Jump to content

Emily Thornberry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Emily Thornberry
Official portrait, 2024
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
Assumed office
11 September 2024[1]
Preceded byAlicia Kearns
Member of Parliament
for Islington South and Finsbury
Assumed office
5 May 2005[2]
Preceded byChris Smith
Majority15,455 (36.2%)
Shadow portfolios
Shadow Secretary of State
2021–2024Attorney General
2020–2021International Trade
2017–2020First Secretary of State
2016–2020Foreign and
Commonwealth Affairs
2016Exiting the European Union
2016Defence
2011–2014Attorney General
Shadow Minister
2015–2016Employment
2010–2011Social Care
2010Climate Change
Personal details
Born
Emily Anne Thornberry

(1960-07-27) 27 July 1960 (age 64)
Guildford, Surrey, England
Political partyLabour
Spouse
(m. 1991)
Children3
Parents
Alma materUniversity of Kent (LLB)
Signature
Websitewww.emilythornberry.com Edit this at Wikidata

Emily Anne Thornberry, Lady Nugee (born 27 July 1960) is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 until the 2024 UK general election, and previously from 2011 to 2014. Thornberry has also served in a number of other senior positions on Labour's front bench, namely as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020, Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.

The daughter of a teacher and a diplomat, Thornberry was born in Guildford, Surrey, and attended a local secondary modern school. After graduating from the University of Kent in Canterbury, she worked as a human rights lawyer from 1985 to 2005 and joined the Transport and General Workers' Union.

Thornberry was first elected to Parliament in 2005 and served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales in Ed Miliband's shadow cabinet from 2011 until she resigned in 2014 after sending a tweet mocking a house with England flags. After Jeremy Corbyn won the 2015 Labour leadership election, Thornberry was appointed Shadow Minister of State for Employment in September 2015, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence in January 2016 and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in June 2016. She was a candidate to succeed Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party in the 2020 leadership election but was eliminated from the race after failing to obtain the number of nominations needed.

Thornberry was appointed to Keir Starmer's shadow cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade and Shadow President of the Board of Trade in April 2020. She was appointed Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales in November 2021, but did not receive a ministerial position in Starmer's post-election government formed in July 2024.

Early life and career

[edit]

Emily Thornberry was born on 27 July 1960 in Guildford, Surrey.[3][4] Her parents were Sallie Thornberry (née Bone), a teacher, and Cedric Thornberry, a professor of international law at the London School of Economics, and later a United Nations Assistant Secretary-General.[5][6][7][8] Due to her father's birth in Belfast she is an Irish citizen and Irish passport holder.[9] When Thornberry was seven, her parents divorced and she had to leave their home with her mother and two brothers. After this, she relied on free school meals and food parcels, with her cats being euthanised to save money.[10] Her mother later became a Labour councillor and mayor (representing Stoke in Guildford from 1983 to 2003), and her father stood as the Labour candidate for Guildford in the 1966 general election.[8][11][12]

Thornberry failed the eleven-plus exam, so attended a secondary modern school.[6] She left to live with her father when she was fifteen until he left without warning to work for the United Nations when she was seventeen. She worked as a cleaner and a barmaid in London alongside resitting her O-Levels and taking her A-Levels.[10][13] She went on to study law at the University of Kent in Canterbury, graduating in 1982, and afterwards led the students' union as an elected full-time officer. She was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn and practised as a barrister specialising in human rights law from 1985 to 2005 under Michael Mansfield at Tooks Chambers.[3][6]

She joined the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1985.[14]

Parliamentary career

[edit]

At the 2001 general election, Thornberry stood as the Labour candidate in Canterbury, coming second with 36.9% of the vote behind the incumbent Conservative MP Julian Brazier.[15]

1st term (2005–2010)

[edit]

Thornberry was selected as the Labour candidate for Islington South and Finsbury for the 2005 general election through an all-women shortlist of prospective candidates.[16] She was elected to Parliament as MP for Islington South and Finsbury 39.9% of the vote and a majority of 484.[17][18]

Thornberry made her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 24 May 2005.[19] In Parliament, she has been a member of the Environmental Audit Committee and was on the Communities and Local Government Select Committee during the 2005–10 Parliament.

