Labour MP for East Thanet Polly Billington has held a listening event in Margate to hear people’s views ahead of the upcoming vote on legislation to legalise assisted dying.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has tabled the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which will seek to give people who are terminally ill with six months or less to live the option to end their own life at a time of their choosing. It will include eligibility criteria, medical and judicial oversight, and protections against coercion or abuse. The full text of the Bill has yet to be published.
The Prime Minister has said the government is taking a neutral position on the Bill, meaning MPs are under no obligation to vote along party lines.
The last House of Commons vote on changing the law took place in 2015, when MPs voted against a change in the law to legalise assisted dying.
Constituents who had written to the MP about the vote, whether in support or opposition, were invited to attend a roundtable discussion on Saturday 2 November.
Twenty-five people attended with some sharing personal experiences of loss that had shaped their own views on the issue
Polly Billington says the aim was to make sure everyone’s voice was heard in the debate. She says she is likely to vote against a change in the law but wanted to hear what East Thanet residents had to say.
She added: “Over the past few weeks, I have been deeply moved by the stories constituents have shared with me that have shaped their own views on assisted dying.
“I know that I face a huge responsibility when it comes to voting on their behalf on this difficult issue in a few weeks’ time.
“I have been honest with constituents that I am minded to vote against a change in the law, because I am concerned that the poor state of palliative care might leave those with terminal illnesses in the position of having to factor the care they might receive into a decision to end their life.
“I take the weight of my vote seriously, and I wanted to be sure that when I come to cast it, I have listened carefully to the arguments put forward by constituents on whether or not to change the law.
“It was a humbling experience to hear constituents’ own stories of pain and loss at the event in Margate. And it was reassuring to know that all of them – like me – want to place the wishes and interests of those experiencing the immense trauma and suffering of a terminal illness at the centre of this discussion.”
The bill has faced strong opposition from religious and disability rights groups. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby branded the proposal a “dangerous” step that could lead to a “slippery slope,” where people who are not terminally ill might feel pressured into ending their lives.
The Campaign for Dignity in Dying supports the Bill, saying: “Dying people are not suicidal – they don’t want to die but they do not have the choice to live. When death is inevitable, suffering should not be. Along with good care, dying people deserve the choice to control the timing and manner of their death.”
MPs will debate the bill on November 29th.
I am glad she is minded to vote against it, I know it is difficult for an MP to canvas votes or opinions, I am sure there would have been a large number of people who would have been interested in the round table discussion, who wouldn’t have necessarily written to their MP. Is there such a thing as an ‘online MP’s surgery, or perhaps she would welcome loads of emails.
She said she would vote to abolish the child cap & then six days later voted to retain it. She also said she would vote to keep people warm in their homes, then weeks later voted to condemn thousands of pensioners to death with the fuel scrapping. How can anybody trust a word she says?
Labour seem very keen to get rid of the elderly & the most vulnerable in society, if you don’t have six figures in the bank, or bunging them cash/goods, then you are worthless to them.
No need for this, I nearly lost the will to live trying to get a blood test for high Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)! After over a week I had to beg, but still don’t know the result!
She knows where Thanet is then , it’s about time she appeared
She actually ‘appears’ every weekend – which is unsurprising given that she moved here a couple of months ago (as promised during the GE campaign).
Part of the problem is precisely that there is wholly inadequate palliative care and it’s not fully funded by the NHS. When will this situation be resolved?
Ms Billington and Mr Streeting may want to play safe and continue to allow people to die at home or in hospitals with in the main very poor end of life care and accept that the better off have the horrible opportunity of going abroad if they are able to travel to opt for a dignified death.
I watched a friend die a horrible death using the Liverpool pathway – it took 12 days for her to die. I have witnessed people dying distressing deaths in hospital wards on their own or just with a young nurse holding their hand.
I have also watched in horror how the elderly particularly those who are near end of life are ignored completely in A&E.
At least give people the choice of choosing their time to die. The change in the law would not stop the Harold Shipman’s of this world or the brutality that the vulnerable and unwanted suffer either intentionally or unintentionally by family or friends if they have any.
The argument for improving palliative care instead of instituting a protective law for those who choose to take their own life given the state of our economy and institutions is completely illogical and actively harms those who want the choice now.
