Emily thornberry

On Thursday, Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet found themselves in disarray after the Labour leader suggested he would issue a three-line whip for MPs to vote to trigger Article 50. This upset many in his party as they had hoped he would make Labour’s consent -- at the very least -- conditional upon certain details being revealed or caveats regarding Britain's possible future as a tax haven. So, with that in mind, brains at Labour decided the best plan of action was to send Emily Thornberry on Question Time to field questions on the matter.

The PM is abroad. Her vacant throne was occupied by David Lidington, the agreeably lightweight Leader of the House. He’s confident, fast-talking, well-briefed but glib and untidy-looking. He doesn’t improvise well. Physically he’s an unrestful presence. He hops and twitches and pecks and dabs like a pigeon attacking a box of Chicken McNuggets. For comic effect he likes to turn sideways with both arms outstretched as if entreating somebody in the wings. A speaking coach would tell him to calm down, put his hands in his pockets and stop head-butting imaginary bees. He made no errors today. He didn’t exactly shine. Bumptious competence was his level. Opposite him was Emily Thornberry whose warm buttery voice, like melting fudge, belies her forensic acuity.

Today Emily Thornberry appeared on the Andrew Marr show to talk left-wing dictators and Brexit. Following in the footsteps of Jeremy Corbyn, the shadow foreign secretary praised the late Fidel Castro. She spoke fondly of what he had done for Cuba's national health service -- but conceded such benefits 'came at a price'. However, the comments most likely to land her in hot water come tomorrow related to Brexit. Ever since the referendum result, Labour have struggled to come up with a coherent position on leaving the EU. While Corbyn previously suggested his party would block Article 50 if single market membership was not a part of the deal, Tom Watson — Labour’s deputy leader — has insisted his party will not ‘hold this up’.

As the government 'consider' inviting Donald Trump for a state visit, the president-elect was top of the agenda at today's Foreign Office questions. With the Westminster establishment riled over Trump's latest tweet claiming Nigel Farage would make a 'great' UK ambassador to the US, Simon Burns hit back -- suggesting Boris Johnson return the favour and request Trump send Hillary Clinton to fill the role of US ambassador to the UK. Continuing the theme of putting people forward against their will for jobs that either aren't available or don't exist, Labour's David Winnick said that it was Brandon Dixon -- the Hamilton actor who made an anti-Trump speech over the weekend -- who ought to become the 'unofficial ambassador' from the United States to Britain.

Emily Thornberry put in a memorable performance on Question Time last night. Unfortunately for the shadow foreign secretary, it was an appearance that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Thornberry was heckled after sucking up to Corbyn, and she managed to make the audience groan when she claimed what united Labour was ‘so much more than what divides us’ (Mr S suspects there are many Labour MPs who might disagree with that view). Thornberry also tried to claim Labour were more grown-up than the Tories, saying her party fought ‘in the press’ rather than ‘in closed rooms’. But she saved her biggest clanger for when she was talking about Brexit.

On Sunday, Shami Chakrabarti was forced to use an appearance on Peston on Sunday to claim that she was not a hypocrite after the topic of grammar schools was raised. The issue? Although the shadow attorney general is vocal in her opposition to selective education in the state, she sent her own son to a selective fee-paying school. https://twitter.com/pestononsunday/status/785053732497006593 While Chakrabarti insists that buying choice for herself while denying people without money the same option does not make her a hypocrite -- explaining that as she is rich she is able to live a ‘charmed and privileged life’ -- she is just one of a number of shadow cabinet members who complicate Labour's opposition to grammar schools.

Yesterday Emily Thornberry accused Sky News's Dermot Murnaghan of sexism for asking her to name the French foreign minister. While the shadow Foreign secretary has since been the subject of much ridicule over the claims, she can take heart that some comrades still have her back. Step forward George Galloway. Galloway has written a blog post on his website in which he defends Thornberry.

