is a step closer to being legalised Kim Leadbeater’s Bill with campaigners in Westminster bursting into tears of joy.
, and were among those who voted in favour of the bill to allow terminally ill Britons the right to die.
330 MPs voted in favour with a majority of 55 over the 275 who voted against.
It follow the Express’s which launched two years ago with the The father-of-two feared that, like his daughter Katie, he would suffer a slow and agonising death from his incurable cancer.
Tireless campaigners burst into tears when the result was announced and were pictured hugging and celebrating together.
An emotionally-charged debate lasting for five hours saw speakers share heartbreaking stories of people who had experienced agonising deaths or feared the impact of this potential societal change.
Opening the debate, Ms Leadbeater said the conversation around her proposal in Westminster had been for the most part robust, respectful and compassionate.
And she paid tribute to the families who relived their darkest moments to expose the impact of bad deaths in support of her campaign.
“I know from my own personal experience of grief that telling your story over and over again takes energy, courage and strength,” the Labour MP said.
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Emotions ran high as the result was revealed (Image: Express)
Hundreds of campaigners gathered in Parliament Square (Image: Humphrey Nemar)
Tory Danny Kruger led the opposition and warned that “suicide is contagious”. He raised concerns that people would feel pressure to die because they are a burden or “the system has failed them”.
And he argued that problems with the Bill were “simply too big for the time that it has been given” and it would need “wholesale restructuring to be safe”.
Mr Kruger told colleagues: “MPs should not believe that it can be sufficiently amended. MPs who vote for this Bill today must be prepared to see it become law largely unamended.”
Mother of the House Diane Abbott also voiced her opposition, claiming that the abolition of the death penalty “was a good principle in 1969 and it remains a good principle today”.
She added: “If this Bill passes, we will have the NHS as a fully funded 100% suicide service but palliative care will only be funded at 30% at best.”
One of the most powerful speeches of the day came from Kit Malthouse – a long-time supporter of assisted dying.
Warning that hundreds of horrific deaths would continue each year if MPs voted against change, he said: “If the Bill falls today, we are consigning those people to take their lives in brutal, violent ways, as they are doing at the moment.
“Or, for increasing numbers of our citizens, to make the trip to Switzerland if they can afford it.”
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Crowds outside Westminster on Friday (Image: Humphrey Nemar)
Mr Malthouse also challenged claims that legalising assisted dying would put too much pressure on the NHS – as suggested by Health Secretary Wes Streeting – and judiciary.
He asked colleagues: “Even if you think here is an impact, are you seriously telling me that my death, my agony, is too much for the NHS to have time for?
“We send things to the NHS and the judges from this house all the time. Is anyone suggesting that we shouldn’t be creating a new offence of spiking because the judges are overworked? Of course not.”
Several MPs who spoke revealed they had changed their minds on assisted dying, including disability activity Marie Tidball.
She described this voting decision as “one of the hardest I have had to make” after a career focused on enabling people to live better, more fulfilling lives.
The Labour MP went on: “Today I find myself voting in a way that I thought I never would. I will be voting in favour of moving the Bill to the next stage of legislative process.”
Former secretary Sir David Davis also revealed a change in position. He said: “I’m a believer in the sanctity of life but I am also an antagonist to torture and misery at the end of life.
“Accordingly, I am attending to vote for Second Reading. Second Reading is a point of principle, not a point of conclusion.”
The Tory MP said the UK could look at a wide range of examples – both good and bad – in other countries that have changed their laws.
He added: “If I think at Third Reading that the outcome we are heading towards is Belgium, I’ll vote against. If it’s Canada, I’ll probably vote against. If it’s Australia, I’ll vote in favour. That’s what the next stage of this process is about.”
And Dr Peter Prinsley told the House that witnessing difficult deaths despite the best palliative care had changed his mind on this issue.
He said: “When I was a young doctor, I thought [assisted dying] unconscionable. But now, I am an old doctor and I feel sure it’s the right change.
“I have seen uncontrollable pain, choking, and I am sorry to say, the frightful sight of a man bleeding to death while conscious because a cancer has eaten away at the carotid artery.”
Opposing the Bill, former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron said he believed the motives of supporters were “grounded in compassion” – as was his position.
He said: “To legalise assisted dying is to create the space for coercion that will undoubtedly see people die who would otherwise not have chosen to do so.”
The MP said this included self-coercion, where people feel they should end their lives because they are a burden to others.
He added: “Unless there is a clause in this Bill that I have missed to employ mind readers, then no amount of doctors, safeguards, or bureaucratic mechanisms will prevent those who self-coerce opting to die.”
Anna Dixon, one of the MPs who attempted to bring a so-called wrecking amendment, also voiced strong opposition.
She said: “Unless terminally ill people are confident of access to high quality end-of-life care, how can they make an informed choice about assisted dying?
“I believe that investment in palliative care must come before a change in the law is implemented.”
And Dame Meg Hillier warned that passing the Bill would mean “a fundamental change in the relationship between the state and the citizen, and the patient and the doctor”.
The Labour and Co-operative MP added: “If we have a scintilla of doubt about allowing the state that power, we should vote against this today.”