In 2006, Thornberry was criticised by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Philip Mawer for adding a quote from herself into a news release by the Electoral Commission. She was found not to have broken the Parliamentary code of conduct.[20]

Thornberry's main interests since becoming an MP have been in health, housing, the environment and equality.[21] She has also spoken on the need for more affordable housing, particularly in Islington. In 2006, Thornberry introduced the Housing Association Bill, a Private member's bill which sought to improve the control of housing association tenants over their landlords,[6][22] with many of the ideas from this bill were taken up by the Cave Review.[23] On environmental matters, Thornberry worked with Friends of the Earth and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to campaign for a Climate Change Bill and a Marine Bill. In 2006, Thornberry won the ePolitix Award for Environment Champion of the Year after being nominated by WWF.[24]

In May 2008, Thornberry supported a change in the law to allow single women and lesbian couples to seek in vitro fertilisation treatment.[25][26]

In 2009, she was appointed as a ministerial aide in the Department of Energy and Climate Change and attended the Copenhagen Summit in December that year with Joan Ruddock and Ed Miliband.[27]

2nd term (2010–2015)

[edit]

At the 2010 general election, Thornberry was re-elected as MP for Islington South and Finsbury with an increased vote share of 42.3% and an increased majority of 3,569.[28][29][30][31]

Thornberry was promoted to Shadow Minister for the Department of Energy and Climate Change soon after the general election.[32] She missed out on a place in Labour's shadow cabinet, then elected by Labour MPs, by one vote. She was instead promoted to the role of shadow care minister under the shadow health secretary John Healey.[33][34]

In April 2011, Thornberry surveyed all the local government directors of adult social care and highlighted the pressures on care for the elderly by the coalition government's cuts to local authority funds.[35] In June 2011 Thornberry criticised the coalition government's lack of action over failing care home operator Southern Cross, calling for action and that the government put in place a plan B should the operator fail.[36] She criticised the government over the Winterbourne View care home abuse scandal, calling for an investigation into the affair.[37]

In July 2011, Thornberry challenged prime minister David Cameron over his false claims about wages at Islington Council,[38] campaigning against government measures which Thornberry claimed to have exacerbated child poverty in Islington,[39] and answering over 1,000 enquiries a month from constituents.[40]

Thornberry was appointed shadow attorney general in October 2011, which allowed her to attend shadow cabinet meetings.[41] Thornberry called for action by Dominic Grieve over Applied Language Solutions' failure to provide interpreters for court proceedings.[42]

Thornberry resigned her shadow cabinet position on 20 November 2014, shortly after polls closed in the Rochester and Strood by-election.[43][44] Earlier in the day, she had received criticism after tweeting a photograph of a house in the constituency adorned with three flags of St. George[45] and the owner's white van parked outside on the driveway, under the caption "Image from #Rochester", provoking accusations of snobbery.[46] She was criticised by fellow Labour Party MPs, including leader Ed Miliband, who said her tweet conveyed a "sense of disrespect", Chris Bryant, who said that it broke the "first rule of politics"[47] and Simon Danczuk, who said that the party had been "hijacked by the north London liberal elite".[48]

3rd term (2015–2017)

[edit]

At the 2015 general election, Thornberry was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 50.9% and an increased majority of 12,708.[49][50][51]

Thornberry was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominate Jeremy Corbyn as a candidate in the Labour leadership election of 2015,[52] though she later stated that she would be supporting Yvette Cooper.[53]

Shadow Foreign Secretary speech at the 2016 Labour Party Conference

In September 2015, she was appointed as the shadow employment by the new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.[21]

