A petition demanding a fresh UK general election will be debated in Parliament after surpassing the required signature threshold.
Over one million people have signed an online petition calling for a new general election, following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s landslide Labour victory in July. The petition, submitted on Wednesday, alleges that the Labour Party has broken pre-election promises and demands a repeat of the vote. With over a million signatures and a growth rate of roughly 2,000 signatures per minute (as of Sunday), the petition has triggered the parliamentary debate requirement.
Parliament is obligated to debate petitions exceeding 100,000 signatures, unless the subject has been recently debated or a debate is imminent, according to government guidelines.
Despite Labour’s substantial 163-seat majority, making a vote of no confidence or a new election unlikely, Starmer will face parliamentary scrutiny of his government’s performance.
Conservative MP Richard Tice and Reform MP Rupert Lowe have promoted the petition on social media. Lowe suggested that while it might not force an election, it would send a clear message to Starmer.
Starmer’s approval rating has significantly dropped from +11 to -38 since his July election win, according to a More in Common survey. This decline is attributed to unpopular policies, including cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners, early prisoner releases, and a budget featuring substantial tax increases (£40 billion).
His proposed 20% inheritance tax on farms has drawn criticism from agricultural organizations, who argue that the tax would bankrupt many family farms despite their high paper valuations.
In a recent BBC interview, Starmer defended the pensioner fuel payment cuts, stating that they were justifiable and that numerous budgetary decisions were difficult but necessary.