INVERCLYDE'S MP Martin McCluskey voted against the assisted dying bill over concerns around safeguards and coercion as well the impact the new laws would have on an 'overstretched' NHS.

In an historic day in the House of Commons, 330 MPs voted in favour of the end of life bill, including the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and it passed with a majority of 55.

Labour's Mr McCluskey was one of 275 MPs who opposed the private member’s bill following the debate in the House of Commons.

He went on to say that he was not opposed in principle to allowing terminally ill patients the right to end their lives, but wanted the right legislation to be in place first.

The MP - who as government whip was not allowed to speak in the debate himself - says that his priority now is to push for better end-of-life care for people and called for more investment to end the postcode lottery.

MrMcCluskey said: "Over the past few weeks, I have received hundreds of emails from constituents about this Bill, many of them moving and deeply personal.

"There were three areas where I felt I needed to be assured about how the process would work in practice before I could support the Bill. 

"The first was around the safeguards in the Bill which I was clear would need to be robust. The second was how the Bill dealt with the possibility of people being put under pressure or being coerced.

"And the third was the impact that assisted dying could place on already stretched NHS services."

The MP said that he was unwilling to ignore his concerns in the hope they would be addressed at further stages of the bill. 

But he added: "As your MP, I will continue to push for the best end-of-life care for people who live in our area and, regardless of what happens to this Bill at future stages, I am clear that need to invest in quality palliative care that ensures dignity in death.

"The debate around this Bill has generated a discussion about end-of-life care that is well overdue.

"I believe it is important that we use this opportunity to have a robust national conversation about end-of-life care and what more Government needs to do.

"I know from personal experience how important good palliative care is to help people find peace in their final days, and to support a dignified death."

The assisted dying bill will now go through various stages in the parliamentary process, including to the committee stage next.

Mr McCluskey added: "Given my concerns regarding the adequacy of the provisions in the Bill, I hope that the Bill is improved during the committee stage."

The assisted dying bill will not apply in Scotland but there is a similar Bill before the Scottish Parliament - the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.