Emily Thornberry

Labour has warned Liz Truss against signing a post-Brexit trade deal with Australia before there is sufficient parliamentary scrutiny. Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry urged the trade minister to come to parliament to face questions about the offer she has made to Australia and what it will mean for farmers. “The first proper debate […]

Manufacturers based in Boris Johnson’s new freeports will not be able to enjoy the full benefits if they are exporting to a series of countries with which the UK has signed post-Brexit trade deals. The prime minister and chancellor Rishi Sunak have championed freeports – special economic zones offering tax breaks and lower tariffs – […]

Labour has written to the International Trade Secretary with more than 230 questions about the implications of the UK joining a mammoth free trade pact that includes Australia, Canada and Japan. Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry urged Liz Truss to reopen the public consultation on the UK joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership […]

Liz Truss has been accused of refusing to answer questions about post-Brexit trade with Europe at the despatch box. The international trade secretary has reportedly “transferred” all questions about the topic at a forthcoming session of the Commons to other departments, despite the fact it is her job as minister to answer enquiries on trading […]

Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith has criticised the government’s handling of its post-Brexit trade bill – comparing Boris Johnson’s administration to Handforth Parish Council for failing to read the standing orders. The Brexiteer claimed the government had “deliberately blocked” a showdown with Conservative rebels using “tricks” and “games” to avoid a key vote which could […]

Tory MPs have voted down a House of Lords amendment aimed at protecting the NHS from post-Brexit trade deals. The amendment, proposed by peers, would have blocked trade deals that “undermines or restricts” the ability to provide “a comprehensive publicly funded health service free at the point of delivery”. But Tory MPs voted down the […]

The government has dismissed calls from Labour to publish the economic impact assessment of Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal with the EU. Speaking in the Commons, shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry said: “Over the last two years the government has placed, as the Secretary of State tells us frequently, more than 30 new trade agreements […]

Liz Truss has been told to “do better” with her answers in the House of Commons as the speaker asked trade ministers to end the “political games” in the chamber. Sir Lindsay Hoyle claimed Truss’ team were giving better answers to Conservative MPs than to opposition MPs over similar questions. At one point the speaker […]

Liz Truss has been berated for suggesting that the debate surrounding gender and race equality issues had been dominated by “fashion” and not “facts”. The equalities minister today announced a change to government policy around systemic discrimination issues, promising a move away from “identity politics” in favour of a focus on people’s social class and individual “character”. She […]

Liz Truss has claimed that a trade deal between the UK and Japan goes “further and faster” than the current EU-Japan agreement, but refused to quantify how, following questions from Labour. Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry questioned the minister as the opposition continued to scrutinise the new agreement. Thornberry called for Truss to provide […]

Post-Brexit trade deals with other countries are going to be implemented prior to parliamentary scrutiny, the government had announced. Trade minister Greg Hands told the Commons on Tuesday that there was not enough time for MPs to scrutinise any trade deals the UK brokes with other nations before December 31. This could come as a blow to parliamentarians […]

A Labour MP has said that Tory MPs are guilty of following tactics of Donald Trump after she claimed to have never seen any of the politicians wearing face masks during votes in the House of Commons. Emily Thornberry, the shadow international trade secretary, said that “so many rules don’t seem to apply in parliament” […]