She was promoted to shadow defence secretary in January 2016, replacing Maria Eagle.[54] Thornberry advocated spending money on the army rather than on the UK's Trident nuclear programme.[21] On being appointed, Thornberry was interviewed by the British Forces Broadcasting Service, where she defended her appointment, saying she had "quite a lot more experience than people might think I do. I was made an honorary lieutenant colonel when I was doing court-martials [sic] when I was a barrister so I have a certain amount of experience of the military there."[55] [56] During her role as shadow defence secretary, Thornberry conducted a review of defence policy, including the role of the nuclear deterrent, which was delayed following the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[57] During a private Labour discussion about the nuclear deterrent, Thornberry asked what "Defcon One", a status of the United States nuclear defence rating, meant.[58]

Thornberry was promoted to Shadow Foreign Secretary in June 2016 after Corbyn fired Hilary Benn.[59] She held the role of Shadow Brexit Secretary concurrently until Keir Starmer took on the role later that year.[60] She accused Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan of sexism after he asked her to name French minister of foreign affairs and international development, Jean-Marc Ayrault and the president of South Korea, which she was unable to do.[61][62][63]

In October 2016, Thornberry stated that she opposed Britain's involvement in the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen against the Shia Houthis. She said that "while Saudi Arabia will remain a valued strategic, security and economic ally in the years to come, our support for their forces in Yemen must be suspended until the alleged violations of international humanitarian law in that conflict have been fully and independently investigated".[64]

4th term (2017–2019)

[edit]

At the snap 2017 general election, Thornberry was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 62.8% and an increased majority of 20,263.[65][66] Following the election, she was given the additional role of Shadow First Secretary of State, effectively acting as Corbyn's number 2.[67]

In May 2018 Thornberry said support in Syria for the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, had been "underestimated" in the West.[68][69] In October 2018 Thornberry criticised Theresa May's government's response to Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance as "too little, too late".[70] She said: "Imagine how this government would have reacted if either Russia or Iran had abducted–and in all likelihood murdered–one of their dissident journalists within the sovereign territory of another country".[71]

5th term (2019–2024)

[edit]

At the 2019 general election, Thornberry was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 56.3% and a decreased majority of 17,328.[72][73]

Speaking at a 2020 leadership election hustings

After Corbyn announced he was stepping down as leader, Thornberry was the first to announce that she would be running for leader of the Labour Party.[74] Defeated Labour MP Caroline Flint appeared on Sophy Ridge on Sunday and accused Thornberry of saying that Brexit voters in Northern England were 'stupid'.[75] Thornberry appeared on ITV News and accused Flint of 'making up shit about her' and threatened to take legal action.[76][77] She was eventually eliminated from the leadership election after failing to achieve enough nominations from constituency parties or affiliated groups.

After the killing of Qasem Soleimani in the 2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike, Thornberry condemned the actions of the United States government. She said that she shed no tears over the death, but was fearful of escalating tensions in the region.[78]

Thornberry was replaced as Shadow Foreign Secretary by Lisa Nandy upon the election of Keir Starmer as Leader of the Labour Party.[79][80] Thornberry herself was not sacked from the Official Opposition frontbench, but instead moved to a different frontbench role, becoming the new Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. She replaced Barry Gardiner,[81][82] and said on Twitter that, "It's been a pleasure to work with Barry Gardiner these past four years... I hope I can take the fight to the government on International Trade as effectively as he did, and I'll be very lucky to have his advice".[83]

In late December 2020, Thornberry voted for the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020, in line with the Labour Chief Whip.[84]

In the November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle, Thornberry was appointed Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales.[85]

Thornberry was re-selected as the Labour candidate for Islington South and Finsbury at the 2024 general election in February 2022.[86]

6th term (2024–)

[edit]

At the 2024 general election, Thornberry was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 53.7% and a decreased majority of 15,455.[87]

