Call for a General Election-petition exceeds 200,000 signatures

[ForsythiaPlease]

In six hours, this is unstoppable-please sign and share
https://t.co/0aZ6Q6VhZD

I doubt the government will give it even a second thought. We are years away from a GE.

This is probably why they are tanking each week.

Millions of people voted against Labour in the GE. Even a few million signing a petition isn't going to bother them. Why should it?

They don't do anything but register and record dissatisfaction. This has always been the case. Same as protests and writing to your MP.

I'm neither for or against another GE - neither Labour nor the Tories represent my interests so I would end up having to 'throw away' my vote on a minor party again - I'm just pointing out the numbers.

Can they close petitions early if they have a debate or does the petition have to run it's full course.

I don't know why people think parties will stick to their manifesto. Because none of them ever do and I thought it's not legally binding anyway?

If we had elections every time say 2m people wanted one we would be having them every week.

Ok - I was specific because this thread is broadly about “direct” (ie petition or referendum) democracy as opposed to what we have in the UK, which is parliamentary democracy.

Modern “Democracy” is dangerous. But I don’t think anyone’s ready to have that discussion.

Little bit of history on the national insurance rise

Tory’s raised it (if my memory serves me correctly in 2022) to start to recover covid debts.

they then dropped it because of Liz truss’s budget
this was met with outcry from financial advisors such as the IFS. They were told it was a mistake to do that. Yet they carried on.

labour have brought it back up to where it was in 2022 which globally, was recognised as the right thing to do (only now we’ve bigger debt to pay back)

lol. they're doing a better job than any government from the last 20 years.

the only people signing this are against rich people paying the bare minimum amount of tax to fund the nhs.

See that argument falls down when you compare us to other countries. It’s the workers, the higher earners who pay some of the highest taxes in the world. It’s everyone else who doesn’t. Good luck funding the NHS now the private sector is shrinking.

It is soundbite like this which will totally fuck this country beyond all repair (if it wasn’t before).

IT WAS ADVISORY

What about the pensioners who have lost their WFA? How do you know they aren't signing it? How do you know 'only' rich people are signing it????

Has it been legally binding, the result would've been disallowed due to illegality during the process as well.

amp.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/07/corrupt-vote-leave-campaign-undermines-brexit-vote-court-told

How about some facts to help you.

The government spends 17,000 per person on average across the population.

Someone earning 30,000 a year pays about 5,000 a year in income tax and NIC.

Someone earning 130,000 a year pays 49,000 in income tax and NIC.

Who isnt pay their fair share? Are you paying for your self or are you being subsidised by someone else?

you're looking at it from the wrong side, we pay our highest earners far less than they do in other countries.

and the tax rates are far lower than they are in scandi countries where they actually have functioning public services.

i run a business in the private sector and we've had year on year growth for all 8 years we've been trading. meanwhile if i wanted to visit my local public library i can choose from 2 afternoons a week where it's staffed by volunteers, if I want to go swimming i have zero choice of public leisure centres i can get to within an hour, all business startup help has been removed because it was EU funded, and my nearest GP appointment would be a 2 week wait.

Is this about Starmer’s war on benefits? Not all the petitioners can be farmers?

Do public sector workers not pay tax then?

They're doing woefully and it's probably a fair few who think that

As for strong words on benefits we'll see if it's as effective as those on smashing gangs or growth

What I do know, is global businesses are predicting no growth in UK for next 10 years and are adjusting business plans accordingly. Cut back in UK, move growth iniatives out.

Bright early career people are moving out. There will be a shift in under 35s - what we will have left is minimum wage & benefits seekers and newly arrived. Massive glut of under skilled and under educated min wage.

COP is a joke.

Starmer simultaneously arming Israel and agreeing ICC arrest warrant for BN shows weakness. Not issuing arrest warrants for Hamas 13 months ago is the REAL crime. Arrest ICC!

Uncontrolled immigration.

Its all looking like woke lefty behavior trying to look like supporting the poor, the under-represented, the under educated and stoking hatred of anyone with ambition or parents with a (private) pension:

-tax people you think aren’t “working” — but continue to financially pacify the “public assistance & housing as lifestyle choice” & criminals - drug and theft gangs rampant.
-support bombing the bad guys but at the same time, “free Palestine- wtf that is”
-pretend to take COP seriously but send 500 staff fully expenses paid and that’s at least one whole jet full of people. Pacify the tin-cup countries while knowing COP is run by fossil fuel countries & companies.

It’s clear there is no coherent strategy other than tax working people. Tax business out of existence.

Remember the alternative was national service for our teens and sending war stricken people to Rwanda.

@Beekeepingmum I don't think weekly deaths in the channel plus rising numbers and stagnation are good but as pp said good luck funding the NHS as the private sector shrinks.

It won't hit the public sector yet but it will

Even France have pulled up the recent soft touch on crossings so that may cause issues

I'm fine to give them time to see how this goes

Well you have to give them time. Rishi gave up. He called an election when he knew he would lose and came up with crazy policies. He knew these tax increases were coming but didn't have the leadership to implement.

I don't think the plans afoot in the Getting Britain Working paper has hit the public consciousness yet, has it? That'll be next weekend.