[miss marmelstein]

My God, pols debated whether to ban Trump! They did that not necessarily because they had the guts to do it but to send a message to America not to vote for this guy. British pols are always mouthing off about American policies to influence American policies. Let’s not be naïve.

[the scotsman]

They had to: parliamentary procedure. After the online petition triggered a certain level.

[Vanders9]

And you were furious (rightly) about some of the things that were said in that debate (they didn't actually have any choice not to debate it, and the motion was defeated). So why would the Brits not be equally furious at the language Obama used?

Look, we all know that Obama wants Britain to stay in the EU because it is in America's interest that Britain is in. It is inevitable that a certain amount of US pressure is going to seep into the debate, but it's very unusual for a foreign political leader to directly advise the citizens of another nation to "vote for such and such a person" or "not to vote for such and such a treaty", at least in the terms that Obama used.