A majority of MPs have voted in favour of a bill that would legalise assisted dying.

The first assisted dying debate in the House of Commons in almost a decade took place on Friday.

Assisted dying could now be legalised in England and Wales after a historic vote saw proposed legislation clear its first hurdle in Parliament.

The new law is proposing to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales.

This would only affect terminally adults who are expected to die within six months and who have been resident in England and Wales and registered with a GP for at least 12 months.

A majority of MPs, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, supported the Bill.

There were at-times emotional scenes in the Commons as politicians on both sides of the debate made impassioned arguments for and against what has been described as a “major social reform”.

Encouraging or assisting suicide is currently against the law in England and Wales, with a maximum jail sentence of 14 years.

MPs voted 330 to 275, a majority of 55, to approve Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill at its second reading.

Campaigners both for and against the Bill gathered outside Parliament.

Campaigners both for and against the Bill gathered outside Parliament (Image: Yui Mok/ PA Wire) Out of 16 Sussex MPs, 15 were eligible to vote for the Bill with a majority voting for it to be passed to a third reading.

Nusrat Ghani MP for Sussex Weald did not register a vote as she is a deputy speaker.

All but one Sussex Labour MP voted for the Bill to pass, this includes: Tom Rutland MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Dr Beccy Cooper MP for West Worthing, Chris Ward MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Helena Dollimore MP for Hastings and Rye and Peter Kyle MP for Hove and Portslade.

Peter Lamb Labour MP for Crawley had abstained from voting.

LibDem and Green MPs also voted in favour of the Bill, including James MacCleary MP for Lewes, Josh Babarinde MP for Eastbourne, Jess Brown-Fuller MP for Chichester, John Milne MP for Horsham and Sian Berry Green MP for Brighton Pavilion

Tory MPs all  voted against the Bill, which includes Andrew Griffith MP for Arundel and South Downs, Alison Griffiths MP for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, Kieran Mullan MP for Bexhill and Battle and Mims Davies MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield.

In a statement, Ms Cooper told The Argus: "This is a complex and emotive issue and I know there are strongly held ethical and moral views on both sides of the debate.

"Successive governments have taken the view that any change in the law should be a matter of conscience for MPs and the forthcoming Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill will be a free vote.

"As a medical doctor and public health consultant I have spent 20 years helping people to be well and to access the best possible care when they are ill. It’s what brought me into politics.

"I share your view that it is right to seek to minimise suffering and allow people a dignified death. I would stress also, that assisted dying should not be an alternative to high quality palliative and end of life care.

"I recognise the view that, in limiting its scope to terminally ill patients, this Bill does not address the terrible suffering experienced by people with other conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease.

"Any change to the law in relation to assisted dying must balance the need to have sufficient safeguards in relation to informed consent and protecting against abuse. These are challenging legal and ethical issues and there are no easy answers.

"It is my view that this Bill does provide appropriate safeguards and I will be supporting a change in the law to enable terminally ill adults to receive, at their request, medically supervised assistance to end their own lives."