More than 100 members of the House of Lords have called on Members of Parliament to promptly return the assisted dying bill to the upper chamber for further consideration. The letter, signed by a cross-party group of peers including former Supreme Court president David Neuberger and senior political figures such as Neil Kinnock, Ruth Davidson, Harriet Harman, David Blunkett, and Alf Dubs, urges swift action as MPs prepare to debate the legislation this week.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, originally introduced as a private member’s bill by Kim Leadbeater, was approved by the House of Commons with a 23-vote majority in June 2025. However, the bill stalled in the House of Lords after extensive debate, running out of parliamentary time before completion. Following a successful private members’ ballot for the new parliamentary session, Labour MP Lauren Edwards reintroduced the bill in its original form, accompanied by 35 amendments from the Lords.

The letter expresses disappointment over the bill’s delay, attributing the failure to a minority of peers who, it says, prevented the House of Lords from performing its constitutional role of reviewing and refining legislation. More than 1,200 amendments were tabled during the Lords' deliberations, approximately 800 of which originated from just seven peers. This situation sparked accusations from supporters of the bill that these amendments were intended to obstruct rather than improve the legislation, effectively amounting to a filibuster.

Those seven peers counter that their amendments aimed to address deficiencies in the bill’s drafting and reflected concerns raised by religious and disability advocacy groups. Over the course of 14 Fridays of debate, only seven out of the bill’s 59 clauses were discussed, contributing to the bill’s failure to progress.

The group of peers who signed the letter argue that returning the bill to the Lords would allow the legislative process to be completed. They warn that the filibustering tactics have eroded public confidence in parliamentary procedures and emphasize that a small number of peers should not have the power to determine policy on an issue that enjoys substantial public support.

Opposition to the bill persists, notably from campaign groups such as Care Not Killing, which plans to stage a demonstration in Westminster. The organization asserts that legalizing assisted dying could place vulnerable individuals under pressure to end their lives and potentially detract from the urgency of enhancing palliative care services.