I’m full of emotion tonight. Sad that the Scottish Parliament rejected the Assisted Dying (Terminally Ill Adults) Bill which would have made us the first nation in the UK to allow assisted dying for those with less than 6 months to live if they wanted it.

After a week of late night sittings considering amendments, the Bill fell at its final hurdle by 57 votes to 69.

I’m also proud, though. Immensely proud. Liam McArthur could have done no more. His calm, his persuasive efforts to build support for this measure beyond any of its predecessors, taking it through to its final parliamentary stage, his willingness to listen and accept amendments. I don’t think anyone else could have taken it this far.

It was clear fairly early on that the initial vote on the principles of the Bill was not going to hold. It never really was. Tonight’s result is not a huge surprise, though it will be a huge disappointment to the vast majority of the Scottish public who support an assisted dying measure.

I was one of them. The intense suffering of my mother-in-law, witnessed when I was 20, her rage that she was still alive every time she woke up in pain, shaped my opinion. Yet I also hear the fears of my disabled friends and colleagues who worry this is a slippery slope. I don’t want anyone to feel that their lives are not valued. That was not the point of this.

However, Liam’s bill was watertight – only accessible by those with 6 months or less to live with more safeguards than any other legislation in the world.

The forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections may well provide a different balance of MSPs. Some of the Bill’s prominent opponents are standing down.

After the vote, Liam expressed his disappointment:

I am obviously deeply disappointed at the result of tonight’s vote. For many MSPs this will have been the last significant vote they will cast in their time in Parliament. I know many have wrestled with their consciences. They will now have to live with their decisions.

In the coming days, there will be time to reflect on why the bill couldn’t quite make it across the line but for now, I would like to thank my staff, the campaign groups and parliamentarians who have backed this bill and most of all, the terminally ill Scots and their families who have told their stories. I am sorry that Parliament has denied you this compassionate choice tonight.

However, for now we should be proud that this is by far the most votes that an assisted dying bill has ever secured in the Scottish Parliament. This is not a conversation that is going away. For so long as dying Scots continue to suffer as a result of the lack of choice and safety afforded to them by the current law, I’m certain that it will be an issue in front of Parliament once more.

I hope that, whatever our position on the Bill, we can all agree that the way Liam has conducted himself in such a collaborative, persuasive, calm way, has been a huge asset. He made the Scottish Parliament be its best.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social