Some 16 members of the Cabinet voted in favour: Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Chief Whip Alan Campbell, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Defence Secretary John Healey, Work & Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Science & Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Secretary for Scotland Ian Murray, Leader of the Commons Lucy Powell, Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Minister without Portfolio Ellie Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Secretary for Wales Jo Stevens.

Six Cabinet members voted against: Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

Two Cabinet members had no vote recorded: Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

Support for the Bill at third reading was higher among MPs elected for the first time at or since the 2024 general election than among MPs who first entered Parliament at previous elections.

Of the 348 MPs elected at or since the election, who were able to indicate a preference, 209 (60%) were in favour, 132 (38%) were against and seven (2%) had no vote recorded.

By contrast, of the 291 veteran MPs, 105 (36%) backed the Bill – including two “aye” tellers; 160 (55%) opposed it – including two “no” tellers; 25 (9%) had no vote recorded; and one (Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain) voted both for and against.

Wales is the area of the UK with the highest proportion of MPs backing the Bill (75%), followed by south-west England (74%), the East Midlands (57%) and Yorkshire & the Humber (57%).

Northern Ireland saw the lowest proportion (6%), followed by Scotland (32%), London (37%) and north-east England (37%).

The remaining figures are eastern England (51%), south-east England (47%), the West Midlands (46%) and north-west England (44%).

A majority of female MPs backed the Bill at third reading, while slightly more male MPs opposed the legislation than voted in favour.

Of the 259 female MPs able to express their preference, 137 or 53% were in favour (this includes one of the “aye” tellers); 110 or 42% were against (including two “no” tellers); 11 or 4% had no vote recorded; and one (Liberal Democrat MP Wendy Chamberlain) voted both for and against.

Of the 380 male MPs, 177 or 47% backed the Bill (including one “aye” teller); 182 or 48% opposed it; and 21 or 6% had no vote recorded.

Political Editor Martyn Brown had a ringside seat on a truly historic day in Parliament

There are moments in the House of Commons that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

When something truly historic is about to happen. Something so important it fundamentally changes the country we live in.

This was one of those moments.

The historic wood-panelled Chamber, so often raucous and loud, fell silent as MPs eagerly awaited the result of the vote.

But when it came, a narrow 23 vote victory to legalise Assisted Dying in England and Wales, there was barely a murmur.

Just dignity.

Kim Leadbetter, the Labour MP who proposed the Bill, simply put her hands on her face, barely able to take in the enormity of what had just happened.

She received a pat on the shoulder from a colleague.

Sir Keir Starmer, who had voted in favour, offered a weak smile.

I spoke with Ms Leadbeater minutes afterwards, appropriately in Parliament’s Central Lobby – the midway point between the Commons and the Lords, where the Bill now heads for further scrutiny.

Her face, wracked with relief, broke into a smile as she first met campaigners and then heaped praise on this newspaper’s tireless three-year campaign for a change in the law.

“Job done”, she said, before greeting more campaigners.

Job done indeed!

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England, said instead work is needed to better fund access to “desperately needed palliative care services”.

Her sentiment was echoed by a range of end-of-life care organisations including Marie Curie, which said legalising assisted dying will make it “more crucial than ever” for governments across the UK “ensure that there is palliative care available for anyone who needs it”.

605 MPs cast their votes today as the Assisted Dying Bill passed its third reading with a majority of just 23.

So close was the vote that had just 12 MPs voted no instead of yes, the bill would have been rejected by parliament.

Find out how your local MP voted by clicking here.

There is a risk that the Bill could be stuck in a deadlock between the House of Commons and House of Lords, as it goes back and forth in disagreement.

If this continues until the current session of Parliament ends, then the Bill would fall.

Ms Leadbeater told journalists on Friday she hoped there were no attempts to purposefully wreck it by peers.

“I really hope there are no funny games, because the process has been extremely fair,” she said.

The Spen Valley MP said she did not know when the current parliamentary session would end, but suggested it could stretch into late 2025, giving her Bill the best part of six months to complete the full parliamentary process.

Today’s Commons vote makes it more likely for the assisted dying Bill to become law, now that it has the backing of a majority of MPs.

But this is not guaranteed, and first it must continue on a journey through Parliament.

