Keir Starmer is poised to back plans to legalise assisted suicide when MPs hold a landmark vote on the issue this month.
The Prime Minister yesterday confirmed for the first time that he will take part in the crunch Commons vote on November 29, following criticism that he is ‘backing away’ from the issue.
Sir Keir did not comment on which way he will vote, but he has a long history of supporting the decriminalisation of assisted suicide. Last year he said there were ‘grounds for changing the law’ on the issue.
In March this year he promised campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen that he would make time for a free vote if Labour won the election, saying he was ‘personally in favour of changing the law’.
In a thinly-veiled rebuke to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, the PM yesterday confirmed that he expects ministers to stay ‘neutral’ in the run-up to the vote, which is being treated as an issue of conscience.
Asked about Mr Streeting’s public opposition to a change in the law, the PM told reporters travelling with him to the G20 in Brazil: ‘Well, the government is neutral, and it’s a free vote, and it’s very important that it remains a free vote, because people feel very strongly about this. And that’s not a political divide. It’s a sort of individual divide.
‘I know this first hand because (as director of public prosecutions) I looked at every single assisted suicide case for five years that was investigated. I also did the biggest consultation in criminal justice when we did the consultation on assisted dying.
‘It was the biggest response, because people felt so strongly, and I could feel that, and I’ve always said getting the balance right is crucially important.’
He added: ‘It’s a free vote, but it’s very important we maintain neutrality and I certainly won’t be putting pressure on anyone in relation to the way they vote, because I do respect the two different camps.’
In recent weeks, Sir Keir has refused even to say whether he will vote on the Bill for fear of swaying the debate, leading to speculation he could even skip the vote.
Yesterday he told reporters he will take part after all, saying: ‘Yes, I will be voting.’
His absence from the debate has irritated some supporters of the legislation, with one senior Labour MP accusing him of ‘backing away from a debate we know he wants and leaving the field clear for those who want to stop this change happening’.
Mr Streeting has angered some ministers by stridently making the case against a change in the law. The Health Secretary initially said that palliative care on the NHS was not good enough to offer guarantee people a fair choice.
Last week he raised concerns about the potential drain on NHS resources and ordered officials to assess the likely cost.
He has also highlighted fears that some people could feel pressured into ending their own lives to avoid being a burden on their loved ones – something he described as a ‘chilling slippery slope’.
Labour’s former deputy leader Harriet Harman accused Mr Streeting of ‘crossing the line’ by suggesting that his department was opposed to the move.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, who is promoting the private member’s bill, described Mr Streeting’s comments as ‘quite disappointing and quite upsetting’.
The PM is reported to have personally rebuked Mr Streeting in private, becoming quite ‘animated’ at his flouting of guidance from Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to stay out of the debate.
Sir Keir’s comments came as divisions in his Cabinet over the issue deepened – with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson suggesting she would vote against a law change.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday: ‘Back in 2015 when this was last before Parliament, I voted against the measure and, in that time, I haven’t changed my mind.’
Ms Phillipson suggested her concerns are around having safeguards against coercion.
Meanwhile Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said she intended to vote for a change in the law.
She said she had ‘weighed up a number of issues, including my constituents’ concerns’, but added that she would set out further details on her reasoning after the vote ‘given that the Government is required to be neutral’.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said last month she will not support the Bill, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has stated she will vote yes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week declined to give her view, saying she will be ‘looking at all the evidence ahead of the vote in Parliament’.