Don’t listen to Wes and frankly whilst this Government continues to arm Israel to continue with the live slaughter of women, children, sons and fathers in Palestine and Lebanon the performative deep concern by our MP’s amounts to many as pure hypocrisy.
Do you want to see a better welfare state yes or no? Are you prepared to pay more tax to pay for it?
If you want the former, but expect others ,notably the rich to pay for it, then don’t lecture me or anyone else about hypocrisy.
Beveridge used the phrase social insurance,I doubt if he envisaged today’s self entitled society,but we are where we are.
Look at pictures of people even back in the 1990’s and they were knackered at 65 and most keeled over at 70.
They hoped for the odd foreign holiday and a peaceful retirement, nowadays it’s about cruises and world travel onto your 90’s.
For all our bellyaching we have never had it so good.
Look at the whinging over inheritance taxation,you are never going to pay it,your kids will.
As for Israel,the UK supplies very little to them,but we buy from them,maybe we should find other suppliers.
In any case now Trump is elected Israel will have carte blanche to continue carpet bombing the levantine.
Anyone here that thinks voting for populists is a great idea, should observe what happens in the US.
Time for us to cut away the illusion of the special relationship.
Anyone here that thinks voting for populists is a great idea? That is EXACTLY what we should be doing… voting in the most popular candidate and empowering them.
The libertard luvvies, brain-dead celebrities, Grauniad readers and every single employee of the BBC need to suck it up and realise that THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE should determine who governs us and how.
It’s called DEMOCRACY!
In the words of the mighty Gervais… “You have the right to be offended but being offended doesn’t make you right.”
I hear what you are saying about the will of the people to govern, but I don’t want to be governed by anyone, I want the first elected officials to carry out the will of the electorate in a way which reflects our invaluable rights and whilst I was a monarchist, I believe the only way for democracy to work going forward is small civil service enacting the will after MPs and Lords (or a different second chamber) pass said laws based on the will of the people. To
Avoid the tyrant of the majority, we need an electoral collage so that the metropolitan majority can override and make slaves the rural minority who grow their food!
Donald Trump is an immature ,selfish, not very bright bully. What does “libertard” mean? I can see it’s a portmanteau word. “Liberal”and “mustardy” perhaps?
Kathy Bailes should have banned Peter Checksfield the minute she saw his comment calling me a whore. He’s not interested in making sensible comments. He just wants to upset people.
Though to be fair, at least Trump isn’t a liar.
What’s your opinion on the Assisted Dying Bill?
M M Rees, libtard or libertard, short for liberal retard. One of those pointless epiphets so casually thrown around by the more politically angry usually due to the lack of an ability to counter the others point of view with sensible argument , or too lazy to do so.
Thanks, “Death and Gravity”.
M.M. Rees, you’re spot-on and someone I’d like to get to know. I think Trump is bad because everyone says he’s bad. Thank you for this useful insight!
I’d like to get to know her too, she seems lovely.
“Snowflake Mc Follower”- if everyone had said Trump was bad, he wouldn’t now be the president of America.I do not have insights about Trump. His faults are obvious. By the way, I don’t ever feel the need to become acquainted with anybody on these comment threads.
True democracy would be being able to vote out governments when they are destroying the UK & not have to wait for years to do so.
Also politicians being held to their manifestos & media pledges & if they do the exact opposite when they steal our votes with their lies as happened in July, then they cease to be the government & it is looked at whether they should go to prison or not. The manifesto has to be a legally binding document.
No party is ever going to be elected on the basis of rational pragmatic policies that would benefit the country, ie
Reducing reliance on benefits
Forcing people back to work
Declaring excess weight, poor diet and lack of exercise to be the perils they are
Being honest about the levels of taxes required for the policies some would like and that such levels of tax would be a disaster, hence the need for less state spending.
That the green dream is going to reduce standards of living.
Housing is incredibly expensive and more people need to be paying for their own.
Reduce our reliance on migration to create the illusion of improved economy.
That we’ll never stop illegal migration the whole time that arriving here is effectively a lottery win.
Acknowledging how many people actually really live in the uk.
So we’ll be forever led by the nose by those able to spin the best fairytale of the future under their leadership, then we’re surprised it’s never going to be a reality.
I certainly don’t want to know Peter Checksfield- he called me a whore on a comment thread here.
Unless palliative care and social care is utterly overhauled and properly funded then yes, we need to let people choose assistance.
