Harriet Harman wants female MP’s to ’empty chair’ Donald Trump in mass no show, if President Trump is invited to Parliament.
The former deputy leader for Labour has pledged to stage a mass no show at Westminster if Donald Trump is invited to address the Houses of Parliament during his UK state visit.
Saying that Trump’s views on women were ‘appalling’, Harman is leading a call to female MP’s to boycott his speech.
She told the Observer:
“I could not be there clapping a man who is a self-confessed groper. His views on many issues are unacceptable. And on foreign policy he seems to think he can just bully other countries and get his way. That we should sit there smiling and clapping is… well for me it is out of the question.”
Another former cabinet minister, Yvette Cooper, said it was a “joke” to think they would sit and listen to “a man who is turning the clock back on democracy, pushing misogyny and hatred of Muslims.”
She said: “We’ve fought for equality for decades and we certainly shouldn’t be honouring someone at the heart of British democracy who wants to rip those democratic values up.”
The President may not be allowed to deliver a speech in the famous hall, but instead be invited to speak at the Royal Gallery in the House of Lords. So far, 165 MPs from Labour, the SNP, the SDLP and the Greens have signed a statement calling for Mr Trump to be denied a parliamentary address.
Harman’s campaign may drum up further support after it was revealed that Trump said he wants his female staff to “dress like women”.
The news website Axios was told by a source that women working for his campaign felt pressured to wear dresses to impress the President. The claim has sparked a backlash on Twitter, with many women posting pictures in their work uniforms.
