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 Roman 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.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which ran out of time in Parliament’s last session, is due back in the House of Commons on 11 September.
The Bill proposes allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
First brought by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater in 2024 as a Private Member’s Bill, it fell in the House of Lords in April, having run out of time to become law before Parliament was prorogued that month.
It had passed two votes in the House of Commons, although the second one, which took place in 2025, saw the majority in favour of the Bill narrow to 23 from a previous majority of 55.
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