The Bill now heads to the House of Lords, as both Houses of Parliament must agree its final text before it can be signed into law.

During the next stages, peers are expected to put forward amendments to the Bill. If the Commons disagrees with these amendments, this will spark a process known as “ping pong” which will continue until both Houses agree over its text.

Danny Kruger has said support for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill “is ebbing away very fast”.

The Conservative MP for East Wiltshire, who has been a leading critic, said: “I’m very disappointed that the Commons decided to push this Bill through to the House of Lords, but the fact is, their majority’s been cut in half.

“Less than half the whole House of Commons has voted for it, so support is ebbing away very fast.

He added that it was a “very wide Bill that would include all sorts of people who are vulnerable – disabled people, people with eating disorders”.

He said: “So, there’s a huge amount of tightening up and improvement we can do to this Bill, and if we can’t do that, then we should reject it completely.”

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox said waiting for the result of the vote in the Commons on the assisted dying Bill was “like a rollercoaster”.

Speaking outside Parliament following the Bill successfully clearing the Commons, she said “A few of us were sat in the public gallery. We were all holding hands. I felt like we were on a rollercoaster.

“It was the longest pause when everyone came in and we were waiting for the four and when I heard a three for the ‘ayes’ I was quite positive.

“It was quite extraordinary. I turned around and gave Kim’s (Leadbeater) mum a great big hug.”

She added: “It’s my mum’s birthday coming up; it’s not about a birthday gift but how wonderful it is to come through at this time. I keep jumping.”

Many “key concerns” surrounding the assisted dying Bill remain unresolved after it was passed to the House of Lords, the Royal College of Psychiatrists said.

The organisation’s president Dr Lade Smith CBE said: “We are particularly concerned that the Bill does not currently require a holistic assessment of unmet need.

“Does a person have a mental disorder that is contributing to their wish to die? Do they feel like a burden? Are they lonely? Do they have access to the care they need?

“We also have concerns relating to risk factors for suicide, the Mental Capacity Act, and workforce shortages.

“We remain focused on sharing our expert clinical insight to ensure the Bill has strong safeguards for those who are vulnerable, especially people with mental illness, intellectual disability and autistic people, to ensure the Bill is in line with the role and core duties of psychiatrists and other doctors, should it become law.”

MPs backed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill with “a convincing majority”, Kim Leadbeater has said.

Asked about the reduced majority from 55 at the second reading to 23 at the third, the Labour MP told the Commons: “We knew there would be some movement both ways. There’s also people who couldn’t be here today for genuine reasons, possibly on both sides.

“But it’s a majority, and it’s a convincing majority, and the will of the House will be now be respected by the Lords, and the Bill will go through to its next stage.

“But I also remain really respectful to the people who took a different view today, and who might continue to hold a different view.

“And I’m happy to work with them to provide any reassurance or if they’ve got any questions about the Bill that they want to talk through with me, my door has always been open and remains open.”

A Church of England bishop who sits in the House of Lords has said her peers “must oppose” the assisted dying Bill when it reaches them due to the “mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe”.

Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England, said: “This Private Member’s Bill has received a Third Reading in the face of mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society. These unresolved concerns were raised in many speeches by MPs today and are demonstrated by the reduced Commons majority in favour.

“If enacted, this legislation would come into force amid serious shortfalls in adult social care, a post code lottery in palliative care and well documented pressures on the NHS, multiplying the potential risks to the most vulnerable.

“It does not prevent terminally ill people who perceive themselves to be a burden to their families and friends from choosing ‘assisted dying’. And it would mean that we became a society where the state fully funds a service for terminally ill people to end their own lives but shockingly only funds around one third of palliative care.

“Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need – a principle that I know is shared by those all faiths and none.

“We must oppose a law that puts the vulnerable at risk and instead work to improve funding and access to desperately needed palliative care services.”

Speaking to our Political Editor Martyn Brown shortly after the historic vote, she said: “The Daily Express and its readership have been absolutely outstanding through this campaign.

“Because, what they’ve done, they have put the voices of terminally ill people at the heart of this debate, and I have tried to follow their lead in doing something exactly the same.

