Prime minister Andy Burnham has said he will abstain in the next Commons vote on the assisted dying Bill so as not to “unduly influence the debate” in a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Mr Burnham, who is Catholic, said he does not want to “unduly influence the debate” in his role as prime minister and has therefore decided it is “most appropriate” for him not to cast a vote next month.
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which ran out of time in parliament’s last session, is due back in the House of Commons on 11 September.
The Bill proposes allowing adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel.
First brought by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater in 2024 as a private member’s bill, it fell in the House of Lords in April, having run out of time to become law before parliament was prorogued that month.
It had passed two votes in the House of Commons, although the second one, which took place in 2025, saw the majority in favour of the Bill narrow to 23 from a previous majority of 55.
In a letter to the Parliamentary Labour Party, Mr Burnham wrote: “I, of course, have my own personal views on the issue.
“However, I am also clear that this is a matter for Parliament to decide and my role, as the Prime Minister, will be to lead a Government that implements the will of Parliament in this area – whether that is to change the law or not.
“I also do not want to unduly influence the debate as Prime Minister and for every colleague to know it is a genuinely free vote. For these reasons, I have taken the decision that it is most appropriate for me not to vote at second reading.”
Mr Burnham, who was not an MP and therefore did not have a vote when the bill came before the Commons in recent years, said last month that he believes the funding of palliative care needs to be fixed before consideration can be given to legalising assisted dying.
The prime minister, who has previously indicated he had changed his view over the years to be in support of the principle of assisted dying, said in July that it is “very challenging” to debate the issue amid gaps in the current offer of care at the end of life.
He said at that time: “I take the view that that debate – and I don’t say that there shouldn’t be a debate at some point about those issues – personally, I think there’s something that needs to happen first.
“That is the fixing of the funding of palliative care and social care.
“I think it is very challenging to introduce that wider debate in a context of people not receiving that care and having the peace of mind about that care.”
Lauren Edwards, who has reintroduced the assisted dying Bill, welcomed Andy Burnham’s plan for government to remain neutral on the legislation.
But Ms Edwards, responding to those comments last month, insisted there is time to improve end-of-life care before any assisted dying service would come into effect under her proposed law.
She said: “Improving social and palliative care and offering choice in the last weeks of a dying person’s life can and must go hand in hand.”
Mr Burnham, in Friday’s letter to the PLP, confirmed the government “remains neutral on the question of assisted dying and on the passage of the Bill” and said whether the law should change “is a matter for Parliament”.
He added that there is “no single right position” on the issue and told of his “deep respect for MPs on all sides, and the expertise they bring to this debate”.
Ms Edwards said she welcomed the prime minister’s confirmation that the neutral position of government is unchanged and that MPs can vote according to their conscience, rather than along party lines.
She said: “Andy Burnham is absolutely right to say that people’s personal experience around terminal illness lie[s] at the heart of the debate and I welcome his view that everyone’s views should be treated with dignity and respect.
“That is certainly the approach I will be taking, and I look forward to what will be a very important debate in two weeks’ time.”