The people of the UK have spoken. A new petition launched by angry Britons has demanded that President Obama not be allowed to speak in Parliament regarding a referendum on European Union (EU) membership.
So far, the petition has received over 4,000 signatures from people calling upon British officials to prevent Obama from influencing Britain to stay in the European Union. The petition needs to hit 10,000 signatures in order to get a response from the government, and 100,000 signatures to have the issue debated in parliament.
This petition comes on the heels of a report from The Guardian that stated Obama is planning to persuade Britain to stay in the European Union. Secretary of State John Kerry also noted that the U.S. has a “profound interest” in a “strong UK staying inside a strong European Union.”
Despite the U.S. interest in keeping Britain in the EU, there is plenty of opposition including a group known as Leave.EU. This group released a statement saying, “It might be convenient for John Kerry, who has repeatedly declined to support the UK in the Falklands, for us to be in the EU, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for us.”
The statement continued, “Imagine if Kerry proposed a pan-American union in which an unelected commission would control United States immigration policy, trade policy and regulations, among a host of other important matters. He would be run out of Washington DC on a rail.”
Another British conservative, John Redwood, agrees, adding “Most British people will feel this is a debate for us and it’s unusual for a foreign country to wish to intervene… I don’t know what he means by it. I don’t suppose he’s thought it through at all.”
Obama has so far yet to comment on the petition.