“Because it’s their voices that matter and the stories that you’ve covered – of people who have either had horrible experiences of losing loved ones and really really difficult circumstances, interviewing people who have terminal illnesses themselves – that has to be commended.

“Because we haven’t seen responsible journalism the whole way through this process, but I think what you’ve done has been absolutely excellent so thank you.”

Dame Esther Rantzen said the Bill will make a “huge positive difference” and protect terminally ill people from a “bad death”.

She said: “This will make a huge positive difference, protecting millions of terminally ill patients and their families from the agony and loss of dignity created by a bad death.

“Thank you, Parliament.”

Kim Leadbeater described the passing of the assisted dying Bill at third reading as a “result that so many people need”.

Speaking following the historic vote, the Labour MP said: “Thank goodness we got the result that so many people need, but I also feel that it was done really respectfully and the atmosphere in the chamber was very civilised.”

She added: “When you’ve spent as much time as I have with people who have got experience of losing loved ones in very difficult circumstances, and you’ve spent time with terminally ill people, who are just asking for choice at the end of their days, then this is absolutely the right thing to do.

“Does it need all the safeguards that its got in it? Absolutely. Does it need a thorough robust process which the Bill lays out? Of course it does. But does it fundamentally need to give dying people choice? That is absolutely what this has been about, in a safe way.

“It’s their voices I’ve tried to keep at the heart of the debate, you know MPs like to make it about ourselves. It’s not actually about us, it’s about the people that sent us here, the people that we represent.”

Use our interactive tool to check how your MP voted on the assisted dying Bill.

Hospice UK described the vote as representing a “seismic change for end-of-life care in England and Wales” and warned it adds to the “urgency to improve palliative care”.

Chief executive Toby Porter said: “Today’s decision by MPs represents a seismic change for end of life care in England and Wales. The introduction of assisted dying would have a huge impact on hospices, who are at the forefront of this care in communities across the country.

“Already, too many people don’t get the care they need at the end of their lives. Today’s decision brings the urgency to improve palliative care into even sharper focus, particularly for the most vulnerable members of society.

“Should the Bill become law, the Government has four years to bring about a transformation in palliative and end of life care.”

Some 14 MPs switched from voting in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on second reading to voting against on third reading: Lee Anderson (Reform); Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat); Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour); Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat); Paul Foster (Labour); Amanda Hack (Labour); Chris Hinchliff (Labour); Jonathan Hinder (Labour); Rupert Lowe (Reform); Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat); Kanishka Narayan (Labour); Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat); Andrew Snowden (Conservative); Yuan Yang (Labour).

One MP switched from voting against on second reading to voting in favour on third reading: Jack Abbott (Labour).

Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner voted against the Bill.

According to the Commons division list, they were joined in the “no” lobby by Cabinet colleagues: Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds and chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones.

Voting in favour were: Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, chief whip Alan Campbell, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Scotland Secretary Ian Murray, Commons Leader Lucy Powell, Environment Secretary Steve Reed, Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Wales Secretary Jo Stevens.

Care minister Stephen Kinnock, who spoke at the end of Friday’s debate, voted in favour of the Bill.

The Bill remains “deeply flawed and dangerous”, opposition campaigners said after the vote.

Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing said: “This is a deeply flawed and dangerous Bill that since November has been made considerably worse with important safeguards watered down or scrapped.”

He added: “The current Bill fails to protect vulnerable and disabled people from coercion.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has backed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at third reading, the Commons division list shows.

It also shows Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch cast her vote in the “no” lobby, voting against plans to roll out assisted dying in the UK.

The scene outside Parliament after MPs voted to approve assisted dying.

Supporters of the assisted dying Bill wept, jumped and hugged each other outside Parliament as the news came through that it had been passed by MPs.

The crowd of around 100 people in Parliament Square, Westminster, erupted into cheers on Friday afternoon as the news was livestreamed over a speaker by campaigners from Dignity In Dying.

One supporter said: “Yes, dad” and others patted each other on the shoulder.

“This is for all the people who couldn’t be here today. This vote sends a clear message. Parliament stands with the public and change is coming,” said Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying.

Assisted dying is a step closer to being made legal in England and Wales after the proposed legislation cleared the House of Commons in a historic vote.

