What we are arguing
That this Bill, as currently drafted, is not safe — and that a party founded to protect the vulnerable should not pass it in this form.
Our case is a range of separate concerns, each grave enough on its own: the way this Bill would erode the role of Parliament, the danger of undermining palliative care and our NHS, the risk of coercion and abuse, weak safeguards for the vulnerable, the absence of any role for families, and the doubts raised by the doctors who would have to make it work.
What we are not arguing
That the principle of choice at the end of life doesn’t deserve serious debate. It does. Colleagues who support assisted dying in principle are not our opponents, and we do not question their compassion.
The argument we are making is narrower and, we think, harder to answer: this particular Bill does not provide the safe framework that debate requires.
Our principles
We believe that:
01
Palliative care must come first
No one should be offered assisted death as an alternative to good care they cannot access.
02
Safeguards must be robust and tested, not improvised and ineffective
Committee stage has already seen protections weakened, not strengthened, since MPs first voted on the Bill.
03
The voices of disabled people, older people and those at risk of coercion must be heard
A range of leading charities and representative bodies have said clearly that this legislation will not protect the vulnerable.
04
This flawed Bill would undermine the role of Parliament
It hands too many powers to ministers to make decisions later, and asks MPs to give up their right to scrutinise the detail on behalf of their constituents.
Read the case
The briefings
Each concern has its own page, with the evidence and the sources set out in full — written so a colleague, a researcher or a journalist can lift what they need from it.
For journalists
Press and spokespeople
For interviews, comment, or a spokesperson — including Labour parliamentarians willing to speak on the record — get in touch and mark your message “press”. Include your deadline; we prioritise replies by deadline.
Published coverage and the campaign film are in the News and Events.
In their own words
What colleagues say
The [2024–2026] assisted dying Bill had an awful lot of Henry VIII powers: 42 delegated powers for any future Government — who may be mad, bad or dangerous, and of any existing party or one yet to be thought of — to make these decisions.
Dame Meg Hillier MP
Labour and Co-operative MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch
Portrait: UK Parliament
Family members and those who have provided care for the person are likely to be privy to information that has a significant bearing on the panel’s deliberations and decision. Perhaps a son or daughter knows that someone new has recently entered the life of their vulnerable parent, has slowly taken control of their finances and has encouraged them to cut contact with others.
Baroness Luciana Berger
Labour peer
Portrait: UK Parliament