We treat animals with more dignity than humans in many cases towards end of life. Bring left to suffer is inhumane and medieval.
I don’t understand how funding of palliative care comes into this discussion. I watched and nursed both my parents suffer terribly at the end of their lives with both receiving excellent palliative care at home and at Pilgrims Hospice. But it is also the agonising emotional pain when you know you have a terminal illness that no amount of pain medication can ease. What do you say to someone you love when they repeatedly say to you that they just want to die?
I certainly would not want to be in that much pain, physically and/or emotionally and would definitely want my life to be ended as quickly as possible and believe it is MY right to decide that whilst I am still able to.
I’m with you there, Jane & Clare. This issue has nothing to do with Polly’s below-parperformance as an MP (let alone Trump’s friendship with Israel), and everything to do with giving the terminally ill a respectful ending. Having watched people with no hope suffer terribly during their final days, it would be humane to give them some assistance at least a few weeks early. We wouldn’t let our pets suffer like this, would we?
That rather depends on the circumstances & the motives of family members & medical experts-you don’t need to look any further than Harold Shipman to find a doctor happy to murder an insane number of elderly people for their own financial gain.
Having seen how it is has gone in other countries-where the promise was it will just be for the terminally ill in great pain & no medical hope & it has turned into disabled people being offered it-making it clear they believe they are a burden on society & should end their lives-as is happening in Canada, the 29 year old Dutch woman who has depression & anxiety being granted her right to do it, the British 47 year old guy who flew out to Switzerland with no medical problems, paid his money, filled in a form & was then to all intents murdered for the cash etc.
I have no faith the UK won’t go down this path-even more with the character or rather lack of character of the people currently in charge & their associations with hedge funds doing private healthcare/giving them government contracts & the attitude of UK hospitals in recent years-who have been putting DNR notices on patients that neither they nor they family asked for. Covid seems to have made many of them indifferent to human life-the very thing they swore an oath to protect.
And this is why I’d probably NOT support the bill, as it could be so easily open to abuse. If it were pleased properly – not something that ever happens in this country (look at QEQM!) – then it would get my support.
Palliative care is wonderful in hospices, I agree. But it’s voluntary funded and not everyone is able to access the services. If there were more, and if social care was also funded better and more available, then people dying and in need would have more support services and more palliative services. Instead, folks suffer on a ward or in A&E or simply at home alone.
If just half of the overweight and obese in the country took responsibility for their size, we’d save more than enough to spfund social/ palliative care properly. They’d also be more economically productive and have better lives. But we live in an absurd world where the nhs ( in majority of instances)won’t tell people they’re fat and that losing weight would do them a world of good.
The selfish entitlement displayed by those who eat themselves to poor health and then expect society to deal with the downsides is astounding.
I agree totally. At one time (perhaps even now), if a school kid was a bit behind in English or Maths, they’d get a little extra help. Why not give chubby kids extra exercise? They’ll thank you in the long run (pun intended!). I’m in my ’60s, on heart medication and with a dodgy knee, yet when I’m not cycling I still walk 4-5 miles almost every day.
Most of it is diet & it is in the home-if the parents feed them junk food & live on it themselves then it makes o real difference. Just like when you see an obese dog, the owners are nearly always behemoths themselves.
When I was growing up, my main lunches during school holidays were either bread and dripping or sugar on toast – but because we were always outside playing, regardless of rain or cold, we stayed trim (that said, this early poor diet probably led to me having a single blocked artery almost half a century later).
Could have been cigarettes.
I’ve never smoked, never taken any drugs (apart from ONE puff of dope when I was a teenager), and never drank to excess. Mind you, I did have a few fry-ups in my building site days, before living a far more healthy lifestyle after I moved to Thanet aged 22.
Totally agree with Jaundised Outlook. I was told by an obese nurse (6 inches shorter than me and about twice my weight) that I could lose a few pounds.
I asked how her diet was going and wow! she was offended.
I am offended standing in queue at the checkout watching these monsters loading a cart with more food than I could eat in a month in the realisation that my taxes will be paying for their lack of self-control.
Don’t tax food… tax the obese.
Why do the NHS employ obese dieticians that look like Mr Creosote to lecture others about their weight? If you went to a dentist & all his teeth were rotten would you trust him with your dental care? If you went to see a psychiatrist & found her holding a conversation with the wall would you feel she is the best person to help you? If you hired a personal trainer & it turns out they are 20 stone of flab would you believe they can help you?
