Viral Petition Demanding UK General Election Hits 2 Million Signatures In Under A Week

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

A petition demanding a new general election in the United Kingdom has surpassed 2 million signatures, piling pressure on Keir Starmer’s Labour government, whose popularity has plummeted since it gained power in July.

The petition, launched late last week on the U.K. parliament’s website, calls for another public vote due to the left-wing government having “gone back up on the promises it laid out in the lead-up to the last election.”

Parliament is obliged to debate all petitions that surpass 100,000 signatures.

The petition recorded the fastest growth to 1 million signatures in history, reflecting the widespread public dissatisfaction toward the current government and the desire for a renewed mandate.

Michael Westwood, the man behind the viral petition, told the Express news website that he, like many of the British public, is feeling “betrayed with the promises we were told” during the election campaign, and claimed the reality “looks nothing like what was promised.”

“I think people have had enough, people have seen what’s happened over in America as well, and I think that’s had a knock-on effect. If people stand together and vote, then we can make a change,” he added.

The Labour Party’s ascent to power in the United Kingdom was significantly bolstered by pledges to shield working individuals from tax hikes and to uphold key social benefits. However, recent policy decisions, particularly those unveiled in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget, have sparked widespread criticism and allegations of broken promises.

Having vowed not to increase the record-high tax burden on “working people,” the left-wing government has, within just four months, announced a £25 billion rise in employers’ national insurance contributions, the cost of which many believe will affect wage rises and drive up costs for consumers.

Additionally, Reeves announced increases in capital gains tax to 18 percent for basic rate taxpayers and 24 percent for higher rate taxpayers, slashed Winter Fuel Payments designed to help the elderly manage heating costs during the colder months, and introduced inheritance tax rules for farmers that could see a majority of family-owned farms have to sell productive land to meet tax obligations.

Asked about the petition on Monday, government minister Jess Phillips dismissed the concerns of the signatories.

BREAKING 🚨 JESS PHILLIPS ASKED ABOUT PETITION

“Why do you suppose this petition to hold a fresh general election has attracted 1.6 million signatures?”

“I’m not sure you’d have to ask the petitioners” – Jess Phillips

They don’t even know why the public can’t stand them. pic.twitter.com/JyeCjwRGSh

— Basil the Great (@Basil_TGMD) November 25, 2024

“I make no bones about the fact that we will have to make difficult decisions and some people won’t like that. I didn’t come into politics to please everybody all the time,” she told LBC.

When asked why she believed the petition was gaining such unprecedented traction, she replied: “You’ll have to ask the petitioners.”

The prime minister’s office has yet to comment on its rapid growth.

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