Assisted Dying: Should Care Be Fixed First?
Disabled and terminally ill campaigners have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking him to improve social care and end-of-life care before any assisted dying law is passed in England and Wales. MPs will debate a new version of the bill on 11 September BBC News.
The letter comes from a campaign group called Assist Us To Live. They said people are currently "failed by society" and that bringing in assisted dying now would put sick and disabled people's lives at risk.
The bill is called the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. It was brought back to Parliament in June by Labour MP Lauren Edwards, who said she wanted to "finish the job" started by a similar bill from MP Kim Leadbeater.
Burnham has said that funding for palliative care — help for people with serious illnesses who are nearing the end of life — and social care, which is practical help with daily living for those who need it, should be "fixed" before assisted dying is considered. He made the promise at a care home in north London last month and was praised by disabled people's groups, including the Greater Manchester Disabled People's Panel Disability News Service.
The government is expected to stay officially neutral on the bill. But the BBC reported that Burnham will not personally vote for it. That is a change from earlier in the summer, when he told the BBC he would "probably" vote in favour, and told BBC Manchester he would support it — even though he had previously chosen not to vote on the issue at all as an MP The Guardian.
The proposed law would allow adults aged 18 and over, who are expected to die within six months, to be given help to end their own life. There would be certain safeguards in place. MPs voted in favour of Leadbeater's bill in 2025, but it got stuck in the House of Lords — the second chamber of Parliament, which reviews and can delay proposed laws. Too many suggested changes were put forward, and the bill ran out of time in April. Edwards brought back an identical bill in June.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission, or EHRC — the official body that monitors equality in Britain — has said the bill could have a particular impact on older and disabled people. EHRC chair Baroness Falkner said disabled people, older people, and especially older disabled people may feel pressured to end their lives early because of how society treats them and a lack of the support they need EHRC.
Edwards has argued there is time to improve end-of-life care before any assisted dying service would actually start, pointing to a four-year preparation period agreed during earlier debates. Another campaign group, My Death, My Decision, has also urged Burnham not to delay the assisted dying debate because of care-funding problems My Death, My Decision.
The broader context here is that two separate issues have become one. Burnham's promise to fix social care, made on 30 July, and the return of the assisted dying bill three weeks earlier, have led to a single question: should the government first make sure disabled and terminally ill people get good care before offering a way to end life? That is the argument the Assist Us To Live letter is putting to Burnham.
The bill is a private member's bill, meaning it was introduced by an individual MP rather than the government, so the government's neutral stance is normal. But the Prime Minister's personal view carries weight with other MPs. What happened to Leadbeater's bill in the House of Lords — it was held up by too many proposed changes until time ran out — is something every party will be watching closely this time round.
It is also important to note where the bill applies. It covers England and Wales only. Social care is run separately in each part of the UK: any Burnham promise on funding reform would bind the UK government in London, not the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), the Welsh Parliament (the Senedd) or the Northern Ireland Assembly (Stormont). The EHRC covers Great Britain, but the bill does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Burnham's record on disability benefits will also be looked at. In March 2025 he called the government's cuts to disability benefits "the wrong choice" BBC News. Opponents of the bill will connect that to the current debate: if the state has already cut disabled people's support, they will say, it cannot fairly offer assisted dying as a free choice.
The 11 September debate will show whether Edwards has enough support to get the bill past its first vote, and whether Burnham's shift — from supportive to unsure — means fewer Labour MPs back it.
