Tulip Siddiq, a Labour Party member and a Muslim, was among the minority arguing for Trump’s ban.
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But that hasn’t stopped the Republican presidential candidate from punching back with his vow to hit the U.K.in the wallet, to try to end the largely symbolic effort.
Trump was described by the MPs as an “idiot”, a “buffoon”, a “fool”, a “wazzock”, and a “demagogue”. One of them is USA blogger Pamela Geller who was banned in 2013 as a result of her anti-Muslim remarks and propaganda.
“It is absurd that valuable parliamentary time is being wasted debating a matter raised as part of the American Presidential election”, it said. Cameron has pointedly looked down on Trump, saying: “If he came to visit our country, I think he would unite us all against him”.
A counter-petition calling for Trump not to be banned has gathered more than 42,000 signatures.
Labour MP Paul Flynn said Donald Trump’s prejudices should be met with British reasonableness.
Flynn told the Associated Press that he would try to convey the anger of petitioners, but suggested banning Trump could be “counter-productive” by making him appear to be a victim.
He added that there is no appetite to prevent Mr Trump from coming to Britain and that extreme views must be challenged by “robust debate”.
The debate comes after m ore than 570,000 people signed a petition proposing a United Kingdom ban against Mr Trump.
Donald Trump “is the son of a Scottish immigrant and I apologize for that”, the Scottish National Party’s Anne McLaughlin said.
Even those who opposed the ban condemned Trump, yet argued that its proponents are inadvertently helping him by “fueling the man’s publicity machine”, in the words of Conservative MP Victoria Atkins, the Washington Post reported.
She said: “His words are not comical”.
British Home Secretary Theresa May already has the power to ban certain visitors – including those deemed nonconducive to the public good for reasons such as a record of hate speech – but such a move would appear highly unlikely.
She said: “I stand here as a proud British Muslim woman…Donald Trump would like me banned from America, I wouldn’t get my visa”.
Prime Minister David Cameron said he did not support a ban on Trump, but he said the USA presidential candidate’s statement was “divisive, unhelpful and, quite simply, wrong”.
Mr. Trump appears to have taken the threat seriously enough that his company, the Trump Organization, said in a statement that it would pull back from plans to invest more than billion in Scotland should he be barred. Specifically, the political speech of Donald Trump.
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“Until now, Turnberry has been unable to attract the huge investment required to secure its future and industry chiefs have applauded Trump International Golf Links, Scotland, which has attracted tens of thousands of much-needed overseas visitors to the region”.
