Burnham says he will not vote on assisted dying unlike Starmer

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has revealed helium volition not ballot connected the assisted dying measure for England and Wales dissimilar his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer.

MPs are apt to get the accidental to statement and ballot connected the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill successful 2 weeks' time.

The measure is identical to the 1 enactment to Parliament past year, wherever it passed successful the House of Commons but stalled successful the Lords aft an unprecedented fig of amendments meant it ran retired of time.

Burnham said helium has his "own idiosyncratic views connected the issue" but it was "a substance for Parliament to decide". Starmer voted successful favour of the erstwhile measure erstwhile helium was PM but did not run successful favour of it, remaining officially neutral.

Writing to Labour MPs connected Friday, Burnham said: "My role, arsenic the premier minister, volition beryllium to pb a authorities that implements the volition of Parliament successful this country – whether that is to alteration the instrumentality oregon not.

"I besides bash not privation to unduly power the statement arsenic premier curate and for each workfellow to cognize it is simply a genuinely escaped vote.

"For these reasons, I person taken the determination that it is astir due for maine not to ballot astatine Second Reading."

He added that "there is nary azygous close position" and it was an "incredibly important and idiosyncratic debate".

"It is captious that those antithetic views are treated with dignity and respect," helium wrote.

While his abstension is simply a departure from Starmer's support, Burnham stressed that the authorities arsenic an entity would officially stay neutral connected the bill.

When helium was Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham indicated helium was successful favour of assisted dying successful principle.

But successful June helium suggested it would beryllium challenging to instrumentality earlier societal and palliative attraction were improved.

The assisted dying instrumentality would let adults implicit the property of 18 who are expected to dice wrong six months to beryllium fixed assistance to extremity their ain life, taxable to definite safeguards.