I WANT to thank all of my constituents, including doctors, nurses and hospice workers, who have taken the time to share their views on the incredibly sensitive topic of assisted dying.

The vote on this matter in Parliament was a ‘vote of conscience’. That means as national lawmakers, Members of Parliament were free to come to our own decision, with no official stance from the political parties.

I’ve been pleased that MPs from across the spectrum, many of us new to Parliament, have treated the issue with the deep level of care and thoughtfulness that it warrants.

I have carefully read the letters I’ve received from constituents, listened to residents at surgeries, engaged with doctors and hospice workers and studied the Bill itself in detail. 

After a great deal of reflection, I decided to vote against the Bill.

While I don’t feel the current laws around assisted dying are satisfactory, this was not a vote on the principle of assisted dying as a whole – this was a vote on the details of the particular Bill that was put before us in Parliament.

This is a profound issue of fundamental constitutional importance. It deals with the way that our society views life and indeed death. I’ve therefore been concerned that the Bill doesn’t deal adequately with the legal, ethical, medical and societal complexities that inevitably come with this deeply sensitive issue.

Read more: Majority of North East MPs vote against assisted dying

There’s a real mix of views on this important matter both in our area and across the country, so I want to thank everyone involved for approaching this in such a thoughtful and sensitive manner.

Regardless of our individual views on this particular Bill, I’m sure we can all agree there must be improvements in palliative and end of life care. I know the Government is committed to making this happen and it’s something I’ll be actively discussing with ministers.

Alan Strickland, Member of Parliament for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor.