LONDON — In the unpredictable world of British politics, we already know what one of the dominant topics for 2025 will be.
U.K. lawmakers are about to get stuck in to the finer details of one of the most controversial social reforms for more than a decade: legalizing assisted dying for the terminally ill.
With MPs having approved the proposal at its first hurdle last month, it now continues through parliament for closer scrutiny — first by a committee of MPs, then to another debate and vote in the Commons before it passes to the House of Lords, the British parliament’s unelected second chamber.
As the nation’s fine-print readers, the Lords routinely carry out detailed examinations of major legislation, and will do so again for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
The fact that the Lords will run their magnifying glass over the plans was repeatedly highlighted by the bill’s backers, led by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, in order to reassure MPs with doubts as to whether the bill contains adequate protections.
Yet certain quirks of the proposal mean the Lords will find themselves in a more precarious position than usual when it comes to exercising their powers of scrutiny.
No protection
For one thing, the plan under consideration was brought in as a “private member’s bill” by Leadbeater, meaning it was proposed by an individual MP rather than by the government.
As such, it was not part of the Labour Party manifesto on which they were elected in July. That means the bill does not fall under a longstanding convention that dictates the unelected House of Lords must not block the government’s manifesto promises.
That’s already emboldening some in the upper chamber.
A Conservative peer and opponent of assisted dying, granted anonymity to speak frankly, said that “because this is a matter of life and death, if we go through it and think it’s not up to scratch, we could throw it out.”
Ilona Finlay, a crossbench peer and professor of palliative medicine who is a critic of the bill, said “we would be completely within our rights” to ask MPs “to come back with a better bill that is less dangerous.”
Others damped down such an idea. Sal Brinton, a Lib Dem peer who supports assisted dying, said: “I don’t think we’d frustrate it because it’s a deeply moral issue and we have to hand it back to the Commons for the final say.”
Peers may not have the appetite to block the bill altogether, but they will almost certainly want to strengthen it or add provisions.
Time needed
Finlay said her focus would be on the “phenomenally sweeping powers” given to ministers under the bill, which she argues create the potential for overreach.
Brinton said she wanted to see stronger safeguards against coercion in the bill, because “I deeply care about disabled people’s concerns and don’t want to see it pass if they aren’t protected.”
At the moment, however, there is no guarantee that the Lords could amend the bill without effectively wrecking it. That’s because any amendments added by the Lords need to go back to the Commons, which, combined with a shortage of time for private members’ bills, could mean the whole thing gets cut off by the end of the parliamentary session.
Daniel Gover, senior lecturer in British politics at Queen Mary University of London, called this an “overlooked” element of the bill and urged ministers to give “a firm commitment” that they will find time to consider any Lords amendments.
House of experts
The other unique feature of the Lords is its wealth of expertise, with many peers drawn from the fields of law, medicine, religion and human rights.
While some of the most prominent critics of assisted dying reside in the Lords, the upper chamber should not be seen as automatically more resistant to the plan than the Commons.
A similar bill introduced by crossbencher Molly Meacher passed its first hurdle unopposed in 2021 before running out of time.
One crossbench peer said they hoped the Lords could help improve the bill by drawing on their experience without being subject to the same “extreme pressure” being put on MPs, many of whom are new to parliament and juggling legislation with other duties.
The same peer quipped: “We also have a special interest because quite a few of us are, what should we say, closer to the end of life than those in the Commons.”
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