A majority of MPs backed a Bill that would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.

Despite warnings from opponents around the safety of a Bill they argued has been rushed through, the proposed legislation took another step in the parliamentary process.

MPs voted 314 to 291, majority 23, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at third reading.

This means the Bill has completed its first stages in the Commons and will move to the House of Lords for further debate and scrutiny.

Both Houses must agree the final text of the Bill before it can be signed into law.

Due to the four-year implementation period, it could be 2029 – potentially coinciding with the end of this Government’s Parliament – before assisted dying is offered.

Campaigners have now vowed to fight the Bill at every stage in the House of Lords.

Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for the charity Right To Life UK, which campaigns against assisted suicide and in support of better access to palliative care, said: “The Bill still faces an uphill battle to reach Royal Assent. We will be fighting it at every stage in the House of Lords.

“Hundreds of thousands of people from around the country, from a wide range of backgrounds and with differing views, have come together on this one issue. We will be working together again to fight this Bill, which would have a profoundly negative impact on vulnerable people in our society, in the House of Lords.”

A majority of 23 in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

This was the third reading in the Commons – it means MPs have approved the bill.

It will now go to the House of Lords. There could be some further obstacles if the Lords attempts to amend the Bill significantly. However, the Commons ultimately decides, not the Lords.

It now looks almost certain that assisted dying will become available.

The Bill is passed by 314 in favour to 291 against.

Keir Starmer is in the Chamber having just voted

James Cleverly, looking dapper in his “man from Del Monte” suit, is marshalling troops for opponents to the bill.

Our political editor Martyn Brown is in the Commons Chamber.

He writes: “MPs already filing back into the Chamber after casting their vote. Kim Leadbeater looks pumped up just minutes away from what could be a historic moment in parliament”

MPs are now voting on the assisted dying Bill.

There were loud roars of “ayes” and “noes” as we come to the crunch vote.

Labour MP Chi Onwurah criticised the assumption that those who have been unequal in life will suddenly be equal in death.

She told the Commons: “This Bill could change the founding principles of the NHS, clinicians are trained to save lives, now they will also be able to kill people.

“Our police, our armed forces, their job is to protect life and liberty, now they will also protect those who take people’s lives, because this marks a fundamental change in the relationship between state and citizen.

“It requires much more public and parliamentary debate, we have not even begun to interrogate all the social implications of this change. All of human life is here, it will change the ethos of the NHS, it will enable private companies to kill private citizens.”

The MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West added: “There seems to be an assumption that those who have been most unequal in life will suddenly be rendered equal in death, but the least valued by society are often those who value themselves the least.”

Assisted dying could represent “a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the state”, Tom Tugendhat has warned.

The Conservative former minister told the Commons that the Bill “is about power and it’s about trust”.

He said: “It’s about the power over life and death, not just over ourselves, because we already have the power to end our own lives, it’s called suicide. It is not a crime – it hasn’t been a crime in this country for decades.

“This is a different power. This is about the power of the state through its agents to exercise power over life and death. Yes, agreed; yes, approved of in advance; but when the state takes a life, even with consent, that is a huge shift in the relationship between the individual and the state.”

Mr Tugendhat later said: “This isn’t assisted dying – assisted dying is what a hospice does already, today, now, helping people, caring for people, supporting them. This is assisted killing – or assisted suicide – depending on which word you choose.

“But honesty in language is important. If we’re not even willing to be honest with ourselves in this place, how on Earth can we expect the courts when they have to look at the cases to consider the questions that we’ve debated?”

Turning to fears of coercion, he claimed MPs have said “that those who merely feel pressure are allowed to access this service”.

In response, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater held up a printed copy of her Bill and some of her supporters shouted “no” and “it’s in the Bill”.

Backing the proposal, Conservative MP Mark Garnier said “the time has come where we need to end suffering where suffering can be put aside, and not try to do something which is going to be super perfect and allow too many more people to suffer in the future”.

He told MPs that his mother died after a “huge amount of pain”, following a diagnosis in 2012 of pancreatic cancer.

Downing Street declined to say whether Sir Keir Starmer will attend the Commons debate on the assisted dying Bill.

