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Burnham says he will not vote on assisted dying unlike Starmer
Confirmed
Mr Burnham, who was not an MP and therefore did not have a vote when the bill came before the Commons in recent years, said last month that he believes the funding of palliative care needs to be fixed before consideration can be given to legalising assisted dying.
Prime minister Andy Burnham has said he will abstain in the next Commons vote on the assisted dying Bill so as not to “unduly influence the debate” in a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party. Mr Burnham, in Friday’s letter to the PLP, confirmed the government “remains neutral on the question of assisted dying and on the passage of the Bill” and said whether the law should change “is a matter for Parliament”.
The prime minister, who has previously indicated he had changed his view over the years to be in support of the principle of assisted dying, said in July that it is “very challenging” to debate the issue amid gaps in the current offer of care at the end of life.
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper previously voted in favour of assisted dying, but her predecessor Wes Streeting had openly voiced concerns about the implications for the NHS. Mr Burnham, who is Catholic, said he does not want to “unduly influence the debate” in his role as prime minister and has therefore decided it is “most appropriate” for him not to cast a vote next month.
She said: “Andy Burnham is absolutely right to say that people’s personal experience around terminal illness lie[s] at the heart of the debate and I welcome his view that everyone’s views should be treated with dignity and respect.
Writing to Labour MPs on Friday, Burnham said: "My role, as the prime minister, will be to lead a government that implements the will of Parliament in this area – whether that is to change the law or not. Burnham said he has his "own personal views on the issue" but it was "a matter for Parliament to decide".
She said: “Improving social and palliative care and offering choice in the last weeks of a dying person’s life can and must go hand in hand. Starmer voted in favour of the previous bill when he was PM but did not campaign in favour of it, remaining officially neutral.
What's confirmed
- Burnham said he has his "own personal views on the issue" but it was "a matter for Parliament to decide".
- Writing to Labour MPs on Friday, Burnham said: "My role, as the prime minister, will be to lead a government that implements the will of Parliament in this area – whether that is to change the law or not.
- Mr Burnham, in Friday’s letter to the PLP, confirmed the government “remains neutral on the question of assisted dying and on the passage of the Bill” and said whether the law should change “is a matter for Parliament”.
- She said: “Andy Burnham is absolutely right to say that people’s personal experience around terminal illness lie[s] at the heart of the debate and I welcome his view that everyone’s views should be treated with…
What's still developing
- Starmer voted in favour of the previous bill when he was PM but did not campaign in favour of it, remaining officially neutral.
- Health Secretary Yvette Cooper previously voted in favour of assisted dying, but her predecessor Wes Streeting had openly voiced concerns about the implications for the NHS.
- Prime minister Andy Burnham has said he will abstain in the next Commons vote on the assisted dying Bill so as not to “unduly influence the debate” in a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party .
- Mr Burnham, who is Catholic, said he does not want to “unduly influence the debate” in his role as prime minister and has therefore decided it is “most appropriate” for him not to cast a vote next month.
- Mr Burnham, who was not an MP and therefore did not have a vote when the bill came before the Commons in recent years, said last month that he believes the funding of palliative care needs to be fixed before…
- The prime minister, who has previously indicated he had changed his view over the years to be in support of the principle of assisted dying, said in July that it is “very challenging” to debate the issue amid gaps in…
- She said: “Improving social and palliative care and offering choice in the last weeks of a dying person’s life can and must go hand in hand.