Although he made hints that it might not happen in the upcoming year, the new prime minister has not committed to a schedule for considering a change in the law.
However, he believes that members of parliament should have the freedom to vote according to their conscience rather than their party.
During his visit to NATO in the United States, the newly appointed prime minister was questioned about the timing of the vote he had earlier committed to hold on the subject.
He continued: “What I said was that we would provide time for this, obviously by way of a private member’s bill.”
A private member’s bill is a proposed legislation put forth in the Commons by a member of parliament who does not represent the government.
“There will be a free vote—that remains my position for the reasons I outlined,” the prime minister continued.
“Having personally examined tens of cases during my tenure as director of public prosecutions, I probably have more experience in this area than most others.
Regarding the time of it. I’m not willing to commit to that since I haven’t made a decision on it. Simply said, we need to decide what our top priorities are for the first year or two.
“However, I will be much more adamant that we will carry out that vow. We’ll give a private member’s bill some time.
