Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool John Sherrington says the most effective way to address end-of-life suffering is through "greater access to excellent palliative and end-of-life care".

Archbishop Sherrington, who is also the Lead Bishop for Life Issues, thanks MPs who voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, and those who campaigned against it.

"Our response to those facing serious illness, disability or the challenges of old age should be rooted in solidarity, care and respect," he says.

And he adds that the Catholic leaders will continue to promote these priorities and stand alongside those who care in hospices, hospitals, care homes and communities.

Breaking down how the parties voted on assisted dyingpublished at 16:12 BST

16:12 BST

By Daniel Wainwright and Phil Leake

The issue split the Labour party, with 190 votes from its MPs in favour of the bill and 153 against.

A majority of Liberal Democrat MPs and all five Green MPs were also in favour, while most Conservatives and Reform UK MPs who voted were against.

There is a slight difference between the official result of 270 MPs in favour based on the tellers’ count and the 269 MPs names recorded as voting for the bill. The tellers are the MPs nominated to count the votes for and against.

The Parliament website, external explains this can happen if the tellers have miscounted, although tellers from both sides have agreed their total. Another possibility is if some MPs' names are not recorded on the electronic pass reader terminals, which can be corrected later if they report that their name is missing.

Alex Forster
Reporting from outside the House of Commons

Catherine from Brighton is one of many Dignity in Dying campaigners outside of the House of Commons to hear the vote on assisted dying. She is here today because of her sister Claire, who died in 2020.

“Claire had really great palliative care but it wasn’t enough for her, she wanted that option to die on her terms, and very sadly today because of the actions of seven or eight unelected peers this whole thing has been blocked."

She went on to say she feels the British public is behind them in this cause and she vowed “We’re not going away…we will always keep going”

Three Labour MPs who opposed today's bill have issued a joint statement following the vote.

Ashley Dalton, Meg Hillier and Jess Asato say: “MPs have voted against this bill because it wasn’t an abstract debate but a decision about a real bill that was unsafe and unworkable.

“But this is not a moment for celebration, we understand the deep concerns of so many people across the country who have campaigned hard for a change in the law."

They add that "none of the relevant royal medical colleges, professional groups or experts" will attest to the safety or workability of the bill.

“The PM is right; we must fix our NHS and sort out social and palliative care before we even consider introducing assisted dying," the MPs say.

Image source, House of Commons

The BBC has been speaking to campaigners against the assisted dying bill following the outcome of the vote by MPs.

One woman says she did not think the bill was going to be rejected, adding she was so proud of all of the supporters who had come out to speak against it.

Wiping away tears, she says: "The fight is not over. We still have so much that we need to campaign against but for a few minutes we can rest a bit and have some peace."

She thanks the MPs who voted against the bill, saying they have "changed our lives".

Another campaigner says he feels "overwhelmed with emotion".

He adds they will continue to fight on for more investment in palliative care and against welfare cuts.

Image source, PA Media

Lauren Edwards, the MP who introduced the bill to Parliament says the result is "hugely disappointing".

"Not for me but for the many thousands of terminally ill people and their loved ones who were given hope when the Commons voted for this Bill last year."

She says support for choice at the end of life is still as strong in Parliament as it was before and objections raised today "were not about the principle of assisted dying but about parliamentary process".

Edwards blames a minority in the House of Lords, who she says "used procedural devices to block it".

"Assisted Dying will come in this country, as it is already doing all across the world, but not soon enough," she pledges.

"Parliament has dropped the ball today. It will be picked up again as it must be, because the law as it stands is simply too cruel and too unjust to be allowed to stand."

Image source, PA Media

Reacting to the news that MPs have voted against a fresh move to legalise assisted dying, journalist and campaigner Esther Rantzen tells the BBC it is a tragic day.

Unable to join supporters in Parliament Square, the 86-year-old, who has terminal cancer, spoke via her daughter Rebecca Wilcox's phone.

"I’m so sad that people in this country wont have the choice, so many terminally ill adults have in other countries have of shortening their own deaths by asking for help," Rantzen says.

"I am sure a change in the law will come. I am deeply sad that it won't come soon enough for many of the people who need it, it’s a tragic day."

Wilcox said she was devasted by the vote and vowed their campaign would continue, adding it had taken a huge effort for her mother to make her statement today, despite the seriousness of her condition, because it meant so much to her.

"I don’t think it’s a vandalism of democracy, I think it’s a demolition of democracy," she added.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

The reaction in the House of Commons - gasps, cheers, stunned surprise - sums up the scale of this result.

We had expected it to be close. All the predictions beforehand was the margin of victory for either side would be narrow. But today supporters of the bill had been sounding more optimistic than opponents.

They believed enough backers of assisted dying had turned up in Westminster.

They were wrong.

As always the numbers tell a story. The last time MPs voted on this bill, 291 voted against it, versus 314 in favour. Today, the numbers voting against it are similar - 286 voted no this afternoon.

What has changed, and so the reason why we have a different result, is the numbers voting in favour. Just 270 voted for this bill, a fall of 45.

Why have fewer voted in favour this? There are a number of possible factors. Some had growing concerns about the safety of the bill, as we heard from the Labour MP Janet Daby this afternoon.