A Number 10 spokesman said: “I’m not going to get ahead of proceedings in the House or speculate on the Prime Minister’s movements… the Prime Minister is working in Number 10, but as I say I’m not going to speculate on the PM’s movements today.”

Opponents of assisted dying make their argument outside Parliament

Disabled people want politicians to “assist them to live, not to die”, Labour’s Vicky Foxcroft told the Commons.

Speaking for the first time since her resignation as a Government whip over welfare reforms, Ms Foxcroft said: “I don’t claim that every disabled person opposes assisted dying, but I do claim that the vast majority of disabled people and their organisations oppose it.

“They need the health and social care system fixing first. They want us as parliamentarians to assist them to live, not to die.

“Disabled people’s voices matter in this debate, and yet, as I’ve watched the Bill progress, the absence of disabled people’s voices has been astonishing. They have wanted to engage. Indeed, they have been crying out to be included, yet the engagement has been negligible.”

Ms Foxcroft, a former shadow disabilities minister, added: “We are not voting on principles today. This is real, and we have to protect those people who are susceptible to coercion, who already feel like society doesn’t value them, who often feel like a burden to the state, society and their family.

“I urge anyone in this chamber who has any doubts that this Bill doesn’t protect them, who has any worries and concerns, please don’t vote for it today.”

The chief executive of Care Not Killing called for MPs to reject the Bill.

Speaking outside Parliament, Dr Gordon Macdonald said: “There are still lots of problems with this bill, and MPs should reject it today.

“As this is a private members’ bill, the MP in charge of the bill was able to choose who she wanted in the committee, choose who she wanted to give evidence and decide which amendments would be accepted and which wouldn’t, so I believe the whole process is completely flawed and I believe the Government needs to hold responsibility for this.

“Keir Starmer should have taken responsibility for this.”

He added: “We’re seeing more MPs who are voting against it which doesn’t surprise me as the more people think about this issue the more likely they are to support it.

“Our polling of the general public shows that to be the case. Support drops from 70% down to 13% when they consider the argument against us.

“Most people, when thinking about the practical implications of this, for those most vulnerable, they change their minds.”

Any amendments can be voted on at the committee stage of a Bill, at the discretion of the whole committee. The committee is made up of a list of people proposed by the Bill’s sponsor, but ultimately decided upon by the Committee of Selection.

Speaking outside Parliament, Dame Prue Leith, who supports the Bill, said: “I’m both nervous and confident. I’m nervous to say: ‘We have won’ because I’m superstitious.

“It’s so moving to see all these people with placards of people they’ve lost or people who are dying of cancer.

“It’s hard not to cry because I think they have done such a good job, let’s hope we’ve won.”

Mother of the House Diane Abbott said she was not opposed to the principle of assisted dying, but urged MPs to reject the Bill for fear that “people will lose their lives who do not need to”.

The Labour MP said: “I came to this House to be a voice for the voiceless. It hasn’t always been favoured by my own leadership, but that is why I came to the House. Who could be more voiceless than somebody who is in their sickbed and believes they are dying?

“I ask members in this debate to speak up for the voiceless one more time, because there is no doubt that if this Bill is passed in its current form, people will lose their lives who do not need to, and they will be amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.

“It is not because I am opposed to assisted dying in principle, but because my concern is for vulnerable and marginalised persons, vulnerable and marginalised communities, that I implore the House to reject this Bill.”

Catie Fenner, whose mother had to travel to Dignitas in Switzerland alone to die, has spoken more about the impact it had on her and her sister.

“It was incredibly stressful, a very traumatic experience. We had to keep our journey from mum’s diagnosis to getting her to Dignitas, secret from lots of people.

“We had to deceive lots of people we love and lots of people we should have been able to turn to.

“And then going through the grief. We didn’t have a funeral, we didn’t have the usual process of saying goodbye. We couldn’t tell anybody for fear of what they might say.

“We’ve all been through some sort of counselling. I’ve been through grief counselling to try and help me to process what’s happened.”

Sue Biggerstaff had also come from the Isle of Man, campaigning in memory of her husband Simon who suffered a painful death from MND.

She said: “When somebody is in as much pain as Simon, and he’s begging me to make it stop, you should be able to make it stop.

