After Cameron’s reshuffle, there’s no-one in the Cabinet responsible for TTIP

David Cameron’s recent reshuffle wasn’t received all too well. And the ways in which he showed his clear errors of judgement when it came to changing around the Cabinet just keep coming.

It’s emerged that Cameron has failed to give anyone in his newly rearranged Cabinet responsibility for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

TTIP is a free trade agreement between Europe and the United States which runs the significant risk of allowing private US private healthcare  companies greater control over the NHS (which could be yet another step towards privatisation), weakening European labour laws, and giving corporations the right to sue European governments over any public policy decisions that lead to them losing profit. Pretty serious stuff, then. 

Ken Clarke – who resigned during the reshuffle, was originally responsible for overseeing TTIP. But instead of replacing Clarke, Cameron did nothing. Discussions between the US and EU over TTIP are ongoing, meaning a treaty that could introduce such wide-ranging and threatening changes to UK law won’t have anyone in government responsible for negotiations.

John Healey MP, who’s been an outspoken critic of the TTIP in relation to the NHS, and who called attention to Cameron’s oversight, has asked the PM to think again:

“Whatever his reshuffle thinking, the Prime Minister should reconsider his decision and restore a top-level Cabinet role to battle for Britain on this TTIP deal. If he does not respond, then it is hard to see how he can honour his commitments a year ago at the G8 summit or how we can win over a sceptical public and powerful international interests to secure an EU-US deal that delivers for Britain.”

The question is, will Cameron bother to listen…?