The prime minister made a beeline for the Reform UK leader today in the House of Commons as the vote on the much anticipated Assisted Dying Bill took place.
Sir Keir Starmer can be seen promptly standing up from the front bench, leaving his fellow Labour ministers, to hastily walk over to Reform’s Nigel Farage.
Making his way up the gangway on the opposite side of the Commons, Mr Farage was seen chatting to Tory MP David Davis.
The Conservative MP swiftly departed from the conversation as the prime minister approached as he struck up a conversation with the GB News presenter.
The prime minister appears to tap Farage on the arm, sharing a brief joke before moving onto a more serious but short conversation.
Starmer then made his way back across the room to his Labour colleagues. Starmer and Farage were both in the commons today to vote on the controversial Assisted Dying Bill.
To be expected, like many political issues, the pair were on opposite sides with Starmer voting in favour of the bill, while Farage voted against it.
After a marathon five-hour debate, MPs voted in favour of legalising assisted dying in a landmark moment.
Some 330 MPs voted in favour of the Bill compared to 275 who voted against it. MPs were given a free vote on the issues, allowing for them to decide according to their conscience rather than in line with party policy.
This was a groundbreaking debate, being the first of such in the Commons in almost a decade. A vote at the end also took place on whether the issue should now pass through to be scrutinised by a committee.
Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years. The new bill would allow terminally ill adults with a life expectancy of less than six months to end their lives, provided they have been registered with a GP in England or Wales for at least 12 months.
Two doctors and a High Court judge would need to confirm the person’s decision, with strict safeguards in place.
