Left to right – Wikimedia Commons: Official portrait of Kim Leadbeater MP crop 2, 2024, Official portrait of Danny Kruger MP
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has been accused of sending a “highly misleading email to MPs” about the depth of public support for assisted suicide in relation to her proposed Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
On Sunday, Ms Leadbeater sent an email to MPs citing a NatCen poll of British attitudes to assisted suicide that she claimed was “new data” supporting her Bill, despite being conducted between 16 September and 27 October, before the proposed law’s Second Reading.
Her email read: “Another development worth highlighting is the publication of new data from the National Centre for Social Research showing that public support for assisted dying remains high and stable following second reading in November at around 79 per cent.
“The public wants us to deliver a safe, compassionate law for dying people. From my experience in committee, I am confident that we can and will deliver that for them.”
However, MPs are now calling on Ms Leadbeater to “set the record straight” since the “new data” pre-dates the Second Reading of her Bill.
Moreover, the survey specifically states that 47 per cent of the polled public said that doctors should definitely be allowed to assist with the suicide “of a person with an incurable and painful terminal illness”. 32 per cent stated that it should probably be allowed.
Ms Leadbeater’s Bill also rejected an amendment restricting the eligibility criteria to people in physical pain.
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, a vocal critic of the Leadbeater Bill, subsequently stated that Ms Leadbeater should set the record straight.
“It is regrettable that National Centre for Social Research data is being cited in correspondence with MPs to suggest ongoing public support for assisted suicide since second reading of the Bill”, said Mr Kruger.
“In reality, the fieldwork ended before the Bill was even published and the survey itself found that, for the first time, fewer than 50 per cent of the public think assisted dying definitely should be allowed.
“The survey question also related to assisted dying for people at the end of their lives with a ‘painful illness’, which is very different from the Bill before Parliament where an amendment requiring eligibility to be restricted to people in physical pain was not supported by the Bill sponsor or committee.”
Conservative Andrew Rosindell MP also said it was “imperative that Kim Leadbeater immediately corrects the record regarding her highly misleading email to MPs over the weekend…
“Referring to this polling data as ‘new’ and implying the fieldwork took place since the second reading vote is unacceptable.
“I’m afraid this is not the first time the Bill sponsor has moved the goalposts or had to correct the record during the passage of her Bill through Parliament.”
The Leadbeater Bill would legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults given six months to live. The Committee looking into the draft law concluded on 25 March ahead of an MP vote in May.
If legalised, the roll-out of assisted suicide could be delayed until 2029 after ministers told Ms Leadbeater that her Bill is currently “unworkable”.
Earlier this month, the Leadbeater Committee voted to scrap the requirement to have a High Court judge sign off on assisted suicide cases, which Ms Leadbeater had previously advanced as a vital safeguarding measure against coercion.
The Independent reported that “privately a number of MPs now believe that the provision for sign off by a High Court judge was in fact always a ruse to get this Bill through second reading and the intention was then to dump it at a later stage”.
Over a hundred MPs could turn against the Bill as a result.
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