With the formation of the Starmer ministry, Thornberry was not appointed a minister and returned to the backbenches.[88] Thornberry was not appointed Attorney General for England and Wales as expected as she had held the position of Shadow Attorney General for six years under Starmer and Ed Miliband.[89] The role was given to Richard Hermer who was given a life peerage.[90] Thornberry was reportedly disappointed by this alleged snub.[91] She was elected Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee by vote in the House of Commons on 11 September 2024.[92]

In July 2024, Thornberry was one of five politicians to cover for James O'Brien's radio show on LBC, as part of the station's "Guest Week".[93]

Campaigns

[edit]

Affordable housing

[edit]
Thornberry, Corbyn and local councillors present Yvette Cooper with a petition from Islington residents for more affordable housing, 19 October 2006

Thornberry's constituency is in the London Borough of Islington, which has disproportionately high house prices and private sector rents.[94] She has supported measures by Islington Council to free up under-occupied homes by supporting tenants to downsize[95] and to stop foreign investors from buying new homes and leaving them empty.[96] She has also called for a greater degree of control over private sector rents and more support for social house-building.[97] Thornberry has frequently campaigned for a greater commitment to affordable and social housing.[98] She was criticised when the local Islington Tribune newspaper discovered that her husband had bought a former social house which was being rented out to her aides.[98][99] Thornberry said the purchase was "not about property speculation".[99]

In 2014 Thornberry clashed with Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, over the proposed redevelopments of the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre, the sorting office run by the Royal Mail, and the Clerkenwell Fire Station, both in her constituency.[100] Camden and Islington councils sought to require a high proportion of the resulting new homes to be made available for social rent, but Johnson overturned this and allowed homes designated as "affordable" to charge rents of up to 80 per cent of market rates. Thornberry criticised Johnson, describing his definition of affordability as "nonsense", and called for at least 50% of homes in the new developments to be made available for social rent.[97]

Statue of Emily Davison

[edit]

In 2013, the 100th anniversary of the death of the suffragette Emily Davison, Thornberry called for a statue commemorating Davison in Parliament. She arranged a public meeting to discuss options for a memorial, attended by around 800 people, and settled on the idea of a statue as an appropriate memorial, pointing out that there were very few statues of female politicians and activists in Parliament.[101]

Equal pay

[edit]

In March 2015, Thornberry launched a campaign for a new Equal Pay Act. She said that, 45 years after the original Equal Pay Act was passed in 1970, women still earned 19% less than men on average.[102]

Personal life

[edit]

Thornberry has lived in Islington since the early 1990s. In July 1991 she married Christopher Nugee, of Wilberforce Chambers,[103] in Tower Hamlets, and they have two sons and a daughter. Nugee later became Queen's Counsel, then a High Court Judge, when he was knighted, at which point Thornberry became entitled to be styled Lady Nugee, but does not use the title. Nugee later became a Lord Justice of Appeal. Since 1993 they have lived on Richmond Crescent, Barnsbury, where Tony Blair also lived until the 1997 general election, moving in on the same day as the Blairs.[104] Thornberry also part-owns properties in Guildford and South London;[99][105] her property portfolio "is believed to be worth £4.6 million."[106]

