that there are some times in life where
you see a headline and you think,
"What?"
And that happened about an hour and a
half ago when Sir Ed Davyy for it is he
announced that he was boycotting the
state dinner for Donald Trump because of
Donald Trump's views on Gaza.
I thought, "No, that can't be true. No,
no serious politician would do that."
But it is true. That's exactly what he's
announced. And I'm thinking to myself,
well, surely why would you pass up the
opportunity to actually have a word in
Donald Trump's ear at the state dinner
because there's usually sort of drinky
poos beforehand. So, um, as a party
leader, I'm sure he could have wormed
his way into the circle of Donald Trump
and had a little go at him. But no, he's
he's going to virtue signal because
that's all that this is. And that is not
the sign of a serious party or a serious
party leader. Um the Lib Dems are not a
protest party. They have 72 MPs. They
have aspirations to have even more. And
I think just at the point where you
think, well, actually, you know, they
they have got a lot of good MPs and and
I've been taking them far more seriously
than I have done for the last 10 years.
And and then he goes and does this. And
I think it's made him look a complete
and utter plonker.
But you may think, well, no, good on him
for standing up for his principles. Um,
and I suspect if if you suffer from
Trump derangement syndrome like so many
people do, I mean, I've even been
accused of that myself in the past, and
I'm no fan of Donald Trump, but he is
the president of the United States, and
if he's on a state visit, I think it is
incumbent for all political party
leaders to actually respect that. You
don't have to respect the man, but he's
coming here as president of the United
States, and you have to respect the
office. So I want to know your views on
this. Whether you think that Ed Davyy is
doing the right thing or do you think
like me that it's a bit bit of a
ridiculous thing to do? Agie Shambre
joins me LBC's political correspondent
who will remain studiously impartial at
all times. Obviously um what's driving
this Aggie?
>> I think what driving this is Ed Davyy
wants to pull every lever he feels that
he can. This is the first state visit
that he's turned down since he became
Liberal Democrat leader. He went to a
Qatari state visit, French, Japan,
Japanese, South Korean, South African
too, in the last 5 years, but this one
he has said he just cannot do. It's a
protest against Donald Trump's position
on Gaza. And as you say, he announced in
the last couple of hours that he and his
wife Emily had spent all summer thinking
about this. They had prayed about it.
Um, but this they felt was the only way,
the one way to send a message to both
Donald Trump and Sakir Dharma. So, he
posted this video on X.
>> It's an enormous honor to be invited by
the king, who I have huge respect for.
It's only by not attending that I get
the opportunity to make this case. The
people of Gaza are starving. Boycotting
the banquet is the one way I can send a
message to Donald Trump and Karma, too,
because they can't close their eyes and
just wish this away.
We had to speak up. they have to act.
>> That was Ed Davyy there in a video on X.
>> I mean, how how sick making, frankly,
with that music in the background.
>> That is the video that he posted on X.
But but as you were saying, there is an
argument, of course, that if you don't
attend, you're not there to make an
argument. And indeed, I've been speaking
to Labour sources who say lib dems do
protest politics. And if you're
governing, you actually have to have
difficult conversations. You have to
make difficult decisions. There are of
course people in Sakir Stalmer's party
among his own Labour MPs that feel he's
actually not having those difficult
conversations with Donald Trump and
would prefer that he would do more. And
I think Ed Davyy will be hoping that
this might put a little bit of pressure
on Karma, perhaps encourage him to have
those difficult conversations. But
speaking to Labour MPs, I don't think
they feel this is that problematic for
them. the fact that Ed Davyy won't be
going to this. It's interesting because
this of course is the second state visit
uh for Donald Trump uh since he became
uh leader for a second time. And the
first time in 2019, the then Liberal
Democrat leader, Sir Vince Cable, also
declined a visit to go to Trump's state
banquet. So then did uh John Burka, who
is the leader of the House of the Common
Speaker at the time, and then Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn, too. So there is
precedent in that sense. But Ed Davyy,
as I say, he has been to every uh state
visit apart from this since he became a
liberal democrat leader five years ago.
>> And I mean the Qataris have a bit of a
checkered record on quite a few issues.
He he went to that one. The South
African government is accused of all
sorts of uh things. He went to that one
and and I wonder whether I President
Shiaescu from Romania famously came on a
state visit where he and his wife Nick
from Buckingham Palace. There was a
state dinner for that. Now, Ed Davyy was
probably a child at the time, so I can't
hang that one on him. But I I mean,
there are all sorts of people that you
have to deal with when you're in
politics, whether you approve of them or
not. I I'm not sure this is going to be
the vote winner that he thinks it might
be.
>> I'm on the opposite side of the
political divide to you, but I do quite
often um agree with you. Um I think
you're a good man. Um and but something
you said earlier
um about Ed Davyy, I think both can be
true. He he may be doing it as virtue
signaling. Um but at the same time it
sounds like it's a kind of personal
decision.