“To those against it, I would say, no human being has the right to tell another human being how long they can and should suffer. Nobody had that right with Simon but sadly this wasn’t legal.”

Sue added: “I’m praying that the MPs today vote for compassion and choice. If it’s against your beliefs for any reason, that’s fine, don’t do it. This is about choice for people like Simon.”

Millie Blenkinsop-French, who was part of a successful campaign to legalise assisted dying in the Isle of Man, travelled to join the rally in Westminster.

Her son James suffered a bad death with skin cancer that was “eating him alive”.

Millie said: “If assisted dying had been available, if it had been legal in 2020, James would have had the choice to say, ‘Mam, this is enough’.

“So I hope and pray with all my heart and soul that this bill goes through today.”

Campaigners both for and against assisted dying are campaigning outside Parliament

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is not a “now or never” decision on assisted dying, Sir James Cleverly said, as he argued there will be “plenty of opportunities” in future.

The Conservative former minister told the Commons: “We have got to recognise that this is an important moment, and whilst I respect (Kim Leadbeater), I disagree with her assessment that it is now or never, and it is this Bill or no Bill, and that to vote against this at third reading is a vote to maintain the status quo.

“None of those things are true. There will be plenty of opportunities.”

Sir James Cleverly has said his view was driven by “concerns about the practicalities” of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.

The Conservative former minister told the Commons: “I have no doubt the vast majority – probably every single member and right honourable member in this House – is sympathetic with the underlying motivation of this Bill, which is to ease suffering in others and to try and avoid suffering where possible.”

Sir James described himself as an atheist and added: “I’ve had this said to me on a number of occasions, ‘if you had seen someone suffering, you would agree with this Bill’.

“Well, Mr Speaker, I have seen someone suffering – my closest friend earlier this year died painfully of oesophageal cancer and I was with him in the final weeks of his life.

“So I come at this not from a position of faith nor from a position of ignorance.”

Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, 80, praised the Express for campaigning in favour of legalising assisted dying “with great clarity and great compassion”

He said: “I think it has played an important part, obviously, with Esther and others, in bringing about a situation where I’m very hopeful that this bill will pass. Quite an important achievement if that’s the case.”

Sister Doreen Cunningham, who cares for elderly people, attended a gathering outside Parliament to oppose the Bill.

The nun said: “I feel the need to speak for the vulnerable people. This Bill suppresses the people who do not receive proper care.

“It is the lazy way out instead of giving patients the proper care they deserve.

“A lot of work could be done in the NHS to reform it.”

Sister Doreen said she worried people would be scared if the assisted dying bill was offered to them.

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox says: “It couldn’t be more entrenched with safeguards; it couldn’t be a kinder, more compassionate bill that respects choice at the end of life, that respects kindness and empathy and gives us all an option when every other option has been taken away.”

Kim Leadbeater, the MP sponsoring the Bill, says it is “a cogent, workable Bill that has one simple thread running through it – the need to correct the profound injustices of the status quo and to offer a compassionate and safe choice to terminally ill people who want to make it.”

MPs have been respectful during Kim Leadbeatter’s powerful opening remarks. Sir James Cleverly is up now, leading the opposition to the Assisted Dying Bill.

Bake Off star Dame Prue Leith has told campaigners that she was “quietly confident” about the outcome of the vote.

The cook and television presenter said supporters outside Parliament were “wonderful” and spoke of the “uphill battle” of the campaign.

“It strikes me over and over again that I put down all my life my dogs, cats, my horse, all because I know they could not bear their lives any longer, but we aren’t allowed to as human beings – isn’t that ridiculous?

“Today, I hope we are going to win. I try to be quietly confident. But whether we win or lose, you have done a fantastic job, and I hope we’re not going to have to ask you to do it again.”

MPs are still voting on amendments, and a final vote on whether to approve assisted dying or not comes around 2pm.

MPs have agreed that the assisted dying bill – if it is eventually approved – should give ministers should get powers to update the National Health Service Act 2006 to include voluntary assisted dying services as part of the NHS’s purposes.

