Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment (b) to New Clause 14

What happened: On 13 June 2025, the House of Commons voted on Amendment (b) to New Clause 14 of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The amendment was defeated by 254 votes to 233, a margin of 21 votes. This was a free vote, meaning MPs were not required to follow a party line and could vote according to their own conscience and judgment.

Why it matters: New Clause 14 relates to procedural or eligibility requirements within the assisted dying framework the Bill proposes to establish. The amendment sought to modify those requirements in a direction broadly characterised as adding further safeguards or restrictions on access. Its defeat means the clause will proceed without those modifications, leaving the existing provisions in the Bill intact on this point. The practical effect is that the Bill continues on a path favouring broader access to assisted dying for terminally ill adults, rather than the more restrictive approach the amendment would have introduced.

The politics: This was a genuinely cross-cutting vote. Labour MPs split almost evenly, with 109 voting for the amendment and 165 against, while Conservative MPs backed it by 68 to 12. Liberal Democrats overwhelmingly opposed it, voting 48 to 14 against. The Democratic Unionist Party unanimously supported the amendment across its five voting members, and the Greens unanimously opposed it. The vote reflects a broader pattern across this Bill's passage, in which traditional party loyalties have been largely set aside in favour of personal convictions around medical ethics, patient autonomy, and safeguarding.