Three cheers for John Bercow

[keving]

There is no doubt that it is within the remit of the Speaker of the House of Commons to decide which foreign dignitaries are invited to speak in the House.

It is not within the gift of the Prime Minister to invite foreign dignatories to address the House. It is within the gift of the Speaker.

All credit to Mr Bercow for not allowing Donald Trump to address the House.

[Cogs123]

I agree Kevin, though the Government were less than happy with his impromptu speech

[geoffreys]

Nice to have an impartial "speaker" in the House of Commons (not!)
His comments were a bit premature bearing in mind no formal invitation to Trump to visit the UK has yet been made.
Geoff.

[Jimgym]

A noble stand. However some may say incredibly hypocritical considering he welcomed the Emir of Kuwait, with his appalling record of human rights for women and gays. Oh and how about the President of China, no problem there then Mr. Bercow?

[geoffreys]

A noble stand. However some may say incredibly hypocritical considering he welcomed the Emir of Kuwait, with his appalling record of human rights for women and gays. Oh and how about the President of China, no problem there then Mr. Bercow?

ssssh! We don't mention those do we Mr Berkoh.
Geoff.

[Dominic]

I guess he would see it as the difference between giving encouragement to countries who are trying to improve their record as opposed to giving discouragement to countries taking backwards steps.

[geoffreys]

I guess he would see it as the difference between giving encouragement to countries who are trying to improve their record as opposed to giving discouragement to countries taking backwards steps.

Really?! I thought President Trump WAS trying to improve the USA's record quote "draining the swamp of Capital Hill" unquote.
I am not aware of him making any backward steps - all things that got him voted in.
Geoff.
(Moderate political commentator)

[Jimgym]

Agree too. He was so right to air his views.

He certainly aired his views regarding the Emir of Kuwait who addressed the House in 2012 : “Your Highness it is my privilege to welcome you here to our Parliament for this important stage of your state visit. Your presence here today is a welcome reminder of the many intimate ties that exist between our nations and our peoples” How does one spell hypocrite?

[geoffreys]

Agree too. He was so right to air his views.

He certainly aired his views regarding the Emir of Kuwait who addressed the House in 2012 : “Your Highness it is my privilege to welcome you here to our Parliament for this important stage of your state visit. Your presence here today is a welcome reminder of the many intimate ties that exist between our nations and our peoples” How does one spell hypocrite?

Your spelling is about right.
The good news is that his term of office as Speaker expires next year (2018).
Maybe the Kuwait regime will offer him a job as Speaker of their Parliament?

Geoff.

[keving]

I guess he would see it as the difference between giving encouragement to countries who are trying to improve their record as opposed to giving discouragement to countries taking backwards steps.

Absolutely right.

[Jimgym]

I guess he would see it as the difference between giving encouragement to countries who are trying to improve their record as opposed to giving discouragement to countries taking backwards steps.

Absolutely right.

Why is it "absolutely right" Has Mr. Bercow said as much? Or is it just a convenient way for those who dislike Trump to deflect accusations, rightly so in my opinion, of gross hypocrisy? China's human rights record was and is appalling, as is that of Kuwait. Yet a world leader who has been in office a month is suddenly far worse?

[outasite]

The Right Honourable MP Mr Bercow is just keeping the chattering "elite" - you know, the ones who say do as I say not as I do - happy as it is well noted by the same "elite" in the UK that the President of the USA is a right wing, racist, bigoted, anti gay war mongering anal retard. Just a matter of time before he nukes Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Islamic world, and will probably throw the Hindus out as well. So far better to not allow him to talk to Parliament - even there are MP's who might like to hear him - than let him loose.
After all, he is only talking sense. Sorry, nonsense, I mean nonsense. Of course I do.
And naturally, when the UK asks for his help with anything he will be in his rights to tell us to Go Forth and Multiply.

[keving]

The Right Honourable MP Mr Bercow is just keeping the chattering "elite" - you know, the ones who say do as I say not as I do - happy as it is well noted by the same "elite" in the UK that the President of the USA is a right wing, racist, bigoted, anti gay war mongering anal retard. Just a matter of time before he nukes Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Islamic world, and will probably throw the Hindus out as well. So far better to not allow him to talk to Parliament - even there are MP's who might like to hear him - than let him loose.
After all, he is only talking sense. Sorry, nonsense, I mean nonsense. Of course I do.
And naturally, when the UK asks for his help with anything he will be in his rights to tell us to Go Forth and Multiply.

