𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Welsh Parliament has voted to support the fair and equal implementation of assisted dying in Wales, should the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill be passed in Westminster. Some 28 members of the Senedd backed the motion on Tuesday, while 23 voted against it. The largest survey ever conducted on assisted dying in Wales recently found strong public support for the change.

The Opinium poll of 4,000 adults, commissioned by Dignity in Dying, found 72% supported the legislation while just 15% opposed it. Baroness Janet Royall, former leader of the House of Lords, said the Welsh vote “demonstrates that there is a real momentum across the British isles in favour of the bill, by democratically elected representatives”.

She added: ”I hope that it will make the small group of peers in the Lords understand that it is vital, we have got a responsibility to get this bill through the lords.”

Baroness Royall told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the bill was “absolutely” being deliberately impeded by a minority of peers.

She said: “How can it be that you take nine days to scrutinise three clauses of an act. There are over 1,000 amendments, and that is utterly crazy.”

Meanwhile, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Reform of the House of Lords held its inaugural meeting on Wednesday.

Co-chaired by assisted dying supporters Kit Malthouse MP and Simon Opher MP, the group was formed to address the blocking of legislation by peers.

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In a statement, the chairs said the meeting heard “widespread concern about some of the recent disorderly and uncontrolled behaviour in the House of Lords, including from members who were, until a short time ago, MPs in the Commons”.

They added: “It is time to examine whether the Lords should be radically reformed, replaced or even abolished altogether.

“If that alarms or frightens some members of the second chamber then we respectfully suggest they look at what we have seen recently in the Lords and ask themselves why we have come to this point.”

The APPG will consider whether the Lord Speaker should, like the Speaker of the House of Commons, be able to maintain order and prevent parliamentary rules and conventions being abused.