The Queen should not have to face the embarrassment of hosting ‘racist’ US President Donald Trump on a state visit, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said today.
Sir Vince questioned why highly controversial international figures are given the honour of royal ‘panoply’ during official trips to the UK.
The attack on the US President was the latest at the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth. Deputy leader Jo Swinson condemned Mr Trump as a bully yesterday and activists have also attacked him.
The blast came as Lib Dem members in Bournemouth have spent their conference telling themselves they are right to oppose quitting the EU.
Ex leader Tim Farron used his main conference speech to sneer at Brexit Britain as a ‘meaner’ place.
Despite changing leader to Sir Vince the party still faces political obscurity as a new poll shows fewer than one in four people will even consider backing the party.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable (pictured yesterday at the Lib Dem conference) said The Queen should not have to face the embarrassment of hosting ‘racist’ US President Donald Trump on a state visit
Mr Trump (pictured at Andrews Air Force Base last week) is ‘racist, misogynist, indulging the most appalling prejudices’, Sir Vince claimed today
Sir Vince told BBC Breakfast: ‘I honestly don’t know why the Government, past governments, embarrass the Queen, embarrass the country, by inviting people here for these ceremonial events, which are completely inappropriate.
‘And, I think, what will happen if Trump comes, there will be a major expression of public disquiet that we are honouring somebody who is … racist, misogynist, indulging the most appalling prejudices.’
Sir Vince said Prime Minister Theresa May was regretting her hasty invite to Mr Trump to make a state visit to Britain.
The Queen (pictured in Scotland earlier this month) should not have to face the embarrassment of hosting ‘racist’ US President Donald Trump on a state visit, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said
‘I think we need to make a distinction between engaging in business-like negotiations with other countries, and, obviously, the United States is the major power in the world, and a key part of Nato, we need to have proper discussions with them, and with him.
‘But, there is a difference between that and honouring somebody with a state visit involving the Queen, all the panoply of a state visit. It’s completely inappropriate.
‘I think, frankly, the Prime Minister is embarrassed about having made this offer, probably now finds it rather difficult to retract it.’
In his main conference speech, Mr Farron claimed the Lib Dems will be proven right about Brexit in the same way Charles Kennedy was vindicated over Iraq.
He told activists: ‘Of course there is one promise that Brexit will fulfil. It will reduce immigration, without changing a single law.
‘Because if you turn Britain into a poorer, meaner, insular place, no one in their right mind will choose to come here.
‘So the Tories are breaking Britain to repel the immigrants. And they do it with Labour’s shameful connivance. What a disgrace!’
A grim faced Tim Farron (pictured during his conference speech today) returned to Liberal Democrat conference to sneer at the Brexit vote making Britain making a ‘poor, meaner, insular place’
The ex Liberal Democrat leader (pictured during his speech today) admitted Brexit would mean lower immigration to Britain in his first conference speech since failing at the general election
The ex leader was applauded by party members including deputy leader Jo Swinson (second left) after his speech
Mr Farron added: ‘Leadership requires courage…not cowardice.
‘We stand between two parties led by cowards. ‘We stand between two parties leading Britain to disaster.’
Mr Farron launched a direct attack on the Tories for clinging to power without principles.
The ex-leader endured a gruelling campaign dogged by questions about his religious faith and views on gay sex.
He said: ‘Policies are mere details, why would you bother with those? ‘Theresa May, is still in number 10 because the Tories think that however dreadful she is, everyone else is worse.
‘And you can see their point. You see, once upon a time, Michel Barnier would have croissants and coffee for breakfast, now he has David Davis. Every flipping day.
‘Its embarrassing because my kids future depends on this circus, in which our representatives are the clowns and the rest of Europe is the audience, not sure whether to laugh at us, shout at us, or increasingly to just to walk away and spend their time on something less boring.’
Vince Cable (pictured addressing activists at the Linb Dem conference in Bournmouth yesterday) faced his dream of becoming the new Prime Minister evaporating at the conference seaside today
A new poll by YouGov for The Times (pictured) suggested fewer than one in four voters would even consider voting Liberal Democrat – while more than a third will never vote for them
The ex leader claimed he had saved his party during his two year spell as leader and thanked activists for dusting themselves off after the 2015 disaster.
