Back to the assisted dying bill, which has been at the centre of controversy since it came into being. As Mr S noted this week, its committee stage was rather odd – with one Australian MP witness even using the evidence session to argue that ‘voluntary assisted dying is a form of suicide prevention’. Er, right…

Now Conservative MP Jesse Norman has taken to the Commons to blast the bill’s ‘rushed and secretive’ process and lack of impact assessments. Attacking the committee stage, Norman fumed that ‘a host of important questions [were left] completely untouched’ from the impact of euthanasia on the medics involved to the relationship between doctors and patients who want to end their own lives. The Tory politician even turned on leader of the house Lucy Powell, slamming her attitude towards his concerns about the matter as ‘patronising’. Talk about pulling no punches, eh?

Watch the clip here:

A furious Jesse Norman giving both barrels to Commons Leader Lucy Powell over the haphazard, “rushed and secretive” process of the assisted dying bill, and the lack of impact assessment pre-report stage. Magnificent (1/2) pic.twitter.com/0NXYTaI9hM

— Madeline Grant (@Madz_Grant) February 6, 2025