Why not Drinkers & Smokers? They cost about the same as the obese.
And druggies, including dope smokers.
They already pay huge amounts of tax and as such effectively pay for the burdens they place on society, smokers actually contribute more to the exchequer than they take out. Not too sure onnthe drinkers but would guess that they pay enough tax to at least cover the costs overall , of course your white lightening street drinker probably doesn’t.Doughnut scoffing , monster quaffing waddlers don’t.
Haha that made me chuckle, very good. People really shouldnt be judged whether they be a smoker or fast food luvvie. All in moderation i say, though clearly if you were to do any of these or a combination thereof you can reasonably expect to encounter health issues at some point as a result.
It is however a hame of chance. Iv known too many people diminished by conditions they have to manage and those who sadly have died despite living outwardly clean lives. Never smoked, dont drink etc. Seems to me a lottery and if i choose to play i will but i wont bitch if it comes up red after betting on black.
Iv enjoyed hugely the disparaging references to those who are overweight. Me Creosote, waddlers etc. My two favourites, for the record, are Arbuckle and Bunter
In 2017 the overall cost to society of excess weight/ obesity was 24 billion , a recalculation in 2023 bought that figure upto 98 billion.
In the 2017 report it was said that 30,000 people died and on average people lost 9 years of life expectancy. Ask someone in orthopaedics how the demand for hips and knees is changing and the main reason why.
Data like that was the reason there was a sea change in the attitudes towards smoking, the country needs to make excess weight just as socially unacceptable. It’s impossible to tax an economy to prosperity and it’ll be equally impossible for the nation to support the cost excess weight and obesity if the current trend isn’t severely curtailed.
Individuals may , like yourself, see it as a game of chance, but when it comes up red after betting on black people may not bitch but they do expect the rest of society to pick up the pieces.
It’s all a percentage game , those who outwardly live clean lives have a much lower percentage chance of a bad outcome and the cost to the rest of society is easily shared. The overweight and obese have a much higher chance of negative outcomes and the cost of treating them is much higher and as in a previous post there are no real taxes to discourage excess consumption or to raise cash to cover the costs.
The nation can bitch and whine about the state of public services all it wants but whilst nothing is done about the elephant in the room and politicians pander to societies absurd sensitivities ( no party will broadcast real change as the fat vote is now just too numerous and powerful at the ballot box) continued decline and ever increasing taxes are inevitable. I’m not far off embarking on my 7th decade , assuming i reach my 9th if the current trajectory isn’t at least halted UK society will be pretty much unrecognisable, even if its only because we’ll be forced into a US style health care system in which only the relatively healthy and wealthy can dream of the care we all receive today.
Saw a video the other day of Polly in the House of Commons rolling her eyes at another MP when they were criticising the rise in the bus fare cap. Would not trust a word she says about anything. Once a crooked lobbyist always a crooked lobbyist
Polly is Islington Gauche Caviar-pretends to love the poor & be their saviour. But then behaves in the exact opposite way-despite her worthless promises she then votes to keep the child cap she savaged in print in place just days later, voted to freeze pensioners to death after virtue signalling how Labour would keep homes warm, loves making it more expensive for working people to get to & from work & takes ‘freebies’ from giant entities.
She also virtue signals her green credentials, but works for a lobby group that lobbies for a giant US polluter. Labour have just wasted their imaginary 22 billion black hole on a carbon capture project-greenwashing technology proven not to work, giving the deal to a tax haven polluter that bunged then 4 million for the deal & giving one of their top people a high paying job as government advisor.
Was this event invite only? I certainly didn’t see it publicised. Or is Billington sticking to her clique?
The article ( to my understanding) says that constituents who’d written to Polly had been invited to the “listening” session, which may not be such a bad idea as it then involvesthose who’ve made the effort to make representations before hand, plus it effectively means no disruptive rent a mob types can attend.
Those that wrote to her on the subject were invited.
Recently seen for myself that palliative care can be superb. Pilgrims Hospice in Margate recently helped our relative to spend precious time with us while remaining much more comfortable and at ease at the end of his life than he had feared might be the case. I think people should have the choice as to whether or not to end their lives but only if they know for sure that they are having the very best palliative care yet it’s not helping sufficiently. Anything that might undermine the crying need to maintain and improve palliative care is difficult for me to contemplate.
