MPs voted to legalise assisted death in England and Wales on June 20 after the 3rd studying of the terminally sick adults (finish of existence) invoice. The invoice has been closely contentious, each with regards to ethics and the technical sides of the parliamentary procedure, with many feeling the regulation was once rushed.
This was once the general vote within the Space of Commons at the invoice, which now strikes to the Space of Lords prior to turning into regulation.
The invoice handed with 314 votes to 291 – a majority of 23. This was once a smaller margin of victory than the former instance MPs voted at the regulation in October 2024, when a majority of 55 supported its passage. The query, due to this fact, is: “who switched?”
Apart from the speaker, the SNP MPs, who usually don’t vote on problems particular to England and Wales, Sinn Fein MPs, who can’t vote as a result of they don’t take their seats, and the brand new Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby, Sarah Pochin, who changed former Labour MP Mike Amesbury between the second one and 3rd studying of this invoice, we’re left with 632 MPs to check.
Function
General (N = 632)
Sure (N = 313)
No (N = 292)
Abstain (N = 27)
Feminine
260 (100%)
136 (52%)
110 (42%)
14 (5.4%)
Ethnic MP
90 (100%)
26 (29%)
59 (66%)
5 (5.6%)
LGBT
70 (100%)
50 (71%)
19 (27%)
1 (1.4%)
Elected As
Labour
410 (100%)
229 (56%)
165 (40%)
16 (3.9%)
Conservative
121 (100%)
20 (17%)
94 (78%)
7 (5.8%)
Liberal Democrat
72 (100%)
55 (76%)
14 (19%)
3 (4.2%)
Unbiased
6 (100%)
0 (0%)
6 (100%)
0 (0%)
Democratic Unionist Celebration
5 (100%)
0 (0%)
5 (100%)
0 (0%)
Reform UK
5 (100%)
1 (20%)
4 (80%)
0 (0%)
Inexperienced Celebration
4 (100%)
4 (100%)
0 (0%)
0 (0%)
Plaid Cymru
4 (100%)
3 (75%)
1 (25%)
0 (0%)
Social Democratic & Labour Celebration
2 (100%)
1 (50%)
0 (0%)
1 (50%)
Alliance
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
Conventional Unionist Voice
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
Ulster Unionist Celebration
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
MP Non secular
Now not Non secular
228 (100%)
173 (76%)
48 (21%)
7 (3.1%)
Non secular
404 (100%)
140 (35%)
244 (60%)
20 (5.0%)
MP Faith
None
228 (100%)
173 (76%)
48 (21%)
7 (3.1%)
Christian
313 (100%)
117 (37%)
181 (58%)
15 (4.8%)
Catholic
34 (100%)
7 (21%)
27 (79%)
0 (0%)
Muslim
25 (100%)
2 (8.0%)
22 (88%)
1 (4.0%)
Jewish
13 (100%)
7 (54%)
4 (31%)
2 (15%)
Sikh
12 (100%)
6 (50%)
4 (33%)
2 (17%)
Hindu
6 (100%)
1 (17%)
5 (83%)
0 (0%)
Buddhist
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
1 (100%)
0 (0%)
In general, 56 MPs modified place between the second one and 3rd studying. The no vote was once stickier than the sure vote. Of those that voted no for the second one studying, 97% did so within the 3rd studying, and only one MP went from the no to the sure camp (Jack Abbott, the Labour MP for Ipswich).
Then again, 14 MPs went from sure to no, and an additional 15 went from sure to abstaining. Of the MPs who abstained for the second one studying, ten later voted sure and ten voted no. This was once now not, on the other hand, sufficient for the invoice to be blocked.
How faith affected the vote
It was once [already clear](https://theconversation.com/assisted-dying-bill-religious-mps-were-more-likely-to-oppose-law-change-in-first-round-of-voting-256503](https://theconversation.com/assisted-dying-bill-religious-mps-were-more-likely-to-oppose-law-change-in-first-round-of-voting-256503) that make stronger and opposition to the invoice was once related not to best political celebration however devout outlook. And there may be some proof that faith performed a task in motivating switchers.
Excluding Labour, which broke 56% to 40% in favour of assisted death, maximum different events leant closely in a single path or the opposite. This mirrors the divide alongside faith, the place non-religious MPs had been much more likely to again the invoice (76% to 21%) when compared to non secular MPs, who had been part as prone to make stronger it (35% to 60%).
Non secular Liberal Democrat and Labour MPs had been much more likely to make stronger assisted suicide than devout MPs as an entire, while non-religious Conservatives had been much less prone to make stronger it than non-religious MPs an entire.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, the sponsor of the assisted death invoice, speaks right through its 3rd studying.
Alamy
If we evaluate devout MPs to non-religious MPs, the previous had been much more likely to modify to no (45% of non secular MPs who switched did in an effort to no, in comparison to 38% of non-religious MPs) than sure (18% in opposition to 25%). In each teams, 38% abstained within the 3rd around.
This trend continues throughout events too – all of the Conservative MPs who modified place had been devout (even though greater than 90% of the Conservative Celebration are devout, so we shouldn’t learn an excessive amount of into this).
Amongst Labour MPs, who clearly make up the majority of any parliamentary vote, there was once a hanging similarity in switching between devout and non-religious MPs. Of the switchers, 29% of Labour’s devout and non-religious MPs switched to sure, while 38% of non secular and 36% of non-religious MPs switched to no.
The consequences of faith additionally play out inside events. Of the 11 MPs who switched to sure, seven had been Labour Christian MPs, and the opposite 4 had been non-religious Labour MPs.
Two MPs elected underneath Reform’s banner – Lee Anderson and the now-independent Rupert Lowe – switched from sure to no, the previous being non-religious and the latter a Christian. No Liberal Democrat MP switched to a sure vote, however the 4 who switched to no had been devout – the only non-religious switcher abstained.
General, it’s transparent that whilst faith remains to be vital in structuring how MPs voted on assisted suicide, the position of celebration can’t be neglected – even in a loose vote like on assisted death.
