Let’s hope the common sense currently being displayed by politicians on the Isle of Man and Jersey leads the way for the UK to follow suit and allow assisted dying.

I’m old enough to remember That’s Life and some of the nonsense its main presenter Esther Rantzen got up to during its 20-year TV run.

PersonalIy I wasn’t a big fan of the show but I’m right behind her efforts to get the law changed so assisted dying will be legal in the UK and I completely understand why she’s joined Dignitas in Switzerland.

I realise it’s a massively complex, and controversial, subject but at the most basic level it should be simple and we should be able to allow people to end their lives with dignity.

I have personal experience of having to witness close friends and relatives suffering as they lived out their final years, against their will, without a shred of self-respect.

I’ve also taken two of my dogs to be put down, where they were first given a sedative to make them sleepy before being injected with an overdose of anaesthetic. On both occasions the process was entirely dignified with no pain involved and was entirely the right thing to do.

But yes, I do realise the issues with humans and consent make things far more complicated.

The Isle of Man Parliament will next debate the issue in June and there’s still much to be decided but if royal assent is received next year its first assisted death could take place as soon as 2027.

Unfortunately two key changes to the original bill have already been introduced. One increases the required period of residency on IOM from one year to five, following concerns it could encourage ‘death tourism’. However, I think the island may be missing a trick as being the first part of the British Isles to pass assisted dying legislation would put it in a very advantageous position – why should they not follow the Swiss example?

Another crown dependency, Jersey, is also considering legalising assisted dying for terminally ill people and could end up pipping IOM at the post and the channel island is only requiring people to live there for 12 months to be eligible.

They had a debate this month and will now vote on draft legislation. This process would take roughly 18 months and a law could come in as early as spring 2027.

In Scotland (where the law is different) a private member’s bill was introduced in March which should see assisted dying be debated at Holyrood later this year.

As I say, I seriously hope the Isle of Man, Jersey, or even Scotland, lead the way for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to follow (as currently assisted suicide here can land you in prison for 14 years).

But, the naysayers who believe this isn’t possible, putting forward moral, religious, ethical, legal or even medical reasons need to look wider afield.

New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Spain, Columbia, large sections of the US, Switzerland and Austria all have laws allowing either assisted dying or assisted suicide.

And I haven’t even mentioned The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg – these all have laws where people who are not terminally ill can be assisted to die.

Let’s hope we eventually follow suit.