Yahoo News Have your say: Should Keir Starmer call a general election?
A petition calling on the government to trigger another general election has picked up speed over the weekend. Initiated last week, the petition now has 2.6 million signatures.
The government's official website features the petition with the statement: "I would like there to be another General Election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election."
Labour's rivals have seized on the chance to amplify the petition. Reform UK MPs have been actively encouraging signatures as a showcase of discontent towards the government, with Rupert Lowe MP urging: "Register your discontent, register your anger, register your disgust with this Labour Government. Send Starmer a message. Sign, share, and share again."
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Ex-Tory MP Mark Jenkinson wrote: "It looks like we're heading for a parliamentary debate on having a general election and 'the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election'."
Olympics medalist Sharron Davies MBE has confirmed her signature on social media, while Katharine Birbalsingh, dubbed "Britain's strictest headmistress", mused: "Wouldn't it be extraordinary if Parliament had to debate this?"
The government is required to respond to any petition that garners 10,000 signatures, and will consider debating those that reach 100,000. This particular petition has been dubbed the fastest-growing ever, currently ranking third among the most popular.
Asked about the petition on ITV's This Morning, Sir Keir said: "There will be plenty of people who didn't want us in the first place... my focus is on the decisions that I have to make every day."
"I’m not surprised, quite frankly, that as we’re doing the tough stuff there are plenty of people who say 'well I’m impacted, I don’t like it'. But we’ve got to make the big calls on the NHS and on schools that are really important for the here and now and for the future."
The Labour party's time in government, which began this year, has been marked by controversy as the party opted to introduce unpopular policies early on. The means-testing of Winter Fuel Payments and a significant tax-and-spend Autumn Budget represent substantial changes for the country.
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