Backbench rebellion over TTIP, the NHS and the Queen’s Speech?

Date: 19 May 2016

Responding to the proposed amendment to the Queen’s Speech, being tabled by Labour and supported by 25 Tory backbenchers that say that they, “respectfully regret that a Bill to protect the National Health Service from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was not included in the Gracious Speech,”

Nick Dearden the director of Global Justice Now said:

“The fact that the government is facing a backbench rebellion on the Queen’s Speech over the issue of TTIP is testament to just how toxic an issue this trade deal has become.  In the space of a couple of years, TTIP has gone from an obscure acronym, to a massively controversial issue that has not only been a key issue in the EU referendum debate, it could now threaten the government’s first defeat over the Queen’s Speech in 92 years.

“MPs are right to push the issue over the need to protect the NHS, and other vital public services, from the threat of TTIP. Polls have constantly shown just how important the NHS is to voters in the UK, but the government has been steadfast in its refusal to explicitly and bindingly rule it out of the negotiations. This is despite the fact that public health services in other countries have been attacked under similar trade deals. “