Latest tweets from MBM Policy.
twitter.com/mbmpolicy/status/1404522470934253574?s=20
THREAD: Why getting as many signatures as possible on this petition improves the chances of it getting proper attention by the Scottish Parliament.
All Scottish Parliament petitions are put in front of the Petitions Committee, no matter how many signatures they get. The Committee can decide to undertake further investigation or just to "close" the petition immediately, with no more discussion.
Our aim is to persuade the Committee to decide to take foward work on the petition.
More background about the Committee's possible choices is included in our blog here. It will consider the petition at a meeting some time after the summer recess.
The Committee will decide whether it deserves more attention by looking at the material we've put in and any supporting statements from other people or organisations. It is up to the Committee how much weight to put on signatures (so it's different from petitions at Westminster).
Although in Scotland signatures do not guarantee that a petition will be inveistgated further, the more there are, the stronger the message to the Committee about the level of interest.
With almost 7,750 signatures in a week, the level of interest in this petition is already unusually high. Only 3 of the 44 petitions under consideration by the Committee at the moment received more than 10,000 signatures.
If this petition can also reach 10,000 supporters, we hope that will help it stand out and reduce the risk that it is rejected at the first stage, particularly if the Committee receives any representations urging it not to take further action.
So please continue sharing this link, especially off Twitter. Signatories are not limited to Scotland and their names are not made public. The closing date is 5 July.