CAMPAIGNERS vowed to keep fighting the Assisted Dying Bill after it cleared the House of Commons by just 23 votes today.

Mother of the House Diane Abbott warned “people will lose their lives who do not need to” under the plans to allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives.

The Labour MP told the Commons: “I ask members in this debate to speak up for the voiceless one more time, because there is no doubt that if this Bill is passed in its current form, people will lose their lives who do not need to, and they will be among the most vulnerable and marginalised in our society.

“It is not because I am opposed to assisted dying in principle, but because my concern is for vulnerable and marginalised persons, vulnerable and marginalised communities, that I implore the House to reject this Bill.”

During the hours-long date, MPs on both sides of the issue recalled personal stories of loved ones who had died.

They voted 314 to 291 to approve Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at third reading in a free vote.

It will now face scrutiny at the Lords, where it “still faces an uphill battle” to get through, opposition campaigners Right To Life UK said.

Spokeswoman Catherine Robinson said: “Although the Bill passed the Commons today, momentum remains with its opponents, with support consistently falling every time MPs have considered it.

“The Bill leaves the Commons lacking a majority, with fewer than half of all MPs voting for it at its final stage.

“The Bill still faces an uphill battle to reach royal assent. We will be fighting it at every stage in the House of Lords.”

Today Anglican Bishop of London Dame Sarah Mullally, who sits in the House of Lords, said that her peers “must oppose” the assisted dying Bill when it reaches them.

The former chief nursing officer for England said: “This private member’s Bill has received a third reading in the face of mounting evidence that it is unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society. 

“These unresolved concerns were raised in many speeches by MPs today and are demonstrated by the reduced Commons majority in favour.”

Many “key concerns” surrounding the assisted dying Bill remain unresolved, the Royal College of Psychiatrists’s president Dr Lade Smith CBE said.

“We are particularly concerned that the Bill does not currently require a holistic assessment of unmet need,” she added.

“We also have concerns relating to risk factors for suicide, the Mental Capacity Act, and workforce shortages.”

Leading figures in the Catholic church were “shocked and disappointed” after MPs voted in favour of the Bill, said the Archbishop of Liverpool John Sherrington.

“This Bill is flawed in principle with several provisions that give us great cause for concern,” he added.

Care Not Killing chief executive Gordon Macdonald warned the proposed legislation remains “deeply flawed and dangerous... that fails to protect vulnerable and disabled people from coercion.”

And hospices and end-of-life care professionals now face “huge implications” as a result of the vote, said St Christopher’s interim chief executive Jan Noble.

Sister Doreen Cunningham, who cares for elderly people, attended a gathering outside Parliament to oppose the Bill, said: “This Bill suppresses the people who do not receive proper care.”

Yes campaigners wept, jumped and hugged each other outside Parliament as the vote result was announced.Pro-change campaigners My Death, My Decision described the result as a “momentous victory for the overwhelming majority who support assisted dying.”

Dame Esther Rantzen hailed the vote result as one which will make a “huge positive difference” and protect terminally ill people from a “bad death.”

Ms Leadbeater described the passing of the assisted dying Bill at third reading as a “result that so many people need.”

Speaking following the historic vote, the Spen Valley MP said: “When you’ve spent as much time as I have with people who have got experience of losing loved ones in very difficult circumstances, and you’ve spent time with terminally ill people, who are just asking for choice at the end of their days, then this is absolutely the right thing to do.”

Sian Berry, a Green Party MP and one of the proposers of the Bill, joined the celebratory crowd outside following the vote.

She said: “We all have experience of loved ones at the end of their lives that have influenced this.

“So many of my constituents have written to me telling me their stories. You really feel the importance of what you’re doing this for.

“I’m confident we have made the Bill robust and I do believe this reflects public opinion.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer remained supportive of the Bill, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch voted No.

Both houses must agree the final text of the Bill before it can be signed into law. 

Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.

The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. 

It would have a four-year implementation period.