In April 2005, it was reported that Thornberry and Nugee had sent their son to the partially selective Dame Alice Owen's state school 14 miles (23 km) from their home and outside her constituency. The school was formerly based in Islington and reserved a quota of 10% of its places for Islington pupils.[107] The Labour Party opposed selection and Thornberry was criticised over the matter as a result.[108] Later, Thornberry's daughter attended the same school.[109]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Emily Thornberry elected as Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee".
  2. ^ "Ms Emily Thornberry (Hansard)".
  3. ^ a b "Thornberry, Rt Hon. Emily, (born 27 July 1960), PC 2016; MP (Lab) Islington South and Finsbury, since 2005 | WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO". www.ukwhoswho.com. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U45759. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  4. ^ Pickard, Jim; Mance, Henry (13 September 2018). "Emily Thornberry: 'Britain has disappeared into the Brexit black hole'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  5. ^ Hume, Lucy (2017). Debrett's People of Today 2017. eBook Partnership. ISBN 9781999767037. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Johnston, Chris (21 November 2014). "Emily Thornberry: Guildford girl who went on to become a devoted MP". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  7. ^ Malone, David; Malone, Rector David M. (2004). The UN Security Council: From the Cold War to the 21st Century – David Malone. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 9781588262400. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  8. ^ a b Ahtisaari, Martti (1 June 2014). "Cedric Thornberry obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  9. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 14 July 2009 (pt 0014)". Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b Aitkenhead, Decca (25 November 2017). "Emily Thornberry: 'I hope we have an election before any more damage is done'". The Guardian.
  11. ^ Edemariam, Aida (19 May 2009). "Right, so just what do you do all day?". The Guardian. London.
  12. ^ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael. "Guildford Borough Council Election Results 1973–2011" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  13. ^ Cooke, Rachel (21 July 2019). "Emily Thornberry: 'Being chippy is a good thing'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  14. ^ Passmore, Valerie (2005). Dod's parliamentary companion guide to the general election, 2005 – Valerie Passmore, David Roe. Dod's Parliamentary Companion. ISBN 9780905702575. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Canterbury: Constituency". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  16. ^ "Standard Note SN/PC/05057" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 June 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  17. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. ^ "Election 2005 – Islington South & Finsbury". BBC News.
  19. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 24 May 2005 (pt 26)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  20. ^ "MP 'unwise' to alter news release". BBC News. 29 October 2007.
  21. ^ a b c Wheeler, Brian (6 January 2016). "Emily Thornberry: Comeback queen". Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  22. ^ "Housing Association (Rights and Representation of Residents) Bill". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 28 February 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  23. ^ "Cave Review". Archived from the original on 14 November 2008.
  24. ^ "ECCA – Trattamenti naturali efficienti e sicuri". Retrieved 18 November 2008. [dead link]
  25. ^ "MPs reject need for father in IVF". 20 May 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Fertility laws drop need to consider role of father". The Independent. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  27. ^ "Climate change deal 'several years away'". politics.co.uk. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  28. ^ "Jubilant Emily Thornberry defeats Lib Dem Bridget Fox in Islington South & Finsbury". Islington Tribune. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  29. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  30. ^ "Statement as to persons nominated and notice of poll for Parliamentary Election, Thursday 6 May 2010: Islington South and Finsbury constituency" (PDF). London Borough of Islington. 20 April 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  31. ^ "Islington South & Finsbury — Election 2010". BBC News Online. 7 May 2010.
  32. ^ "Emily Thornberry MP". Parliament UK. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  33. ^ "New job cheers MP Emily Thornberry after shadow cabinet heartbreak". Islington Gazette. 14 October 2010. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  34. ^ "Emily Thornberry set to shadow every Coalition move on health". Islington Tribune. 15 October 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  35. ^ "Coalition watch". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  36. ^ "Southern Cross: Government tries to reassure residents". BBC News. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  37. ^ Mulholland, Helene (7 June 2011). "Government could order independent inquiry into Winterbourne View". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  38. ^ "Still no apology from Prime Minister David Cameron for salary 'lie'". Camden New Journal. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  39. ^ "News Emily Thornberry is the Labour MP for Islington South & Finsbury and Shadow Health & Social Care Minister". emilythornberry.com. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  40. ^ Edemariam, Aida (19 May 2009). "Right, so just what do you do all day?". The Guardian. London.