Spot on outasite

[Devil]

Coming back down to earth, the real crux is that Theresa May extended, on behalf of the queen, an invitation to a State Visit before the ink was dry on his first executive order. This is totally unprecedented; it is normal to wait at least a year, often longer, before extending such an invitation. Theresa is, in no way, made from prime ministerial material. In six months, she has spinelessly shown both a lack of ability to make good decisions and, here, a divisive decision on an impulse. When she elected herself last year, I thought of a second coming of Maggie. How wrong I was!

[geoffreys]

Coming back down to earth, the real crux is that Theresa May extended, on behalf of the queen, an invitation to a State Visit before the ink was dry on his first executive order. This is totally unprecedented; it is normal to wait at least a year, often longer, before extending such an invitation. Theresa is, in no way, made from prime ministerial material. In six months, she has spinelessly shown both a lack of ability to make good decisions and, here, a divisive decision on an impulse. When she elected herself last year, I thought of a second coming of Maggie. How wrong I was!

Well let's get it right.
Mrs May did NOT invite him for a State Visit, just floated the idea of a VISIT, but no date or plans.
Geoff.

[cyprusgrump]

The Right Honourable MP Mr Bercow is just keeping the chattering "elite" - you know, the ones who say do as I say not as I do - happy as it is well noted by the same "elite" in the UK that the President of the USA is a right wing, racist, bigoted, anti gay war mongering anal retard. Just a matter of time before he nukes Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Islamic world, and will probably throw the Hindus out as well. So far better to not allow him to talk to Parliament - even there are MP's who might like to hear him - than let him loose.
After all, he is only talking sense. Sorry, nonsense, I mean nonsense. Of course I do.
And naturally, when the UK asks for his help with anything he will be in his rights to tell us to Go Forth and Multiply.

Spot on outasite

Is that the Predictable Response Klaxon I can hear...?

[keving]

Coming back down to earth, the real crux is that Theresa May extended, on behalf of the queen, an invitation to a State Visit before the ink was dry on his first executive order. This is totally unprecedented; it is normal to wait at least a year, often longer, before extending such an invitation. Theresa is, in no way, made from prime ministerial material. In six months, she has spinelessly shown both a lack of ability to make good decisions and, here, a divisive decision on an impulse. When she elected herself last year, I thought of a second coming of Maggie. How wrong I was!

Well let's get it right.
Mrs May did NOT invite him for a State Visit, just floated the idea of a VISIT, but no date or plans.
Geoff.

Geoff, where did you get the idea that May just "floated" the idea of a state visit? How did she do the floating?

Did she say "Donald, hypothetically speaking, if you were to receive an invitation of a state visit, how might you respond, hypothetically?"

May's own words, on record: “The United States is a close ally of the United Kingdom. We work together across many areas of mutual interest and we have that special relationship between us,” she said. “I have issued that invitation for a state visit for President Trump to the United Kingdom and that invitation stands.”

[keving]

And exactly why shouldn't Mrs May have offered the invite on behalf of the Monarch, who would have been consulted, and agreed beforehand?

The answer to your question is contained within Devil's post ...

"Theresa May extended, on behalf of the queen, an invitation to a State Visit before the ink was dry on his first executive order. This is totally unprecedented; it is normal to wait at least a year, often longer, before extending such an invitation"

[cyprusgrump]

Because it is unprecedented does that make it wrong? and yes of course it is to hopefully cement a trade deal with the US, something the UK will welcome and benefit from after Brexit, exactly why is that wrong? It seems to me to be a sensible thing to do. I am not a great Trump fan but the hysteria being whipped up in the UK seems to me to be both counter productive and misplaced, as much as it may stick in the craw of some we need the US, having a beneficial relationship with them will enable the UK to move on from Brexit, but then again those that would wish to see the country fail probably know that.

Precisely!

The word 'desperation' on behalf of the remainers and anti-Trumpers springs to mind...

[cyprusgrump]

Maybe we could name your breasts’ John Bercow’s creepy guide to picking up drunk girls

“DON’T move I have a vial of the AIDS virus” is just one of the jaw droppingly creepy ‘chat-up lines’ in an article penned by the Speaker of the Commons called 'John Bercow’s Guide to Understanding Women'.

The staggeringly crass piece, which also suggested telling a drunk girl “maybe we could go back to your place and name your breasts”, has resurfaced in the wake of Mr Bercow’s controversial call to axe a state visit by Donald Trump on the grounds of the US President’s perceived reputation for sexist and racist outbursts.

But it turns out Mr Bercow knows a thing or two about sexism and racism.

The Speaker, 54, had his name at the top of an article in radical Tory magazine Armageddon which told people how to pick up virgins and drunk girls.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hypocrite