Mega-poll: Less than one in 10 voters would prioritize legalizing 'assisted dying'

A new mega-survey reveals how far assisted suicide has fallen from the top of voters’ concerns in the United Kingdom (UK).

Less than one in 10 polled feel that legalizing it should be a priority for their local MP. The findings reveal that public enthusiasm for a revision to the law is far weaker than campaigners for assisted suicide typically allege. 

Key Takeaways:

• A long-promoted bill to legalize assisted suicide in the UK failed earlier this year.

• Advocates of assisted suicide have vowed to reintroduce the legislation.

• A recent poll of over 10,000 citizens found that a very small minority of voters say legalizing assisted suicide in the UK should be a top priority.

The Details:

The poll of over 10,000 citizens found that only 7% believe legalizing assisted suicide should rank among MPs' top three concerns in the coming year. The MRP survey, which uses constituency-level modeling, also showed considerable public resistance to attempts to push forward legislation that has already been dismissed. 

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which attempted to legalize assisted suicide in England and Wales, was halted in the House of Lords earlier this year. Debate on the legislation was left unfinished before the close of the parliamentary session in April, with peers running out of time amid claims that proceedings had been deliberately prolonged.

Despite the bill’s collapse, assisted suicide advocates have signaled intentions to attempt a revival of the proposal and reintroduce it through another MP in the House of Commons, potentially relying on the Parliament Acts to override the House of Lords.

However, polling conducted by Whitestone Insight for the think tank The Other Half indicates that such a move could run counter to public opinion. The findings suggest that a majority of voters in every UK constituency oppose legislation being forced through Parliament without comprehensive scrutiny by both Houses.

Zoom In:

Across every constituency in Great Britain, a majority of voters said that Parliament should concentrate on decreasing NHS waiting times and boosting social care services before even considering legalizing assisted suicide.

The polling also found unanimous agreement nationwide that members of the House of Lords have a duty to assess legislation thoroughly and, where necessary, amend or dismiss proposals they believe could endanger susceptible individuals. Both the House of Lords Constitution Committee and the Hansard Society have reinstated that peers are constitutionally entitled to block such legislation. Given that the bill is neither a government measure nor encapsulated in any party’s election manifesto, no constitutional convention obliges the Lords to greenlight it.

Responding to the poll results, Fiona Mackenzie MBE, CEO of The Other Half, said: 

This polling clearly shows that the public does not want assisted dying introduced via the back door using the Parliament Act. In every constituency in Great Britain, voters say they do not want their MP to back a law pushed through without the approval of both Houses of Parliament. This should be a warning to any MP thinking of giving in to pressure from assisted dying campaigners to use the Private Members’ Bill ballot to revive Kim Leadbeater’s Bill.

Assisted dying is a proposed law change that should require the highest level of scrutiny, not a procedural manoeuvre to get around the House of Lords to push it into law.

Andrew Hawkins, founder of Whitestone Insight, said:

“Large national polls can sometimes hide big local differences, which is why MRP is useful. But what is striking here is how consistent the picture is across Great Britain.

In every constituency we modelled, more voters said they would not want their MP to support a law being pushed through without sufficient scrutiny, or the approval of both Houses, than said the opposite.

Voters are effectively saying: if Parliament is dealing with a life-and-death issue, they expect Parliament to do its job properly and the polling paints a picture of an electorate that is wary of unintended consequences."

Why It Matters:

The poll results are significant, as campaigners lobbying for assisted suicide have openly expressed their plans to revive Leadbeater’s bill in the upcoming parliamentary session. Their strategy relies on securing support from an MP who performed well in the Private Members’ bill ballot, with the goal of reintroducing the legislation.

The approach reportedly includes the potential use of the Parliament Acts to overrule the House of Lords and push the bill into law. Labour MP Lauren Edwards and Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George, who placed second and fourth in the ballot respectively, both backed the bill at its Third Reading in the House of Commons. They are widely thought to be facing the strongest pressure from campaigners to advance the proposal.

Adopting such a path, using the Parliament Acts to circumvent evaluation by the House of Lords on a Private Members’ bill, would likely be very disputed, and could ignite deep-rooted political divides. Such an action would also be the first of its kind, as the Parliament Acts have never before been enacted in this way.

Campaigners are thus poised to channel their efforts towards persuading Edwards or George to adopt and reintroduce a significantly identical version of Leadbeater’s assisted suicide bill with their support. 

The Bottom Line:

These findings reinforce concerns raised by pro-life and disability-rights groups that the assisted dying debate has been motivated  more by pressure from lobbyists than by public demand.