Boris Johnson’s controversial decision to prorogue parliament did many things, but at its most basic level the break from ordinary parliamentary business simply means that an old legislative session comes to an end and a new one begins. The government decides which unfinished bills it wants to keep and reintroduces them in the new parliamentary session. The rest are simply dropped.

The trade bill, once considered one of the most important pieces of Brexit legislation, is one such bill to have been abandoned.

It is always unusual for a government to deliberately drop legislation – why introduce something you don’t intend to pass? – but the case of the trade bill, in particular, should concern us all. Its death means MPs now won’t get a say on our post-Brexit trade deals. Politicians in both houses of parliament worked to amend the bill over a period of two years. The amendment gave MPs a guaranteed vote on post-Brexit trade agreements, such as any deal with Donald Trump.

Believe it or not, without the amendment proposed in that bill the UK’s system of trade deal ratification doesn’t give MPs any meaningful or guaranteed say over the country's trade agreements. So as things stand, after Brexit we will revert to a World War I convention called the "Ponsonby rule" for ratifying international deals. This convention severely limits the role of MPs; it was created to deal with secret defence treaties, long before trade deals were as globally significant as they are now.

The amendment would have replaced this outdated system with a meaningful vote for MPs on all trade deals. The concern felt by many MPs and Lords reflected that of many civil society organisations – including trade unions, faith groups, environmental NGOs and consumer groups – that, without accountability to parliament, the government would sign deals which are politically expedient and yet bad for the country.

20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Show all 20 1 /20 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit An awkward greeting As the Queen welcomed Trump to Buckingham Palace, he shared an awkward handshake with her. PA 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit "Oi Trump" Essex teenager Ollie Nancarrow mowed this message to Trump in a field near Stansted airport, in order that the president would be forced to see it as he came in to land. BornEco 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit A warm welcome Protesters gesture at the helicopter carrying the president as he arrives at Buckingham Palace on the first day of his visit. Getty 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Inspecting the guard After arriving at Buckingham Palace, President Trump inspected an honour guard with Prince Charles. AP 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Khan hits back After the president insulted Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, over Twitter as he landed in Britain, Khan hit back in this video released by Elle. PA 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Mild reception on the Mall The Mall, the road leading to Buckingham Palace, was lacking in pomp as Trump arrived after his visit to Westminster Abbey, only a very small crowd turned out to see the spectacle. Reuters 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Toast with the Queen The president shared a toast with the Queen at the state banquet on his first night in Britain. Reuters 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Creepy kids This picture of Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, shared to Ivanka's Instagram, was described variously as "terrifying", like "nightmares" and "scarier than the shining." Getty 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Rolling out the red carpet A red carpet was rolled out for the president's arrival to 10 Downing Street. Reuters 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Meeting with May President Trump met with Prime Minister Theresa May on the second day of his visit. They did not speak privately but in a boardroom meeting. Reuters 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Spouses get along First Lady Melania Trump and husband of the prime minister Philip May attended a garden party for the families of Downing Street staff while the two leaders were in their meeting. Getty 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Baby blimp flies again The famous Trump baby blimp made a return in the protests against the president's visit, after first appearing in July last year. EPA 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Crowd gathers A large crowd of protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square in London to protest the president's visit. Notable protesters included a man selling Donald Trump toilet paper and a man dressed as Vladimir Putin controlling a Trump puppet. PA 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Protesters mix and mingle Supporters of the president and protesters of his visit clashed by Parliament Square on the second day of Trump's visit, with some supporters being hit by milkshakes. Reuters 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Toilet Trump A 20ft statue of Trump tweeting while sitting on a golden toilet was placed in Trafalgar Square as protesters gather on the second day of the president's visit. Tom Batchelor / The Independent 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Corbyn speaks In an address to protesters, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the president of spreading "hatred" and "racism" and expressed disappointment that Sadiq Khan had "been attacked in the way he was." PA 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Churchill hat During his interview with the president on Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan gave Trump a hat of a style favoured by Winston Churchill, one of Trump's heroes. ITV 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Bus stop baby Activists Special Patrol Group installed this poster in to several bus stops around Portsmouth ahead of the president's arrival for D-Day commemorations PA 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Fly-past with the queen President Trump watched the Red Arrows fly-past with the Queen at an event in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings AFP/Getty 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Commemoration speech The president gave a speech at an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Along with Trump, the prime minister and the royal family, French president Emmanuel Macron and 300 Second World War veterans were in attendance. AFP/Getty

Democratic scrutiny of trade deals matters because trade deals themselves matter. Reports about chlorinated chicken are just the tip of the iceberg: post-Brexit trade deals could see an overall shift away from the EU’s regulatory system towards a more US-style system. The US has a more business-first approach to regulation, which allows practices including hormone-fed meat, the routine use of antibiotics in agriculture, GM crops, poor animal welfare protections, the use of pesticides banned in the EU, and more. For many ardent Brexiters, escaping EU regulations is a key benefit to leaving. For civil society organisations, losing these regulations would be a disaster.

Trade deals also affect our public services, and could be used to "lock-in" privatisation of the NHS. Trump has made it a priority to tackle what he sees as an unfair drug pricing system, which keeps prices low for patients but disadvantages US pharmaceutical firms, and this is likely to be a key demand in US-UK negotiations.

Trade deals also increasingly include Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms which would allow foreign multinationals to sue the UK government for policies which harm their profits. ISDS has been used to challenge important environmental legislation in the past - including measures to control water pollution and ban fracking. It is difficult to see how this is compatible with the UK’s Paris climate change commitments, let alone the legally binding pledge for net-zero emissions by 2050.

Regardless of your views on American food standards, privatisation of the NHS or ISDS arrangements, it is essential that our elected representatives get a say on these issues. While parliament’s prorogation has rightly provoked outrage for taking power out of MPs’ hands, our approach to ratifying trade deals is not very different. Our own MPs would struggle to stop a US trade deal even if it were roundly unpopular and believed to be harmful.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

The democratic scrutiny amendment passed through the Lords, defeating the government with the support of Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and crossbench peers. It was therefore written into the bill that was ready to be returned to MPs in the Commons. This final stage then never happened – possibly because the government knew it would face defeat and that important amendment would become law.

Whether the next few months see a general election, a new legislative agenda or no-deal Brexit, it is essential that MPs are given a say on any new trade agreements. The Queen’s Speech is an opportunity to reassure MPs that they will have this say; otherwise, Boris Johnson should expect repeated defeats on any future trade legislation.