Thursday
Aug112011
Petition passes 100,000 signatures
Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 18:04 My back is turned for 48 hours and what happens?
An e-petition entitled 'London rioters should loose (sic) all benefits' passes the threshold of 100,000 signatures and has been forwarded to the Backbench Business Committee for consideration for debate.
Needless to say the e-petition website has gone into meltdown ... One or two government ministers may be sweating too.
Reader Comments (7)
hahaha this e petition idea is backfiring on them before it even has a chance to establish itself. All these angry constituents out there making their new baby implode, and that is just he ones on the internet!
Need to get a petition to say goodbye to them as we are courteous.
Call me cynical but is this media manipulation by the government? Any politician or civil servant must be very naive to think that E Petitions would throw up an PC/Guardian agenda. I think that they knew for sure that the hoary old chestnuts would be there, an EU referendum, capital punishment and the smoking ban.
Let us assume that 100k signatures are reached for all three and they have a debate in Parliament. Cameron and Clegg will then turn round after Parliament has debated and subsequently rejected the proposals and say that these policies have been rejected by a democratic Parliament and we can now all move on. In one move they have neutralised the electorate.
However, Cameron and Clegg run the risk of further alienating voters and causing more resentment. The disconnect between Parliament and the people a wider chasm.
I notice the signatories on the amend the smoking ban petitions stand, at present, at 160 and 81 respectively. Strewth, what a poor turnout on our part!
I've signed it!
Regular reader and supporter of this site - and very grateful for it, too.
All efforts should be made to have the "official" Antony Worrall Thompson proposed petition put up on this site. He is very well known and often appears on national radio and TV speaking out against the smoking ban. And he speaks very eloquently and forcefully. The reason the "rioters" petition gained 100,000 signatures was because of repeated mentions on national TV and Radio and in national newspapers. Just one appearance of AWT, talking about the petition on national TV, would gain tens of thousands of signatures. The following organisations are listed as partners in Save our Pubs and Clubs. Do none of them have influence or just contacts who can at least explain why this petition has been rejected: because that is the only explanation. A petition by proposed by a well known personality on a popular issue for debate should appear.
Forest
Working Mens Clubs
and Institute Union
Progressive Vision
Adam Smith Institute
Manifesto Club
Apologies if work is going on behind the scenes to remedy this appalling situation, but if nothing is done, these two petitions will end up with a few hundred votes each and that will be the end of getting this ban amended through debate.
I've signed it but also wait for the AWT one to appear and I'll sign that too. Bullying the violent and the stupid out of their benefits is a popular cause. I fear asking for smokers to be part of society again is not so I don't expect any media coverage.