Opponents of assisted dying vowed to fight on after Kim Leadbeater’s Bill passed its first Commons hurdle on Friday.
MPs voted in favour of Ms Leadbeater’s proposals by a margin of 330 to 275 after they had their first opportunity to debate the legislation.
But several stages remain before the Bill becomes law, and a number of MPs indicated they could still vote against it if safeguards in the legislation were not strengthened.
Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who led opposition to the Bill during Friday’s debate, said he was “disappointed” but added that the vote was “simply to continue the discussion”.
He told the PA news agency: “I was reassured that so many colleagues recognised that the Bill is very dangerous, there’s lots of problems with it and they have said they want to improve it in committee.
“I want to help them do that and I hope we can make substantial improvements before it comes back for third reading, and I hope that if it’s not good enough, if the safeguards are not strengthened, then colleagues will vote against it before it comes into law.”
The Bill will now go before a committee of MPs, who will carry out line-by-line scrutiny of the legislation and can propose amendments.
Those of us who oppose (the Bill) will continue to oppose, right to third reading and beyond. This is merely a first step in, I suspect, a very, very long journey ahead before it's concluded
Ms Leadbeater, as the Bill’s proposer, will be responsible for choosing the make-up of the committee, but has indicated that she will seek to reflect the range of views expressed in Friday’s debate.
Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson, who backed an amendment arguing the Bill had not had enough scrutiny, said MPs needed to “engage now with the process”, adding that she hoped Ms Leadbeater “will take on board the concerns that were raised today”.
Veteran Tory MP Bob Blackman, who also opposed the legislation, said it would be “interesting to see” how many continued to support the Bill after it had passed through the committee.
He said: “Those of us who oppose it will continue to oppose, right to third reading and beyond.
“This is merely a first step in, I suspect, a very, very long journey ahead before it’s concluded.”
Supporters of the Bill celebrated the result of Friday’s vote, with some expressing surprise at the size of the majority voting in favour.
Meeting with supporters of assisted dying outside Parliament, Ms Leadbeater said: “I know what it means to people, if we hadn’t achieved what we achieved today I’d have let them down.”
But her allies also acknowledged that their campaign was not over yet.
Kit Malthouse, a long-standing supporter of assisted dying who co-sponsored Ms Leadbeater’s Bill, told PA there was “still a long way to go, there’s still a lot more to do”.
Following debate in committee, MPs will have another opportunity to vote on the legislation. If it passes, it will then be debated by the House of Lords, where it will follow the same procedure.
