‘Senedd’s vote on Leadbeater Bill did not approve principle of assisted suicide’

The Welsh Senedd has voted in favour of granting legislative consent to the devolved aspects of Westminster’s assisted suicide Bill.

According to convention, the Senedd’s consent is required for a UK Bill to be implemented on a devolved issue. On Tuesday, MSs voted by 28 to 23 votes, to permit Kim Leadbeater’s Westminster Bill to be applied by the NHS in Wales.

However, they also voted by more than two to one to criticise the “lack of thorough consideration of the constitutional implications of this Bill for Wales”.

The motion centred on how Leadbeater’s Bill would be practised in Wales, not a vote on the principle of assisted suicide. If her proposals fall in the House of Lords, the vote will not come into effect.

‘Blindfold’

Welsh Health Secretary Jeremy Miles, who brought the motion, voted against it along with First Minister Eluned Morgan and Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies.

Miles told BBC Wales that although the vote was on “devolved areas”, the “net effect is to give powers in Wales to deliver a service that I don’t think I would support if I was operating over the border”.

Speaking in the debate, Delyth Jewell MS said: “We are treated as an add-on to a Westminster Private Member’s Bill, a Bill that has deep and significant flaws. We are being threatened with the scenario that if we vote ‘no’, people will only be able to access assisted dying privately in Wales. That is not the case.”

“Attempts to give Wales a veto in this Bill were removed by the House of Commons, leaving us in this situation where we are being asked to give consent to something when we have no idea what the final Bill will end up looking like — like legislating with a blindfold over our eyes and restraints on our hands. This is no way to treat a Parliament. This is no way to treat a nation.”

Darren Millar MS agreed, raising concern that granting consent would be “an abdication of our responsibility to the people of Wales, who rightly expect that this Senedd should be able to debate matters in the full knowledge of their implications for Wales”.

‘Big mess’

The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director Simon Calvert commented: “As even supporters of the Bill have made clear, the vote was not on the principle of assisted suicide. It was a technical vote about powers to be given to Welsh Ministers should the Bill pass Westminster.

“Whilst the result was disappointing, the main message from Senedd Members was clear: The Bill’s sponsors have treated Wales as an afterthought to an English Bill and consistently ignored the concerns of the Senedd which voted against the principle of assisted suicide in October 2024.

“MSs made their feelings pretty clear. An amendment expressing regret at the way Wales has been treated in this process was backed by 25 to 12 – the biggest vote of the night. The extraordinary decision of Health Minister Jeremy Miles to vote against his own motion – along with the First and Deputy First Ministers – shows just how big a mess this whole affair has become.

“It is vital that politicians in Westminster start listening to Wales’ concerns on the principles as well as the practicalities of creating a State-sponsored suicide service.”

Hospices

Earlier this month, representatives from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Hindu communities had urged the Senedd to withhold Legislative Consent.

The signatories, including Roman Catholic Archbishop Mark O’Toole and Revd Dyfrig Rees of the Free Church Council of Wales, warned of “serious implications” for the most vulnerable in the country if assisted suicide becomes law.

The leaders stated: “Cherishing life means building a society where nobody is seen as a burden. We must treasure and value the vulnerable, the sick and the dying among us. Across Wales we need to promote excellent palliative care, including support for the hospice movement.”

In 2024, MSs refused to endorse assisted suicide in principle or back a Westminster-imposed change in the law by 26 votes to 19, with nine abstentions.