WEST Cumbrian MPs have voted to pass the first stage of the assisted dying bill in Parliament - as they thank constituents who have been in touch with many 'thoughtful' and 'emotional' testimonies to contribute to the debate.

The bill passed on November 29  in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 - MPs voted 330 to 275, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. 

MP for Penrith and Solway, Markus Campbell-Savours, voted in favour of the bill to allow adults who are terminally ill to be given assistance to end their own life- although said he would be voting against the legislation at the next stage should 'improvements' not be made.

Speaking about his decision, Mr Campbell-Savours said: “It wasn’t an easy decision to make, it has been the hardest thing I have had to do since being elected.

"I have great reservations about my decision, but, I opted to push it forward to give people the opportunity to make improvements during the committee stage and see if they can satisfy my concerns regarding safeguards for vulnerable people.

"I've gone into it looking for a version of this legislation that I can support. I don’t think the legislation is there yet and I have made it clear to colleagues who are pushing the bill that if improvements aren’t made and if I continue to feel that vulnerable people are not protected, I will vote the bill down at the next reading.

"I’m not the only MP who feels this way.” 

MP for Whitehaven and Workington Josh MacAlister said for him the bill represents a 'fundamental matter of choice', contributing his decision to push the bill forward.

He said: “I’d like to thank everyone who contacted me about this issue in advance of the vote. I read hundreds of thoughtful contributions from both sides of the debate.

“I received some very emotional testimonies from those who were forced to watch friends and family members suffer needlessly at the end of their lives, even when they had excellent palliative care. It was those people I thought of when I walked through the ‘Aye’ lobby to vote in favour of the Bill.

“Fundamentally for me it is a matter of choice and I believe those who want it should have the choice to die with dignity when they are in their final months and facing unimaginable suffering as the alternative.

“The Bill puts in extremely tight safeguards to guard against coercion which reassured me that we can do this in a safe and compassionate way.

“There will now be all the scrutiny that every Bill gets after second reading, which will give MPs further chances to discuss and debate it line by line, and it will be many months before it becomes law, but this was an important first step."

Julie Minns (Carlisle), Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) and Michelle Scrogham (Barrow-in-Furness) all voted against the bill at the first stage.