Campaigners seeking to introduce assisted suicide in Britain have suffered a significant setback ahead of the 11 September Second Reading vote on the revived assisted suicide Bill after newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham reaffirmed his opposition to advancing the debate while palliative and social care remain inadequately funded.

Setting out his position on Wednesday, Burnham said discussions about legalising assisted suicide should not take place in circumstances where end-of-life care and social care services continue to lack sufficient investment, adding: that’s the position I will stick to.”

The comments mark a sharp contrast with the approach taken by the previous Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, whose public backing for Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill was regarded as an important boost for supporters of the legislation. Starmer not only voted in favour of the Bill but also ensured parliamentary time was made available for it to be debated.

His support is widely believed to have influenced a number of Labour MPs. The BBC reported that Starmer’s backing was privately cited by Labour MPs as one of the reasons they voted in favour of the previous Bill.

Supporters of the revived legislation have little room for error. A change of position by just 12 MPs would be enough to defeat the new assisted suicide Bill.

According to Right To Life UK, seven MPs from Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats who voted for the Bill at Third Reading have already indicated that they do not support attempts to force it onto the statute book by using the Parliament Acts or by reviving it in the new parliamentary session.

Against that backdrop, the Prime Minister’s intervention is likely to place additional pressure on Labour MPs who previously supported the legislation. If a number of them decide to change their position, Lauren Edwards could face an exceptionally difficult task in securing enough support for the Bill to pass its Second Reading on 11 September.

An MRP poll of more than 10,000 people – the largest public survey on assisted suicide since Kim Leadbeater’s Bill was introduced in October 2024 – has also suggested there is no public mandate for reviving the failed Bill or for using parliamentary procedures to bypass the House of Lords and push it into law.