And
>> well you're you're right in that the
first the first paragraph of his
statement or on that video he said Emily
that's his wife Emily and I have spent
all summer thinking about this and have
prayed about it. There is no honor like
an invitation from the king and not to
accept his invitation goes against all
of our instincts. So look, I I I
completely accept that from what he from
the words that he's used and what he
says, it it's something that he has
thought about quite deeply. I just think
he's come to the wrong conclusion,
that's all.
>> Yeah. Well, partially. I know what you
mean being a party leader, but then um
we do have to have morals. And to go
back earlier, you said about other
people that have um had visits and he's
gone. The one thing they haven't done
that Trump has done is like releasing
that video of Trump Towers in Gaza where
people are being murdered.
>> Well, that to be fair to Donald Trump
and we have to be that was not his
video. He did retweet it, but it it was
somebody else that made it
>> because he seemed to think it was funny.
>> I mean,
look, it depends on it depends on your
sense of humor. Things that I find
funny, other people don't and vice
versa. So,
>> Oh, yeah. I did kind of find it funny,
but I find Oh, that Nigel Farage rap
video yesterday was hilarious. So, I
said I said so. But oh my god, the roth
of Hades descend. You You're such a
Ferraris supporter. No, I just thought
it was a funny and good video. That's
all. It wasn't even his.
>> It was hilariously bad. Yeah. So, they
both done the same thing there. But then
that is Faran Trump.
>> Um but yeah, but Trump has said about
we'll resettle all these people and it's
a wonderful piece of real estate. That
was his words. You don't say that about
um
>> well maybe somewhere where people are
being killed and I would have the same
problem as a baby
>> to be honest.
>> What do you mean?
>> Well, but as much as I thought I should
go, I would I just uh I don't know if I
could.
Well, I think it's a slippery slope here
because um if if we give a state visit
to somebody who clearly has a lot of uh
questions to ask about some of their
politics like I mean I you will I'll use
the example of um President Xi of China.
>> Yes.
>> Where I think there are there there's
far more justification for boycotting a
state visit by him than there is with
Donald Trump. Um were were we to uh give
a state visit to the king of Saudi
Arabia which is not beyond the realms of
possibility again you could say well
that's outrageous with all the human
rights abuses in Saudi Arabia you could
find excuses for a lot of countries and
not just dictatorships uh a lot of
democratic leaders you I mean for
example McGarby was given a state visit
I mean would Ed Davey have gone to that
I it's obviously before his time uh G
says it's all very for us to criticize
Ed Davy's frankly quite imaginative
attempt to significantly attach the Gaza
issue to Trump's state visit before
going back to our comfortable hot and
cold running lives. But trying to
persuade Trump into a position on Gaza
that doesn't align with his is
ultimately pointless. But negative
publicity will always get Trump's
attention. But that's the that's the
thing. Donald Trump isn't going to know
that Ed Davyy is boycotting the state
dinner. He will probably have never
heard of Ed Davyy. I don't think
boycotting it will will change that
situation. So you think, well, what's
the point? Because had he attended,
there's a possibility that he could have
cidled up to Donald Trump and had a
conversation with him and put his point
of view over Gaza to him. Well, he's
basically said, "No, no, I don't want to
do that. Much better just not go." Well,
I would respectfully disagree with him
on that.
Actually, can I say respectfully because
I did call him a dork earlier. That
rather rather goes against that, doesn't
it? Oh well.
>> I just think that somebody who's trying
to become our prime minister at the next
general election can boycott uh wanting
to meet with the leader of the western
world in many ways uh over politics. I
think we've got to take this sort of
polarization out of politics and learn
how to how to work with democratically
elected officials.
>> Well, obviously I rather agree with you.
I I I
I just think any leading pol and he's
not just an ordinary MP. He is leader of
the Liberal Democrats, the third party
in British politics by number of seats.
Um they've got 72 seats. I would have
thought that a lot of their MPs would
quite like him to represent their views
to the president of the United States at
this dinner. Now, I've never been to a
state dinner, but I have been to a
reception at Buckingham Palace once
where there were 800 people, and I was
determined I was going to speak to the
or rather my partner was determined that
we were going to speak to the queen.
>> And um this was 20 years ago now. And we
we we knew how to do that. We we
thought, well, if we stand here, she's
got to walk by us at some point. And she
did. And we had a nice five-minute
conversation with her. Um and and he
could have done the same thing with
Donald Trump. And
>> I I completely agree and and I must
admit I'm not a Labour voter, but I do
applaud Karma for for working with the
president attempting to become as close
as possible because it's only then if
you have disagreement that you're
actually going to be able to influence
their politics and and what Trump is
trying to do. And I think S has been
successful in that. When you look at
what he's done with the trade tariffs
with the UK compared to the EU,