Why does Kim Leadbeater say her assisted dying bill failed?

Kim Leadbeater told Alastair Campbell on The Rest Is Politics that the bill lost on numbers rather than argument. When it returned to the Commons, enough supporters were away on overseas trips, at weddings or otherwise absent, while opponents who believed the law went against God's will turned out in force. She insists she could have accepted a defeat in a fair process, but not this one.

Leadbeater says the Commons had already voted for the bill twice before it went to the Lords.
She cites messages of devastation from the public, including a note handed to her on a train after the vote.

▸In their words

“Politics is about numbers. And it was all about turnout.” Kim Leadbeater · at 19:00 — open in the transcript →

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

▸More from this episode

Q2Why does Kim Leadbeater call the House of Lords handling of the assisted dying bill undemocratic?Q3What is Lindsay Nicholson's objection to assisted dying?Q4How does Kim Leadbeater answer the palliative care argument against assisted dying?Q5How does Kim Leadbeater describe grieving her sister Jo Cox?Q6What happened to Lindsay Nicholson's husband John Merritt and daughter Ellie?Q7Why does Kim Leadbeater want political education in schools?

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