Campaigners for assisted dying legislation have staged protests outside the Houses of Parliament in London, as tensions escalate over a bill that faces potential failure in the House of Lords. Supporters of the legislation are now threatening to deploy what they describe as a "nuclear option" to ensure its passage.
Parliamentary Standoff Intensifies
MPs backing the assisted dying bill have revealed they are prepared to use the archaic 1911 Parliament Act if the legislation continues to be blocked by peers in the House of Lords. This would mark the first time the act has been invoked for a private member's bill, representing a dramatic escalation in parliamentary procedure.
The bill's supporters, including MP Kim Leadbeater and Lord Charles Falconer, have acknowledged their growing desperation as the legislation faces significant delays in the upper house. They have accepted that without a radical change of approach, the bill will automatically fail if it does not conclude by the end of the parliamentary session in May, despite having been passed by the Commons.
Legal and Constitutional Preparations
Leadbeater and Falconer have obtained extensive legal and constitutional advice which they claim proves they can force peers to vote on the bill, unamended, in the next session of parliament. Falconer emphasised that the public and the Commons demand a proper parliamentary decision on this contentious issue.
"If opponents think this issue will just go away if it is talked out in the Lords then they are wrong," Falconer told the Guardian. "It will continue to demand parliamentary action until it is resolved."
He expressed hope that there would be a change of approach in the Lords to allow the bill to move to a vote, but noted that because the Lords is a self-regulating chamber, there is no mechanism to prevent a small minority of peers frustrating the will of the majority.
The Parliament Act Mechanism
The Parliament Act allows the House of Commons to reintroduce a bill and force legislation through if the Lords repeatedly block it. Since its revision in 1949, it has been used for just a handful of bills to enact laws without the consent of the Lords, including legislation that decriminalised homosexuality and banned foxhunting.
There are two ways to invoke the Parliament Act: either by a supporter adopting it at the next private member's bill ballot, or for the government to give time to the bill for it to return to the Commons. Constitutional experts suggest the government could remain neutral while still facilitating the process, but such a move would likely provoke significant opposition.
Political Pressures and Opposition
MPs are expected to begin putting pressure on party leaders, including Labour leader Keir Starmer, to support this approach. They warn that if they allow the bill to fall, they would face a substantial public backlash and risk appearing impotent if the legislation fails due to the actions of unelected peers.
However, invoking the Parliament Act is likely to spark fury among the bill's opponents, who will argue it represents a tacit admission that Starmer was never truly neutral, given his previous support for reforming assisted dying laws. Cabinet ministers including Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood are among the high-profile opponents of the legislation.
Opponents of the bill argue that the delay in the Lords represents proper scrutiny of what they consider a deeply flawed and unsafe piece of legislation. They note that the bill does not have the support of any of the royal medical colleges and claim that ministers and sponsors have been unable to answer basic questions about its implementation.
Legislative Gridlock in the Lords
Peers are preparing for their tenth day of debate on the bill, with hundreds of amendments still to consider out of more than 1,200 that have been laid. Remarkably, of the 59 clauses in the bill, peers have not yet concluded debate on clause one.
According to analysis by the Hansard Society, the bill is likely to need at least sixteen more sitting days to even reach the end of committee stage, but has less than half of that time available before the parliamentary session concludes.
Last week, MPs and peers who support the bill angrily accused a handful of Conservative and cross-bench peers of deliberately filibustering with repetitive speeches and pointless amendments. This has contributed to the significant delays that now threaten the legislation's survival.
Downing Street's Cautious Stance
While Starmer himself is a longtime supporter of changes to assisted dying laws, there has been scepticism about the bill among strategists in Downing Street. Some view it as an unnecessary distraction and a potentially risky electoral issue that could divide the party and the public.
Starmer has shown himself unwilling to personally intervene or adopt the bill, stressing the government's neutrality thus far, though he has voted twice in favour of its passing. This delicate balancing act reflects the complex political calculations surrounding this deeply personal and morally charged issue.
A source close to Leadbeater expressed confidence that the Parliament Act would apply if the bill was taken through a second time, noting there are precedents for the government to give time to bills concerning conscience issues. As the parliamentary clock ticks down, the stage is set for a dramatic confrontation over one of the most contentious moral and legislative issues facing British politics today.
