Opponents of assisted dying have vowed to continue fighting after Kim Leadbeater’s bill cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons on Friday.

MPs voted in favor of Ms Leadbeater’s proposals by a margin of 330 votes to 275 after having their first opportunity to debate the bill.

But there are several steps left before the bill becomes law, and a number of MPs have indicated they could still vote against it if the safeguards in the legislation are not strengthened.

Conservative MP Danny Kruger, who led opposition to the bill in Friday’s debate, said he was “disappointed” but added that the vote was “just to continue the discussion.”

He told the PA news agency: “I have been reassured that many colleagues recognize that the Bill is very dangerous, that it has many problems and have said that they want it improve in committee.

“I want to help them do that and I hope we can make substantial improvements before it comes back to third reading, and I hope that if it’s not good enough, if the safeguards aren’t strengthened , then my colleagues will vote against it before it is presented in law.

The bill will now be submitted to a committee of MPs, which will carry out a line-by-line examination of the legislation and may propose amendments.

Ms Leadbeater, as the bill’s mover, will be responsible for choosing the composition of the committee, but said she would seek to reflect the range of views expressed during Friday’s debate.

Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson, who backed an amendment arguing the bill had not received sufficient scrutiny, said MPs needed to “engage in the process now”, adding that She hoped Ms Leadbeater would “take into account the concerns raised today”.

Veteran Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who also opposed the bill, said it would be “interesting to see” how many people continued to support the bill after it passed the committee.

He said: “Those of us who oppose it will continue to oppose it, until the third reading and beyond.

“This is just a first step, I suppose, in a very, very long journey ahead before its conclusion.”

Supporters of the bill celebrated the outcome of Friday’s vote, with some expressing surprise at how large a majority voted in favor of it.

Meeting with supporters of assisted dying outside Parliament, Ms Leadbeater said: “I know what it means to people. If we hadn’t achieved what we accomplished today, I would have let them down. »

But his allies also acknowledged that their campaign was not yet over.

Kit Malthouse, a long-time supporter of assisted dying and co-sponsor of Ms Leadbeater’s bill, told PA there was “still a long way to go, there’s still a long way to go “.

After the committee debate, MPs will have another opportunity to vote on the bill. If passed, it will then be debated in the House of Lords, where it will follow the same procedure.