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President Obama: "Perhaps, the argument goes... the time for our leadership has passed. That argument is wrong" President Obama has told British politicians that, despite the rise of new global powers, the time for US and European leadership "is now". He said the influence of the US, UK and allies would remain "indispensable," in a speech in Parliament on the second day of his UK state visit. But he said that leadership would need to "change with the times" to reflect economic and security challenges. He is the first US president to address MPs and peers in Westminster Hall. Rows...

The pictures were better than the words. President Barack Obama is a brilliant speaker, but also a very polite man, and in Westminster Hall his oratorical inspiration was smothered by the cautious politeness of an American statesman. Perhaps Mr Obama was smothered also by his audience, which remained stubbornly unresponsive. For most of the time the President had nothing to bounce off: no applause and certainly no shouts of praise or blame as might be heard in an American church or at an American political rally. The presidential text sounded as if it had been worked on so hard and...

President Barack Obama speaks to members of British Parliment while The Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman (R) listens inside Westminster Hall in London, May 25, 2011. (REUTERS/Larry Downing) The Brits panned Obama’s empty speech today to Parliament. The Telegraph reported: The pictures were better than the words… …Perhaps Mr Obama was smothered also by his audience, which remained stubbornly unresponsive. For most of the time the President had nothing to bounce off: no applause and certainly no shouts of praise or blame as might be heard in an American church or at an American political rally. The presidential text sounded as...

Obama is the first US president to address the joint houses of parliament [Reuters] Barack Obama, the US president, has addressed the British parliament, saying that Western influence remains strong in the world, despite emerging world powers such as China, India and Brazil. In a speech to both houses of parliament on Wednesday, Obama said that Western powers still had a responsibility to uphold "universal rights", but stressed that this work must be done through multilateral forums like the G20. "Even as more nations take on the responsibilities of global leadership," Obama said, "our alliance will remain indispensable to the...