Emily Thornberry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Dame Emily Thornberry DBE MP
Official portrait, 2024
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 September 2024
Preceded by	Alicia Kearns
Member of Parliament for Islington South and Finsbury
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 May 2005
Preceded by	Chris Smith
Majority	15,455 (36.2%)
Shadow portfolios Shadow Secretary of State 2021–2024 Attorney General 2020–2021 International Trade 2017–2020 First Secretary of State 2016–2020 Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 2016 Exiting the European Union 2016 Defence 2011–2014 Attorney General Shadow Minister 2015–2016 Employment 2010–2011 Social Care 2010 Climate Change
Personal details
Born	Emily Anne Thornberry (1960-07-27) 27 July 1960 (age 64) Guildford, Surrey, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Christopher Nugee ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	3
Parents	Cedric Thornberry Sallie Thornberry
Alma mater	University of Kent (LLB)
Signature

Dame Emily Anne Thornberry (born 27 July 1960) is a British politician. She is a member of the Labour Party. Since 2005, she has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury.

Emily Thornberry has held several important roles in the Labour Party. She was the Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 to 2024. Before that, she was the Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020. She also served as Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.

She was born in Guildford, Surrey. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a diplomat. Emily Thornberry studied law at the University of Kent. For 20 years, from 1985 to 2005, she worked as a lawyer focusing on human rights.

Early Life and Education

Emily Thornberry was born on 27 July 1960 in Guildford, Surrey. Her mother, Sallie Thornberry, was a teacher. Her father, Cedric Thornberry, taught international law. He later worked for the United Nations.

When Emily was seven, her parents divorced. She moved with her mother and two brothers. They faced financial difficulties. Her mother later became a Labour councillor and mayor in Guildford. Her father also ran as a Labour candidate in 1966.

Emily attended a secondary modern school. At 15, she lived with her father. When she was 17, her father left to work for the United Nations. Emily worked as a cleaner and barmaid in London. She also studied for her O-Levels and A-Levels.

She then went to the University of Kent in Canterbury. She studied law and graduated in 1982. After university, she led the students' union. She became a barrister (a type of lawyer) in 1985. She specialized in human rights law until 2005.

Parliamentary Career

Emily Thornberry first ran for Parliament in 2001 in Canterbury. She came second in that election.

Becoming an MP (2005)

In 2005, Emily Thornberry was chosen as the Labour candidate for Islington South and Finsbury. She was elected as an MP in the 2005 United Kingdom general election. She won with 39.9% of the votes.

Her first speech in the House of Commons was on 24 May 2005. As an MP, she joined committees like the Environmental Audit Committee. She also worked on the Communities and Local Government Select Committee.

Her main interests as an MP include health, housing, and the environment. She has often spoken about the need for more affordable housing. In 2006, she introduced a bill to help housing association tenants. Many of her ideas were later used in a government review. She also worked with groups like Friends of the Earth to campaign for environmental laws. In 2006, she won an award for Environment Champion of the Year.

In 2009, she became a ministerial aide in the Department of Energy and Climate Change. She attended the Copenhagen Summit on climate change.

Shadow Cabinet Roles (2010–2015)

Emily Thornberry was re-elected as MP in the 2010 United Kingdom general election. Her vote share and majority both increased.

After the election, she became a Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change. She later became the shadow care minister. In this role, she highlighted problems in care for the elderly. She also criticized the government's handling of failing care home operators.

In 2011, she became the Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales. This role allowed her to attend shadow cabinet meetings.

She resigned from her shadow cabinet position in November 2014. This happened after she posted a photo on Twitter. The photo showed a house with England flags and a white van. Some people criticized her tweet, saying it showed disrespect. Her party leader, Ed Miliband, also said the tweet conveyed a "sense of disrespect".

Key Shadow Roles (2015–2020)

Emily Thornberry was re-elected in the 2015 United Kingdom general election. Her vote share and majority increased again.

In September 2015, she became the Shadow Minister for Employment. This was after Jeremy Corbyn became the new Labour leader.

In January 2016, she was promoted to Shadow Defence Secretary. She believed money should be spent on the army. She also questioned the UK's nuclear weapons program.

In June 2016, she became the Shadow Foreign Secretary. She also briefly held the role of Shadow Brexit Secretary. She criticized a TV presenter for asking her to name foreign leaders. She felt the questions were unfair and sexist.

In October 2016, Emily Thornberry spoke against Britain's involvement in the conflict in Yemen. She called for an independent investigation into alleged violations of international law.

Continued Leadership Roles (2017–2024)

Emily Thornberry was re-elected in the 2017 United Kingdom general election. Her vote share and majority increased significantly. After this election, she also became Shadow First Secretary of State. This meant she was effectively Jeremy Corbyn's second-in-command.

In 2018, she commented on the situation in Syria. She also criticized the government's response to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

She was re-elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Her vote share and majority decreased slightly. After Jeremy Corbyn announced he would step down, Emily Thornberry was one of the first to announce she would run for Labour leader. However, she did not get enough support to continue in the race.

After Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, Emily Thornberry became the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade. In November 2021, she was again appointed Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales.

Current Role (2024–Present)

Emily Thornberry was re-elected as MP for Islington South and Finsbury in the 2024 United Kingdom general election. Her vote share was 53.7%, with a majority of 15,455 votes.

After the election, she was not given a ministerial position in the new government. However, she was elected Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 11 September 2024. This committee looks into the government's foreign policy.

In July 2024, she was one of five politicians who hosted James O'Brien's radio show on LBC.

Key Campaigns

Emily Thornberry has worked on several important campaigns during her time as an MP.

Affordable Housing

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

Emily Thornberry's constituency, Islington, has very high house prices. She has supported efforts to create more affordable housing. She wants to stop foreign investors from buying homes and leaving them empty. She also calls for more control over private rents and more social housing.

She has often campaigned for a stronger commitment to affordable housing. She criticized Boris Johnson, who was then the Mayor of London. He allowed new homes in her area to be rented at up to 80% of market rates. Thornberry said this was "nonsense" and wanted at least 50% of new homes to be for social rent.

Statue for Emily Davison

In 2013, it was 100 years since the death of Emily Davison. Emily Davison was a suffragette who campaigned for women's right to vote. Emily Thornberry called for a statue of Davison in Parliament. She organized a public meeting, and many people supported the idea of a statue. She pointed out that there are very few statues of women politicians and activists in Parliament.

Equal Pay

In March 2015, Emily Thornberry started a campaign for a new Equal Pay Act. She highlighted that 45 years after the first Equal Pay Act in 1970, women still earned less than men on average. She aimed to close this pay gap.

Personal Life

Emily Thornberry has lived in Islington since the early 1990s. In July 1991, she married Christopher Nugee. They have two sons and one daughter. Christopher Nugee is a judge.

In April 2005, it was reported that Emily Thornberry and her husband sent their son to a partially selective state school. The school was 14 miles (22 km) from their home. The Labour Party was against selective schools, so she faced some criticism. Later, her daughter also attended the same school.

In the 2025 New Year Honours, Emily Thornberry was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This honor was for her political and public service.

Images for kids

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  Emily Thornberry's signature

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  Emily Thornberry giving a speech at the 2016 Labour Party Conference

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  Emily Thornberry speaking at a 2020 Labour Party leadership election hustings in Bristol