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London (CNN)Does the British parliamentary debate that took place tonight have a real chance of blocking Donald Trump’s proposed state visit to the United Kingdom?
To find a good answer, look back three years ago to an introspective interview Conservative MP Rory Stewart gave to The Guardian newspaper. It remains one of the most perceptive articulations of power in modern Britain. “In our situation we’re all powerless,” he said. “The secret of modern Britain is there is no power anywhere. … The politicians think journalists have power. The journalists know they don’t have any. Then they think the bankers have power. The bankers know they don’t have any. None of them have any power.”
Indeed, nothing exemplifies the power vacuum at the heart of the British political system like the disagreement over which body is actually responsible for issuing state invitations. The Queen, as head of state, plays host, but in line with the democratically necessary convention that leaves executive decisions in the hands of the Prime Minister, she’s hardly been the personal impetus behind state visits by previous controversial figures.
Most political insiders — including Blunt, in his speech tonight — agree that Prime Minister May offered to announce a state visit in order to secure the first invitation to Trump’s White House. So perhaps power in Britain still really lies with the President of the United States.
The ritual Trump denunciations — and endorsements — uttered by MPs tonight mask another problem of power in Britain. Conservative MPs, in particular, seem more scared of their voters than usual. They’ve seen anti-establishment movements sweep the United States, France and southern Europe. Many who privately regret the invitation extended to Trump speak of wanting to distance themselves from “London elites” and liberals leading the charge against him.
Yet voters consistently poll as feeling less powerful, less heard in Westminster than ever. For now, their anger is still defused between a populist left — who led protests against the Trump visit outside Westminster Hall this evening — and a reactionary right. But fear of their reaction at the polls drove posturing speeches from both Labour and Conservatives this evening.
A formal debate which has no legal consequences may look like a joke. But it’s a metaphor for the increasing irrelevance of Britain’s political power-brokers. It is not Donald Trump, but Hillary Clinton, who looms large as a warning about where that leads.
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