How did your MP vote on the assisted dying bill?

UK

The assisted dying bill, put forward by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, has passed its second reading in the Commons with a majority of 55.

In total, there were 330 votes in favour and 275 against. Forty-six MPs did not vote.

See how your MP voted with our look-up.

This was a rare “free vote”, meaning party leaders didn’t dictate how they wanted their MPs to vote on this issue. Like many other leading politicians, Sir Keir Starmer did not publicly reveal how he intended to vote ahead of time.

We now know that he voted in favour, as did Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and former prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Among the most prominent MPs to vote against were Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who will now have a prominent role in shaping the legislation, as well as Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and opposition party leaders Kemi Badenoch, Ed Davey and Nigel Farage.

The SNP chose not to vote as the bill will not apply to Scotland.

Overall, a clear majority of Labour MPs supported the bill, while most Conservatives voted against it.

The vote indicates that a majority of the current parliament agrees in principle that assisted dying should become legal, but it does not become law at this stage.

It will now go to a committee for detailed examination and input from experts, stakeholders and the public, before being passed back to the House of Commons with any amendments.

Read more from Sky News:
What does the assisted dying bill propose?
Two people reveal contrasting views on assisted dying

If passed again at that stage, it will then go to the House of Lords where the process will be repeated, before ultimately going to the King for Royal Assent.

In her opening argument to the House today, Ms Leadbeater told MPs that the whole process could take as long as two years to go through, such is the scrutiny that will be applied to each clause at each stage.

Did religion play a part?

There were passionate and compelling arguments from MPs across all parties and both sides of the debate throughout. Many drew on traumatic personal experiences or passed on deeply emotional stories from constituents.

Many MPs will have been guided by their faith in making a decision with so many complicated moral and ethical implications.

MPs aren’t required to declare their religion formally but can opt to either choose a religious text to swear on or make a “solemn affirmation” with no religious text, when they are formally initiated to the Commons after each election.

Among the 257 MPs who didn’t swear on a religious text when they joined the 2024 Parliament, the bill received 192 votes in favour and 60 votes against, with 13 not voting.

Among the 357 MPs who did make a religious oath, a majority voted against the bill. Across all religions, 138 voted in favour and 215 against.

Similar bills have been raised by MPs and Lords several times over the years, but only two have got to this stage of a second reading at the House of Commons and a vote.

In 1997, the bill was defeated by 234 votes to 89, while in 2015 there were 330 votes against and 118 for.

Follow updates and reaction to the vote on the Sky News Politics Hub live blog.


The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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