Viral general election petition soars to nearly 3m signatures as Keir Starmer faces crisis _ Hieuuk
Pressure mounts on Labour as an ever-increasing number of people put their names to pub landlord Michael Westwood’s call for a new national vote
Michael Westwood’s petition calls for Sir Keir Starmer to call a fresh general election (Image: PA)
A viral petition demanding a new general election over Labour and Sir Keir Starmer’s “broken promises” has soared to nearly three million signatures.
The Government swept to power with a massive majority in July’s national poll, ratcheting up a stonking 174-seat majority in the House of Commons.
But even as the results were declared, critics pointed out that Labour only achieved a 33.7% share of the vote – just 1.6% more than the party achieved when Jeremy Corbyn was comprehensively beaten in 2019.
Since then, the Government has slumped to record levels of unpopularity, with a net approval rating of -39 according to polling firm YouGov.
Controversial decisions to cut winter fuel payments to pensioners and slap inheritance tax charges on farmers have soured Labour’s reputation in the eyes of many.
As a result, pub landlord Michael Westwood launched his “Call a General Election” petition on Parliament’s petitions website.
“I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead-up to the last election,” he wrote.
By law, petitions on the parliamentary website that attract more than 100,000 signatures must be debated by MPs. A discussion is scheduled for January 6 in the House of Commons.
But Mr Westwood’s petition quickly surpassed that threshold, hitting two million earlier this week – although opponents have claimed many of those signatures are from people abroad.
Trending
The petition is now at more than 2.9million and could surpass three million this weekend, with Elon Musk among the high-profile figures sharing it on social media.
Mr Westwood told the Express last week: “Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to take off like it has.”
He said Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, which will hike costs for small businesses like his due to rises in the living wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions, had caused his fury.
However, during an interview on ITV’s This Morning, Sir Keir dismissed the petition, saying he was “not surprised” his opponents wanted a second poll.
“That isn’t how our system works,” he added.
Most Popular Comments