This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

This is one of those situations where I'm very glad I'm not a politician, I told one Labour MP as we spoke about Friday’s vote on assisted dying.

“It's one of the times I'm very glad I am a politician,” he replied. Yes, it is a difficult choice, but "we weren't sent here to make easy decisions."

He is voting for Kim Leadbeater’s Private Members’ Bill. He is, however, in the minority of MPs from north of the border.

My quick ring round suggests most of those voting are voting against.

I managed to hear from 39 of Scotland’s 57 MPs. At the time of going to print, just six have said they'll back the bill.

Another 18 will vote against. Two were still undecided, four declined to comment.

The SNP’s nine MPs won’t be taking part. They have a long-held position of (mostly) not voting on legislation that does not apply to Scotland.

What makes this all interesting is that a great many Scottish MPs are, by the looks of things, about to split from their constituents on one of the biggest issues of the day.

The most recent polling with a significant Scottish subsample, conducted by More In Common, found Scots are more likely than others in the UK to back assisted dying.

The gap is substantial. Roughly, 70% of Scots support the change in the law, while just 11% are opposed. There is no constituency where support falls below 58%.

Why the disconnect between voters and politicians? Is it because the burden falls on our MPs? Or that this isn’t a hypothetical for them, as it is for us, but rather a life and death decision?

I’m not so sure.

Interestingly, my ringround of MPs also jars with my ringround of MSPs at the start of the year.

I found more MSPs in favour of Liam McArthur’s Holyrood push to bring in assisted dying than against it.

I wish I could explain the difference. Is it because MSPs are more in touch with the people? Is it because of the list system? I have no idea. 

It may partly be down to process.

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Friday's vote in the Commons comes just 18 days after publication of the bill.

By way of contrast, the first vote on McArthur's bill likely won't be until Spring next year. 

It is currently in front of the Health Committee, with MSPs taking evidence from a number of key groups and bodies. There has already been a preliminary consultation.

It just feels like a much more serious, thoughtful, and evidence-based approach to what is a significant piece of legislation.

Often when the two parliaments are compared, it’s Holyrood that comes off worse, and there have, to be fair, been some self-inflicted legislative clangers in the Scottish Parliament in recent years.

But the slow and steady approach around something as profound as this seems, to my mind at least, to be the most grown-up.

I'm glad I'm not a politician, but I'm glad MSPs are being given the time and space to get this as right as they can.