Barak Obama might have stepped out of line once again. At the end of a three-day visit during which he celebrated the Queen’s 90th birthday with a lunch at Windsor Castle, the U.S. President warned the UK about leaving the European Union and told Britain’s voters that it could take up to a decade to strike a trade deal with the United States from outside the European Union.
Defending his right to express his opinion, Obama said it was wrong for Brexit campaigners to suggest it would be easy going for the U.S. to agree to a new trade relationship with Britain if it left the EU. “It could be five years from now, 10 years from now, before we’re actually able to get something done,” he told the BBC. He also said that Britain would have less influence globally if it left the EU.
Opponents of the President’s right to interfere in UK decision-making accused Obama after dismissing the arguments for leaving the EU of being more concerned about his own legacy than UK interests. One ex-cabinet minister said it would be the UK, not the U.S. that would be "left to pick up the pieces" for EU failures.
No Threats, Please!
UKIP leader Nigel Farage voiced the anger of many Vote Leave Brits and dismissed Mr. Obama's comments as "utter tosh." Farage told the BBC: "To hear an American president coming to London to threaten us, I don't think goes down very well." He pointed to other countries including Oman and Australia that have been able to negotiate trade deals with the US and accused the president of "parroting" Downing Street.
Meanwhile, Britain is still divided on an EU exit and analysts believe the populace is not sufficiently informed to understand the ramifications of such a major decision. Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England said in an interview with The Globe Monday that both sides in the Brexit debate owe it to their fellow Britons to stop exaggerating the benefits and risks of leaving or staying in the European Union.
King believes that people don’t want to be told what to do. Rather they want to understand both sides of the issue and make up their own minds regarding the June 23rd referendum. According to King, the government is sending voters direct affirmations instead of the important facts needed to make an educated choice and he recommends that both sides engage in direct debates about where the future of the U.K. lies.
Theresa May, British home secretary, seemed to be doing just that when she gave a speech Monday outlining “the rights and wrongs, the opportunities and risks” of EU membership. May told her listeners that she thought it was right for Britain to remain a European Union member precisely because of Britain’s “strength and economic, diplomatic and military clout.” May argued that there are both positives and negatives to Britain’s membership of the EU, but that she believed it is clearly in the national interest to remain a member.
The Home Secretary also admitted to BBC's Andrew Marr that despite the controversy over Obama’s ‘recommendation’ it was "perfectly reasonable" for the U.S. president to give his views on trade relations between his country, the UK and the EU. Not everyone agrees, of course.