Dear
SPUC supporter,
Happy Easter! Hope you had a wonderful holiday.
Just before Parliament rose for Easter, Kim Leadbeater MP announced that the Report Stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill will now take place on 16 May.
The Report Stage is where MPs have a final chance to make amendments to the Bill. The important final vote by MPs takes place at Third Reading. This could happen directly after Report Stage on 16 May, or proceedings could carry over to the next available day for consideration of Private Members Bills (13 June).
This delay shows that the assisted suicide lobby are getting nervous. They are worried that MPs are turning away from this Bill, as it becomes more and more clear that it is not fit for purpose. The Cabinet is divided on the issue, and the Government’s enthusiasm seems to be waning as this controversial Bill is distracting from other priorities.
I know that this has been a long and hard campaign, but we need to take advantage of this, and to do all we can to persuade wavering MPs to vote against the Bill.
Remember, we need just 28 MPs who voted for the Bill in November to change their vote and oppose it at Third Reading. And, of course, we need to make sure that the MPs who voted the right way before do so again. So wherever your MP stands, please do all you can to lobby him/her.
Here are the top three things you can do:
1.Lobby your MP in person
The most effective form of lobbying is to go and see your MP in person. This delay gives us more time to organise meetings with MPs, if you have not already done so.
We have produced a guide to lobbying your MP in person specifically on this issue. Please use this and the briefing on the Bill to go and lobby your MP in person.
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2. Write to your MP
If you are not able to meet with your MP, please contact him/her in writing. Paper letters are the most impactful. You can use all of our online materials to help you, but MPs want to hear about your own concerns. Do you have experience of caring for a loved one at the end of life? Or experience of illness or disability in yourself or someone else? Who would you fear for if the law came into force?
There is also a tool on our website if you prefer to send an email to your MP. It can be found via the below link:
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3. Get other people contacting their MP
As well as contacting your MP yourself, a key campaign action is to get other people doing so!
Distributing our flyers at churches or door to door is a great way to get people writing to their MP. They contain a QR code that takes you to all SPUC’s resources on lobbying MPs on this Bill, including the web-tool to contact your MP. You can order as many as you need here:
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If you are in a position to campaign on this among your church congregation, please get in touch and I can send you a pulpit address and newsletter insert.
Thank you for everything you have done so far to defeat this dangerous Bill. This campaign is going well, but we need to keep pushing on and make sure that MPs vote it down at Third Reading.
With best wishes,
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Alithea Williams
Public Policy Manager
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