Amid fears the Bill could become “the Trojan horse that breaks the NHS”, aired last Friday, Labour MP Dame Siobhain McDonagh pushed her amendment 12 to a vote, which would have blocked ministers from broadening the NHS’s purposes without a fresh bill.

But MPs rejected Dame Siobhain’s proposal 269 votes to 223, majority 46.

A proposal to disapply the presumption that a person has capacity unless the opposite is established in cases of assisted dying requests, has been rejected by MPs.

The Commons voted 213 to 266, majority 53 to reject amendment 24, which was tabled by Labour MP Daniel Francis (Bexleyheath and Crayford).

MPs have supported a safeguard which would prevent a person meeting the requirements for an assisted death “solely as a result of voluntarily stopping eating or drinking”.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’s sponsor Labour MP Kim Leadbeater had previously signalled her support for the amendment, which was tabled by Labour MP Naz Shah (Bradford West).

Ms Leadbeater said this, combined with existing safeguards in the Bill, would rule out people with anorexia falling into its scope.

The amendment was passed on the nod.

MPs have voted to reject an amendment which would have prevented a person who is substantially motivated by feeling they are a burden, from qualifying for assisted dying.

Conservative MP Rebecca Paul’s new clause 16 stated that a wish to end one’s own life should not be substantially motivated by factors such as a mental disorder, disability or suicidal ideation.

The Commons voted 208 to 261, majority 53 against.

Opposition protesters have left their designated area to stand in front of Dignity in Dying’s rally in Parliament Square.

Police watch as the crowds compete to chant over one another. Opponents shout “assist us to live”, while supporters chant “our freedom, our choice, listen to our voice”.

More hugs for Kim Leadbeater as MPs return. She’s waiting by the door to the Commons and speaking to virtually everyone who passes. Smart move as every single vote will be crucial in the biggy later this afternoon.

Our Political Editor Martyn Brown is in the Chamber of the Commons to observe proceedings.

Debates have begun, but MPs are starting by considering amendments before moving on to the main debate on the principle of the Bill.

As MPs shuffle out of the Commons Chamber to vote on an amendment Kim Leadbeater, the Bill’s sponsor, does a little jig next to the Speaker’s chair and gets a hug from a Labour colleague. It’s clearly going to be an emotional day.

All eyes will be on whether Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and senior colleagues continue their support for the Bill.

Sir Keir indicated earlier this week that he had not changed his mind since voting yes last year, saying his “position is long-standing and well-known”.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting described Ms Leadbeater’s work on the proposed legislation as “extremely helpful”, but confirmed in April that he still intended to vote against it.

Kim Leadbeater, the MP sponsoring the assisted dying Bill, has acknowledged she expected “some small movement in the middle” but that she did not “anticipate that that majority would be heavily eroded”.

She insisted her Bill is “the most robust piece of legislation in the world” and has argued that dying people must be given choice at the end of their lives in a conversation which has seen support from high-profile figures including Dame Esther Rantzen.

She insisted the replacement of High Court judge approval with multidisciplinary panels is a strengthening of the legislation, incorporating wider expert knowledge to assess assisted dying applications.

MPs have a free vote on the Bill, meaning they decide according to their conscience rather than along party lines.

There is no obligation on MPs to take part in the vote, and others present on Friday could formally abstain.

Naz Shah, Labour MP for Bradford West, has told Times Radio Kim Leadbeater’s private member’s bill to legalise assisted dying is a “dangerous bill” that is “ultimately flawed” and a “public safety issue.”

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is setting out how proceedings will take place during today’s debate on the assisted dying Bill.

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox says her mother asked her to thank all those who have shared deeply personal stories that show why the law must change.

She says: “Many of us are living with trauma of watching terrible things that have replaced our memories of these wonderful people.”

Rebecca is moved to tears as she reads signs held by members of the crowd.

One reads: “I’m not afraid of death. I’m afraid of dying.”

Dame Esther Rantzen’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox supporting the Dignity in Dying protest in favour of the assisted dying Bill, in Parliament Square this morning, ahead of a debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons.

Pressure group Care Not Killing has published polling which it says shows voters believe some people could be pressured into assisted dying.

