Image source, EPA/ShutterstockByHarry FarleyPolitical correspondent
There were gasps and – to the intense irritation of supporters – cheers from opponents of assisted dying when the vote was read out in the Commons.
This was an extraordinary result.
After twice voting in favour of the bill, MPs have rejected proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, bringing the latest effort to change the law to an end.
The debate itself was tetchier, more irritable than when Kim Leadbeater introduced a similar bill in 2024. Then it was the first time MPs had voted on assisted dying in nine years.
Since then the Commons has voted on this issue three times and had hours of debate. The sombre, respectful tone from 2024 has become more embittered.
Given the strength of feeling on both sides over such an emotive issue, perhaps that is unsurprising.
But on a deeply divided issue, both sides agree on why the result was different.
“We always said it would come to turnout and it did,” one supporter of the bill text me. An opponent messaged to say the same.
The numbers tell a story.
Last time MPs voted on assisted dying in June, 315 were in favour and 291 against. Today, the numbers opposed were similar: 286.
But support for this bill has ebbed away. Just 270 vote for this bill, a fall of 45.
So why have fewer MPs backed it, compared to a year ago?
There are a number of reasons why support for assisted dying has dropped off.
Some MPs have changed their mind. Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, for example told the Commons that after she previously backed the bill “my conscience was not at peace, and I cannot again, in good conscience, vote for the bill.”
But in reality those switching their position are a small minority.
For others, the influence of Andy Burnham may have been a factor. When MPs last gave their collective view on assisted dying, Sir Keir Starmer was prime minister and supportive of this bill.
Burnham, however, is not. For Labour MPs wanting to follow Downing Street’s priorities, abstaining might have seemed a more appealing option.
There will be other reasons why supportive MPs did not turn up today. A wedding, I’m told, took some away from Westminster. A trip to Ukraine meant others missed the vote.
Already those in favour of a change in the law promise to try again. Kim Leadbeater, the Labour MP who introduced the original legislation last year, has told the BBC another attempt could come as soon as next year.
Supporters have told me they see this parliament, with such a large proportion of Labour MPs who tend to support assisted dying, as a “unique moment” to pass this change.
“This result doesn’t mean there isn’t still a majority in parliament in favour of the principle of assisted dying,” said one of those behind the bill.
But for now the momentum has fallen away from a change in the law.
That is a relief to those who worry such a change would risk harming vulnerable people. But it is a bitter disappointment to those who see it as a necessary and compassionate alternative to the status quo.
That bitterness from supporters is aimed in part at the House of Lords.
It was opponents’ efforts there that ultimately led to this defeat. And it could hasten those calling for reform of Parliament’s second chamber.
Please upgrade your browser to view this interactive
Note: a small number of postcodes do not give an accurate constituency for all properties.
Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.