AG°Ù¼ÒÀÖÔÚÏß¹ÙÍø

If the assisted dying bill is passed today, it does not mean the legislation becomes law.

Instead, it will head across the Houses of Parliament to the House of Lords.

There, it will also be subject to the scrutiny of the close to 1,000 peers of the realm.

It is hard to say how the legislation will go through the upper chamber - as the combination of a private members bill and a free vote is an unusual one.

However, there remains a chance, albeit small, that the upper chamber delays and obfuscates the bill to stop it by keeping it in limbo until the king's speech to parliament later this year.

The chances of the scenario are slim, though.

But there is some jeopardy, as the usual reluctance of the Lords to block a Commons-supported bill is somewhat reduced due to it not being a government backed measure.

Lisa Nandy is speaking to Sky News this morning on behalf of the government.

A longstanding backer of changing the law around assisted dying, she says she will be support the legislation in today's vote.

It's worth noting at this stage, that the government is not making its MPs vote one way or the other.

Nandy says the debate around the bill has been "considered and respectful" and she does "really respect the views of colleagues who take a different view".

She adds that she "hopes the bill succeeds today".

Asked if she is worried about the number of MPs changing their minds, Nandy says people have been swapping from both sides to the other.

She says that have shifted position "should be commended for that" as it's what the "parliamentary process is for".

The Commons is sitting from 9.30am today, and the assisted dying bill will be the first thing debated.

We're still for a few amendments to be voted on - but we won't know which ones until the debate kicks off.

There is some speculation that there could be four amendments to decide on, but these might not all go to a vote as some could have no opposition from across the house.

After these amendments are sorted out, we will then move onto the third reading.

This is when the House of Commons votes on the whole bill - as it has been amended.

It is also when the main debate will take place.

Because of the way today is structured in the Commons, MPs have until 2.30pm to debate and have a vote.

If this final vote does not take place by 2.30pm, then we face having to come back on another Friday in the future.

This is all because the bill is proposed by Kim Leadbeater, a backbench MP, and not the government, so it has restricted time in the Commons.

Pollsters at YouGov have just released some interesting research about the assisted dying bill.

The legislation is set to be voted on today by MPs - if passed it will go to the House of Lords.

It shows most people in the UK support the principle of assisted dying - and 73% support the measures outlined in the bill being voted on tomorrow.

Some 2,003 people were asked in May how they felt on the topic.

As we mentioned, 75% supported assisted dying in principle, with 14% opposing it and the rest replying "don't know".

This is almost the exact result as in November, when the whole of the House of Commons voted on the bill.

YouGov also asked people if they supported the legislation in its current form.

For this, 73% said they supported it and 16% said they opposed it.

A YouGov statement said: "Kim Leadbeater's bill has clearly ameliorated the concerns of some sceptical about assisted dying in practice.

"More than seven in 10 Britons support the bill as is stands, including 59% of those who say they support assisted dying in principle but oppose it in practice - and 67% who are opposed to the principle of euthanasia but are willing to back it in practice."

By Alix Culbertson, political reporter

The politician who introduced the assisted dying bill has said she is "confident" MPs will push it through to the next stage.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of a Commons vote, Kim Leadbeater said: "I do feel confident we can get through tomorrow successfully."

If new amendments are voted through on Friday, the bill to give some terminally ill adults the right to end their lives will get closer to becoming law as it will go through to the next stage in the House of Lords.

Ms Leadbeater, who introduced the bill in October last year, said if MPs do not vote it through on Friday, "it could be another decade before this issue is brought back to parliament".

But she said there was a "good majority" who voted for the bill at the last major vote, the second reading in November, when MPs voted it through by 330 to 275.

"There might be some small movement in the middle, some people might change their mind or will change their mind the other way," she said.

By Ashish Joshi, health correspondent

The Royal College of Psychiatrists' lead on assisted dying has told Sky News she is approaching Friday's vote by MPs "with professional trepidation".

The medical organisation said the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in its current form did "not meet the needs of patients".

It has also expressed concern over the shortage of qualified psychiatrists to take part in assisted dying panels, concerns around capacity assessment, and whether or not assisted dying will be interpreted as a treatment � because that would have a profound impact on a psychiatrist's decision-making process.

Friday will be the first time the bill has been voted on in its entirety since last year's 'yes' vote, when MPs supported the principle of assisted dying for England and Wales by a majority of 55.

MPs are allowed to have a free vote on the bill, meaning they can decide based on their conscience instead of following party lines.

The bill's supporters have said it is coming back to the Commons with better safeguards after more than 90 hours of parliamentary time spent on it to date. But opponents claim the process has been rushed and that changes to the bill mean it is weaker than when it was first introduced.

The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.

Our health correspondent Ashish Joshi has been paying close attention to the twists and turns of the assisted dying bill.

Several changes have been proposed to the legislation on how it could work.

The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill adults, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist.

Joshi explains below how the bill could look if it passes today:

Welcome back to the Politics Hub.

Today is a big day in Westminster, as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - also known as the assisted dying bill - returns to parliament.

The controversial piece of legislation has the potential to clear the Commons later today. If this is the case it will head to the House of Lords for peers to consider.

MPs are today going to vote on a series of amendments that had been proposed, and following that will likely vote on the bill as a whole.

Safe to say, it's a controversial day. Both sides of the debate have been vocal in support of their arguments.

Proceedings will kick off at 9.30am, and MPs have until 2.30pm to debate.

This is a "free" vote - meaning the government is not telling its MPs which side to support and letting them go with their conscience.

Despite this, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch last night urged her MPs to vote against what she said is a "bad bill".

Kim Leadbeater, the backbench Labour MP who is proposing the bill, says she is confident the bill will pass today.

Back in November when MPs last voted on it in full, it passed with a majority of 55.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will be speaking to Sky News after 7am.

Thank you for joining us for live coverage of today's events in British politics.

Use the key points above for the main moments today, or scroll down for full coverage.

And if you missed tonight's edition of Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge - fear not, for you can watch it in full below.

We'll be back from 6am with the very latest, and live coverage of the final debate and vote in the House of Commons on legislation to legalise assisted dying.

Defence Secretary John Healey spoke to broadcasters this afternoon, and he was asked about the situation in the Middle East, and what we are saying to the Trump administration as the president weighs up joining Israeli strikes on Iran.

He replied: "So we've been arguing, like President Trump has, first of all, that the Iranians cannot have a nuclear weapons programme.

"We've been arguing the best way to do that is negotiate, the diplomatic route. That's what we've been urging on Iran, that's what President Trump has been urging on Iran.

"But this is a moment of real danger and uncertainty in the wider region. It's why the prime minister has announced, and as defence secretary I've made sure that those extra military assets are in the region now.

"That's, first and foremost, to protect our own forces, personnel and bases that are in the Middle East, but secondly it's there to reinforce the calls for de-escalation, and reinforce reassurance to allies in the area."

Healey refused to say if the UK would grant the US permission to use the Diego Garcia military base to conduct a strike on Iran.