The Terminally Ill Adult (End of Life) Bill has today run out of time.

This means it will not progress any further and will not become law.

I have been open about the fact that I do not support the principle of assisted dying. This is why I chose to vote against it at every opportunity. Many of my constituents supported my position. However, I am very aware that many people desperately want this bill to become law and want the option of assisted dying. I appreciate that they will be disappointed.

It is important to note that supporters of assisted dying chose to use a Private Members' Bill as the mechanism. The challenge with taking this route is that there is no pre-legislative scrutiny and limited time in the House of Commons for scrutiny on the floor of the House or in Committee. MPs from across the House of Commons worked to highlight the flaws in the draft bill and sought to improve it at every turn.

During the Commons Report Stage debate, I was able to raise only one of the concerns my colleagues had about the bill.

Since the vote in the House of Commons, the House of Lords has spent a considerable amount of time debating it. Many amendments have been tabled from both sides of the argument, as they were in the House of Commons. It is important to note that whilst there were a significant number of amendments in the Lords for this Bill, other legislation, such as the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, also had a high number of amendments. To claim that members of the House of Lords sought to kill the bill contradicts the role that the House of Lords plays. It is a refining chamber, and this is exactly what Peers sought to do.

Moving forward, there are those who have said they will seek to bring another Assisted Dying Bill forward after the King's Speech. Others are determined to bring forward legislation to improve palliative care instead. A bill to ensure everyone has access to well-funded and quality palliative or end-of-life care, regardless of where they live. It is my hope that we see something like this come forward.