  41. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 20 Mar 2012 (pt 0001)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  42. ^ Bowcott, Owen (19 March 2012). "Private court interpretation company 'should face contempt proceedings". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  43. ^ "Labour's Emily Thornberry quits over 'snobby' tweet". BBC News. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  44. ^ Mason, Rowena (20 November 2014). "Emily Thornberry resigns from shadow cabinet over Rochester tweet". The Guardian.
  45. ^ "Labour's Emily Thornberry quits over 'snobby' tweet – BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  46. ^ "Labour's Emily Thornberry quits over tweet". BBC News. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  47. ^ "Miliband: Thornberry's 'white van, flag' tweet lacked respect". BBC News. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  48. ^ Donald, Adam (21 November 2014). "Emily Thornberry: How one tweet led to her resignation". BBC News. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  49. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  50. ^ "General Elections Results 2015". London Borough of Islington. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  51. ^ "Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations" (PDF). London Borough of Islington. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
  52. ^ "Who nominated who for the 2015 Labour leadership election?". New Statesman. 15 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  53. ^ Hope, Christopher (22 July 2015). "Half of the Labour MPs who backed Jeremy Corbyn desert to rival candidates". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  54. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (6 January 2015). "Emily Thornberry named shadow defence secretary in Labour reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  55. ^ "Emily-Thornberry;-Lieutenant-Colonel-(Hon).html". valorguardians.com. 10 January 2016.
  56. ^ "emily-thornberry-is-a-walt.html". arrse.co.uk. 10 January 2016.
  57. ^ Mason, Rowena (14 January 2016). "Emily Thornberry will have final say on Labour's Trident review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  58. ^ Riley-Smith, Ben (3 April 2016). "Labour's shadow defence secretary 'does not understand what Defcon One means'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  59. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn unveils new top team after resignations". BBC News. 27 June 2016.
  60. ^ "The Progress 1000: Westminster". Evening Standard. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  61. ^ "Thornberry accuses presenter of 'sexism'". BBC News. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  62. ^ Perraudin, Frances (11 September 2016). "Emily Thornberry accuses Sky presenter Murnaghan of sexism". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  63. ^ Hughes, Laura (11 September 2016). "Emily Thornberry accuses Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan of 'sexism' after failing to name French foreign minister". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  64. ^ Mason, Rowena (27 October 2016). "Labour MPs face backlash over failure to vote on Yemen campaign". The Guardian.
  65. ^ "Islington South & Finsbury parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
  66. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  67. ^ Fisher, Lucy (23 December 2017). "Emily Thornberry interview: 'I do have a go at Boris. We've lost status — people laugh at us now'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  68. ^ Osborne, Samuel (17 May 2018). "Emily Thornberry claims public support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad has been 'underestimated'". The Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  69. ^ Foster, Matt (16 May 2018). "Emily Thornberry: Bashar al-Assad's popularity in Syria has been 'underestimated'". PoliticsHome.com. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  70. ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (13 October 2018). "Jamal Khashoggi: Labour slams government's response as 'too little, too late'". The Guardian.
  71. ^ "European Governments Wrestle with Khashoggi Quandary". VOA News. 17 October 2018.
  72. ^ "Statement of persons nominated, notice of poll and situation of polling stations. Election of a Member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury" (PDF). London Borough of Islington. 14 November 2019.
  73. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  74. ^ Bates, Liz (18 December 2019). "Thornberry first to enter Labour leadership race after election defeat". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  75. ^ Scott, Geraldine (16 December 2019). "Caroline Flint 'stands by' comments about Emily Thornberry as Shadow Foreign Secretary threatens her with court action". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  76. ^ "Emily Thornberry accuses Caroline Flint of 'making up s***' about her and says she is taking legal action". ITV News. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  77. ^ Mason, Rowena (16 December 2019). "Emily Thornberry threatens to sue over 'stupid voters' claim". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  78. ^ Stewart, Heather (5 January 2020). "Boris Johnson: Qassem Suleimani was threat to all our interests". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  79. ^ "Lisa Nandy appointed shadow foreign secretary". BBC News. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  80. ^ "Indian-origin British MP Lisa Nandy promises constructive Opposition as UK shadow minister". outlookindia. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  81. ^ Cumiskey, Lucas (6 April 2020). "Emily Thornberry appointed as shadow international trade secretary". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  82. ^ "Keir Starmer announces senior Shadow Cabinet appointments". The Labour Party. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  83. ^ "Emily Thornberry appointed International Trade Secretary in Keir Starmer shadow cabinet". Islington Tribune. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  84. ^ Langlois, André (30 December 2020). "Brexit trade deal passes in the Commons despite London Labour abstentions". Hampstead Highgate Express. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  85. ^ Mosalski, Ruth; Jones, John (29 November 2021). "New Labour shadow cabinet confirmed as Sir Keir Starmer launches major reshuffle". WalesOnline. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  86. ^ Islington South & Finsbury Labour [@IslingtonSouth] (14 February 2022). "Our excellent MP, @EmilyThornberry , has been reselected as our candidate for the next general election, with support from all 9 branches of Islington South Labour Party, from every participating affiliate and from the Co-Operative Party" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  87. ^ "Islington South and Finsbury - General election results 2024". BBC News. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  88. ^ "Emily Thornberry dropped as PM announces new ministers". BBC News. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  89. ^ "Emily Thornberry Says She Is 'Surprised' And 'Disappointed' To Be Dumped From Labour's Frontbench". HuffPost UK. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  90. ^ Steerpike (8 July 2024). "Thornberry fumes at Starmer snub". The Spectator. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  91. ^ Martin, Daniel (8 July 2024). "Emily Thornberry 'surprised and disappointed' over Cabinet snub by Keir Starmer". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  92. ^ "Emily Thornberry elected as Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee". UK Parliament. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  93. ^ "Five guest presenters to cover for James O'Brien on LBC". Radio Today. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  94. ^ "London Property Watch". London Property Watch. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  95. ^ "Emily Thornberry: 'Make it easier for elderly to downsize'". Islington Tribune. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  96. ^ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 05 Feb 2014 (pt 0001)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  97. ^ a b "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 04 Mar 2015 (pt 0001)". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  98. ^ a b Brooks-Pollock, Tom (21 November 2014). "Profile: Emily Thornberry". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  99. ^ a b c "Islington Tribune – News: auction". Thecnj.com. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  100. ^ Clark, Tim (10 July 2014). "MP: 'Decision on Mt Pleasant should be stripped from mayor'". Architects Journal. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  101. ^ Topping, Alexandra (4 June 2013). "MPs call for statue of Emily Davison in parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  102. ^ "45 years after the Equal Pay Act, there's still a long way to go". TheGuardian.com. 8 March 2015.
  103. ^ "Barristers". Wilberforce. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  104. ^ "Islington South and Finsbury – Liberals are irrelevant, says Labour MP". politics.co.uk. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  105. ^ "Democracy Live – Your representatives – Emily Thornberry". BBC News.
  106. ^ Bodkin, Henry; Diver, Tony; Jones, Amy (18 December 2019). "Sir Keir Starmer's Wikipedia page edited to remove reference to his being a 'millionaire'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  107. ^ "Dame Alice Owen's School – Admissions". Damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  108. ^ "Hypocrisy at the heart of Labour's education policy". The Daily Telegraph. London. 28 April 2005.
  109. ^ Street-Porter, Janet (25 April 2010). "Janet Street-Porter: 13 years on: Who's the heir to Blair's lair?". The Independent.
[edit]
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Islington South and Finsbury

2005–present
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change
2010
Succeeded by
New office Shadow Minister for Social Care
2010
Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales
2011–2014
Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Minister of State for Employment
2015–2016
Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
2016
Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Foreign Secretary
2016–2020
Succeeded by
New office Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
2016
Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Angela Eagle
Shadow First Secretary of State
2017–2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade
2020–2021
Succeeded by
Shadow President of the Board of Trade
2020–2021
Preceded by Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales
2021–2024
Succeeded by