Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said the assisted dying debate should wait until palliative care and social care have been fixed. He was asked about his position on the controversial issue as he gave a speech on tackling the social care crisis at a care home in London.
Burnham's position
“I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first,” Burnham said. “That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care.”
He added: “I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care. That’s the way I kind of see this, and that’s the position that I will stick to.”
Upcoming parliamentary debate
MPs are set to again debate a Bill designed to legalise assisted dying when Parliament returns after its summer recess. Labour MP Lauren Edwards is reintroducing it after the previous attempt by Kim Leadbeater ran out of time amid opposition in the Lords.
The Daily Express is campaigning for a change in the law with its “Give Us Our Last Rites” crusade.
