How does Kim Leadbeater answer the palliative care argument against assisted dying?

Kim Leadbeater argues that governments can improve palliative and social care and pass assisted dying at the same time. She says she has met people with throat, mouth, bowel and pancreatic cancers whose good palliative care still could not meet their needs, and that the deeper request is for control. The bill covered fewer than 1% of deaths, people with under six months to live.

• Leadbeater says about a third of people who start an assisted dying pathway never use it.
• She calls the current option, travelling to Dignitas in Switzerland for around 15,000 pounds, inequitable and traumatic.
• She notes four former directors of public prosecutions support changing the law.

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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