PA MediaKim Leadbeater has selected the MPs responsible for detailed scrutiny of the assisted dying bill.
Made up of 14 supporters, including two ministers; nine opponents and senior voices from both sides of the debate, the committee will review the legislation line-by-line and suggest amendments before it goes any further.
Leadbeater, the Labour MP behind the bill, said the committee has the right balance and experience “to give the bill the detailed scrutiny it deserves and requires”.
MPs backed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would give people in England and Wales in certain circumstances the right to choose to end their own life, by 330 votes to 275 on 29 November.
The committee is made up of:
- Kim Leadbeater (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Stephen Kinnock, Health Minister – Voted for the bill
- Sarah Sackman, Justice Minister – Voted for the bill
- Bambos Charalambos (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Marie Tidball (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Dr Simon Opher (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Jake Richards (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Rachel Hopkins (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Lewis Atkinson (Labour) – Voted for the bill
- Naz Shah (Labour) – Voted against the bill
- Juliet Campbell (Labour) – Voted against the bill
- Danny Francis (Labour) – Voted against the bill
- Sojan Joseph (Labour) – Voted against the bill
- Jack Abbott (Labour) – Voted against the bill
- Sean Woodcock (Labour) – Voted against the bill
- Kit Malthouse (Conservative) – Voted for the bill
- Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative) – Voted for the bill
- Danny Kruger (Conservative) – Voted against the bill
- Rebecca Paul (Conservative) – Voted against the bill
- Tom Gordon (Lib Dem) – Voted for the bill
- Sarah Green (Lib Dem) – Voted for the bill
- Sarah Olney (Lib Dem) – Voted against the bill
- Liz Saville-Roberts (Plaid) – Voted for the bill
Unusually, the bill’s committee includes double the standard number of ministers – with Health Minister Stephen Kinnock and Justice Minister Sarah Sackman both appearing.
Leadbeater said two ministers joining the committee reflects “the level of engagement and commitment that such an important piece of legislation demands”.
A source close to Leadbeater compared the selection process to “three-dimensional chess” – juggling different opinions, party balance and MPs’ schedules. They added they had tried to achieve a range of gender and ethnic representation.
Key figures from both sides of the debate are on the committee, including Tory MP Danny Kruger who is a vocal opponent of assisted dying and his Conservative colleague Kit Malthouse – who campaigned alongside Leadbeater for the bill.
Marie Tidball, the Labour MP and former director and of the Oxford University disability law and policy project, is one of several MPs who say they voted in favour at last month’s initial stage but want changes before giving final approval.
These hesitant MPs could hold the keys to pushing the bill through a split committee and shaping the bill before it returns to the House of Commons.
Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville-Roberts said she would reconsider her support if the bill were not made more robust.
She told the Commons last month the bill needed “sufficient scrutiny to stitch together a complete garment out of what is presently threads and patches” that could be challenged in court.
Conservative MP Rebecca Paul previously told the BBC she felt torn on the bill but voted against it out of fear the overstretched NHS could not protect the vulnerable.
The committee includes several health workers, including Labour MP and GP Dr Simon Opher, and Neil Shastri-Hurst, a former surgeon and medical barrister turned Tory MP.
Several health workers are also on the committee including Labour MP and GP, Dr Simon Opher, and Neil Shastri-Hurst, who before becoming a Tory MP was a surgeon and medical barrister.
What happens next?
The MPs will decide how much time to spend going through the bill. But it is expected to sit for up to two days a week for several weeks from the second half of January.
They will hold public hearings with experts invited to give evidence before proposing amendments to the bill.
Those behind the bill hope to have the committee process finished in time for it to return to the House of Commons on 25 April.
It is at that stage when all MPs will have a chance to debate and vote on the changes proposed by the committee.
Could the bill be defeated?
Some of those opposed to the bill say they have hired former government special advisors to try and “professionalise” their campaign, believing they were too disorganised at the last vote.
They believe there are enough MPs who supported the bill initially, but could be persuaded to change their minds.
But supporters point out the majority of 55 in favour at the last vote was more than they expected and meant they were confident the bill would pass its remaining stages in Parliament.
