Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

Debate between Lord Wilson of Sedgefield and Lord Young of Norwood Green

Committee stage
Friday 6th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My Lords, I have not spoken in this debate before, but the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, last week made me want to do so. He reminded us that:

“Nobody could say that a doctor can tell you that you will die within six months. But the Bill does not so provide. Its conditions require only that the doctor, and the panel in due course, are satisfied that … the person has an inevitably progressive illness or disease which cannot be reversed”—

[Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Wilson of Sedgefield) (Lab)]

The noble Lord is not down as having been present at the beginning of the debate last week.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My name was on the list. I checked last week and my name was on there.

[Noble Lords]

Let him speak.

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

If it is the will of the Committee to hear the noble Lord speak, then fine.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

Thank you. I checked before I left, so I am puzzled.

The noble Lord, Lord Pannick, referred to situations where, as set out in the Bill,

“‘the person has an inevitably progressive illness or disease which cannot be reversed … and … the person’s death in consequence … can reasonably be expected within six months’”.—[Official Report, 30/1/26; col. 1261.]

We know from all the evidence we have heard that trying to predict when someone will die is not a precise science, but that is not really the point of this Bill. It is about ensuring that people have a right to choose and are doing so in circumstances where we can feel reasonably confident that safeguards are there.

I look at the safeguards in the Bill, and this is a very cautious step forward:

“Initial request for assistance: first declaration … Witnessing first declaration … First doctor’s assessment … Second doctor’s assessment … Doctors’ assessments: further provision”.


Some noble Lords are speaking as though we have just one doctor, who may not be very mature or experienced. That is not the case in this Bill. It is much more careful and cautious. The noble Baroness, Lady Jay of Paddington, reminded us last time that

“one of the international facts that supports entirely the position he is taking is that, in the … 33 jurisdictions where assisted dying is allowed, it is usually the case—I cite one or two—that, following that suggestion by a doctor, or prognosis or however you want to describe it, over a third of those who make the choice he has described then do not use the provision … There is no question that they want to die; they are simply using it almost as an insurance policy”.—[Official Report, 30/1/26; col. 1262.]

I understand that there is a real difference of opinion in this House. Some feel that, if we make this step forward—I listened carefully to the noble Baroness, Lady O’Loan—without putting more things in the Bill, it will be unsafe. I do not take that point of view. We are giving people, as the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, said, the right to choose. That may not accord with the views of all noble Lords. Others want us to take into account degree of suffering and all sorts of circumstances, but I do not accord with that. I take the view that we in this House are trying, with some difficulty, to ensure that we have a Bill that gives people the right to choose and has significant safeguards. Can it guarantee that we can tell people exactly when they will die? Of course not. Minister Wes Streeting announced recently that we will make significant improvements in cancer treatment, which will change people’s lives fundamentally. On those grounds, I hope the House will continue to support this Bill.

[Lord Shamash (Lab)]

My Lords, can I address the Committee on a personal note? My late brother-in-law suffered from muscular dystrophy, a horrendous progressive disease that many noble Lords may have come across. In the last years of his life, he was pushed around in a wheelchair. It was very difficult for the family, particularly for my wife, his sister.

Holocaust Memorial Day

Debate between Lord Wilson of Sedgefield and Lord Young of Norwood Green

Monday 26th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My Lords, I was born a Jew and I am proud to be a Jew, albeit a non-practising one. This has been an amazing debate, and I want to pay tribute the right reverend Prelate—I did not think I would be paying tribute to a a Jewish one—for an amazing speech. There have been some amazing speeches during this debate.

I want to give some experience of my life. We were Dutch Jews on one side of our family. My father changed the name because he wanted to sell more insurance, and he was good at that, so I suppose it was a good move.

Where we lived in the East End, I never experienced any antisemitism. It was a mixed street, mainly Jews. The synagogue was round the corner, and the rabbi was round the other side. I think we had a good upbringing.

When I was 15 years old, I was a precocious reader and I came across a book—

[Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Wilson of Sedgefield) (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Lord’s name is not on the list to speak, but if he would like to keep his remarks short, that would be okay.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

I am sorry. I will endeavour to keep my remarks short. I did not realise that I had to put my name down.

Anyway, when I was 15 years old, I came across a book, The Scourge of the Swastika, which, ironically, was written by the grandfather of the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool. That taught me a lot about what goes on.

Bearing the mind the strictures that I have to keep my remarks limited, I will do. I think this is a really important debate. I thank the people who have made contributions about needing to do more to ensure that antisemitism remains something that we fight against. I will leave it at that.

Public/Private Partnerships: Shares

Debate between Lord Wilson of Sedgefield and Lord Young of Norwood Green

Monday 3rd November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

We will look at public/private partnerships in the future. We are looking at them in a limited way for neighbourhood health centres, for example, and public estate decontamination projects, but we need certainty over future funding, which is why we have committed over the next decade at least £725 billion of investment in infrastructure so that we can ensure growth.

[Lord Young of Norwood Green (Lab)]

My Lords, I have had some experience of this, given that my union was involved when BT was privatised in 1984. That was a successful public/private partnership; it is a shame that today there is such scepticism. Of course, it requires the Government to be capable of ensuring a successful negotiation, but it also needs to ensure that the people involved—in my case, it was the union members—get a good deal, and they did get a good deal: for every share they invested, they got two shares back. The reaction from Eurostar is interesting. Virgin Trains is trying to run another train service through the tunnel. What is the reaction of Eurostar? It is to find every legal means possible to oppose it. It does not seem to me to be a good approach. As long as we are going to benefit, and as long as we are going to get growth and productivity, it seems to me that public/private partnerships are a good idea.

[Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that question; it is very good of him. As I said, we will look into how we ensure that public/private partnerships work in the future for the benefit not just of customers but of the Government and the taxpayer. We need to ensure that we move forward on this so that everybody is part of the success story, which I think they can be if it is done right.