EUTHANASIA is a HUMAN RIGHT
But the discussion above is not about that, it’s mainly about a Labour politician’s unkept promises.
When a person wants out it is her/his right. That’s why and how I can accept my son’s violent suicide. (NO, he wasn’t on drugs or booze!)
How is it a human right? If people want out then in the overwhelming majority of cases they are physically capable of doing so in any number of ways-they don’t need to pay a Swiss clinic obscene amounts of money to do it for them, involve family members etc.
I saw someone with advanced alzheimers who no longer knew their own name, couldn’t walk and could no longer digest food – but he was allowed to basically starve to death for a few days when all food and fluids was withdrawn. The family almost begged a doctor to intervene, but their hands were tied legally. Would you want to go that way? I wouldn’t.
Nope & those are the minority of common sense cases where this is logical to implement it.
Problem is there are so many greedy people around looking to inherit & the system has been abused in other countries to where it now more resembles Hitler’s T4 programme-eliminating or at least encouraging the mentally ill, mentally disabled, the disabled, emotionally distraught & the elderly to end their lives as they are a ‘burden’ on society. That began with starvation & injections & ended up you know where.
This might not be popular and a bit odd, but right to death for other reasons needs to be explored along with reinstatement of the death penalty for capital crimes.
If I am found guilty of a crime I did not commit, whilst I would want to pursue an appeal, I should have the right to demand the death penalty is enacted for the crime I am accused of and not forced to remain in prison despite being innocent with the only option being suicide once appeal denied. If a judge and jury believe me guilty they should have the b@lls to kill ne and live with the consequences of finding out later they were wrong.
Yes, that worked out really well before they scrapped it. I am sure Stefan Kiszko among many others would have been so happy to be executed after being fitted up by the police.
Even in the era of DNA they managed to fit up Andrww Malkinson for a sex crime he didn’t do & one he could have walked from jail for early if he had confessed to it. I mean you could surely get yourself killed in prison pretty easily by other inmates if you wanted to.
How long before it’s your duty to die ,when you become ill
No one’s suggested it’s a duty , rather that it be a matter of personal choice.
I stated how long !!,yes it’s personal choice now ,but the future who nows
Isn’t that the NHS the last 4-5 years? Too much time by medical staff virtue signalling by banging saucepans at the sky & doing dance/twerking videos for social media saying how great you/NHS are? Putting Covid free patients on Covid wards-creating 4 out of 10 cases? Appalling maternity care leading to deaths? No doctor appointments? Waiting lists of 8 million if you collapse & the A&E diagnose you as your doctor refuses to? Operations cancelled every time a Royal dies & NHS staff feel the need to be on television etc?
Take it you don’t like or use the Brilliant NHS
It has become overwhelmed by people not looking after themselves who expect the NHS to pick up the pieces. Fat people, drinkers, smokers and druggies should be given less priority. Doctors should also prescribe exercise more often, particularly for kids who get driven everywhere.
1. You need to be able to access a doctor to be able to be prescribed anything. They really need a dietician referral first & foremost & often the parents need education & dietician help as well
2. You don’t need a prescription for exercise-the pavements are free & walking is great exercise. Just get off the couch & walk a bit, then you will walk further & more often.
I agree. The ambulance services are overwhelmed and offer a free taxi service to a&e during weekends. Violent drunks and druggies should pay a fixed fee for that.
Haven’t been able to access a doctor for 5 years now. A&E is the only thing available & it is variable who is there on the day, if you can understand what some of them are saying, how busy it is to what care you receive etc. Though I haven’t been there for over 2 years now-so maybe things have improved since then.
I haven’t seen a doctor for a similar time (and fortunately haven’t needed to), but I do get regular check-ups for blood pressure and cholesterol via my GP practice.
Why was this not a public debate for ALL Thanet residents and not just 25?
I hope Polly Billington changes her mind, having listened to those who were there.I agree 100% with this statement: The Campaign for Dignity in Dying supports the Bill, saying: “Dying people are not suicidal – they don’t want to die but they do not have the choice to live. When death is inevitable, suffering should not be. Along with good care, dying people deserve the choice to control the timing and manner of their death.”