Oct 28th, 2016
Shady trade deals
By Amy Lockwood
Corporations suing our government. Chemicals in our food. Our NHS sold off to private companies. This is what’s at risk from a new set of trade deals being planned by the government – unless we step in now.
This Saturday morning, a group of 38 Degrees members will meet Liam Fox, the government minister in charge of making trade deals after Brexit. They’ll tell him that they want Britain’s trade deals to be agreed by a proper vote in Parliament, not behind closed doors with shady lobbyists.
Kevin, Rachel, Ann and Gill will take the views of over 300,000 other members of 38 Degrees – people like you – into the meeting with them on Saturday. But your voice is missing. Can you fill out this survey on what Brexit should mean for trade and how we can get deals that work for everyone? You’ve got just 24 hours to vote.
Big businesses are already starting to lobby Liam Fox. They’ve had drinks receptions and private meetings. Now, it’s our turn. Trading with other countries makes us richer and shows the world what Britain has to offer. But trade deals are too important to be left to politicians to agree in secret. That’s why 38 Degrees members have been crowd-sourcing a vision for how the UK can thrive after Brexit, covering everything from trade to protecting our NHS.
When trade deals go wrong, they’re catastrophic. They can water down the laws that protect our food and environment. They can give corporations the power to sue our government if they don’t like our laws. And all too often, they’re agreed in backroom meetings with business lobbyists – not in Parliament, where all of us can see what’s happening.
But all that can change, starting on Saturday. Together, we can make sure that people like us have a say in trade deals after Brexit, to make sure they work for everyone. Are you in? There’s only 24 hours to go, so let’s get started: do you agree with the statement below?
“Stop negotiating trade deals in secret. Negotiations should take place openly, with all key texts available to the public so that we can see what’s on the table.”
