Assisted dying bill 'no hope' of passing unless Lords change approach, warns peer

It is now "very, very difficult" to see how the assisted dying bill could become law this year, a leading backer of the change has told BBC News.

Lord Falconer said the legislation has "absolutely no hope" of passing without a "fundamental change" in the House of Lords' approach.

The former justice secretary is threatening an unprecedented use of the Parliament Act to override peers' objections if it is not passed before the King's Speech in May.

The rarely used powers would set up a constitutional clash over what is a highly sensitive issue.

Opponents believe the assisted dying legislation is unsafe, particularly for vulnerable people, and needs extensive amending before it could become law.

A government source said many ministers now believed the bill would not pass through the Lords and hoped a compromise could be brokered.

"It seems pretty clear to us now that the House of Lords is not going to pass this bill," the government source said.

They suggested a Royal Commission could be formed to examine some of the practical questions raised by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater's proposal.

The source said using the Parliament Act for a private member's bill would be deeply controversial.

"The prime minister will need to step in before it gets to that stage," the government source said.

Lord Falconer insisted the Parliament Act was an "established part of our constitution" and peers should not block the bill given elected MPs had approved it.

Typically bills brought by backbench MPs, called Private Members' Bills, fall unless they are passed by both the Commons and the Lords in one parliamentary session.

A session ends when Parliament is prorogued, and a new one begins with a King's Speech – which is expected in May.

The Parliament Act allows for a bill that has been passed by the Commons but rejected by the Lords to return in a new parliamentary session.

If an identical bill passes the Commons a second time, the Lords cannot block it again and the legislation will become law at the end of that second session even without the Lords' approval.

The powers have only been used seven times since 1911.

There are also several hurdles supporters would need to overcome.

Someone willing to bring the exact same bill would need to be drawn high up in the ballot of MPs able to bring a Private Members Bill.

Asked if it was now impossible for the bill to pass, Lord Falconer told BBC News: "It's very very difficult, it's not impossible if the Lords were to change the way that they were dealing with it."

"I've seen no sign so far that there's going to be a change," he added. "But if it goes on like this it has absolutely no hope whatsoever of getting out of the Lords."

Pressed on the controversy of using the Parliament Act to prevent the Lords from blocking the bill a second time, Lord Falconer said: "The issue about assisted dying is very controversial, but ultimately somebody in our constitution has got to decide whether the country should make the change.

"The people who should decide it should be the elected representatives in the Commons. If they make up their mind but are blocked in giving effect to that decision by a small number of peers then the constitutional answer is the Parliament Act."

Lord Falconer has written to all peers on Wednesday evening setting out a number of amendments he will table, aimed at addressing concerns such as around those with eating disorders becoming eligible for an assisted death, and toughening restrictions on advertising for the service.

"It is our responsibility as a House to find a way forward," he told peers, urging them to back the changes.

However several peers believe the change is dangerous and could mean vulnerable people are pressured into ending their lives prematurely.