Ed Davey ‘minded’ to vote against assisted dying bill

Sir Ed said he was “open-minded” and would listen to the debate, but added he was “very minded” to vote against.

The Kingston and Surbiton MP said he was concerned about the “psychological impact” of legalised assisted dying on elderly and disabled people, largely because of his own mother’s battle with bone cancer.

Sir Ed told reporters he administered morphine to his mother to help her deal with the pain of her condition towards the end of her life.

Despite being in pain before she died, Sir Ed said he did not think “she would have wanted” the option to have someone help her take her own life.

Instead of focussing on assisted dying, the Lib Dem leader argued the UK should “do much better” on palliative care.

Better end-of-life care would ease people’s fears of a painful death, making many cases of assisted suicide unnecessary, he said.