Obama’s Trade Threat “back of the queue” remark is deeply insulting to Britain
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have both quite wrongly intervened in our EU referendum debate.
The American Democrat clan seem to have this habit of intervening in our affairs – thinking they know best – when in fact, this is a British matter for ordinary British people to decide.
This intervention comes as no surprise to me and most of Vote Leave, as we knew that the Prime Minister and Government machinery would throw everything they had behind the Remain campaign.
The Establishment are panicking, and that’s why foreign leaders are desperately being drafted in with red carpet treatment to fight what is fast becoming a losing battle.
President Obama’s “back of the queue” remark is deeply insulting to our great country.
May I remind him that Britain is the most culturally powerful country in the world, with the fifth largest economy and fourth largest military power in the world.
Also, in case anyone has forgotten, we are America’s closest international ally. As Republican Presidential Candidate, Senator Ted Cruz pointed out:
“Rather than scolding our closest allies for even considering exercising their rights as a sovereign nation, the President of the United States should look for ways to make Brexit, if it happens, an opportunity to enhance and strengthen the special relationship between our two countries.”
If we vote to remain a member of the EU on the 23rd June, then the unelected bureaucrats will get many of their unseen plans out of the drawer and carry on with the business of building a federal superstate.
Despite what the Remain side claim, reforming this complex political structure is impossible.
We have been attempting to reform it for years and the answer is always the same: more Europe and less national sovereignty.
Let’s not forget that this supposed promoter of democracy has removed a democratically elected government twice in the last five years in Italy and Greece, and installed unelected Brussels-approved technocrats.
European Parliamentary election turnouts are so low because people feel extremely dissatisfied with this out-of-date, unprogressive political union.
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The result we are now seeing is the rise of extremist groups and far-left and far-right political parties across the continent. And yet the EU is meant to bring about peace and harmony?
I also worry that if we vote to remain, the deal the PM has struck could easily be ripped up and thrown in the bin.
There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop this from happening because it is not legally-binding. The deal is not worth the paper it’s written on. Further, it doesn’t include an attempt to control mass uncontrolled immigration, and does not restore true sovereignty to our elected national parliament.
Therefore, we shouldn’t take advice from a lame duck president doing an old friend a favour for purely political reasons.
Barack Obama will not be President when post-referendum negotiations begin, so we should take his comments with a large pinch of salt.
I have seen one quote that sums this up perfectly:
“What is good for US politicians is not necessarily good for the British people. The US would not dream of opening its border with Mexico, so it is hypocritical for President Obama to insist that we do the same with Europe.”
The European Union is the only declining trade bloc in the world.
Our EU membership constrains us by not allowing us to form our own free trade deals with emerging economies that would massively benefit British businesses.
Britain’s unemployment rate is 5.1 per cent, the EU’s average is 8.9 per cent, and the eurozone is 10.3 per cent: this is evidence of a failing European economy.
The 23rd June will be the last chance in our lifetime to take back control of our democracy and own affairs – and most importantly of £350m a week. As Boris Johnson rightly says:
“We can be stronger, richer, more influential if we vote leave.”
Joe Porter is a Parish Councillor in Staffordshire Moorlands, Chairman of Staffordshire Moorlands Conservative Future, President of Keele Students for Britain and the Vote Leave Constituency Campaign Coordinator for Staffordshire Moorlands & Newcastle-Under-Lyme. He studies Marketing and Politics at Keele University, where he is completing a module on ‘The Politics of the European Union’, and is a Trustee of Keele Student Union.
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Related:
LONDON (AP) — Lending political backup to a struggling friend, President Barack Obama made a forceful plea Friday for Britons to heed Prime Minister David Cameron‘s call to stay in the European Union and dismissed critics who accused the U.S. president of meddling in British affairs.
Standing aside Cameron at a news conference at 10 Downing Street, Obama said Britain’s power is amplified by its membership in the 28-nation union, not diminished.
He delivered an almost sentimental appeal to the “special relationship” between the two countries and cast a grim picture of the economic stakes_saying flatly the U.S. would not rush to write a free trade deal with Great Britain if it voted to exit.
“Let me be clear, ultimately, this is something the British voters have to decide for themselves. But as part of our special relationship, part of being friends, is to be honest and to let you know what I think,” Obama said.
“And speaking honestly, the outcome of that decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States, because it affects our prospects as well. The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner, and the United Kingdom is at its best when it’s helping to lead a strong Europe.”
Obama spoke on the first full day of a three-day visit to London, likely the last of this presidency. Coming two months before a June referendum on leaving the union, Obama plunged himself into heated debate about Britain’s national identity, immigration policy, economic fairness and the trust in institutions.
Polls suggest it will be a close vote, with most phone polls indicating a lead to remain in the union while some online polls put the other side ahead.
Justice Minister Dominic Raab, a leader of the Leave campaign, said Britons shouldn’t put stock in Obama’s view.
“He argued that he thinks it is in America’s interests for the U.K. to stay in the E.U. but what is good for U.S. politicians is not necessarily good for the British people,” Raab said in a statement.
Obama had been expected to tread carefully on the issue, mindful that intervention in a domestic matter could turn some voters off.
But the president did not appear to be holding back. Although he couched his views as “my opinion,” he also accused his critics of being “afraid to hear an argument being made.”
The president hasn’t always had such an open view of allies dipping into each other’s domestic debates. Last year, he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for coming to the U.S. to deliver a speech urging Congress to reject Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.
The president called the speech a “distraction” and said that because it came close to an Israeli election, it “makes it look like we are taking sides.”
In 2014, Obama was far more restrained during the U.K. referendum on Scottish independence. He delicately expressed his view in favor of unity months before the vote. And when the race tightened he weighed in from afar — with a tweet.
On Friday, Obama echoed several of the arguments Cameron and other Remain advocates have been making for weeks — with an added punch only Obama could deliver.
He noted some have suggested that if Britain exited the European Union, the U.S. and United Kingdom would quickly arrange a bilateral free trade deal to soften the blow to British businesses. Obama said the U.S. is focused on negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the E.U.
A U.S.-U.K. trade deal might happen someday, but “it’s not going to happen anytime soon,” he said, adding the U.K. would have to get “in the back of the queue.”
“Right now, I’ve got access to a massive market, where I sell 44 percent of my exports,” Obama said.
“And now, I’m thinking about leaving the organization that gives me access to that market, and that is responsible for millions of jobs in my country and responsible for an enormous amount of commerce and upon which a lot of businesses depend, that is not something I would probably do.”
Since Obama has just eight months left in office, the future of any of his trade deals is uncertain.
Still, Obama’s remark stood out as harsh in a news conference filled with discussion of the cozy partnerships and “special relationship” forged in the wartime bond of President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. “I love Winston Churchill,” Obama said. “I love the guy.”
Obama’s trip had a dual purpose.
Along with backing up Cameron, Obama paid his respects — and one last social call as president — to Queen Elizabeth II on her 90th birthday.
Still, his arrival was widely viewed as a political favor for an ally who could use the help.
Obama has remained a broadly popular figure in Britain, although reliable surveys are scarce.
In June 2015, three-quarters of Britons told pollsters they had confidence in his judgment on world affairs, according to a Pew Research survey.
That goodwill hasn’t kept Britons in breaking from the U.S. at key moments, most notably as Obama leaned on Cameron to join in threatened airstrikes in Syria.
The House of Commons rejected the notion.
But both Cameron and Obama sought to dismiss any talk of division. Both spent time discussing their personal ties and friendship.
“I’ve always found Barack someone who gives sage advice,” Cameron said.
Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Darlene Superville contributed to this report
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