PETITION FOR A SECOND REFERENDUM - 1 million + signatures already

[GertrudeBelle]

A parliamentary petition has been created calling for a second referendum. As I type, it already has 1,061,466 signatures and the number is growing rapidly so it will have to be taken seriously.

I would urge everyone who is concerned about the consequences of yesterday's result to sign it. It only takes a minute. Get your friends and family to sign too.

Link here:

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215

There's also a map showing the location of the signatories. There are some key Remain territories which don't seem to have picked this up - particularly Scotland and Northern Ireland. Please spread the word. Map here:

//petitionmap.unboxedconsulting.com/?petition=131215

[PausingFlatly]

Please don't do this.

No matter how bad you think the decision is, ripping up democracy will make things a lot, lot worse. It really will.

[GertrudeBelle]

1,170,970 people strongly disagree. And counting.

[Imbroglio]

Brexit could tear Europe apart - did any of the people who will be affected get a vote?

[Toria2014]

This petition is asking for a change in the rules. So IF it was even implemented, it would only apply to FUTURE referendums. Not applied retrospectively!

Unless you have a time machine, and the ability to mind control the entire electorate, or make the UK a dictatorship, the referendum is done.

The people decided, they exercised their democratic right and the result was LEAVE.

[LastGirlOnTheLeft]

I am remain, but no way will I be signing this. This is NOT how democracy works.

[Imbroglio]

I'd rather sign a petition than throw rocks or do nothing.

[VioletVaccine]

It's called a Referendum, not a Neverendum!!

[TheDevilMadeMeDoIt]

To those who are concerned about the precedents set in relation to the exercise of democratic rights - this is an exceptional case because of the (now admitted) misrepresentations of the Leave campaign

The leaders of the Leave campaign have come out of this smelling of the brown and fragrant. But who is to say that all the claims made by the Remain leaders (grim warnings about what would happen if we left without any consideration of what the future of the EU might look like) were any more reliable?

Genuine question. It was a leap in the dark whichever way anyone voted.

[GertrudeBelle]

I think the difference is that the Remain statements were predictions - backed up by almost every expert under the sun. They were reasonably held opinions which Remain still stand by.

Contrast Farage's immediate acknowledgment once the result had come through that the NHS may not benefit from an extra £350m per week.

[GertrudeBelle]

Ie he must have known on 22 June that that the principal 'campaign bus' slogan was utterly untrue, but failed to be honest with the electorate and give them a fair chance to understand the true position. It is tantamount to electoral fraud.

[PausingFlatly]

Actually MN has been one of the few generally supportive places I've been able to come when reeling under the disability cuts or campaigning against them.

Despite occasional nasty bits of work here.

So I'm not going to join in with the "how dare you, where were you when..."

Not all, but many, MNers have been right there beside me. And I have tried to stand beside them when they've been in need I don't mean cutting the 3rd foreign holiday. God knows I've rolled my eyes at a few posters, but I'm not going to castigate MNers in general as purely self-serving.

[letthemdrinktea]

It was not a "leap in the dark" either way.

There's a difference between things staying as they were & dragging the whole of Europe into chaos.

[FuzzyWizard]

I'm very worried about the future and voted remain on Thursday but I won't be signing any petitions for another referendum. I didn't want to leave, I'm not happy that we are leaving but that was the outcome. If we don't leave it will fuel the far-right and I mean the hard far-right not the UKIP type far-right. The best we can hope for is a swift exit, for the sake of our economy and the stability of Europe as a whole IMO. I'm not going to pretend I don't feel sad, frustrated and angry that we are leaving but I really don't think it's wise to start talking about overturning the referendum in some way.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Scotland is probably not signing because it will be leaving UK.

Much as I hate the result, the referendum was democratically carried out and the result should stand.

[PreciousVagine]

Oh, I've definitely found support here with regards to disability cuts. Those threads are full of people affected by the cuts worrying and supporting each other. People who aren't affected personally couldn't care less though. It's always the way. Now that people can't afford their own stuff (holidays and new kitchens being some of the sad sad stories I've read on here today, among the more serious ones too of course), there's all this drama of petitions and how dare they do this to me.

[ToadsforJustice]

I don't understand all the angst. There was a vote. Yes/No. Why is everyone surprised at the outcome?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

And everybody with the slightest bit of sense knew the £350 mi!lion thing was a lie. Unfortunately you can't legislate/petition against stupid.

[Madbengalmum]

If i dont get what i want i'll skreem and skreem and skreem, and stamp my feet!

Good god, have some class.

[TychosNose]

Democracy was undermined by the lies peddled by brexit and people voting leave on the basis of those lies.

Only 41% of registered voters voted to leave.

The referendum was invalid (and shouldn't have happened -Cameron is a cunt).

[darceybussell]

I don't think there should be another referendum, but I do wonder if the uproar will have an effect. If people are upset enough that might give us more chance of opting for something like the Swiss model. I know we 'can't' have that because that means free movement of people, but 48% of voters were fine with free movement of people, and so, I suspect, were some of the leave voters. If we could get something like the Swiss arrangement it might stabilise our economy. I fear it won't happen though

[letthemdrinktea]

Brexiters know full well that if a second referendum were to happen, the outcome would be to stay in the EU. And by a significantly higher margin than 52%.

Who's to say that a second referendum, exacted with the benefit of hindsight and a real insight into how things would turn out, would be less democratic than the first?

[ZsaZsa1954]

So the precedent which would be set (if any) is that if politicians grossly mislead the populous, and induce them to vote in a way which they would not have had they known the true position, that vote is null and void.

You'll be re-running general elections ad nauseam in that case. And what if there is a second referendum and it's STILL leave?

Populace, not populous, BTW.

[PausingFlatly]

Ah, I've had support from people who haven't been personally affected by cuts. Or by cuts/charges in very different areas.

It's always been one of the things I like about MN - that many people do care about things that aren't affecting them personally. People frequently say how much they've learned about stuff they've no personal experience of and how this is helping them be more useful/sympathetic to others.

I don't want to lose sight of that amid the snarling hate that seems to be swirling round at the moment.

I'm also rather pissed off at the trend to portray anyone who isn't nakedly self-serving as simply covertly self-serving and machiavellian. I've definitely seen that one touted a few times. (I don't mean from you, obvs.)

[Tanith]

Why all this sudden desire for democracy? We have never been a democracy - this is the first democratic election we've ever had and it was based on lies and misconceptions.

Democracy is no reason for not signing the petition. I once read a definition of democracy as being 3 wolves and a sheep deciding on what's for dinner.

Personally, I think writing to your MP is going to be much more effective, but at least the petition gives an idea of the strength of feeling.