This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Rejected petition Make the use of the term 'leader of the free world' unparliamentary language.
The epithet 'leader of the free world' is a ridiculous anachronism from the Cold War. When MPs refer to any President of the USA as such, they imply that the UK and its parliament are subservient to a foreign leader.
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It is astounding that certain MPs, who fought to 'regain our sovereignty from the EU', seem happy to defer to whoever the people of the USA elect to be their president.
During the debate about the Trump state visit, Sir Edward Leigh MP referred to Trump as the 'duly elected leader of the free world'. I don't remember being given a chance to vote in such an election, or is the UK not part of the 'free world'? How can we be ‘free’ if a leader can be imposed on us by another nation?
Members of Parliament should respect the UK's sovereignty and lead the way in consigning this silly American affectation to the dustbin of history. Any MP using the term should be admonished.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
In the UK Parliament, there isn't a specific list of terms that are "unparliamentary". Whether something said is a breach of order depends on the context.
You can find out more here:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/executive/conventions-and-courtesies-guidance.pdf
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.