The Tablet: on the UK’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
Catholic Father of the House says MPs are ‘free to vote according to their conscience’
Bess Twiston Davies 08 July 2025, The Tablet
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The Liberal Democrat Chris Coghlan had complained of a ‘public witch hunt’ against Catholic MPs who had voted, like him, in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
The prominent Catholic MP Sir Edward Leigh said MPs are “free to vote according to their conscience”, after a priest declared he would refuse Holy Communion to a Catholic MP for voting in favour of assisted dying legislation.
Fr Ian Vane of St Joseph’s parish, Dorking announced the “ban” on Chris Coghlan, the Liberal Democrat MP for Dorking & Horley, during three public Masses last week.
Leigh, a devout Catholic who as the UK’s longest-serving MP is Father of the House, said: “These are complex matters and I agree with Pope Francis that ‘who am I to judge’.”
Coghlan complained of a “public witch hunt” against Catholic MPs who had voted, like him, in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill.
He told The Times he knew of 13 others who had done so or voted for legislation decriminalising abortion including up to birth, saying: “The Catholic press is pushing for them to be denied communion as well.”
Referring to the issue, Leigh told The Tablet: “Personally, I think honey is often more persuasive than vinegar, but the Church is a body of believers for whom those in authority have a particular responsibility.”
He continued: “Of course, this includes a right to praise or to criticise the conduct of its members. What the faithful and the country need most is clear teaching well-articulated that can help orient our public discourse towards the common good and especially protecting the most vulnerable in our society.”
The Conservative MP for Gainsborough (originally Gainsborough and Horncastle) since 1983, Leigh described MPs as “pretty robust” saying they “usually” did vote according to conscience.
Priest ‘bans’ MP who voted for assisted dying from receiving Holy Communion
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