On the day that the Prime Minister sacked the Chancellor, after the disastrous mini-budget, the General Election petition has just reached 600,000 signatures. The petition says “Call an immediate general election to end the chaos of the current government”. The text calls for the government to allow the people to decide what happens next, citing the range of problems that the UK faces. These include lack of leadership, fuel, energy, climate crises, the war in Ukraine, our relationship with Europe and the threat of Scotland leaving the UK. Today, add to the list, the ongoing and deep concerns about how the government is trashing the economy.
The government response to the petition on 20 September said:
“The UK is a Parliamentary democracy and the Conservative Party remains the majority party. The Prime Minister has pledged to ensure opportunity and prosperity for all people and future generations.”
Today, Alex Cunningham, Labour MP for Stockton North said:
“The Conservatives have crashed the economy with their reckless budget and under-mined Britain’s standing on the world stage. Throwing the Chancellor under the bus doesn’t undo the damage that’s already been done by Liz Truss and the Tories. This is a crisis made in Downing Street and the Prime Minister’s fingerprints are all over it.
“We don’t just need a change in chancellor, we need a change in government. It’s time for the Prime Minister and the whole sorry lot of them to go for the good of the country.”
Why have people signed this petition?
We asked some of the signatories why they were keen to sign this petition to call for a general election.
Here are some of the responses:
“Because the current government does not represent most people’s views and they don’t seem to understand economics or politics”
“The government is a million miles from the manifesto it was elected on.”
“This government has no mandate for the policies it is trying to implement. Liz Truss was elected by some 60,000 Conservative members but her agenda is far removed from her party’s 2019 general election manifesto. She should seek a new mandate from the country if she wants to go ahead along these lines.”
“Surely when every major opinion poll shows an overwhelming majority for the opposition, democracy must be allowed to run its course. Without a general election the unelected UK government will stumble on from crisis to crisis like a headless chicken.”
“A general election is the will of the people.”
“We need to take back control.”
We need a change of government, not just a change of Chancellor
Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central tweeted today:
