policy - Emily Thornberry

Letter to constituents on protecting pollinators from pesticides

Thank you for contacting me about strengthening the Environment Bill, which has now passed into law as the Environment Act. I apologise for not getting back to you in time. Although Parliament declared an environment and climate emergency in May 2019, there is a huge gulf between the government’s rhetoric…

Letter to constituents on sewage

Thank you for contacting me about sewage in the context of the Environment Act. As you will know, in October, 265 Tory MPs voted down an amendment to the then Environment Bill to allow water companies to continue dumping raw sewage into our rivers. I voted in favour. I share…

Letter to constituents on parliamentary standards

Thank you for contacting me about parliamentary standards in light of the Owen Paterson debacle. As you know, in November, the government shamelessly voted to overturn the decision of the Standards Committee to suspend Owen Paterson, who had been paid more than £100,000 for lobbying. Paterson’s suspension would have lasted…

Letter to constituents on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Thank you for contacting me regarding the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Ever since Nazanin was imprisoned, I have been following her case closely, and I agree with everything you say not just regarding the gross injustice of her conviction and continued detention, but also the appalling physical and mental suffering…

Letter to constituents on green investment

Thank you for contacting me about the need for the Chancellor to back green investment in the Autumn Budget. As the host of COP26, the UK government has the opportunity and a responsibility to show real global leadership in tackling the climate crisis. My concern is that although Parliament declared…

Letter to constituents on the Elections Bill

Thank you for your email about the Elections Bill. The most important principle in a democracy is that every citizen has the right to vote and that the state ensures that everyone has the right to a say. The Elections Bill is the opposite of that. It is deeply undemocratic.…

Letter to constituents on fur imports

Thank you for your email regarding your opposition to the cruel and unnecessary fur trade, and your support for a ban on the sale of animal fur in the UK. I fully agree with everything you say, and I was pleased to note that in a recent YouGov survey, it…

Letter to constituents on the privatisation of Channel 4

Thank you for contacting me about keeping Channel 4 in public ownership. Like you, I value Channel 4 and its public service remit. Many of my constituents have contacted me about the important issues you have raised, including people who work for TV production companies. Many of my constituents have…

Letter to constituents on a new Cambo oil field

Thank you for contacting me about your opposition to the new Cambo oil field in the North Sea. I have been contacted by a large number of my constituents about this proposal and I wanted to set out to you my own views on this matter below. As you know,…

Letter to constituents on cutting beer duty

Thank you for contacting me regarding the proposal for a cut in beer duty. There is no denying that pubs and breweries have been hit particularly hard by the impact of the pandemic. We are very lucky to have a number of great community pubs in Islington, but we have…

Letter to constituents on the £20 uplift to Universal Credit

Thank you for your email about the £20 uplift to Universal Credit. I understand that you oppose the removal of the £20 uplift at the end of September. I do too. The impact of the Coronavirus pandemic has led to a steep rise in the number of Universal Credit claimants…

Letter to constituents on mandatory vaccinations and ‘vaccine passports’

Thank you for contacting me about the Coronavirus vaccine. I understand that you are concerned about the vaccine becoming mandatory, and that the introduction of so-called ‘vaccine passports’ would essentially have the same effect. It should go without saying that we all have bodily autonomy. I want to make it…

Letter to constituents on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Thank you for getting in touch regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Over the past few months, I have received countless emails from constituents who are rightly concerned about recent events. I have always been deeply committed to campaigning for a two-state solution in the Middle East, with a safe and viable…

Letter to constituents on an NHS pay rise

Thank you for contacting me about the healthcare staff who have kept our healthcare system functioning throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. I understand that you are concerned about their pay and believe that NHS staff deserve a pay rise – I do too. My Labour colleague, Jonathan Ashworth, put it so…

Letter to constituents on social care reform

Thank you for contacting me about the urgent need for social care reform. I apologise for the delay in responding to you. We have been inundated with correspondence as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. As a woman who has previously worked in a care home, looked after both of…

Letter to constituents on ‘Freedom Day’

Thank you for contacting me about ‘Freedom Day’ (19th July) which is the day on which all legal requirements to social distance and wear a face covering lifted in England. I appreciate how worried people are that the government have made mask-wearing optional. 19th July was not ‘Freedom Day’ for…

Letter to constituents on the Health and Care Bill

Thank you for contacting me about the Health and Care Bill, which seeks to embark on a major reorganisation of our NHS at the same time as its overworked and underfunded staff are dealing with the continued fallout of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Second Reading of this Bill took place…

Letter to constituents on UK international aid

Thank you for contacting me about the government’s decision to break its public commitment, enshrined in law since 2015, to spend 0.7% of UK GNI on international aid. I sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your email. UK aid has made a difference to the lives of millions…

Letter to constituents on ‘Test and Trace’

Thank you for contacting me about the need for our ‘Test and Trace’ system to be run by local and regional public health teams. I sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your email, but you can be assured that I wholeheartedly agree with your position. As my Labour…

Letter to constituents on the global plastics crisis

Thank you for contacting me about the global plastics crisis. I recognise that our recycling system is overwhelmed by plastic waste and that waste from the UK is now overwhelming recycling systems in other countries, which is not acceptable. In the Labour Party, we recognise the scale of this problem.…

Letter to constituents on Colombia

Thank you for contacting me about Early Day Motion 4 regarding Colombia’s peace process, and the recent protests and strikes that have taken place in the country against the inequitable tax proposals and brutal police tactics of the Duque government. As a member of the Shadow Cabinet, I do not…