Spare a thought for the ladies of Labour. After years spent campaigning for gender equality, they are yet to have a leader who is a woman while the Tories are onto their second female Prime Minister. So, it was an interesting move by Emily Thornberry, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, today to take a pop at the government's foreign office team over the lack of women in top roles: ET: We do wish the all-male ministerial team well at this crucial time Alas there was a problem with Lady Nugee's accusation -- as Alan Duncan was on hand to point out: AD: May I thank the honourable lady for her warm welcome to me at least, but I would respectfully point out to her that her noble Baroness Anelay, who is also a minister of state at the Foreign Office, was a woman when I last spoke to her.

One of the first things Theresa May will have been briefed on when she took over as Prime Minister last week is the protocol for firing nuclear weapons. She'll have been handed the nuclear codes in the clearest demonstration, if she doubted it before, that she really is in charge. And today, in her first Commons test as PM, she'll be saying it would be a 'gross irresponsibility' to ditch Trident. She'll also go on to say 'abandoning' our 'ultimate safeguard' would be a 'reckless gamble'. In truth, she has little to worry about as to whether the vote will go through: barring a big upset, the Government will win comfortably and Trident will be renewed. What will prove more interesting, though, is what happens on the benches opposite Theresa May.

With Angela Eagle clear that she will run to be the next Labour leader and Jeremy Corbyn willing to contest any such challenge, the Labour party is in a state of stalemate until Tuesday's meeting of the National Executive Committee. At the crunch meeting, the NEC will announce whether or not Corbyn is automatically on the ballot -- with a legal challenge expected whatever the result. So with the result looming, Monday's PLP meeting proved to be a rather muted affair as MPs wait to learn their party's fate. Tom Watson's spokesman described the mood as 'not the greatest', while John Mann walked out halfway through complaining that Emily Thornberry was 'prattling on'. However, the Deputy Leader did do his best to soothe party tensions.

In the window of a council house on a working-class estate in Exeter was a sticker bearing the cross of St George and a simple warning: ‘If this flag offends you, why not consider moving to another country?’ For some canvassers working on Labour MP Ben Bradshaw’s 2015 campaign, such a symbol naturally meant the dreaded ‘A’ on the canvas sheet: ‘Against Labour’. In fact, it was a household of solid Labour voters — supporting a party far too often offended by the flag. The truth is that the Labour party has an English problem. While members might just about embrace Britishness, too many feel queasy about Englishness — with all those connotations of ethnicity and chauvinism.

Labour's high command are not showing themselves to be the most statesman-like of figures today. After Jeremy Corbyn was caught on camera ignoring David Cameron's attempts at conversation, his shadow Defence Secretary struggled to control herself in today's Queen's Speech debate. Emily Thornberry took offence after Cameron described her as a 'shadow defence secretary who doesn’t believe in defence'. She protested to his comments by mouthing 'bollocks' from the Labour frontbench: https://vine.co/v/i0xEIb9Eg9U Mr S suspects that next time she has a point to make in the Commons, Lady Nugee ought to take a more dignified approach when it comes to airing her grievances.

Departmental questions in the House of Commons are generally an opportunity for backbenchers of all parties to hold the government to account. But a strange pattern is emerging at Defence Questions, whereby the backbenchers of each of the two main parties pour their efforts into making life uncomfortable for their own frontbenchers, even though Labour’s team isn’t actually in government. So today Michael Fallon and his ministers had to contend with complaints from Sir Edward Leigh about the suggestion that Britain leaving the European Union would harm Britain’s national security.

Emily Thornberry's decision to appoint disgraced spinner Damian McBride as her media adviser has upset a number of her constituents. However, the shadow Defence Secretary will be hoping that the expertise McBride can offer will outweigh any negative publicity. So, after Thornberry angered Labour MPs at a meeting of the PLP over Trident and then was left red-faced when Nicholas Soames ridiculed her for asking for his advise on Labour's defence review, what's McBride's plan of action? It seems he is planning to shift the narrative by focussing on Thornberry's musical prowess. Steerpike understands that Lady Nugee will appear at tonight's LGBT fundraiser at the Vauxhall Tavern for Sadiq Khan's mayoral campaign -- titled 'Khan't get you outta my head'.