The overwhelming majority of the public back those doctors calling on MPs to shelve Kim Leadbeater’s “dangerous” assisted dying bill finds a major new poll that is being published ahead of the second day of Report Stage.
Commissioned by the leading anti-assisted dying group Care Not Killing, the survey found seven in 10 members of the public, support the proposal from the Royal Colleges to shelf the current Westminster Bill and improve palliative care instead.
It was put to respondents, “The Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Association for Palliative Medicine, as well as a coalition of more than 350 disability organisations, have called for parliament to shelve the current proposals to legalise assisted dying and instead work with the government and NHS on an alternative.” Asked “would you agree or disagree with replacing the current proposals with either or both of the following?”
- 69% of those surveyed agreed with the statement: “a comprehensive plan to invest and improve palliative care with a commitment to giving all patients a right to access excellent end-of-life care”. In contrast, just one in 10 (11 per cent) disagreed.
- Support among Labour voters was even higher at 71 per cent with even 69 per cent of those who supported assisted dying agreed that the current Bill should be shelved whilst a plan to improve palliative care was developed and implemented.
- While six in 10 (61 per cent) backed the idea of setting up a Royal Commission “to consider and make recommendations for creating a holistic end of life and palliative care service, managing patient care from diagnosis to a good death”. Just 14 per cent disagreed. 63 per cent of Labour voters support this and 60 per cent of those who support assisted dying.
The poll also suggests that the Government could pay a political price if they allow assisted suicide to be legalised without fixing the NHS. Two-thirds (65 per cent) of those surveyed think the Government’s priority should be sorting out palliative and social care before changing the law. A figure reinforced by the finding that fully six in 10 (60 per cent) of people agree with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown that with the NHS is at its lowest ebb and it is not the right time to legalise assisted suicide.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing, commented:
“This major new poll blows apart the arguments that the public are desperate for a so-called assisted dying law. The public want the Government and MPs to focus on fixing the NHS and palliative care which they know are broken. After all one in four Brits who would benefit from palliative care aren’t currently receiving it, while in many places services are piecemeal, part-time or facing cuts.”
The new poll
“Do you agree or disagree with these statements?”
| When it comes to considering whether and how to introduce assisted dying in Britain, MPs should pay particular attention to the views of doctors and nurses who look after terminally ill patients | Teenagers at age 18 are too young to make mature, settled decisions about whether to end their lives, even if they meet the eligibility requirements for assisted dying | The NHS and social care system are in such a poor state that to legalise assisted dying could risk some people fearing poor end-of-life care that they opt to end their life earlier | I am concerned that if any legislation is passed permitting assisted dying in Britain, there will be pressure to expand it here as well to include children | The Government should prioritise sorting out palliative, social and end-of-life care before considering whether to introduce assisted dying | |
| Unweighted base | 2089 | 2089 | 2089 | 2089 | 2089 |
| Weighted base | 2089 | 2089 | 2089 | 2089 | 2089 |
| Agree strongly | 821
39% |
590
28% |
441
21% |
484
23% |
647
31% |
| Agree | 901
43% |
658
32% |
788
38% |
681
33% |
709
34% |
| Disagree | 100
5% |
390
19% |
350
17% |
379
18% |
318
15% |
| Disagree strongly | 32
2% |
140
7% |
110
5% |
157
7% |
92
4% |
| Don’t know | 235
11% |
311
15% |
400
19% |
388
19% |
323
15% |
| NET: Agree | 1722
82% |
1248
60% |
1229
59% |
1166
56% |
1356
65% |
| NET: Disagree | 132
6% |
530
25% |
459
22% |
535
26% |
409
20% |
“The Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Psychiatrists and Association for Palliative Medicine, as well as a coalition of more than 350 disability organisations, have called for Parliament to shelve the current proposals to legalise assisted dying and instead work with the Government and NHS on an alternative plan.”
“Would you agree or disagree with replacing the current proposal with either or both of the following?”
| A comprehensive plan to invest in and improve palliative care with a commitment to giving all patients a right to access excellent end-of-life care | A Royal Commission to consider and make recommendations for creating a holistic end-of-life and palliative care service, managing patient care from diagnosis to a good death | |
| Unweighted base | 2089 | 2089 |
| Weighted base | 2089 | 2089 |
| Agree strongly | 656
31% |
489
23% |
| Agree | 789
38% |
782
37% |
| Disagree | 169
8% |
198
9% |
| Disagree strongly | 62
3% |
87
4% |
| Don’t know / prefer not to say | 414
20% |
532
25% |
| NET: Agree | 1444
69% |
1271
61% |
| NET: Disagree | 231
11% |
286
14% |
Methodology: Whitestone interviewed 2089 UK adults online between 30th May and 1st June 2025. Data were weighted to be representative of all adults. Whitestone is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
