Liz Truss’ resignation opened the door for Britains’s third Prime Minister in eight weeks and caused a deluge of online petitions calling for a general election.
Petitions launched by the Daily Mirror and The Independent are amongst those signed by thousands of people demanding to have a say in the next elected government.
Appointed PM on September 6, Truss’ five-week leadership campaign lasted almost as long as her six-week premiership.
The UK’s new PM is set to be announced next Friday after a week-long contest.
While no Conservatives have officially announced their intent to run for office, MPs have already started backing their favourites.
Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson, and Penny Mordaunt are the current frontrunners.
In an official statement, Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer said: “After 12 years of Tory failure, the British people deserve so much better than this revolving door of chaos.
“The Tories cannot respond to their latest shambles by yet again simply clicking their fingers and shuffling the people at the top without the consent of the British people.
“The British public deserve a proper say on the country’s future: We need a general election – now.”
Sir Edward Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, tweeted: “This is the most chaotic and incompetent government I’ve seen in my lifetime.
“How much longer will they cling on to power while the country suffers?
“General Election now.”
The Independent’s petition: “We Need a General Election Now”
The Independent’s Acting Editor, David Marley, launched their petition on Change.org and since Truss’ resignation it’s received over 325,497 signatures with the numbers climbing every second.
In the petition’s statement, Marley said: “Ms Truss said a new prime minister would be chosen within a week.
“This will be the third Conservative prime minister since the last general election in 2019.
“Who is leading our country should be decided in a general election, not in the strange bubble of yet another Conservative leadership election.”
The petition can be found HERE.
Petition “Call an immediate general election to end the chaos of the current government”
This petition on the UK Government and Parliament website follows the trend asking for “an immediate general election so that the people can decide who should lead us through the unprecedented crises threatening the UK.”
With over 743,298 signatures, it has already been discussed in Parliament but people are still signing it showing the monumental support these petitions are garnering.
Discussed on 17 October, Parliament responded to the petition yesterday: “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.”
The petition can be found HERE.
The Daily Mirror’s petition: “We demand a general election now”
As part of its campaign for a General Election on 38degrees.org, the Daily Mirror remembers how serving as Prime Minister used to be a great honour.
The Daily Mirror said: “Those who stepped through the famous black door of Downing Street followed in the esteemed footsteps of William Gladstone, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee.
“This Tory government has turned the centre of power into a bargain basement B&B for a succession of failed leaders.”
Like The Independent, the Daily Mirror cites a departure from democracy as the Tories get ready for another PM.
The petition can be found HERE.
Paul Mitchell’s petition: “Call a general election when a UK PM resigns”
This petition treads a different line from the others.
Launched several weeks ago by Paul Mitchell on change.org this petition calls for a General Election 50 days after the PM resigns.
While having the least amount of signatures, this petition is growing steadily.
Paul Mitchell said: “Since 1902, there have been more unelected UK prime ministers than elected, including John Major, Gordon Brown, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and now Liz Truss.
“Far from being unusual, it’s actually the norm for prime ministers to enter office outside of a general election.”
The petition can be found HERE.
What all these online petitions calling for a general election show is how fractured and desperate the general the public are for a government they have a say in.
More than one in five of the UK population, 22%, in poverty according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and with a rapidly approaching winter will have everyone feeling the cost-of-living crisis.
The UK needs a strong, united Government to steer us through the coming years without the distraction of leadership races.
Featured Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Open Government License 3 Boris Johnson by Ben Shread, Wikimedia Commons Open Government License 3 Penny Mordaunt by UK Government, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 by Chris McAndrew
