Monday 6 February 2017

Trump will not be allowed to address UK Parliament on state visit

Posted by sizzledfeed on 11:16

Trump will not be allowed to address UK Parliament on state visit

Tom Cahill

Donald Trump just got a stern rebuke from America’s closest ally, as the United Kingdom’s parliament has refused to allow him to address the body.

John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons (the UK’s lower house of Parliament) told the chamber that the primary reason for denying Trump a joint address of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords (the upper house) was his executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, though he emphasized that even prior to the order, it was very unlikely that the 45th President of the United States would be welcome in British Parliament.

“An address by a foreign leader to both houses of Parliament is not an automatic right. It is an earned honor, Bercow said. “Although customarily, an invitation to a visiting leader to deliver an address there would be issued in the names of the two speakers, i would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery.”

The antipathy towards President Trump isn’t just held by British elected officials. A petition on British Parliament’s official website demanding not allow Trump to visit the UK has been signed by over 1.8 million people. Bercow said that while Trump is not welcome in Westminster Hall, Trump being denied a speech before Parliament is not intended as a slight to their neighbors across the pond.

“We value our relationship with the United States,” Bercow said. “However, as far as [the House of Commons] is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism, and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.”

For his part, Trump has stated he doesn’t care about giving a speech at Parliament, even though Barack Obama was invited to speak there during his first term as president.

Tom Cahill is a writer for US Uncut based in the Pacific Northwest. He specializes in coverage of political, economic, and environmental news. You can contact him via email at tom.v.cahill@gmail.com, or follow him on Facebook.

Credit:http://usuncut.com/world/trump-uk-parliament-address/