Asked, “If assisted dying were legalised in Britain, how concerned or not would you be that the following groups would be in danger of feeling pressured into an assisted death?”. Seven in 10 (71 per cent) of those surveyed said those with mental health struggles, 67 per cent the elderly, 65 per cent those who were only or socially isolated, 56 per cent said the victims of domestic abuse and 51 per cent said those with anorexia.

The implementation period has been doubled to a maximum of four years from royal assent, rather than the initially suggested two years.

If the Bill was to pass later this year that would mean it might not be until 2029, potentially coinciding with the end of this Government’s parliament, that assisted dying was being offered.

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater has insisted it is “a backstop” rather than a target, as she pledged to “hold the Government’s feet to the fire” on implementing legislation should the Bill pass.

The extended implementation period was one of a number of changes made to the Bill.

There have been a number of amendments to the assisted dying Bill since it was first introduced to the Commons back in October.

The most significant is the High Court safeguard being dropped and replaced by expert panels.

The change has been criticised by opponents who warned it weakened the Bill, but Kim Leadbeater argued that it strengthens it.

The Labour MP said rather than removing judges from the process, “we are adding the expertise and experience of psychiatrists and social workers to provide extra protections in the areas of assessing mental capacity and detecting coercion while retaining judicial oversight”.

When the Bill was first debated and voted on in November, a majority of MPs from across the political spectrum recognised that the current ban on assisted dying is causing real harm to dying people and their families.

It is a law that has remained unchanged for more than 60 years, and colleagues agreed that we should now consider bringing it into the 21st century.

Over these last several months, I and many MPs have worked hard to ensure this Bill is compassionate, safe and practical. It has benefitted from more than 100 hours of debate, with still more to come on Friday. And if it passes and goes to the House of Lords there will many more hours to come.

As a result, the Bill is the strongest in the world — introducing transparency, regulation and safety in place of an often cruel, outdated law.

Read Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s full op-ed here

Lisa Nandy said she hopes to see the assisted dying Bill clear the House of Commons on Friday and continue its progress to becoming law.

The Culture Secretary was asked by Sky News if she had changed her mind about supporting the Bill, after a group of Labour MPs announced they would now be voting against after previously offering support.

“I’m still a supporter of this Bill. I’ve had a longstanding personal commitment to change the law on assisted dying with appropriate safeguards. And I think there has been a very considered and respectful debate over the last few months on all sides,” Ms Nandy told the broadcaster.

The Cabinet minister said she respected “the views of colleagues who take a different view”, adding: “I hope the Bill succeeds today. If it does pass the House of Commons stages, of course it will go on to the House of Lords, where there will be more debate and there may be more changes.”

In what will be seen as a blow to the Bill, four Labour MPs confirmed on the eve of the vote that they will switch sides to oppose the proposed new law.

Labour’s Paul Foster, Jonathan Hinder, Markus Campbell-Savours and Kanishka Narayan wrote to fellow MPs to voice concerns about the safety of the proposed legislation.

They branded it “drastically weakened”, citing the scrapping of the High Court Judge safeguard as a key reason.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also urged her MPs to vote against the legislation, describing it as “a bad Bill” despite being “previously supportive of assisted suicide”.

The Express has spoken to terminally ill mum Sophie Blake, a former TV presenter, who told us why she wants the law to change.

Sophie lives with incurable breast cancer and is allergic to opioid painkillers. She said: “This is not about wanting to die, but to be able to live the rest of my life with the peace and comfort of having choice.”

Read Sophie Blake’s plea here.

This is the third reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in the House of Commons. It is likely to be the final major vote in the Commons on the proposed new law.

MPs have already had a chance to discuss amendments to the Bill (although there will be a little more discussion of these today) and now they will vote on whether to approve it or not.

If MPs do vote for the Bill, it will then go to the Lords for a series of debates.

The Lords will have an opportunity to reject the Bill. They will also have the chance to make changes to it.

If the Lords does change the Bill, or rejects it entirely, then it’s likely MPs in the House of Commons will hold more debates. However, the main House of Commons decision is the one taking place today. In practice, we’ll discover today whether the law will change or not.

The vote is expected some time between 2pm and 2.30pm.

The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death.

This would be subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.

The terminally ill person would take an approved substance, provided by a doctor but administered only by the person themselves.