Sir Keir Starmer promises Dame Esther Rantzen a vote on assisted dying if he wins election
Sir Keir Starmer has promised Dame Esther Rantzen that he will allow a vote on assisted dying in the next parliament if he wins the next election.
The Labour leader made the pledge following recent interventions by the broadcaster, who recently revealed she had joined the Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.
ITV News filmed a phone call between the pair, in which the Labour leader told the campaigner and TV presenter that a Labour government would allow MPs time to debate and vote on a change in the law, which has been brought into the spotlight in recent weeks.
Sir Keir told Dame Esther he was “personally in favour of changing the law” – something he revealed at the end of last year.
“I think we need to make time,” he told her. “We will make the commitment. Esther, I can give you that commitment right now.”
Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
In Scotland, although it is not a specific criminal offence, assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to murder or other charges.
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A bill to make assisted dying legal in Scotland will come before Holyrood in the coming weeks.
Asked whether he would like a vote within five years of the general election, Sir Keir told ITV: “Oh yes, definitely.
“I think Esther would agree with this. For people who are going through this or are likely to go through it in the next few months or years, this matters hugely and delay just prolongs the agony.”
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Assisted dying laws a ‘mess’
It comes after Dame Esther, who founded Childline and fronted the magazine show That’s Life! for many years, told Sky News last month she was “disappointed” that a report on assisted dying did not call for a debate in parliament.
The 83-year-old, who has stage four lung cancer, is campaigning for people who have physical illnesses, and a life expectancy of six months or less, to have the right to choose when they die.
MPs on the Health and Social Care Committee concluded that in countries where assisted suicide is legal, there hadn’t been a drop in the quality of palliative care.
It also identified a “pressing need” for improved mental health support for terminally ill people and said there should be a “national strategy for death literacy and support following a terminal diagnosis”.
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Should govt pass assisted dying bill?
It did not recommend that MPs have a vote on the issue and warned that the government must consider what to do if the law is changed in part of the UK or in the Isle of Man or Jersey.
Sir Keir supported a change in the law the last time the issue was voted on in the Commons nine years ago and said in December that a private members’ bill and a free vote “seems appropriate”.
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The Labour leader acknowledged “safeguards with teeth” would have to be put in place to protect the vulnerable but said he believed the law should change.
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“I personally think the law should be changed. There will be people equally passionate, with powerful points to make about why it shouldn’t be,” he added.
“We have to respect that and find the right balance in the end.”
Downing Street said it would be up to parliament whether or not to debate legalising assisted dying.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said Rishi Sunak “has been moved by some of the experiences that have been shared by people and families in this situation”.
She added: “It remains the case that this would be for parliament to decide and it would be for government to facilitate its implementation.”
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Row over how many farms will be affected by inheritance tax policy – as PM doubles down ahead of farmers protest
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the “vast majority of farmers” will not be affected by changes to Inheritance Tax (IHT) ahead of a protest outside parliament on Tuesday.
It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a 20% inheritance tax that will apply to farms worth more than £1m from April 2026, where they were previously exempt.
But the prime minister looked to quell fears as he resisted calls to change course.
Speaking from the G20 summit in Brazil, he said: “If you take a typical case of a couple wanting to pass a family farm down to one of their children, which would be a very typical example, with all of the thresholds in place, that’s £3m before any inheritance tax is paid.”
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The comments come as thousands of farmers, including celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson, are due to descend on Whitehall on Tuesday to protest the change.
And 1,800 more will take part in a “mass lobby” where members of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) will meet their MPs in parliament to urge them to ask Ms Reeves to reconsider the policy.
Speaking to broadcasters, Sir Keir insisted the government is supportive of farmers, pointing to a £5bn investment announced for them in the budget.
He said: “I’m confident that the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected at all by that aspect of the budget.
“They will be affected by the £5bn that we’re putting into farming. And I’m very happy to work with farmers on that.”
Sir Keir’s spokesman made a similar argument earlier on Monday, saying the government expects 73% of farms to not be affected by the change.
Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs Secretary Steve Reed said only about 500 out of the UK’s 209,000 farms would be affected, according to Treasury calculations.
However, that number has been questioned by several farming groups and the Conservatives.
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The NFU said the real number is about two-thirds, with its president Tom Bradshaw calling the government’s figures “misleading” and accusing it of not understanding the sector.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the policy could affect 70,000 farms.
Conservative shadow farming minister Robbie Moore accused the government last week of “regurgitating” figures that represent “past claimants of agricultural property relief, not combined with business property relief” because he said the Treasury does not have that data.
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Agricultural property relief (APR) currently provides farmers 100% relief from paying inheritance tax on agricultural land or pasture used for rearing livestock or fish, and can include woodland and buildings, such as farmhouses, if they are necessary for that land to function.
Farmers can also claim business property relief (BPR), providing 50% or 100% relief on assets used by a trading business, which for farmers could include land, buildings, plant or machinery used by the business, farm shops and holiday cottages.
APR and BPR can often apply to the same asset, especially farmed land, but APR should be the priority, however BPR can be claimed in addition if APR does not cover the full value (e.g. if the land has development value above its agricultural value).
APR and BPR can apply to farmland, which the Conservatives say has been overlooked by the Treasury in compiling its impact figures. File pic: iStock
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Mr Moore said the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Treasury have disagreed on how many farms will be impacted “by as much as 40%” due to the lack of data on farmers using BPR.
Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said last week1,400 farmers in Cumbria, where he is an MP, will be affected and will not be able to afford to pay the tax as many are on less than the minimum wage despite being asset rich.
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Cabinet split over assisted dying as Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson latest to reveal she will vote against bill
A split is emerging in the cabinet, with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson revealing she will join several of her colleagues and vote against the bill to legalise assisted dying.
Ms Phillipson told Sky News she will vote against the proposed legislation at the end of this month, which would give terminally ill people with six months to live the option to end their lives.
She voted against assisted dying in 2015 and said: “I haven’t changed my mind.
“I continue to think about this deeply. But my position hasn’t changed since 2015.”
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Details of end of life bill released
MPs will be given a free vote on the bill, so they will not be told how to vote by their party.
The topic has seen a split in the cabinet – however, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has yet to reveal how he will vote on 29 November.
Ms Phillipson joins some other big names who have publicly said they are voting against the bill
These include Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Border security minister Angela Eagle is also voting against the bill.
Senior cabinet members voting in favour of assisted dying include Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Science Secretary Peter Kyle, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens.
The split over the issue is said to be causing friction within government, with Sir Keir rebuking the health secretary for repeatedly saying he is against the bill and for ordering officials to review the costs of implementing any changes in the law.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting has called for a cost report into assisted dying. Pic: PA
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates has been told Morgan McSweeney, the PM’s chief of staff, is concerned about the politics of the bill passing.
He is understood to be worried the issue will dominate the agenda next year and, while he is not taking a view on the bill, he can see it taking over the national conversation and distracting from core government priorities like the economy and borders.
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Details of the bill were published last week and include people wanting to end their life having to self-administer the medicine.
It would only be allowed for terminally ill people who have been given six months to live.
Two independent doctors would have to confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge would have to give their approval before it could go ahead.
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