The British Parliament vigorously debated on Monday whether U.S. President Donald Trump should be accorded to "State Visit". The debate was triggered by a petition on the British Parliament's website, which requires debate if more than 100,000 Brits ask for it. In fact, more than 1.8 million people asked their government to rescind the invite. There was also a rival petition in support of the trump "state visit" which garnered only 310,000 petitions, but enough to meet the 100,000 criteria for Parliamentary debate. The three-hour debate took place in Parliament’s Westminster Hall, but outside demonstrators protested with the backdrop of the tower of Big Ben in the heart of London.
Parliament cannot cancel a 'state visit' by Trump
However, the British Parliament does not have the power to cancel the visit and there was no vote binding such a rescission. The real purpose was to garner public attention and the chants of the protesters outside could be heard in the background during the debate.
The debate was started by Paul Flynn, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour Party. He is the British lawmaker best known for labeling then candidate Donald Trump as a "petulant child". He argued that this should not be a "state visit" but regulated to a mere "official visit". He forcefully argued that a "state visit would appear that the Parliament and the British nation approve of the "acts of Donald Trump."
UK Parliament debates Trump's state visit after more than a million people signed a petition to downgrade his visit https://t.co/H6qnDLxiPE pic.twitter.com/Fqty3Thbir
— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2017
Protesters chanting outside Parliament
The placards of the protesters outside Westminster Hall read "Dump Trump, Fight Bigotry" and "No to Racism, No to Trump".
One protestor, Alison Dale, told Reuters News that it is not about Trump, but his personification of "the rise of hate and extremism".
Thousands of anti-Trump protesters rally outside Parliament during debate on official visit https://t.co/xRUzk1Ip1c pic.twitter.com/w3y1abmSAb
— The Hill (@thehill) February 21, 2017
State visit could be embarrassing for the queen
What appalled on lawmaker, Labour's David Lammy, was the fact that the invitation was extended after only seven days.
The Brits waited 700 days before Barack Obama was invited for a "state visit". Included in the "state visit" the head of state stays at Buckingham Palace and a lavish banquet is held in the leader's honor. The argument against this is that it would be an embarrassment to Queen Elizabeth. During the "state visit" of George W. Bush in 2003, protesters hit the streets of London opposing the Iraq War.
