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Kim Leadbeater admits assisted dying laws could change in future - but 'positive' it will still be passed by MPs
21 March 2025, 09:46
Natasha Clarke speaks to Nick Ferrari
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has admitted that the assisted dying laws may change in future - but she was "feeling positive" it would still be passed by MPs.
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The MP pushing the new laws through Parliament has said she'd be surprised if it were altered for another five or ten years.
But she rejected accusations that removing the High Court Judge safeguard had spooked MPs.
In an exclusive interview with LBC alongside campaigner Sophie Blake, the MP for Batley and Spen:
- Said she was feeling "positive" MPs would still back it
- Insisted that a more "robust" version would be coming back soon - adding "we've made quite a lot of changes"
- Denied they were rushing it through Parliament
- Admitted she didn't know whether she'd want the option of an assisted death for herself
- Hit back at criticism after an MP had to leave a hearing early as her hearing aids ran out of charge
- Said it was particularly important for women to "have the choice" over their own bodies
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The next votes on the law - which passed through its first stages of the House of Commons last year - could happen as early as next month, she revealed.
Some MPs are worried about changes to the assisted dying bill - with the removal of the sign off by a High Court Judge.
And others are worried that the law - although tightly drafted right now for only people who are terminally ill with less than six months to live - could be altered in future.
The MP admitted that it was possible but stressed "that could happen with any" law.
Three heartbreaking calls that shed light on the assisted dying debate
She insisted: "They'd have to put a brand-new bill before Parliament so you couldn't do that.
"I'd be surprised if this came back for five or 10 years.
"I think we have to look at the bill as it stands.
"If you think About Oregon, since 1997, the eligibility criteria there have not changed.
"Other countries have got different systems. But I firmly believe that this bill will be what assisted dying looks like in, in this country for the foreseeable future."
The private members bill - which was voted through by MPs by 330 to 275 - is still far off becoming the law, and may not come in for up to two years.
Ms Leadbeater said she had not had the sense many MPs had changed their minds since last year.
On whether she'd seen MPs confidence in the bill rocked thanks to the changes that MPs have made, she replied: "I don't accept that - certainly, those are not the conversations I'm having with people.
"Many people you speak to will see real value in having a multidisciplinary panel of experts.
"One challenge is it makes it harder for patients to access assisted dying, and I'm aware of that.
"Having legal expertise, along with a psychiatrist and a social worker who are trained in the two most important issues really, around detecting for coercion and assessing capacity, that's a much more robust third layer of scrutiny.
"And that's all then headed by a judge, either a retired or a sitting High Court judge who will oversee the Voluntary Assisted Dying Commission.
"I think that's a really robust framework, none of which exists at the moment."
And she stressed: "I'm not detecting much movement in how people voted last time. I think people voted on the principle of the issue.
"I do feel positive about it, but I feel we've got to trust the process, let the process play out and then colleagues can make their own decisions.
"I want to reassure the public that Members of Parliament are taking this very, very seriously.
"This isn't something that's been rushed through, it's something that's been really deeply considered by the Bill Committee specifically, but also more broadly within Parliament, and that's exactly how it should be."
