David Cameron becomes first former PM to back assisted dying bill in major u-turn from previous vote

By Emma Soteriou

David Cameron has become the first former PM to back assisted dying in a major u-turn from his previous vote.

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Lord Cameron previously opposed the law change amid concerns vulnerable people would be "pressurised into hastening their own deaths".

However, he has since changed his mind, accepting the argument that it is "not about ending life, it is about shortening death".

He said the safeguards included in the legislation made him less concerned over the chances of coercion.

Read more: 'Wes Streeting has disappointed me': Esther Rantzen hits out at Health Secretary over assisted dying

Read more: Assisted dying bill 'has enough support to pass Commons' next week, MPs supporting change claim

James O'Brien lays out the 'two extremes' in the assisted dying debate

"When we know that there’s no cure, when we know death is imminent, when patients enter a final and acute period of agony, then surely, if they can prevent it and — crucially — want to prevent it, we should let them make that choice," Lord Cameron wrote in the Times.

He is the first former PM to back the bill, with Gordon Brown, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss having all said they were against it.

Mr Johnson previously said the move could "lead to the industrialisation of state-sponsored assisted dying".

None of them will have a vote on Friday, but Baroness May and Lord Cameron would if the bill reached the Lords.

The bill is due to have a five-hour debate on Friday, with a vote expected at the end on whether it should pass through to be scrutinised by a committee.

It marks the first time it has been debated in the Commons in almost a decade.

Assisted dying: Nick Ferrari hears from Dame Esther Rantzen

It comes as Esther Rantzen has told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast that she is "disappointed" in Health Secretary Wes Streeting following his "vocal opposition" to the bill.

Dame Esther, 85, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2023, and has previously appealed to the government to make time for Parliament to debate and vote freely on the matter.

Now, ahead of the debate, Dame Esther has said MPs should be honest about their reasons for opposing a change in the law.

"I think this is an issue which shouldn't actually be decided by cost," she said, following comments made by Mr Streeting over the financial implications.

"But certainly if this bill is passed during the committee stage, the government has said that they will ensure there is an analysis of the impact at all levels in all departments."