Southampton's MPs have voted against assisted dying - despite the bill being voted through in Parliament.

Darren Paffey and Satvir Kaur were among 275 MPs who did not back the The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024-25.

It has passed to the next round of Parliamentary scrutiny after 330 MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, supported the proposals at the second reading today (Friday, November 29).

READ MORE: How MPs in Hampshire voted on the assisted dying bill

The bill would make assisted dying legal for terminally ill adults who are expected to die within six months and have the mental capacity to choose how they end their lives subject to tough safeguards.

The vote was set up so MPs could follow their own conscience rather than having to submit to their party's views.

In a statement released ahead of the vote, MP for Southampton Test Ms Kaur said 'after a great deal of research, consideration, and listening to a wide-range of constituents’ views, I have decided to vote against the Bill'.

She added: "From my own personal experience of supporting a loved one, in pain and with no prospect of getting better, I empathise hugely for those who think that people should be given the option to avoid such suffering.

"While I may agree with the principle of assisted dying, and the strengths of the many important and legitimate arguments in favour, I am not yet sufficiently satisfied that the Bill provides strong enough safeguards against misapplication.

"Until it does, I cannot in good conscience support it."

She said another important factor in her decision was that 'assisted dying should never become an alternative to high-quality palliative care' which is 'sadly not' an option for many 'with the current state of the NHS'.

She said: "The sad reality is that, currently, access to good palliative care in the UK is a postcode lottery and too often dependant on individuals having a loved one to advocate for them. I don’t believe the Bill sufficiently protects those with disabilities, or poorer families who can’t afford or access palliative care. I also remain concerned that this Bill in its current state does not safeguard enough against coercion, or people feeling like a burden."

Mr Paffey, MP for Southampton Itchen, also issued a statement ahead of the vote and agreed with his colleague that 'without much-needed improvements in palliative care, I am not sufficiently reassured that an assisted death would be a genuine, free choice for everyone'.

He said: "In principle, my view is that the choice of an assisted death should be available, so that an adult who is terminally ill and of sound mind can make a clear and settled choice on the time and manner of their own death, subject to strict conditions.

"However, I do not believe that circumstances are currently right for such a profound change in the law on assisted dying."

He added: "I hope that we will revisit the legislation on assisted dying in the coming years, at a point when Britain will be in a better place, able to safely and effectively implement this important step of social reform and ready to accept it."

Elsewhere in Hampshire, Eastleigh MP Liz Jarvis and Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage voted for the bill.

The bill will now go to the committee and report stages next year, where it will be further scrutinised with the opportunity for amendments.

It would then go to another vote in the Commons, where, if passed, it would go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny and to be voted through. It would then receive Royal Assent and become law.