In this special episode we have an exclusive conversation with Dame Elizabeth Gardiner, the former head of the government’s Office of Parliamentary Counsel, who drafted the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. This is a rare insight into the legislative process from the person who crafted the bill that MPs are now scrutinising.
Dame Elizabeth reveals how she was approached to draft the bill on a pro bono basis, the legal challenges she navigated, and how she worked closely with the Bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater MP, to shape the legislation. She offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the drafting process, explaining how existing laws, international precedents, and parliamentary constraints influenced her approach.
Mark and Ruth also dissect the key takeaways from this week's Public Bill Committee evidence sessions, including concerns over medical safeguards, judicial oversight, and the role of government in shaping the final legislation. With over 147 amendments already tabled, the bill faces intense scrutiny in the coming weeks.
Tune in for an in-depth discussion on the future of assisted dying law in the UK, the political dynamics at play, and what comes next in this historic parliamentary process.
Dame Elizabeth Gardiner
Dame Elizabeth Gardiner is a lawyer and former senior civil servant who served as the First Parliamentary Counsel—the Government’s chief drafter of legislation—from 2015 to 2024. She began her career in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in 1991, honing her expertise in legislative drafting over three decades. Following her tenure as First Parliamentary Counsel, she played a key role in 2024-25 drafting the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a proposed law to legalise assisted dying, working closely with the Bill’s sponsor, Kim Leadbeater MP.
Hansard Society
Parliament
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Bill documents
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[00:00:00] Intro: You are listening to Parliament Matters, a Hansard Society production, supported by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Learn more at hansardsociety.org.uk/pm.
[00:00:17] Ruth Fox: Welcome to Parliament Matters, the podcast about the institution at the heart of our democracy, Parliament itself. I'm Ruth Fox.
[00:00:24] Mark D'Arcy: And I'm Mark D'Arcy, and welcome to the second in our special series of mini pods devoted entirely to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, the bill that aims to legalise assisted dying.
[00:00:35] Ruth Fox: This week, MPs on the committee examining the bill have heard from nearly 50 witnesses across three jam packed days of intensive evidence taking.
[00:00:44] Mark D'Arcy: They're now taking a week off. in order to digest what they've been hearing. But in the meantime, Ruth, we've got a bit of an exclusive for the listeners.
[00:00:51] Ruth Fox: Yes, so we've been talking to Dame Elizabeth Gardiner. Until recently, the government's chief drafter, she's the person who's actually drafted the bill that MPs are now looking at. And, well, drafters, Mark, they rarely speak in public about their work, and certainly not on podcasts. So we were really pleased she agreed to come on the pod.
[00:01:12] Mark D'Arcy: Well, we're delighted to welcome to the pod now Dame Elizabeth Gardiner, who was the drafter of the bill on assisted dying. And Elizabeth, first of all, can you tell us how you got that role? Because it was a pro bono thing that you did. How were you approached? What was the arrangement that was made, if you like?
[00:01:29] Elizabeth Gardiner: So I retired from the civil service at the beginning of last year. And I hadn't planned to do any drafting, and then somebody who I used to work with contacted me to see whether either I would be interested in producing this bill or if I knew anybody who might be. As you may know, the drafting resources are in very short supply across the world, so people are always looking out for people who might undertake this sort of work.
[00:01:53] And I thought about it and decided that I would be quite interested in doing it, as you say, on a pro bono basis.
[00:02:00] Mark D'Arcy: And Parliamentary Counsel, the specialist lawyers who, who draft laws, are, as you say, in pretty short supply. But you did have quite a range of attempts to create a law on this subject from all sorts of jurisdictions across the globe.
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The UK Spending Review outlines how Government funds will be allocated over several years. Unlike the Budget, which raises revenue, the Review decides how it is spent. But how is it approved? What role does Parliament play if it doesn’t vote on the Review itself? This blog explores how the Spending Review works, how it differs from the Budget, and how Parliament holds the Government to account through the Estimates process.
On Friday 13 June, the House of Commons will once again debate the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales. Specifically, it will hold a second day of Report Stage, during which the whole House will debate and vote on amendments. This briefing explains the structure of Report Stage, what happened on the first day of Report Stage, how amendments are selected and grouped, on which amendments a decision can still be taken, and the likely sequence of events this Friday, including whether a final vote will take place.
The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves MP, will deliver a statement on the Spending Review. MPs will resume Report Stage of the assisted dying bill and debate key legislation on football governance, mental health, and planning and infrastructure. Peers and MPs are expected to resolve their standoff over AI and copyright in the Data (Use and Access) Bill. The Commons Defence Committee will hear from the lead reviewers of the Strategic Defence Review, while a Lords Committee will examine the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty issue. The Hansard Society’s Director will give evidence to the Modernisation Committee about access to the House of Commons and its procedures.
In this episode, we explore why ministers keep bypassing Parliament to make major announcements to the media — and whether returning to the Despatch Box might help clarify their message. We unpack the Lords' uphill battle to protect creators’ rights in the Data Use and Access Bill, challenge claims that the Assisted Dying Bill lacks scrutiny, and examine early findings from a Speaker’s Conference on improving security for MPs, as threats and intimidation against politicians continue to rise. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.
Our evidence on treaty scrutiny has been published by the House of Lords International Agreements Committee. Our submission outlines the problems with the existing framework for treaty scrutiny and why legislative and cultural change are needed to improve Parliament's scrutiny role. Our evidence joins calls for a parliamentary consent vote for the most significant agreements, a stronger role for Parliament in shaping negotiating mandates and monitoring progress, and a sifting committee tasked with determining which agreements warrant the greatest scrutiny.
