Liz Kendall has become the first cabinet minister to confirm she will vote for the assisted dying bill since it was published, as the row intensified over the proposed law change.
Some supporters of assisted dying have expressed anger after Wes Streeting, the health secretary and an opponent of the plan, warned it could be a potential drain on NHS resources.
Asked if she would support the private member’s bill, led by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater and published on Monday, Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, told the BBC: “Yes, I will be voting for the bill.
“I’ve always believed in giving people as much choice and control as possible, and with all the right safeguards which this bill has, I believe it’s a really important step forward on such a difficult issue, giving people that choice and control.”
While Keir Starmer has warned cabinet members to not intervene in the debate, under rules set out last month by Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, they can give previously stated views if directly asked, but “should exercise discretion” and not directly participate in the debate.
Other cabinet ministers had, however, confirmed earlier that they support the bill, including Peter Kyle, Ed Miliband, Lisa Nandy, Lucy Powell and Jo Stevens.
With a number of MPs understood to still be undecided two weeks before the Commons votes for the first time on the bill, both sides of the fiercely contested debate are battling to seize the initiative.
Some supporters of the plan were angered by Streeting’s suggestion that pushing through with assisted dying as an option for NHS patients could mean other services were cut back.
The health secretary, who has ordered his department to carry out a review of any cost implications, told Times Radio on Wednesday there “would be resource implications for doing it – and those choices would come at the expense of other choices”.
Backers of the bill have pointed to an assessment carried out by the Scottish parliament last month, which estimated that a Scottish bill on assisted dying, if implemented, would eventually have a net annual cost of between about £140,000 and £340,000, or less than 0.002% of the NHS Scotland budget.
Margaret Hodge, the veteran Labour MP who is now a peer, said she struggled to understand Streeting’s argument about resources, telling the BBC that “to argue that this is going to cost extra sounds to me a bit daft”.
She added: “I’m a great Wes Streeting fan but I think on this issue he should do what the cabinet secretary said and just hold fire a little bit.”
One supporter of Leadbeater’s bill said some MPs had since expressed concern about the potential cost of the policy after Streeting’s comments: “I was very, very surprised when he said he was going to look into this now. I don’t doubt his sincerity, but we are getting some MPs saying that he must know something, when this probably isn’t knowledge-based.”
Another backer said Streeting’s argument was “a bit inexplicable”. They said: “This is not some new group showing up to the NHS demanding services. By definition they are in the last six months of their life, so they will be entitled to end-of-life care.
“I just don’t understand the logic of what he’s saying. And that’s before you get into the risk that you’re saying people might have to face an agonising death because otherwise it would cost money.”
Asked if she and other ministers risked being “drowned out” by Streeting, Kendall replied: “This is something people have very strong views about, but I am a lifelong champion of giving people power and control.”
An ally of Streeting said: “Wes has approached this issue in a genuine, thoughtful and considerate way, setting out his own view while respecting others’ views.”
Leadbeater’s bill sets out a series of safeguards, including lengthy prison sentences for coercion and powers for judges to cross-examine patients.
However, MPs opposed to the idea have expressed concerns including that the bill does not bar doctors from suggesting assisted dying as an option to patients.
