Which MPs and peers raise assisted dying most in Parliament?

Danny Kruger, Naz Shah, Kim Leadbeater lead the ranking of MPs and peers on assisted dying, based on every Hansard contribution since 9 July 2024.

How is the assisted dying ranking calculated?

Vital Signs ranks MPs and members of the House of Lords by a weighted score of their Hansard contributions on Assisted dying — speeches, written questions and committee work — over the course of this Parliament (since 9 July 2024). Ministerial statements and debate speeches carry more weight than written answers; every contribution counts at full weight however early in the Parliament it was made. Contributions are matched to this topic on whole-word keyword matching, so "send" is never mistaken for SEND and "career" is never mistaken for care. Ministers and shadow ministers are labelled, because answering on a brief is their job rather than a choice to raise it; their scores are shown as-is, not adjusted.

Vital Signsby Bridgehead

Hansard to 28 October 2026 · 30,907 contributions indexed · 1,439 MPs & peers

01 Topic · Healthcare

Vital Signs: Assisted dying

Change topic · 29 health and social care topics

Who is shaping the debate on assisted dying: in Parliament, in the press, and among the experts the press turns to.

See the 6 search terms behind this page ↓

02 Who is talking · pick a lens

03 The signal · Where it is spoken from

378

of 1,439 MPs & peers have spoken on assisted dying since 9 July 2024 · 1,301 Commons contributions from 199 constituencies · latest sitting indexed 28 October 2026

0Hansard contributions per seat176

Seats shaded by Hansard contributions on this topic. Lines join the 9 MPs in this list to their constituencies; peers have no seat and no line.

#Most activeSignalScore

01—Danny KrugerReform UK · East Wiltshire · Commons528
02—Naz ShahLabour · Bradford West · Commons348
03—Kim LeadbeaterLabour · Spen Valley · Commons306
04—Rebecca PaulShadowConservative · Reigate · Commons · Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport207
05—Stephen KinnockCabinetLabour · Aberafan Maesteg · Commons · Secretary of State for Wales201
06—Sarah OlneySpokespersonLiberal Democrat · Richmond Park · Commons · Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Business)153
07—Lord Falconer of ThorotonLabour · House of Lords126
08—Dr Simon OpherLabour · Stroud · Commons120
09—Kit MalthouseConservative · North West Hampshire · Commons93
10—Sean WoodcockLabour · Banbury · Commons93

Score is a weighted Hansard contribution score for this topic since 9 July 2024. Portraits: UK Parliament Members API. Rank change (▲/▼) is vs. 7 days ago.

Hansard · weekly mentions

73 mentions in the last 8 sitting weeks, 55 in the 8 before

Recess weeks are not counted: sitting weeks are compared with sitting weeks, and the current week is left off until it is complete. Parliament was in recess 21 Sept to 11 Oct 2026. 2,533 mentions since 9 July 2024.

Press · articles per week

610 articles in 56 weeks, 185 of them in the last five

Source: Guardian archive, trade press and news search: a sample of coverage, not an exhaustive count. Weekly article counts to w/c 19 Oct; weeks not yet ingested are dropped rather than shown as zero.

Parliament · party split

Share of scored contributions

Labour153 members47%
Conservative114 members21%
Reform UK2 members10%
Liberal Democrat33 members8%
Others (12 groups)76 members14%

Labour members account for 47% of the scored contributions on this topic, across 16 party groups in both Houses.

Parliament · reach

Members who have spoken

378of 1,439 MPs & peers

26% of the roster has spoken on this topic since 9 July 2024: one square per member, 199 MPs (navy) and 179 peers (cobalt).

Briefing · Parliament

MPs argue over whether the assisted dying Bill is safe enough, how it is handled, and what palliative care can offer

In the Commons debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, Lauren Edwards said the Bill should go back to the Lords "so that it can finish what it started", and argued that peers have an important role in scrutinising legislation. Dame Karen Bradley said the vote was not on the principle and that, if the Bill fell in the Lords, it could be forced into law as it stands. Sir Bernard Jenkin made a similar point about the Parliament Act.
Several members who said they back assisted dying in principle explained why they would not support this Bill. Josh Fenton-Glynn said he did not believe it was safe or that it addressed concerns raised by disabled voices. Sir Edward Leigh, who said he favours assisted dying, raised legal difficulties and the risk of the law widening over time. Janet Daby said she had changed her vote from before.
Supporters framed the Bill as a matter of choice and autonomy. Liz Kendall and Alicia Kearns said there is no harm to others in the principle, and Hilary Benn asked why a option available to those who can afford to travel abroad should not be available at home. Dr Peter Prinsley said assisted dying complements palliative care rather than replacing it.
Palliative care ran through the Commons debate and later sittings. Ashley Dalton and Shivani Raja said improving care should come first, while Layla Moran and Kit Malthouse said improvement should not be a precondition. Later, Lizzi Collinge asked in Commons questions on 20 October what is being done on palliative care, and Lord Stevens of Birmingham said in the Lords on 13 October that all had agreed on the need for better end-of-life care.
Disabled people's views and coercion were contested. Richard Burgon, Sarah Smith and Rosie Duffield said disability organisations do not support the Bill, and Tim Farron raised coercive control. Lauren Edwards replied that disabled people do not hold a uniform view and that the Bill does not apply to people because of disability. Ministers, including Alison McGovern on 11 September and Mark Ferguson on 20 October, stated that the Government is neutral.

