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Donald Trump
Banned From Addressing Parliament on UK State Visit
MPs broke into spontaneous applause as the Speaker said
he would not permit Westminster Hall to be used
By Jon Stone
February 06,
2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- "The
Independent" -
Donald
Trump will effectively be blocked from addressing
Parliament on his state visit to the UK, the Speaker of
the House of Commons has said.
John Bercow,
the Speaker, said he was "strongly opposed" to Mr Trump
speaking in the Commons and that being invited was "not
an automatic right" but "an earned honour".
In a dramatic
intervention cited the Commons' opposition to "racism
and to sexism and our support for equality before the
law and an independent judiciary" as his reasons.
“Before the
imposition of the migrant ban I would myself have been
strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in
Westminster Hall," Mr Bercow told MPs in response to a
point of order by an MP.
“After the
imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am
even more strongly opposed to an address by President
Trump in Westminster Hall."
Parts of the
Commons erupted into rare spontaneous applause in
support of Mr Bercow's statement.
Veteran Labour
MP Dennis Skinner, speaking after Mr Bercow's statement
said: "Further to that point of order: two words: well
done."
The Speaker
said: "We value our relationship with the United States.
If a state visit takes place, that is way beyond and
above the pay grade of the Speaker.
"However, as
far as this place 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."
Theresa May
invited Mr Trump to make a state visit to the UK on her
recent trip to the United States. She said he would fly
to Britain before the end of the year.
Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn and others have said that the visit should
be cancelled until Mr Trump rescinds his "Muslim ban" on
travellers from some countries.
Whether the
controversial president would address Parliament has
been a particular source of contention. Foreign leaders
on state visits sometimes address Westinster Hall, which
lies in the House of Commons, or Royal Gallery in the
House of Lords.
Mr Bercow said
he was one of the three "keyholders" to Westminster Hall
and also said he would not permit an invitation to the
Royal Gallery in the House of Commons to be made in his
name.
He admitted
that he would "perhaps have a strong a say in that
matter" but said that "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," he concluded.
The Speaker's
intervention is a particularly stunning development
because the post is politically neutral. Mr Bercow was
previously a Conservative MP before he was elected to
the role; following convention he then gave up any party
affiliation.
The views
expressed in this article are solely those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
Information Clearing House. |
