Using an acronym for the Islamic State, Dromey suggested that the terrorist group and Trump were co-dependent: “ISIS needs Donald Trump and Donald Trump needs ISIS”. Bruce, a petition was launched calling for Trump’s ban from British shores which led to the debate.
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The debate took place in the British Parliament’s Westminster Hall after an online petition calling for Trump to be banned from the country garnered more than 570,000 signatures, easily clearing the 100,000-signature threshold for it to be considered by Parliament’s petition committee, which passed it along to the full Parliament for debate.
Tulip Siddiq, a Labour Party member and a Muslim, was among the minority arguing for Trump’s ban.
Paul Flynn, a Labour MP who opened the debate, said a ban would give Trump the “halo of victimhood”.
About 50 MPs out of 650 were present for the debate, which was triggered by a petition signed by more than half a million people.
During the colourful debate some MPs – drawn mainly from the Labour Party and Scottish National Party – likened Trump to a “hate preacher” whilst others argued a ban would only serve to “fuel to the media circus and would be a headline around the world”.
Politicians this evening spent three hours debating whether the Republican presidential candidate should be banned from entering the country after his previous controversial remarks.
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said Trump’s suggestion to ban Muslims ignored the fact that Muslims themselves are victims of terrorism.
Conservative Paul Scully said that while people had been excluded from Britain for incitement or hatred, “I have never heard of one for stupidity and I’m not sure we should be starting now”.
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has made note of Trump’s incendiary words, describing the Republican candidate’s pronouncements as “divisive, stupid and wrong”.
She added: “In the words of the club captain, ‘If the Trump Organisation pulls out of Turnberry because its head is locked out, it would be a catastrophe for the resort and a tragedy for the local community”.
The government has the power to deny entry to people with criminal convictions or those whose presence is considered not “conducive to the public good”. It says that Mr. Trump’s proposal to bar Muslim immigrants from entering the United States amounts to “hate speech”.
But even if a ban had been an option, it wasn’t the preference of a majority of those who spoke during a passionate and, insults aside, reasonably high-minded discussion that touched on weighty issues of free speech, political extremism and what’s become of Britain’s American cousins.
“I want to see Donald Trump come to this country….” Most MPs opposed the ban.
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Trump, whose mom is Scottish, owns the Turnberry golf course in Scotland.