Verbatim

You need only ask whether this Bill, in this form, on the evidence before us today, is safe enough for Parliament to force it into law. That is today's test.
Dame Karen Bradley · Conservative, Staffordshire Moorlands · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 11 Sept 2026
Read in Hansard (opens in a new tab)
I have always believed that so long as it does no harm to others, people should have as much control, say and choice over their lives and the decisions that matter to them as possible, no matter their background or situation.
Liz Kendall · Labour, Leicester West · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 11 Sept 2026
Read in Hansard (opens in a new tab)
Far too many people do not have access to the palliative care they need, but the idea that it is not possible to alleviate pain and discomfort is false.
Ashley Dalton · Labour, West Lancashire · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 11 Sept 2026
Read in Hansard (opens in a new tab)
But we do not vote on principles here; we vote on legislation, and this Bill at this time is not one I can support.
Josh Fenton-Glynn · Labour, Calder Valley · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 11 Sept 2026
Read in Hansard (opens in a new tab)
There is not a uniform view among disabled people on assisted dying.
Lauren Edwards · Labour, Rochester and Strood · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · 11 Sept 2026
Read in Hansard (opens in a new tab)

AI-drafted from 72 Hansard contributions over 21 sitting days · 3 September 2026 to 23 October 2026 · No sittings were recorded between 18 September 2026 and 11 October 2026. · quotes are exact copies of the Hansard record, speakers taken from the record · generated 25 Oct 2026 · how briefings are made

Expert voices · press citations

The most quoted voices on this topic

40 of 106 expert voices, 72 citations across 5 groups. Click a group to open it as a lens on the map.

Clinicians

6 · 12 citationsOpen lens ↑

Prof Mumtaz PatelRoyal College of Physicians3
Dr Lucy ThomasPalliative care and public health doctor3
Professor Katherine SleemanChair in Palliative Care at King's College, London2
Dr Annabel PriceRoyal College of Psychiatrists2
Sandesh GulhaneScottish Conservative MSP and practising GP1
Dr. Sarah Wollastonformer doctor, former member of UK Parliament, former chair of the Health and Care Select Committee in England and NHS Devon1

Academics

12 · 17 citationsOpen lens ↑

Dr Libby SallnowCo-chair, Lancet Commission on the Value of Death2
Claire McCallveterinarian2
Dr Ramona CoelhoFamily Physician; Senior Fellow of Domestic and Health Policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Member of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Death Review Committee2
Pamela FisherTerminally ill patient2
Professor David Albert JonesProfessor of Bioethics at St Mary's University, Twickenham2
Dr Danielle McMullenAMA president1
Professor Mark Taubertpalliative care consultant1
Dr Michael MulhollandHonorary Secretary at Royal College of General Practitioners1
Prof Alexandra Mullockformer PhD student, University of Manchester1
Professor Sam Ahmedzaipro-assisted suicide doctor1
Richard SmithCo-chair, Lancet Commission on the Value of Death1
Alex Ruck Keene KCProfessor of Practice, The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London1

Sector leaders

19 · 36 citationsOpen lens ↑

Dr Gordon Macdonaldchief executive of Care Not Killing12
Philip Nitschkefounder of Dignitas3
Aidan FowlerNational Director of Patient Safety at NHS England2
Sarah WoottonChief executive of Dignity in Dying2
Dr Alex AllinsonIsle of Man legislator who introduced private member's bill on assisted dying2
Mark Darcypolitical correspondent and co-host of the Hansard Society's Parliament Matters podcast2
Dr Sarah HughesMind (The National Association for Mental Health)1
Toby Porterchief executive of UK Hospice1
Andrew GreenBMA medical ethics committee chair1
Ilora Finlayformer doctor1
Alison StoreySpecialist Prosecutor with the CPS Special Crime Division1
Andrew Dentonfounding director of Go Gentle1
Andrew Hawkinspolling expert1
Andrew Hudsonspecialist prosecutor at the CPS1
Angela NovasHospice Federation of America1
Archbishop Anthony FisherArchbishop of Sydney1
Archbishop Bernard LongleyArchbishop of Birmingham1
Archbishop John WilsonArchbishop of Southwark1
Archbishop Luis ArgüelloArchbishop of Valladolid, president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference1

Regulators & officials

2 · 3 citationsOpen lens ↑

Dr Zubir AhmedUK Parliament / House of Commons2
Dame Rachel de SouzaOffice of the Children's Commissioner for England1

Unions

1 · 4 citationsOpen lens ↑

Prof Nicola RangerRoyal College of Nursing4

Methodology

How Vital Signs ranks

Parliament. Every Hansard contribution on a topic since 9 July 2024 is scored by type and summed per member; the map colours each constituency by how often its MP has raised the topic. Peers sit in no constituency and are ranked but not mapped.

Press. Bylines rank journalists and quotations rank expert voices, across the Guardian archive and trade press Vital Signs has read. A voice’s pin marks its organisation’s base, never the person’s home.

Briefings. Drafted by an AI model from the underlying Hansard text or articles. Every quotation in a Parliament briefing is an exact copy of the Hansard record and linked to it; press quotations are as the linked articles reported them. The speaker is always taken from the record, not the model.

Search terms for Assisted dying. These are the exact terms used to find what appears on this page.

Parliament: 6 terms

A Hansard contribution counts toward this topic when it contains any of these, matched as whole words.

assisted dying
assisted dying bill
assisted suicide
terminally ill adults bill
right to die
euthanasia

News search: 5 terms, run each week

Each term is searched separately on Google News. Where a term only extends an earlier one (“cancer treatment” after “cancer”), it is skipped.

assisted dying
assisted suicide
terminally ill adults bill
right to die
euthanasia

Guardian: 1 editor tag

The Guardian archive is read by its editors’ tags, not by keyword, so an article only counts if a Guardian editor filed it under one of these.

society/assisted-suicide

Read the full methodology →Check your MP’s record →

Profiles