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Balls will be drawn on Thursday in a Parliamentary ballot to decide which MPs can propose new laws - potentially paving the way for the assisted dying bill's return. A special Express supplement featuring a message from Dame Esther Rantzen along with readers' end-of-life stories has been posted to every MP ahead of the draw. Labour MP Kim Leadbeater introduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill in late 2024 after her number, 238, was drawn first in the ballot.

The landmark legislation was backed by the Commons in two votes but ran out of time in the House of Lords. Dozens of supporters are entering the draw in the hope of bringing it back. Ms Leadbeater said: "If we get somebody in the top section of the ballot, I would encourage anybody to come and meet the many amazing people I have met on this journey and be inspired by their stories and to take the bill forward for a second time."

Paying tribute to the Express's "brilliant" Give Us Our Last Rights crusade, she added: "What the Express has done so well is tell the human stories at the heart of this debate.

"It's very easy in the world of politics to get distracted by processes and procedures, stages of legislation - and of course that's important - but what's more important than anything is those stories being told."

If the Commons backs the same legislation for a second time, the Lords will not be able to block it again under the Parliament Act.

Conservative MP Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, a former surgeon, barrister and British Army veteran, is among those putting his name into the draw.

He said: "We'll wait on the result on Thursday, but I think what's very clear is that there is a sense within the Commons that this bill needs to come back. We don't feel we're done with it yet."

The Solihull West & Shirley MP added: "When we're speaking to our constituents, the overwhelming sense is that they want a change in the law that respects those that want choice at the end of their life.

"And it's not just about having an assisted death, it's also knowing that option is available. Lots of people won't take that choice but the comfort of knowing that they can is incredibly important."

Labour's John Slinger, the MP for Rugby, told the Express he also wanted to "have the chance of playing a role in moving this legislation forward".

Recalling an encounter with a constituent while out door-knocking last year, he said: "She kind of chased me down the road, and you have to wonder what's coming. Then she said to me: 'Keep going. I'm terminally ill and I need this bill to be passed.'

"It was very moving. There are times as an MP when people talk to you about very personal, sensitive issues, and this is one of them.

"If this Parliament can't pass this legislation that is overwhelmingly supported by the British people - to give dignity to people at the end of their lives - we will have failed as an institution."

The draw is due to take place at 9am, with balls drawn in reverse order so the last MP called gets the coveted place at the top of the ballot. Successful MPs will then have time to consider their bill topic before announcing it.

There are other routes forward for the assisted dying bill if no MP chooses to bring it back, however these would require the Government to intervene to provide Parliamentary time.