Burnham will not vote on assisted dying bill, unlike Starmer

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will not vote on the assisted dying bill for England and Wales, a break with his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer, who voted for the previous bill while in No 10.

MPs are likely to get the chance to debate and vote on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in two weeks' time. It is identical to the bill put to Parliament last year, which passed in the Commons but stalled in the Lords after an unprecedented number of amendments meant it ran out of time.

What Burnham said about the assisted dying vote

Writing to Labour MPs on Friday, Burnham said he had his "own personal views on the issue" but that it was "a matter for Parliament to decide".

"My role, as the prime minister, will be to lead a government that implements the will of Parliament in this area – whether that is to change the law or not," he wrote.

"I also do not want to unduly influence the debate as prime minister and for every colleague to know it is a genuinely free vote.

"For these reasons, I have taken the decision that it is most appropriate for me not to vote at Second Reading."

He added that "there is no single right position" in what he called an "incredibly important and personal debate", and that it was vital those different views were treated "with dignity and respect". Starmer voted in favour of the previous bill when he was prime minister but did not campaign for it, remaining officially neutral, BBC News reported.

Ministers told to avoid the public debate

In a separate letter on Friday, Burnham told ministers they can vote as they wish but "should avoid being part of the public debate and should not express views about the implications of the bill for their department's responsibilities". While his abstention is a departure from Starmer's support, Burnham stressed that the government as an entity would officially remain neutral on the bill.

The law would allow adults over the age of 18 who are expected to die within six months to be given help to end their own life, subject to certain safeguards. When he was Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham indicated he was in favour of assisted dying in principle, but in June he suggested it would be challenging to implement before social and palliative care were improved. He succeeded Starmer in No 10 earlier this year, and JOE has logged everything the new PM has done since coming to power.