Assisted dying vote may come soon as No 10 says it would not stop bill

Opinion heavily split across parties over legalising support for terminally ill people to end their lives

• Progressive reform or slippery slope? Isle of Man leans to legalising assisted dying

A vote to introduce assisted dying across the UK could be imminent after Downing Street reiterated that it would not obstruct a private member's bill on the issue and indicated it would support an MP in drafting it.

However, while polling shows that a majority of the public support legalising support for terminally ill people who wish to end their lives, the issue could cause serious divisions across parties, with opinion heavily divided.