He said: ‘The day I took over as leader, one journalist predicted confidently that ‘the party that began with Gladstone will now end with Farron’.
‘I saw those assumptions that we were dead and buried and I resolved that we were going to survive, grow and win again.
‘The Liberal movement of Gladstone, Lloyd George, Shirley Williams, Jo Grimond and Charles Kennedy – the movement I joined as a 16-year-old, was not going to die on my watch.’
New party leader Sir Vince today faced his dream of becoming the new Prime Minister evaporating at the conference seaside today as a poll suggested fewer than one in four voters would even consider voting Liberal Democrat.
Sir Vince has used his first conference as leader to insist the succession of political shocks proves he could still be the next Prime Minister.
But as he gave a new round of media interviews in Bournemouth today, a new survey by YouGov revealed the Lib Dems have the firm support of just 4 per cent of voters.
Only 19 per cent of others say they would even think about backing the party – while more than a third say they could never vote for the liberals.
The Liberal Democrats saw their vote share slip back at the snap election in June despite a major push for a revival off the back of discontented Remain voters.
The party went from eight seats to 12 – but lost several of its heartlands, including the hard one seat of Richmond Park.
Sir Vince insisted today he was not deterred.
He told BBC breakfast: ‘I think there is an appetite in the country for moderate, common sense, middle-of-the-road politics, and that’s the kind of thing the Liberal Democrats represent.’
The Liberal Democrat conference today is set to hear from Tim Farron (pictured in the main conference hall yesterday) in his first speech since quitting as leader in the aftermath of the election
Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown appeared on the conference fringes today (pictured) to discuss the future of the party
Sir Vince has been greeted by pro-EU supporters at his party conference in Bournemouth this week (pictured yesterday at a rally outside the venue)
He added: ‘I think the public will warm to us.
‘We could break through – we’ve seen this in other western democracies.
‘If the Conservative party continue to disintegrate with this infighting that we’re seeing at the moment over Europe, and if the Labour party’s civil war reignites, all kind of changes are possible.
‘I’m there, we’re there as a party to take up the reins for the millions and millions of people in this country who want competent, middle-of-the-road, sensible government.’
In a separate interview on the Today programme, Sir Vince defended the decision to enter coalition in 2010 even thought it almost destroyed his party.
He said: ‘What the DUP are doing is clever in a short term, tactical way but it is not giving any stability to the country.
‘What the coalition did in a national economic emergency was provide five years of national stability.
‘It was bad politics for us and we took major punishment as a result of it.
‘But the coalition was far more satisfactory than the mess we have got at the moment.’
Lib Dem activists in Bournemouth (who have a choice if new merchandise at this year’s event) have spent their conference telling themselves they are right to oppose quitting the EU
Ex leader Tim Farron adorns left over election fundraising mugs for sale to activists in Bournemouth this week
Grim faced Tim Farron admits Brexit WILL reduce immigration but claims delivering the decision of the people will leave Britain a ‘meaner’ place
Mr Farron (pictured during his speech today) led the Liberal Democrats to even fewer votes in June than they achieved in 2015 after campaigning to against the historic referendum result
A grim faced Tim Farron returned to Liberal Democrat conference to sneer at the Brexit vote making Britain making a ‘poor, meaner, insular place’.
The ex Liberal Democrat leader admitted Brexit would mean lower immigration to Britain in his first conference speech since failing at the general election.
He accused Boris Johnson of the ‘treacherous act’ of lying to Britain to secure referendum victory and insisted it was not ‘too late’ to deft the vote.
Mr Farron led the Liberal Democrats to even fewer votes in June than they achieved in 2015 after campaigning to against the historic referendum result.
In his main conference speech, Mr Farron claimed the Lib Dems will be proven right about Brexit in the same way Charles Kennedy was vindicated over Iraq.
He told activists: Of course there is one promise that Brexit will fulfil. It will reduce immigration, without changing a single law.
‘Because if you turn Britain into a poorer, meaner, insular place, no one in their right mind will choose to come here.
‘So the Tories are breaking Britain to repel the immigrants. And they do it with Labours shameful connivance. What a disgrace!’