To think some people aren't fully aware of what they are petitioning for?

[Crunchymum]

Yes another Trump thread!!

I have seen Sky and BBC news both reporting that "More than a million people have signed a petition urging the government to call off President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK" - this quote is directly from BBC website

Yet that is not what the petition is for? or am I missing something?

AIBU to think some people are signing up because they want his visit scrapped completely? Which is incorrect

The petition is actually for:

Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen

There is now a new petition.

Donald Trump should make a State Visit to the United Kingdom.

Hold the front page.

There is now a new petition.

Donald Trump should make a State Visit to the United Kingdom.

Awww. How tweet.

Some posters on this thread should go sign it.

Yeah CockacidalManiac. If the cool kids want to register dissatisfaction with the government/establishment, they don't mess about with petitions. They wait for an irreversible, hugely important referendum to come along and use that to stick it to the man.

Yeah CockacidalManiac. If the cool kids want to register dissatisfaction with the government/establishment, they don't mess about with petitions. They wait for an irreversible, hugely important referendum to come along and use that to stick it to the man.

Yes, especially when they start bleating about 'I only wanted a protest vote, I didn't really want Leave to win!' afterwards.

Just for balance here is the link:

Link

Donald Trump should be invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a free world and U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that appose our point of view should be gagged.

I'm sticking with referendums, they can actually change something.

Just for balance here is the link:

I must be psychic.

I pegged you to be the one to post that.

These petitions are pretty pointless as they are open to abuse. One person can post their signature multiple times using their name but different email addresses, together with the fact that residents outside the UK have also been found to have signed the petition. This issue has been raised so many times but nothing has been done. So you really can't attach any credence to this petition. If anyone wants these petitions to be taken seriously, then they need to be made more rebust.

If we're going to be picky about the wording in petitions, that one you've posted isn't great Kath. Just saying, for balance.

And let's be honest; say that approximately 50% of the signatures are genuine (fair assumption), so we have 700,000 signatures versus over 60,000,000 people who didn't sign. I can't see there is anything to get excited about with these figures.

So you really can't attach any credence to this petition.

So if the new petition (welcoming the leader of the so-called free world here so we can kiss his orange behind) gathers plenty of signatures, I do hope all those posters who are diligently explaining to us how all petitions are pointless/ all the signatures are fakes/ etc won't be then telling us how this petition now shows how Trump is so very welcomed by The People.

This petition won't gain the same momentum because the great british press won't give it any publicity. It doesn't matter which side you are on - neither will give an accurate result.

Donald Trump should be invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a free world and U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that appose our point of view should be gagged.

People who start petitions but can't spell oppose should be gagged, though.

This petition won't gain the same momentum because the great british press won't give it any publicity.

You do realise the first one went viral by being shared by people before the press picked up on it?

Surely you and other concerned citizens desperate to welcome Trump with maximum pomp at taxpayers' expense, can similarly share the other petition around - I mean, you are confident in the millions of signatories so far sadly denied their chance to demonstrate their adoration of the leader of the free world, aren't you? And then it will be picked up by the press.

Or, is this just a case of getting one's excuses in early?

TheElementsSong

You are mistaken. I don't support Trump and I don't vote on daft petitions either.

I havent seen the petition but the way the news reported it, it sounded like an objection to him coming here so see what you mean.

I knew what I was signing. The media often over simplifies so I get your point.
Knowing the things Trump has said about Diana and Kate, plus his environmental stance, is there any member of the royal family who will want to meet him? No doubt they'll do their duty but it does put them in a difficult and yes embarrassing position.

I don't vote on daft petitions either.

Oh sorry my mistake. I see now you just want to demonstrate who-knows-what by commenting repeatedly on what other people do.

This is what you are worried about. The wording on the petition. I am slightly more worried about Trumps words.

I signed the petition. I read it and fully understood what I was signing.

I don't think it's in our interest to refuse to allow Trump here at all and that would be a massive overreaction. However I don't believe we should be rolling out the red state visit carpet for him.

I signed it & knew what I was signing.

I'd rather there was a petition calling for a general election- I'd definitely sign that

I think people should be campaigning and supporting causes closer to home - the NHS, the crisis in teaching, care for the elderly. Trump is a democratically elected leader and the process is to invite him to the UK on a State visit. I don't agree with his actions and policies, but think we should respect those Americans who voted for him.

I think it's just a fact of life that people don't always pay the maximum amount of attention to everything they're doing, and it's a well known issue in statistics that people's expressed opinions depend a lot on how a question's phrased, what else you've been asking about, etc.
It's not such a big deal when it's just a petition for a discussion in parliament but when it's something important like Brexit I think it's irresponsible. In countries where they have regular referenda they don't just give you the bare voting papers - in Switzerland they give you a booklet explaining the proposals and giving the government's recommendation.

Anyway I'm happy with the Trump petition. I want him to be denied a state visit, come anyway, and then get egged. I especially want him to go to Scotland and see if it's possible for his personality disorder to continue to protect him from the knowledge that he's pretty much universally hated in the country that he's determined to love and buy and turn into a fucking golf course.

You know that petitions aren't a new, hipster invention don't you?
There are limits on what they can achieve, but like peaceful protests, they still have an important place in a democracy. What's wrong with giving the government a bit of feedback? Democracy shouldn't be a once every five year event.
Online petitions are not perfect, and can be open to abuse (although there are measures in place to reduce this), but they are better that the old paper ones where it was very easy to add a few extra, fake names.