Far North MP, Jamie Stone, has led a debate considering a petition relating to a general election.
The e-petition, created by Michael Westwood in November 2024, has reached over 3 million signatures and calls for another general election – because he believes the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they made in the lead up to the last election in July 2024.
Mr Stone led a Westminster Hall debate on the subject in his capacity as Chair of the House of Commons Petitions Committee – which considers petitions that reach over 100,000 signatures for debate.
In doing so, Mr Stone remarked on the purpose of petitions as mechanisms of civic engagement and not as instruments to circumvent parliamentary democracy.
Thus, concluding that no petition will ever have the capacity to trigger a general election.
Commenting, Mr Stone said:
“The fact that we are able to debate this petition is evidence that our representative democracy is alive and well.
“We should be proud to live in a country where our electorate can express discontent and know that politicians will listen to them and take their concerns seriously.
“As the Chair of the Petitions Committee, it gives me enormous pride to champion civic engagement and political expression.
“That said, the petitions system was created to bring Parliament’s attention to issues of policy on which there is strong public feeling.
“It was not created as an autonomous decision-making tool which can act as a substitute for our representative democracy.
“The British people had their say in July.
“They chose the current Government, and we must continue to honour that choice.
“With that in mind, I have called on the Government of the day to improve engagement and communication with the public following this debate.
“A huge number of people in the UK have expressed their dissatisfaction with Labour’s performance in the last six months and the Government would do well to sit up and listen.
“Decisions to cut winter fuel payments, terminate inheritance tax exemptions on farms and increase national insurance for employers are only a few of the issues which have invited public scrutiny.
“Politicians must not forget that when all is said and done we answer to the electorate.”
