Ed Davey has announced that he will boycott the State Banquet to be held during Donald Trump’s State Visit because of Trump’s complicity in the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. He explains why in this video:
He said:
Emily and I have spent all summer thinking about this and have prayed about it. There is no honour like an invitation from the King, and not to accept his invitation goes against all of our instincts.
But I fear we could have a situation where Donald Trump comes to our country, is honoured with a lavish dinner at one of our finest palaces, yet no one reminds him that he has the power to stop the horrifying starvation and death in Gaza and get the hostages released.
If Donald Trump tells Benjamin Netanyahu to stop this, it ends tomorrow. If Donald Trump uses his influence over Qatar and other Gulf states that Hamas relies on, all the hostages could come home tomorrow.
Boycotting the banquet is the one way I can send a message to Donald Trump and Keir Starmer that they can’t close their eyes and wish this away. We have to speak up, they have to act. Donald Trump has to end this humanitarian crisis.
This has been reported in the Guardian
Davey, who is invited to the dinner for Trump’s state visit to the UK, said to turn down an invitation from the king went against all his instincts and that it was a deeply serious move to refuse to attend.
But he said he feared unless he took a stand over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the lack of pressure on Israel from the US government, no one would raise the issue during the president’s visit in late September.
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18 Comments
I admire Ed’s very personal decision and if this is what he feels is the right thing to do, after praying about it, who am I to judge.
WELL SAID. THANK YOU ED.
Great and I hope this message goes viral. There will be adverse criticism of course, but it reminds us all of the international community’s lack of action in the Middle East in recent years and especially since Netanyahu came to power. Even Jo Biden did not do the right thing, in spite of what he said; Trump’s attitude of supporting only Israel is the worst of all of this. I am also reminded of Vince Cable’s comment about not attending a similar event for the King of Saudi Arabia. There is a vital difference between engaging with people in order to improve things and welcoming them to a ‘celebratory’ dinner.
Well done
Well done
Excellent decision
Congratulations to Ed! I saw Calum Miller and the discussion on Newsnight, and Ed’s stance is that of a statesman. Knee-jerk detractors of his decision like Priti Patel have lost the plot, and it will rebound against them. More soft Tory votes coming our way, as well as many from other sections of the electorate!
Does anyone here actually think that supporting Netanyahu is the worst thing Trump has done since his re-election? Does anyone here think that Ed Davey would be right to participate in a dog-and-pony show for a far-right Putin-loving US politician who wasn’t supporting Netanyahu?
From a utilitarian perspective, the foreign aid cuts have killed more kids than the whole Gaza war (let alone just the subset of it that should be blamed on the US and not Israel) and will probably continue to do so. From a rule-of-law perspective, it isn’t even in the top 10 most illegal things he has done. And from a virtue ethics perspective it isn’t a case of Trump demonstrating his malignant cruelty or chronic dishonesty – it is him taking the side he always said he was going to take.
And from a pro-British perspective, the Israel-Palestine conflict is a sideshow. Trump is trying to destroy the system of rules-based freeish trade the UK relies on, sell our allies out to Vlad the Gasman, and interfere in our domestic politics to promote far-right candidates.
To paraphrase a famous Palestinian-born Israeli preacher, making the Israel-Palestine conflict central to the case against Trump is straining out gnats while swallowing camels.
Just a bit of feedback.
I’ve just been on a zoom call chat I do for some local elderly people who are not at all political.
they had picked this up on the news and were very pleased to hear it.
My affection for monarchy (and therefore state visits) is similar to my love for first past the post! However we still have to fight elections under first past the post. As a republican I recognise my minority status within the Liberal Democrats but it always gave me a reply to the candidate application question about disagreeing with party policy! However that does not stop me applauding those who support the UK Head of State tradition getting a very important message out about the recipient of the state visit and his vicious policies. Well done Ed for the clarity with which he articulated the political instincts of the party he leads.
I cheered when I heard this.
Excellent decision: principled, timely, encouraging and being talked about widely. Well done Ed!
I’m with Geoff Reid on his views on monarchy (constitutional or otherwise).
Appointing anybody to a job just because their Mum or Dad had done it and just died is clearly irrational, though pragmatically I’m thankful the Duke of York was not the eldest Royal sibling. Talking about heredity, I notice that bounder, Farage N., has made a promotional you tube video with a rather louche looking Duke of Marlborough…… says it all.
In short, I’m not a peasant, I’m a citizen.
A principled stand that sends a strong message on Gaza. Thank you Ed Davey.
Absolutely the right thing for Ed to have made a stand on this; thank you!
We’ll never know, however I’d like to think that the King respects Ed’s decision.
My hope is that Starmer has the balls to put Trump in his place; I’m probably not going to be holding my breath though.
“Does anyone here actually think that supporting Netanyahu is the worst thing Trump has done since his re-election?”
Sure do. In much the same way that the Holocaust was worse than the Blitz.
“Making the Israel-Palestine conflict central to the case against Trump is straining out gnats while swallowing camels.”
As Ed Davey essentially argued, the right way to oppose things like aid cuts and tariffs is to engage in robust political debate. The right way to oppose genocide is to refuse to break bread with its apologists.
In early 1984 Prince Charles came to Richmond’s council chamber to hear about Liberal policies. As chair of General Purposes, I was responsible for Environmental issues. I was excited about one of the royalty with such a deep understanding of the issues. Today the climate crisis is misunderstood by Trump so in Ed’s brave absence I hope Charles can explain to Donald how wrong he is with his Drill Baby Drill beliefs and anti-alternative energy generation.
Responding to Clare Cage: I think the King will understand Ed’s stance very well. Am I not right in remembering that as Prince of Wales he himself boycotted a state banquet for the Chinese President?
And remember also Queen Elizabeth’s charmingly understated reference to “Mr Trump and his helicopter” when walking among the trees in the Buckingham Palace gardens with Sir David Attenborough?
Completely agree – we need to stand up to Trump not appease his every move.