A leaked policy note commissioned by Sir Keir Starmer’s office in 2023 – when Labour was in opposition – said legalising assisted dying for those with a terminal diagnosis would be “popular” with the public and warned it would not be “politically viable” to “do nothing on the issue”.
Opponents of assisted dying have suggested this calls into question the government’s declared neutrality on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill, introduced by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater and currently going through Parliament.
Senior Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier said it appeared Labour leaders had tried to “circumvent” the party’s policy processes”.
Both Leadbeater and the Labour leadership denied the party or government had been involved in her bill.
The 2023 policy note – seen by the and first reported by the Guardian – was sent to key shadow cabinet members.
It anticipated “strong, impactful campaigns in favour of assisted dying during the general election campaign” in 2024 and noted “legalising assisted dying… is popular with the public”.
It added that this was the case amongst “voters in areas we must win back” and stated that while “Labour does not have a party line on the issue… it is necessary for us to reach a decision on how we approach legalisation of assisted dying.”
It later warns that failing to make time in Parliament for a debate or a law change could show “Labour as unable to take a position on difficult issues or face challenges head on.”
The paper then sets out a range of options from offering voters a general debate on the issue to a public consultation.
The option which was presented most positively is that of a private member’s bill – a piece of legislation introduced by a backbench MP.
The note suggested it could be given government time for debate in Parliament and it assessed that this would give any legislation the best chance for cross-party co-operation whereas a bill piloted by government ministers could be subjected to “political attack”.
The bill currently before Parliament is a private member’s bill but its sponsor, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater rejected any suggestion she was influenced by No 10.
Her spokesman said neither she nor anybody on her behalf had any discussions with Downing Street or party leaders before she decided to adopt assisted dying as the subject of her private member’s bill.
He added: “The government has remained scrupulously neutral.”
A Labour Party spokesman also rejected suggestions of interference.
He said: “It’s completely normal for a wide range of policy proposals to be assessed by political parties in opposition.
“MPs have been able to vote with their conscience on the Terminally Ill Adults Bill throughout its passage through Parliament and the government has not taken a position.
“It is for MPs to decide whether this bill is passed.”
However, the Bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley – a member of the Lords who opposes the bill – told the : “A reported internal briefing before the election raises serious questions about their neutrality.”
It is no secret that Sir Keir personally backs the legislation and he promised the campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen in March 2024 that there would be a debate and a vote to change the law if Labour won the general election.
The bill will next be debated on Friday in the House of Lords, where peers have been given an extra 10 days to scrutinise it and discuss the record number of amendments that have been added.
MPs backed the bill earlier this year but it also needs to be approved by the House of Lords.
Unless it passes by the end of the current parliamentary session next spring, it won’t become law.
However, the legislation has been making slow progress in the upper chamber, amid accusations by supporters of assisted dying that peers opposed to the bill were trying to block it.
At that stage, the government could take it on as their own legislation and give it enough time to pass but with no consensus amongst cabinet ministers, this seems unlikely.
