The Prime Minister Won't Vote on the Assisted Dying Bill — Here's Why That Matters
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told Labour MPs he will not vote when the assisted dying bill comes back to Parliament on 11 September. He says this is to make sure every MP can vote according to their own conscience, without feeling pressure from their leader.
In a letter to MPs delivered on Friday, Burnham wrote that the government "remains neutral on the question of assisted dying and on the passage of the bill" and that "it is vital that every view is respected." He told colleagues there is "no single right position" on the issue. A separate letter to his ministers warned them against trying to influence the bill's passage. Collective responsibility — the normal rule that ministers must publicly back government policy — will be set aside, so government ministers can vote, abstain, or campaign however they choose.
This is different from what Burnham's predecessor did. Keir Starmer voted for an earlier version of the assisted dying bill when he was prime minister, while still treating it as a free vote where MPs decide for themselves. No 10 officials have confirmed that Burnham, by contrast, has "no wish to affect the assisted dying bill process in either direction."
Assisted dying means allowing a terminally ill person to end their own life with medical help. Burnham's own views have shifted over the years. As Greater Manchester mayor, he said he supported assisted dying in principle. In 2024, he told BBC Radio Manchester that his views had been shaped by family experience of the issue. Back in 2015, he abstained on an earlier assisted dying bill because he was worried the safeguards weren't strong enough. That bill was defeated by 330 votes to 118. By July of this year, Burnham had shifted further, saying it would be "very challenging" to bring in the change before palliative care (care that focuses on relieving pain and symptoms for seriously ill patients) and social care are improved. Those comments were widely read as him withholding personal support. After that, MPs were expected to vote to kill the bill in September.
The bill now before Parliament was introduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards. It is nearly identical to an earlier version proposed by Kim Leadbeater. It would allow adults who have fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, but only if two doctors and an expert panel approve. Leadbeater's original bill ran out of time after members of the House of Lords proposed 1,200 changes during the review stage.
The biggest disagreement is over whether the NHS and care systems are ready for this. Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who now holds the defence role, voiced worries about the earlier bill's impact on the NHS. Burnham has echoed that concern. Supporters of the bill say its planned rollout period of up to four years gives enough time to improve those services before the law takes effect.
The broader context here is one of caution meeting momentum. Parliament has debated assisted dying on and off for over a decade. David Cameron expressed worry about legalisation as far back as July 2014. The 2015 defeat by 330 to 118 was seen as a major setback, but Leadbeater's bill in the last parliament got past its first vote before getting stuck in the Lords. Edwards's bill is now the third attempt in just over a decade, and the fact that it has a slot for debate suggests Parliament still has an appetite for change — even as the current prime minister, for the first time in this cycle, says he will neither vote for it nor pressure others to vote against it.
Burnham's letter to ministers is the more important of his two messages. By confirming that collective responsibility is suspended and by telling frontbenchers not to lobby, he is trying to keep the government from pushing the bill in either direction. Whether that neutrality lasts as the bill moves through later stages, or whether political pressure gradually erodes it, will be something to watch after 11 September.
