A new opinion poll has suggested that most people in Britain do not support bypassing the House of Lords in order to pass the controversial assisted suicide bill.
Although the House of Commons voted in favour of medically assisted suicide last year, the bill has yet to receive approval in the House of Lords, where it is currently facing heavy scrutiny from peers. Supporters of the bill fear that a final vote in the Lords will not take place and that it will fail by default.
Lord Falconer, who has championed assisted suicide for many years, has suggested that the Lords could be bypassed by invoking the Parliament Acts in the next parliamentary session. Such an act would be a first for a private members' bill and would be “politically explosive” according to campaign group Right To Life UK.
Polling conducted by More In Common found that 54 per cent of people believe that if the bill fails, it should either not return or should have to go through the process of passing through both houses again. Nearly half (46 per cent) said the bill could proceed without the Lords’ approval.
The polling also revealed a drop in public support for legalising medically assisted suicide, with just 28 per cent supporting the proposals, down from 32 per cent in November 2024.
Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said, “Today’s polling shows the public does not support bypassing the House of Lords to force through the assisted suicide bill."
She continued, “Taking this unprecedented route to bypass House of Lords scrutiny of a private members' bill would be politically explosive.
"The Parliament Acts have never been used to force through a private members’ bill before, and this polling confirms the public does not support taking this deeply controversial route.
"Any talk of using the Parliament Acts to force this bill into law must now be put to rest.”
