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Unfortunately, whether or not the petition is debated in Parliament, it won't actually change the law or government policy, because the government doesn't in th
by bshimmin 9y ago
Unfortunately, whether or not the petition is debated in Parliament, it won't actually change the law or government policy, because the government doesn't in the slightest bit care about the petitions.
- tonyedgecombe 9y agoI'm not sure that is totally true, it would be silly to ignore something that got a strong response.
- Angostura 9y agoTrump's still been invited on a state visit.
- pc86 9y agoAre people in the UK really signing a petition that amounts to "don't invite the President of the United States to the UK on an official visit"?
- zastrowm 9y agoI wondered the same, so I looked it up: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928 https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928
- BillinghamJ 9y agoYes, and when 3% of the entire country's population has gone out of their way to vote for that, it's worth serious consideration. It's often said that one letter written and sent is representative of the opinion of 1,000 people. Perhaps with online petitions it's more like 5.
- tonyedgecombe 9y agoHe was invited before any petition.
- Angostura 9y agoThe petition was to convert it to a regular foreign visit, rather than a State Visit where he meets the Queen, etc.
- bshimmin 9y agoThey've debated something like a dozen petitions in Parliament. I'm not aware of anything meaningful having happened as a result.
- DanBC 9y agoLike the million people marching against the Iraq war in london 2003?
- usefulcat 9y agoMarching in the streets sends a much stronger message per person than does signing an online petition.
- DanBC 9y agoIt had fuck all effect though.
- tonyedgecombe 9y agoWe don't really know what the impact is further down the line, the government has lost a vote over going to war since.
- felipellrocha 9y agoPoliticians are kings of being silly, then...