Starmer tells Dame Esther he wants to see vote on assisted dying

SIR Keir Starmer has said he is “committed” to allowing a vote on legalising assisted dying in the next Parliament.

The Labour leader made the pledge to campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, whose revelation that she had joined the Dignitas assisted dying clinic in Switzerland has put the subject under the spotlight in recent months.

The Childline founder and broadcaster, 83, has urged politicians to grapple with the issue for the first time since 2015.

In a phone call between Sir Keir and Dame Esther, filmed by ITV News, he told her a Labour government would allow MPs the time to debate and vote on a change in the law. “I’m personally in favour of changing the law”, he said.

“I think we need to make time. We will make the commitment. Esther, I can give you that commitment right now.”

Asked whether he would like a vote within five years after the general election, the Labour leader said: “Oh yes, definitely.

“I think Esther would agree with this. For people who are going through this or are likely to go through it in the next few months or years, this matters hugely and delay just prolongs the agony.”

Dame Esther, who has stage four cancer, has been campaigning on the issue, including backing the launch of a petition demanding a parliamentary vote, which amassed tens of thousands of signatures over a few weeks.

Sir Keir supported a change in the law the last time the issue was voted on in the Commons nine years ago.

The Labour leader said in December that a private members’ bill and a free vote “seems appropriate”.

He told ITV that if he enters 10 Downing Street, he would offer MPs a free vote, meaning they would not be compelled to vote in favour or against legalisation.

Polling suggests his Labour Party is on course to win the election expected later this year.

Sir Keir acknowledged “safeguards with teeth” would have to be put in place to protect the vulnerable.

When he was director of public prosecutions, Sir Keir issued guidelines indicating that anyone acting with compassion to help end the life of someone who has decided they cannot go on would be unlikely to face criminal charges.

Assisted suicide is banned in most of the UK, with a possible prison sentence of 14 years.