They say all publicity is good publicity but, surely, for Donald Trump that’s no longer the case. This afternoon MPs will debate whether or not to ban him from the UK after he proposed temporarily banning the immigration of Muslims to America.
Why Do People Want To Ban Donald Trump from the UK?
The debate, which will be held in Westminster Hall, came about after a petition was launched last month to block the former reality star and business man turned Republican presidential candidate from setting foot on British shores.
The petition called for him to be blocked from entering the country because of his ‘hate speech’ and is being debated after it received more than 574,000 signatures. The petition states ‘the UK has banned entry to many individuals for hate speech. The same principles should apply to everyone who wishes to enter…’
‘If the United Kingdom is to continue applying the ‘unaccpetable behaviour’ criteria to those who wish to enter its borers, it must be fairly applied to the rich as well as poor, and the weak as well as powerful.’
The MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, Tulip Siddique, who is also a Muslim told The Debrief:
‘Donald Trump is not to be taken as a joke, he is no longer just a TV personality. His words are dangerous and they have consequences as he is standing for the most important job in the world. His words risk inflaming tensions between communities, it’s important that people understand that Trump’s message has not translated to obscene news broadcasts alone, but actual acts of violence, with real victims.’
She said she intends to confront Trump’s misogyny in today’s debate, with a specific reference to his exchange with fox News host Megyn Kelly who asked him to explain why he called some women “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals,” to which Trump replied, “What I say is what I say.”
Last year the billionaire property mogul also claimed that London had become ‘so radicalised’ that the capital’s police are ‘afraid for their own lives’, which prompted Boris Johnson to speak out against him.
Trump Isn’t Happy About The Debate
Trump has threatened to pull planned investment from his Scottish golf resorts – Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire and the Trump Turnberry resort in South Ayrshire – if he is banned from the UK. Sarah Malone, executive vice president of Trump International Golf links, Scotland, has said she can’t believe that ‘valuable parliamentary time’ is being ‘wasted debating a matter raised as part of the American Presidential election.’
Not Everyone Wants To Ban Him
While it goes without saying that many of Trump’s remarks are completely abhorrent he is perceived as a ‘straight talker’ in the US and continues to poll well. More than 40,000 people have signed a counter petition, which argues that it would be ‘totally illogical’ to ban Trump, which will also be debated by MPs. Many people feel that banning the Republican candidate will just give him even more publicity.
So, Should Trump Be Banned?
Prime Minister David Cameron and Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn don’t think so. David Cameron has said openly that Mr Trump’s comments are ‘divisive, stupid and wrong’ but rejected the calls for him to be barred from entering the country. Jeremy Corbyn agreed with the Prime Minister. He told the BBC that although Mr Trump’s views are, in his opinion, ‘weird and off the wall’, he would benefit from seeing first hand how Muslims are treated in this country.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show yesterday he said ‘I decided to invite Donald trump on his visit to Britain to come with me to my constituency becayse he has problems with Mexicans and he has problems with Muslims.’
‘As you know my wife is Mexican and my constituency is very, very multi-cultural so what I was going to do was go down to the mosque with him and let him talk to people there.’
He added: ‘I don’t think we should ban people from coming to Britain on that basis….Why can’t he go to Leicester, Birmingham and Newcastle and see that we have great diversity in our society.’
But, Could Trump Actually Be Banned?
The Home Secretary, Theresa May, can and does ban people from Britain under 'exclusion orders'. According to Home Office figures between 11 May 2010 and 31 December 2014, the Government has excluded 155 people from the United Kingdom, including 61 exclusions on National Security grounds. There were 41 exclusions made between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2014.
In the past people barred from the country have included the Koran-burning pastor from Floria Terry Jones and Safwat Hegazy, a controversial Egyptian preacher.
Any petition that gets more than 100,000 signatures is considered by Parliament’s Petitions Committee, which weighs up whether or not to send the petition for debate in Parliament. However, it’s very very unlikely that this debate will result in a ban being put in place, there will be no vote at the end of it.
According to the Home Office 'exclusion powers are very serious and the Government does not use them lightly.'
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.