For others, the influence of Andy Burnham may have been a factor. Last time MPs voted on this issue, Keir Starmer was prime minister and in favour of this change.

Burnham is not in favour of this bill. And that change might have swayed some MPs who supported the bill last time to stay away.

A group of disabled and terminally ill campaigners says the outcome of today's vote is a "victory" for disabled people, terminally ill people and "everyone this bill would have put at risk".

The campaign group Assist Us To Live says palliative and social care systems are "dangerously underfunded" and disabled people "fight every day" for the "support to eat, wash, leave our homes, and work".

They thanks MPs for the results and say they are "ready to work with government to deliver the reforms we've been demanding".

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

The rejection of the assisted dying bill has been described as a "devastating setback for dying people" by the Dignity in Dying charity.

The charity says law change on assisted dying remains a "matter of when, not if", adding that the practice has already been legalised in Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Dave Sowry, the chair of My Death, My Decision, has said the result is "a travesty and deathly disappointing" but that the campaign group will continue to fight for a compassionate law.

He adds that it also "leaves the current unsafe and unequal status quo exactly as it is", with people who are unable to afford travelling abroad to Switzerland, where assisted dying is legal, being "left without that choice".

MPs have voted against the assisted dying bill, after debating for more than four hours in the Commons.

This bill can now go no further, but an MP could bring back an identical or tweaked piece of legislation at some point next year.

There is precedent for this: the legislation debated today was a nearly identical version of the bill that was initially passed in the Commons, before it was eventually stalled in the House of Lords.

It is down to MPs to see if anyone wants to bring forward another bill and champion the cause again.

An extraordinary rejection despite changing of minds for somepublished at 14:54 BST

14:54 BST

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

That is absolutely extraordinary.

The House of Commons, which twice previously voted in favour of a near identical piece of legislation, have rejected this bill.

This is the end of this attempt to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

There were some who changed their minds. But they were a minority.

Ultimately opponents defeated this bill because they succeeded in persuading more of their MPs to turn up to Westminster on a day when many are typically in their constituencies.

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent, reporting from the House of Commons

There were cheers in the Commons from opponents of the bill as the result was read out.

MPs who have been backing the legislation look deflated. Kim Leadbeater is shaking her head on the green benches.

She and others will be frustrated that a bill MPs backed last year has now been rejected.

MPs have voted against the assisted dying bill, with 286 votes against and 270 in favour.

MPs have voted for bringing the debate to a close, with 293 votes for and 218 against.

They are now voting on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - also known as the assisted dying bill - itself.

We will bring you the result as soon as we have it - you will also be able to watch live at the top of this page.

How does assisted dying uptake vary globally?published at 14:23 BST

14:23 BST

By Anthony Reuben

Speaking during the debate earlier, Conservative MP Sir Edward Leigh said: “I believe that in 10 years time we will be in a situation like Canada and very large numbers of people will be choosing assisted dying.”

I’ve been looking at the countries where assisted dying is legal and have examined their most recent annual reports containing the number of people who have had an assisted death. There is a wide range in the levels of take-up.

In Canada, in 2024 the rate was 5%, external, which means that of all the deaths in the country that year, one in 20 was assisted. In the Netherlands, external it was higher than that in 2025 at 6%.

At the other end of the scale, Spain, external, Austria, external and Colombia, external have rates of about 0.1%, which means one death in 1,000 is assisted.

The debate over the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has now ended after hours of back and forth in the House of Commons.

MPs are now voting on if the debate should be brought to a close - if this vote passes, they will vote on the bill itself.

Image source, House of Commons

Minsiter for Health Alison McGovern says assisted dying has been subject to "detailed consideration" over a number of years, inside and outside of parliament.

She reiterates that the government is neutral on assisted dying and on the passage of the bill.

"It is right that this is a matter for parliament and not government to decide whether this bill should become law," she adds.

But she says the government has a duty to the statute books and to make sure the bill is "workable and effective".

McGovern makes the point that the government is working to improve both social care and palliative care.

"This is a deeply challenging issue" she says, becoming emotional, and says MPs must listen and understand one another during this time.

Image source, UK Parliament

Labour MP for Stroud Dr Simon Opher says this assisted dying bill is the "safest... in the world" because it has got so many safeguards - more than bills in other countries, including Australia, he says.

Opher says in 2010, the UK system of palliative care was levelled the best in the world, "and yet still people went to Dignitas, still 600 people who were suffering from terminal diagnoses killed themselves".

Turning to mental health, he says studies in California show that even for people with terminal illness who were treated with depression, it made no difference to their choice around assisted dying.

"It's not a choice between life and death; it's death from natural causes, or death under your control ," he adds.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Janet Daby, the Labour MP for Lewisham East, announced she has changed her mind.

She told the Commons she had “nightmares about dying and death” after she voted in favour of the bill.

“I had to wrestle with myself, knowing that I was not entirely comfortable with the decision I had made, and my conscience was not at peace, and I cannot again, in good conscience, vote for the Bill,” she said.

She pointed to the government’s equality impact assessment and her concerns about the risks of coercion, particularly for those of ethnic minority backgrounds.

There haven’t been many MPs in this debate openly switching their position. There may be evidence of more changers when we get to the vote.