The succession of former prime ministers who lined up in recent days to assert their compassion for the dying was quite something. David Cameron, Theresa May, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson – all of them wanting us to know just how much they cared. Imagine if this roll call of political powerhouses – each of whom was better placed than anyone to improve the fate of those with terminal diagnoses – had used that power, while in office, to do something concrete, tangible, to alleviate the terminal suffering that allegedly touched them so deeply. Imagine, in other words, if their actions then had matched their fine words now.
I don’t doubt the strength of feeling behind this vote in favour of legalising assisted dying in England and Wales, but as someone who has cared for thousands of people with terminal illnesses, I have to wonder at its sincerity. Because every prime minister over the last 20 years – and every MP for that matter – knows full well that much (though not all) of the pain and misery of dying can be alleviated with good palliative care. They also know how much suffering at the end of life is caused by basic NHS, social and palliative care simply not being there for patients. Wes Streeting went one step further. The health secretary cited the threadbare realities of our underfunded, patchy, palliative care services as his primary reason for voting against the bill, stating (correctly) that the postcode lottery in care denies many patients a genuine choice at the end of life.
