Trade Bill - what happened and what now

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Hi John,

Yesterday MPs voted to tie their hands on future trade deals - they rejected the amendment that would have given them a vote on trade deals. The government whipped its MPs and while 13 Conservative backbenchers rebelled and supported the amendment (two more than last time), it wasn’t enough. The amendment was blocked by 351 to 276.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their MPs. It’s clear the fundamental argument for meaningful democratic scrutiny has been won among MPs and peers of all parties. Even the government does not try and argue directly against this any more - they just refuse to give up their power.

This isn’t actually the end of the Trade Bill yet. As you will have gathered, the ‘ping pong’ process between the Lords and the Commons goes round in circles for a while. But although our allies in parliament will continue to raise the need for trade democracy, from this point on any possible compromises that could be achieved will be much much weaker than needed. We’ll let you know what happens at the end, but we know now that whatever happens, parliament will not get a guaranteed vote and a meaningful say on trade deals.

However there is still all to play for in campaigning on the trade deals themselves. A parliamentary vote would have been a powerful check, but we know the vast majority of the British public do not want to sacrifice standards or healthcare on the altar of free trade. Public outcry can still stop Boris Johnson in his tracks. We need to keep speaking out about the dangers of trade deals blocking climate action, weakening food standards and undermining the NHS - and take the trade campaign into the media and our communities.

Let’s use this moment exactly to do that. Can you look at the list of how MPs voted and see how your MP voted (if you don’t know your MP, you can find them here):

MPs who voted to drop the amendment (most Conservatives, plus DUP)
MPs who supported trade democracy (all other opposition parties and 13 Conservatives)

Then can you write a letter to a local newspaper or other media either condemning their action if they voted to drop or congratulating them if they supported trade democracy, and explaining why this matters. You could also tweet at them if you are on twitter.

We have prepared a template letter that you can use as a starting point - feel free to adapt.

Write to your local newspaper

This helps to spread the word about the dangers of high risk trade deals. It also lets MPs know that even though the Commons voted to wash their hands of responsibility for trade deals, we’re not going to let them off the hook!

Thank you for everything that you do.

Jean Blaylock
Trade campaigner at Global Justice Now

The US-UK trade deal could give corporations everything they want. Help us stop it.

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