Petition for General Election Gains Traction, Sparking Public Frustration

The pub owner who started a petition calling for a general election has garnered over three million signatures. The petition, which will be debated by MPs on Monday, calls for the country to go to the polls just six months after the summer election that installed Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

The petition's creator, Michael Westwood, who owns several pubs including the Waggon and Horses in Oldbury, believes that the petition has "given politicians in general a kick up the backside." He sees it as an opportunity for people who are "sick of being lied to by this government or previous governments" to come together and try to make a change.

Westwood is unimpressed that Labour was able to win 412 of the UK's 650 constituencies on 34% of the vote and wants to change the electoral system. However, he has no plans to stand for election himself. He is more concerned with trying to make a change to the system.

In the meantime, Westwood is worried that Chancellor Rachel Reeves's decision to hike up employers' National Insurance Contributions will make life harder in the pub industry. He believes that things are "only going to get worse."

Politicians from Opposition parties believe that the petition has struck a chord with the public because of the Labour government's broken promises. Conservative MP Peter Bedford said that the public has "buyers' remorse" just months after the general election. SNP MP Kirsty Blackman said that the Labour government has had a "disastrous first six months in power" and that voters are "furious."

The Government insists that it was elected on a "mandate of change" and that it is "delivering a decade of national renewal." However, the petition's popularity suggests that many people are unhappy with the current state of affairs.