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Call a General Election is an active petition submitted to the UK Parliament petitions website by Michael Westwood[1] calling for a general election to take place before the latest it can be held, Wednesday 15 August 2029. Having gained over 1,000,000 signatures within a 24 hour period and presently with more than 2,500,000 signatures, it quickly gained traction after the Labour party allegedly broke several campaign promises following the landslide victory in the 2024 general election.[2] It currently has the most signatures of any petition for this government. As of 23 November 2024, it is awaiting government response.
 UK Government & Parliament Petition | |
| UK Petition | |
|---|---|
| Petition Number | 700143 |
| Opened | 20 November 2024 |
| Creator | Michael Westwood |
| Signatures | 2,905,000+ |
It is the third most signed petition on the UK Parliament's website, behind two Brexit-related petitions created in 2016 and 2019.[3]
Background
editThe 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024. The opposition Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, defeated the governing Conservative Party, led by Rishi Sunak, in a landslide victory. With Keir Starmer's tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom having begun on 5 July 2024, numerous controversial policy changes were enacted over a period of several weeks, with many being met with substantial backlash. With the backlash increasing, this petition was created in an attempt to call for a snap election to replace the Labour party after significant public opinion decline.
Objective
editThe petition directly asks the government to call a general election. It reads:
I would like there to be another General Election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.
— Parliament Petitions, [3]
Support
editThe petition currently stands at more than 2,500,000 signatures.[3][4][5][6]
References
edit- ^ Silverman, Rosa (25 November 2024). "How a general election petition went viral – and racked up millions of signatures". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ Hickey, Emma (24 November 2024). "Over one million sign petition for a general election to be called in the UK". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
- ^ a b c Whannel, Kate (25 November 2024). "I'm not surprised some want an election re-run - PM". BBC News.
- ^ Sinclair, Harriet (25 November 2024). "What we know about the viral petition calling for a general election". Yahoo News.
- ^ Cunliffe, Rachel (25 November 2024). "Labour shouldn't fear the facile general election petition". The New Statesman.
- ^ Langford, Eleanor (25 November 2024). "How many people have signed the general election petition, fact checked". i News.