Assisted dying bill backers say it is ‘near impossible’ it will pass House of Lords

Bill sponsor Kim Leadbeater has said when people thank her for changing the law, ‘I have to tell them that we still have to pass the Lords’. Photograph: David Parry Media Assignments/PA

MPs and peers who backed the assisted dying bill now believe it is “near impossible” for it to pass the House of Lords in time because of procedural obstacles used by opponents.

Supporters of the bill, including its sponsor, Kim Leadbeater, have been in intense discussions with the government to find ways to move it to a vote in the Lords. With progress so slow, experts and MPs believe it is unlikely the legislation will even be put to a vote before the end of the session in May, after which it will automatically fall.