Why does Kim Leadbeater call the House of Lords handling of the assisted dying bill undemocratic?

Kim Leadbeater says a relatively small number of unelected peers, some of them previously rejected by voters, tabled about 1,200 amendments to slow the bill down. She calls some unnecessary and some cruel, such as requiring each assisted death to be filmed, barring travel overseas and demanding a pregnancy test from every applicant, men and post-menopausal women included.

• Leadbeater sat through the Friday Lords debates watching Lord Falconer steer the bill.
• She says peers repeatedly got her name and constituency wrong, which she suspects was deliberate.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Rest Is Politics (2026-10-22). Read the whole episode summary →

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