On Friday 24th April 2026, Kim Leadbeater’s Assisted Dying Bill ran out of time in the House of Lords, and will make no further progress towards becoming law. DSRF UK is relieved that the Lords gave the Bill the serious scrutiny it deserved, and that they stood firm in their conviction that the Bill was too flawed to pass into legislation.
Dr Elizabeth Corcoran, Chair of the Down Syndrome Research Foundation UK, says:
“A profound thank you to everyone who made efforts to stop Assisted Dying from becoming an imminent threat to the Down syndrome community and many other groups. Efforts like yours sensitised many people to the reality, and ultimately tipped the balance. From the perspective of our community, the Leadbeater Bill was problematic from the outset, and we were alarmed to see more ethical and practical issues coming to light as time went on. Safeguarding against coercion has always been top of mind for us, and the Bill was a clear threat to our community. Many of our supporters were tuned in to this issue, due to their ongoing experience in medical settings. It is a relief to a great many of us that the Bill has been halted for now.”
Important subjects came prominently to public attention and have become active talking points: like the underlying challenges for people with disabilities to be assured equal access to health and social care, and the need to improve palliative care options. Sadly it also included the spotlight being shone on many instances of neglect and untimely deaths of people with intellectual disabilities – deaths that are a scandal in our time.
DSRF UK continues to advocate for a complete lifetime of rights for people in the Down syndrome community. The shadow of the Bill has hung over the UK for a year and a half, and it won’t melt away overnight. Supporters of the Bill are clear that they intend to push for the Bill to be reintroduced in one shape or another. For that reason, we know it’s not time to disengage from the issue.
We have seen that the different jurisdictions across the world which introduced euthanasia and assisted dying -whether years or decades ago – have not made meaningful evidence accessible about how euthanasia is affecting people with intellectual disabilities. We have become increasingly aware of gaps of knowledge, and questions and concerns that remain unanswered.
Thank you for remaining engaged with the Bill over this stretch of time! Please know that it mattered: everyone who shared their concerns and spoke out has contributed meaningfully to public awareness of what the Bill would mean for their loved ones.
Contact an MP to say thanks
Can we encourage you to write to an MP or Peer who voted against the Bill? Do let them know that you appreciate what they did to safeguard our community.
All the MPs who voted ‘No’ to the Bill at the Third Reading are listed here:
https://votes.parliament.uk/votes/commons/division/2071#noes
You can click on the link of each MP to go directly to their contact pages, and email or contact on social media via these links.
Contact a Peer in the House of Lords to thank them
You can contact Peers using this link: please search for the individual you would like to contact: https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/get-in-touch-with-members/
Peers didn’t have a vote on the issue, but their concern was pivotal to the outcome. They showed their support or opposition quite clearly. The House of Lords Second Reading debate on the Bill in September 2025 took 2 days with 191 speeches, and 96 peers spoke against the Bill, 53 peers spoke in favour, and 12 did not clearly take a side. Some prominent peers were more visible as they brought scrutinty to the Bill, but it wasn’t a ‘tiny number of peers’ who stopped the Bill moving forward. More than 1,200 amendments were tabled against the Bill, showing how deeply flawed the Bill was.
Prominent Peers in the House of Lords who spoke against the Bill include:
Baroness Buscombe
Baroness Campbell of Surbiton
Baroness Coffey
Baroness Finlay of Llandaff
Baroness Fox of Buckley
Baroness Grey-Thompson
Baroness Hollins
Baroness May of Maidenhead (Theresa May)
Baroness O’Loan
Lord Alton of Liverpool
Lord Carlile of Berriew
Lord Cormack
Lord Dobbs
Lord Farmer
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
Lord Frost
Lord Gold
Lord Hannan of Kingsclere
Lord Howard of Lympne
Lord Hunt of Wirral
Lord Jackson of Peterborough
Lord Lilley
Lord Mackay of Clashfern
Lord McColl of Dulwich
Lord Moylan
Lord Robathan
Lord Sandhurst
Lord Shinkwin
Lord Singh of Wimbledon
Lord Weir of Ballyholme
Many things need to change to create the conditions for a long, healthy and happy life for people with Down syndrome. Providing euthanasia for people with intellectual disabilities is certainly not what time and resources should be spent on.