𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Every unnecessary delay to the assisted dying Bill is “stealing precious time and choice”, terminally ill campaigners have warned peers. Opponents have tabled two thirds of more than 1,000 amendments, in what supporters see as a clear attempt to frustrate the legislative process and run down the clock. But with ten further days of debate now scheduled between January and April, critics have been urged to stop playing games and use the remaining time constructively.

Sophie Blake, 52, lives with stage four breast cancer. She said: “Every single delay is stealing precious time and choice for those who need it now. I’m campaigning so my daughter Maya doesn’t have to watch me suffer and because I want the choice not to suffer. We need compassion, honesty and choice, not political or religious obstruction from those who never support the Bill in any circumstance.”

Saturday will mark the anniversary of the historic second reading vote which saw MPs back the principle of assisted dying for the first time. However, the landmark Bill will only become law if both Houses can agree on the final wording before the current session of Parliament ends in spring.

It was introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater and has reached committee stage in the House of Lords, where just eight peers tabled more than two thirds of the 1,000-plus amendments. Supporters believe some peers are trying to talk out the Bill by lodging many requests for changes and making slow progress while discussing them.

Opponents have denied filibustering and claim the bill requires significant re-drafting to protect vulnerable people. The Lords managed to debate just 28 amendments over the first two days of committee stage.

Sophie, of Brighton, said: “Watching a tiny group of peers try to derail this Bill is despairing. Some of the amendments are unbelievably cruel and appear to be plain spiteful.

“One would ban terminally ill people from travelling in the year before applying. None of us know when our treatment will fail, so denying us our bucket lists and taking away our chance to make final precious memories with our families is absolutely devastating.

“The scale of amendments shows the real intent. This isn’t scrutiny, it’s a transparent delaying tactic, attempting to override a democratic vote.

“Where would it stop if unelected peers are allowed to abuse their position? To scrutinise is one thing, but to be able block what Parliament and the public overwhelmingly support is not.”

The Bill’s supporters argue that the role of the House of Lords is to scrutinise and refine it where improvements can be made, while respecting the will of the Commons.

However, some opponents argue that usual rules over the primacy of the Commons do not apply as the Bill is not in the Government’s manifesto.

The Chief Whip in the House of Lords announced on Wednesday that 10 days had been allocated for further debate next year, in addition to the two remaining days scheduled in December.

Lord Roy Kennedy said it is “clear the House needs additional time to scrutinise the Bill” given the high number of amendments. The move drew criticism from opponents who said it crossed a line on the Government’s position of neutrality.

Supporters welcomed the extra time but warned it must be used constructively. Nathaniel Dye, 39, has terminal bowel cancer. The worst prognosis he has given suggests he may not see the New Year.

In a message to peers who have tried to “stifle the democratic process”, he said: “Play time is over, because the only losers are dying people, like me, who they would deny choice at the very end of life.”

Music teacher Nathaniel is in the middle of another gruelling round of chemotherapy and awaiting tests to show whether it is working.

Despite suffering intense side effects, he regularly travels from his home in Essex to Westminster to sit in the public gallery during assisted dying debates.

Watching some peers try to delay fair consideration of the Bill has been “incredibly frustrating”, Nathaniel said. He added: ‘It feels like people are playing games with my life, with my death.

“It feels like this is a flippant game for a certain lobby that thinks they can stifle the democratic will of the House of Commons and find a loophole to get what they want.

“Opponents in the House of Lords are deliberately wasting time while mine runs out. Every extra week they spend talking out or blocking this Bill is a week I don’t have. No one should have the power to drag this out until it’s too late.”

Nathaniel said unreasonable amendments included one which would require assisted deaths to be filmed. He added: “This would not protect me or my family; it would merely invade our privacy at an incredibly personal time.

“Parliamentary time needs to be put to good use so that genuine improvements to the Bill can be considered, and the democratic will of the British public and the House of Commons is respected.

“Otherwise, it’s not just those of us who are terminally ill now who may be consigned to an inhumane death, but future generations of dying people too. Peers must recognise the time to act is now.”

Dame Esther Rantzen, 85, who has stage four lung cancer, issued a powerful appeal last week urging peers not to “sabotage democracy”.

She said: “Don’t tell me that 900 plus amendments is about getting it right. We all know it’s actually about trying to sabotage the Bill.

“Give us all the choice that you would want yourself. And then we can die in dignity, pain-free, and leave our families and our loved ones with happy memories. And that’s all we ask.”

The Express Give Us Our Last Rights crusade has shared the stories of those fighting for this change, either for themselves or in memory of loved ones who suffered, for almost four years.

Ms Leadbeater introduced the Bill in late 2024 after being drawn first in a ballot that allows backbench MPs to propose new laws,.

She said: “The announcement of extra days in the House of Lords for debate is very welcome. It is right that peers use their expertise and experience to properly scrutinise the Bill and propose improvements to strengthen it where necessary. These extra days provide an unprecedented amount of debating time for a private members’ bill.

“There is little doubt that these days, used responsibly and constructively, will allow the Bill progress through the Lords and enable Parliament to give dying people choice and dignity in their final days and protect their loved ones from the threat of prosecution.”

Lord Falconer of Thoroton, the Bill’s sponsor in the Lords, called for opponents and supporters to “get together and agree the best way that we can use the remaining twelve days that we’ve got on the Bill”.