How Brits Are Planning to Resist Donald Trumps State Visit
A state visit is the grandest honor the U.K. can bestow upon a foreign leader. Hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, leaders can expect a 21-gun salute, a motorcade past London's most famous landmarks, state banquets, and a cup of tea or two with Prince William and Princess Kate. But one foreign leader in particular also stands to receive record protests and slow handclaps from lawmakers when he visits in June. Theresa May invited President Donald Trump to visit the U.K. this summer as the British Prime Minister hopes to secure a much-vaunted lucrative post-Brexit, transatlantic trade deal. However, President Trump's travel ban on seven Muslim countries, and his perceived xenophobia and misogyny have outraged many here. The resistance has already begun. Brits have taken to the streets in protest at Downing Street's increasing closeness to the White House and the speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, has stirred controversy among lawmakers by announcing that he will not allow Trump to address politicians in Parliament's 920-year-old Westminster Hall, as is customary for such events. But now that London's most senior policeman, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has revealed the trip is expected to take place in June, British protesters are forming more detailed plans to throw Trump's visit off course. Here, what Brits have in store for The Donald, 1. One million protesters, An estimated million people marched against the Iraq War 14 years ago, around 1.5 of the entire population. Such is the hostility towards Trump that leading left-wing campaigners believe they can hit that record number once again. Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the powerful National Union of Teachers, is one of the leaders of a broad Stand up to Trump' coalition. He says "We're aiming for a demonstration of one million people, we're aiming to have one of Britain's biggest ever demonstrations. The things Trump is saying about migration is building up hatred of Muslims in this country U.K.  it's not just confined to those seven countries or citizens of the U.S. Every person of color finds this frightening.", Clive Lewis, a leading left-wing lawmaker in the opposition Labour Party, adds that the protests will show May that she must take a firmer line in her dealings with Trump. "Some people think this is just the politics of protest," he tells TIME. "When politicians see a million people marching they'll get it that people care about this." Many of these protesters are expected to wave their anti-Trump placards on Whitehall, where Downing Street and the Cenotaph war memorial are located, as the President's motorcade slowly makes its way to the Palace of Westminster. 2. A parliamentary walkout, Speaker Bercow might have attempted to block Trump from addressing lawmakers in Westminster Hall, but his counterpart in Britain's upper chamber, the unelected House of Lords, is willing to let the president to make his speech elsewhere on the parliamentary estate. Already, former Labour leader Harriet Harman is leading a planned no show' of her party's most senior female Members of Parliament M.P.s when Trump speaks. However, TIME has learned that there are separate plots to further embarrass the president. Talks have started among M.P.s of all opposition parties to walk out as soon as Trump starts his address  and they hope to be supported by some of the more rebellious lawmakers from the governing Conservatives. "If Donald Trump comes before Members of Parliament he needs to know many of us will walk out," says Tom Brake, who is the foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. "We do not want him here. This a view shared by many, on all sides, in every party." A Labour lawmaker who wished to remain anonymous adds "There's also talk of turning our backs on Trump and slow handclapping him.", 3. Snubbed by the Mayor of London?, Since he was elected mayor of the U.K.'s capital city a year ago, Sadiq Khan has been one of Trump's most persistent critics. Khan, who is a Muslim, has argued Trump should not be extended the offer of a state visit while he pursues his immigration ban. However, he has also issued an open invitation for Trump to meet his family in the ethnically diverse south London area of Tooting, in the hope it would calm his fears over Muslims. A source at London's City Hall says this invitation "still stands", but wouldn't confirm Khan would agree to a meeting with Trump if asked. Khan's team will "review" any request at the time, they said. 4. A hated wind farm under construction near his golf course, Rhea Wolfson, co-chair of Scottish Labour young Socialists, says Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire on the west coast of Scotland will be "a target" for protests when he visits the U.K. As well as the usual placards and banners, she says, campaigners are plotting to design golf balls emblazoned with creative anti-Trump messages. But Trump is likely to be angrier by what will be taking place about two or three miles down the road near the hamlet of Blackdog. The real estate magnate has been involved in a long-running fight to stop the installation of an offshore windfarm that he believes will spoil the dramatic coastal views  particularly from his luxurious golf course. Indeed, he even raised the issue with unofficial Brexit leader Nigel Farage when they met at trump Tower shortly after his shock election victory. TIME can reveal, though, that construction and piling work has started onshore and that the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm team is likely to be building the superstructure for a control building and sub-station at the time of the visit. 5. A frosty Royal welcome, It has been reported that Prince Charles, an environmentalist, might challenge Trump over his views on climate change. Others have questioned whether the Duchess of Cambridge will want to meet him given the president's comments in 2012 that the sale of topless pictures of her was justified. However, the most important person is the Queen. Trump should have no fears here she has shaken hands with such figures as former I.R.A. commander Martin McGuinness in the sake of national duty. As Rob Flello, a senior Labour lawmaker, puts it "Trump doesn't care about Parliamentary democracy or what happens there  this trip, for him, is only about having tea with the Queen." It will be fascinating to see if Trump is quite so sanguine in the face of walk-outs, protests, and an extremely angry nation.