Emily Thornberry: ‘We need a two-state solution in the Middle East. That’s all that matters’
Emily Thornberry, the new chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee tells The News Agents of concerns for peace in Gaza and Syria and what Keir Starmer’s government could have done better since coming to power.
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In brief…
Read time: 5 mins
- Thornberry says her new role can feel “overwhelming” given the unpredictable turmoil across the world right now.
- She says there needs to be a two-state solution for peace in Gaza, but doubts this can be achieved while Benjamin Netanyahu remains president.
- Working with Donald Trump will be key to achieving this, and believes he wants to earn a peace prize during his second term in The White House.
Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Chaos in French politics. Donald Trump heading back to the White House. A revolution in Syria.
It's been one hell of a time for Emily Thornberry to start her new role as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
And, perhaps quite rightly, she describes the challenges ahead as somewhat "overwhelming", especially with international plot twists such as the downfall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
"People have wanted the Assad regime to go for a very long time," Thornberry tells Lewis Goodall.
"The difficulty has always been, what's going to replace it? You can't just cut the head off the snake. If you cut the head off a snake, you just end up with a dead snake.
She admits there are still concerns about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), and its leader Abu Mohammad al-Jawlani, with the group still designated as a proscribed terror group in many parts of the world, including the UK.
"What we don't want is the guys with the biggest guns being the ones ending up running the country.
"In order for Syria to have a real future, then it needs to be understood by the powers that be, that it has to be a pluralist society.
"It has to be an inclusive government of some sort where there are rights for minorities and there are rights for women."
She adds it is "far too early" to simply hand over control to HTS, and that "last thing" anyone needs is a jihadi regime in Syria.
Why a two-state solution is needed in the Middle East
More recent still is Israel's activities inside Syria since Assad's downfall – bombing military targets, claiming territory and moving armed forces further inside the country.
Thornberry remains cautious over her feelings towards Israel's actions in Syria, and more widely since its response to the October 7 massacre, and says the UK is in "the right place" when it comes to Israel more widely, but admits "we've taken too long over it".
"I think that it's right for us not to be selling weapons to or arms to Israel that could be used for internal repression or external aggression," she says.
"But it took a Labour government to come in, to do what should have been done before."
In September this year, Keir Starmer's government suspended 30 of 350 arms licenses with Israel, following a review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
She says the UK "needs to get the information gathered" before it can address claims that Israel has carried out a genocide of people in Gaza.
"It's not going to be for politicians like me to decide. It's going to be up to the courts to decide."
In November, the UN declared that Israel's assault on Gaza and its people, including withholding vital supplies, were consistent with the characteristics of genocide.
A warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside his former defence commander and the Hamas military leader.
Why there has been no trade embargo on Israel
She says she "understands" anger and upset over images of destruction and death from Gaza, but says calls to end trade with Israel, or boycott certain products, won't stop the war.
"Even if Britain was to have a trade embargo on Israel. It wouldn't stop the war. What I want to do is stop the war. And I want there to be a two state solution."
She believes that stopping selling weapons that could be used in Gaza, and putting sanctions on Israeli settlements in the area already sends a "pretty strong message" to Netanyahu and his government.
"I've been involved in the area for a long time, and everything I've ever done, I've always measured against the idea of trying to assure that we have a two state solution. That's all that matters. I don't really care about striking a pose or sending messages."
This, she says, is "probably not" possible with Netanyahu as Prime Minister.
Why the UK needs to work closely with Donald Trump
Going forward, that can likely only be achieved by working with the US, and its new president, Donald Trump.
Emily says she was "not happy" to see Donald Trump elected US president, but does see "advantages" to his presidency.
"He wants to do deals. He wants to make peace. So you have to kind of start thinking about, how do we align our interests with the interests of Donald Trump," she says.
"If he wants to have a peace prize, which he most definitely does, you know, wouldn't it be brilliant if Donald Trump was able to bring real peace?
"The only thing that's going to last will be a two state solution, recognition of Palestine, and the Palestinian state.
"If he wants to strike a deal, he needs to work with others."
But – if Thornberry has anything to do with it – these deals will not be brokered with any assistance from Nigel Farage, who has offered to be the government's envoy for dealing with Trump.
"I don't think it's a good idea at all," she says.
"I don't trust him. It's all about Farage – and we have perfectly good people who would be really good at being a conduit, thank you very much."
What Labour could have done better, so far
Closer to home, she describes Keir Starmer's as "doing alright, actually" so far, since coming to power in July 2024.
"I think we're doing good Labour things in a good Labour way," she says – listing the nationalisation of the railways, investing more in the NHS and giving rights to renters as examples.
But, she admits, there are things Labour could have done better.
She says communication to British farmers could have been improved, and says the government could have taken more time to explain that the change in inheritance laws was not to target them, but to prevent wealthy people profiting from the previous situation.
"I think sometimes we don't do that," she admits.
"With the winter fuel allowance, we didn't really explain that there wasn't enough money to give this money to everybody, we need to give it to the poorest.
"We could have engaged with people and made it better."