Liberal Democrat Ed Davey has launched a shameful plot to drag the King into politics

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is attempting to drag the King into politics by demanding he cancel a planned visit to the US. Lib Dems enjoyed a boost to their popularity when they opposed the invasion of Iraq in 2003. At the time, both Labour and the Conservatives were arguing that the UK was right to take part in the US-led war. With hindsight, many people would say they agree with the Lib Dems and their leader at the time, Charles Kennedy. You’ll struggle to find anyone today who defends the invasion.

Now, the party is taking a similar stance over the war against Iran. Conservatives and Reform have both issued statements of support for US President Donald Trump’s military action. The position of Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is less clear. He initially condemned the attacks, saying he “does not believe in regime change from the skies”. But the UK has since agreed to allow the US to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites.

Liberal Democrats, on the other hand, have made their views crystal clear. They oppose this war, and they oppose Donald Trump.

Sir Ed told Parliament: “Donald Trump’s war on Iran has not only brought more chaos across the Middle East, but increased the threat to our national security here at home.”

And it’s possible he speaks for many people. Plenty of Brits admire Donald Trump and are bemused at the hysteria he induces in his opponents. But that doesn’t mean they want the UK to get involved in another Middle East war.

But now, Sir Ed is using the King as a political tool.

He is demanding that Keir Starmer cancel the King’s state visit to the US, scheduled for April.

Whatever No 10 says, this would be a decision for the Government. The idea that the monarch makes their own choices is a polite fiction.

But the Liberal Democrats know full well that this visit can’t be cancelled once it’s been agreed. It would be an insult so heinous and so public that any US President would be offended.

And it would be an insult to the entire US, not one particular president.

America remains our most important ally, and we benefit enormously from it. Our defence and security policy is predicated on the ongoing alliance with the US. The idea that we can tell our friends in America to get lost and go it alone is a fantasy.

A calculated snub, such as the one the Liberal Democrats propose, would do huge damage to the transatlantic alliance, with the effects felt long after Donald Trump has left No 10.

If any politician seriously wants to argue that we should end the alliance with the US, then they are entitled to that view, however silly it would be. But Sir Ed isn’t saying that.

Instead, he is using the King to express his opposition to a specific US President - and, in a roundabout way, to place pressure on Sir Keir.

It’s not the behaviour of a serious politician. Sir Ed may well find that his opposition to UK involvement in the Iran war wins him plaudits with voters. But attempting to drag the king into politics will not.