Theresa May's rolling out the red carpet for Erdogan is repulsive, but then again our leaders are hardly much better

Theresa May banning Erdogan, or Trump for that matter, from the UK would imply a holier than thou status that I just don’t think this country lives up to, historically or currently

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is visiting the UK – not really something that’s interesting in and of itself, as he’s been here nine times before. What is interesting is that this time he’ll be taking a break from his election campaign, one that is particularly controversial and particularly dangerous for many people in Turkey.

The elections, due to be held on 24 June, aim to see Erdogan re-elected for another five years with increased powers, allowing him to take Turkey further down the road towards dictatorship. Goodness knows why the president has even been campaigning for his re-election, seeing as we all know he would win even if he spent the next six weeks off work, chilling by the pool catching up on a few sneaky dating shows (which he banned last year along with Wikipedia).

It shows just how lax he is about the whole deal that he’s decided now would be a great time to take a holiday and reportedly meet the Queen, maybe take a spin on the London Eye, say hi to the sharks at the Sea Life aquarium and get a kebab from Wood Green high street.

As a Turkish person living in London, I have to say I’m not looking forward to his visit. Despite my grandad’s love of Turkish dating shows (which he now can’t watch) and the fact that I would probably be in a prison cell right now if I was living in Turkey – I’m a queer, non-binary, left wing journalist – most of my family still seem to love the bloke. It’s particularly confusing considering he stands against pretty much everything Turkish revolutionary Mustafa Kemal Ataturk stood for, who they all seem to also love. A strange contradiction is being played out in Turkey right now.

I’ve tried searching extensively online to find an opinion poll highlighting how the majority of Turkish Brits feel about Erdogan, but to no avail. It seems it’s a question that simply hasn’t been asked. It’s not one that I have much insight into either – I assume that the majority of more left wing Turks will be repulsed by him, just like I am. But how many Turkish Brits are left or right wing? I again can’t say because nobody seems to have asked the question.

What I do know (and I don’t need an opinion poll to tell me this) is that the majority of the Western European media is not a fan of the guy – and with good reason. He’s anti-LGBT+ rights, banning Pride two years in a row. He’s anti-women, literally saying “women are not equal to men”. He’s anti any kind of protest against him. He wants to bring back the death penalty. And he’s made tens of thousands of arrests of journalists, teachers, students and pretty much anyone who opposes him. In fact, with Erdogan in power, Turkey has the highest number of jailed journalists in the world. No wonder he’ll win the next election when anyone who would have voted, or even expressed an opinion against him has either been locked up or fled the country.

Which begs an interesting question – should the UK be greeting him with open arms, particularly considering he’s about to increase his hold over Turkey? It’s the classic question of how to deal with particularly nasty world leaders – and it’s been thrown up frequently this year in the UK as the public has campaigned against a state visit from US president Donald Trump.

When I heard Trump was due to visit the UK I was immediately opposed: I think he’s a pretty awful human and I don’t believe British politicians should be pandering to him. But then I ask myself: are they really much better?

Yes, Trump has said some awful things, and so has Erdogan. They’ve both done terrible things too. But what UK politicians don’t say out loud is reflected in their policies. To give just a few examples: we see racism in how the Windrush generation has been treated; we see sexism in the tax credits’ “rape clause”; we see human rights failures in the UK’s role in the arrest of Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Fatima Boudchar that led them to be tortured; we see greed and profit put before human lives with continued sales of weapons that are used to kill innocent civilians.

Politicians are supposed to represent the people, but these policies do anything but. I think it’s a fair argument that many politicians in this country represent their own interests (or their own perception of the national interest) before they represent the views of the wider public. We can keep demanding that they represent us better, but they currently don’t – and we have to deal with the system we have rather than the one we wish we had, for now. Unfortunately.

Theresa May banning Erdogan, or Trump for that matter, from the UK would imply a holier than thou status that I just don’t think this country lives up to, historically or currently. Having said that, I don’t think the Turkish leader should have a pleasant trip.

At the end of the day, when pretty much every world government is at some level dishonest, it’s up to the people to represent ourselves – protest Erdogan, protest Trump, protest May, wherever we can. Many people in Turkey can’t protest right now for fear of their lives. But in the UK we can kick up a fuss against the Turkish leader’s visit – we shouldn’t rely on the government for such things.