour) presented the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25 to Parliament, having been drawn first in the Private Members’ Bills ballot for the 2024-25 session. The full text of the bill has not yet been published, but its long title states it will “allow adults who are terminally ill, subject to safeguards and protections, to request and be provided with assistance to end their own life”.

The bill’s second reading is scheduled for Friday 29 November 2024. The Library will publish a briefing on the bill ahead of second reading once further details of its contents are available. The briefing will be available on this page. In the meantime, the following publications provide an overview of current law and policy:

In a letter to ministers, the Cabinet Secretary Simon Case confirmed that “the Prime Minister has decided to set aside collective responsibility on the merits of this bill” and that the government would “remain neutral on the passage of the Bill and on the matter of assisted dying”. Members of Parliament, including government ministers, will therefore have a free vote on whether to give the bill a second reading.

The last Commons vote on changing the law was in 2015 when, on a free vote, MPs voted against giving the Assisted Dying (No 2) Bill 2015 (a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Rob Marris MP) a second reading by 330 votes to 118.


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