Britain's House of Commons has voted against legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, defeating the bill by 286 votes to 270 — a margin of just 16. Friday's result marks the second time the British Parliament has failed to pass such a reform, and comes exactly 11 years after MPs rejected a similar attempt in 2015.

The legislation, brought forward by Labour MP Lauren Edwards through a Private Member's Bill — a mechanism allowing individual lawmakers to propose legislation independently of the government — would have permitted mentally competent, terminally ill adults with six months or fewer to live to end their lives with medical assistance. Any request would have required approval from two doctors and a panel of experts, and the patient would have had to self-administer the lethal substance. The bill was identical to an earlier version that had passed the Commons in June 2025 but ran out of parliamentary time in the House of Lords, the unelected upper chamber, after peers proposed an unusually large number of amendments. By reintroducing the same text, supporters had hoped to eventually invoke the Parliament Acts, a constitutional mechanism that allows the Commons to override the Lords if it passes the same bill in two successive sessions.

The vote was conducted as a free vote, with MPs instructed to follow their conscience rather than party lines. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who took office earlier this year, abstained and publicly expressed reservations about the reform, a stance some analysts believe may have influenced wavering Labour MPs. Support for the bill among Labour members who voted fell to 55%, down from 61% in 2024. The decisive factor was not a wave of vote-switching — only five MPs moved from support to opposition — but lower turnout among the bill's supporters, 43 of whom did not participate, compared with 15 absentees on the opposing side.

The debate centred on two sharply opposed concerns. Supporters, including bill sponsor Edwards, argued that existing law — which can punish assisted dying with up to 14 years in prison — is