The small Island of Mayotte saw its population grow from 23,400 in 1958 to 336,00 in 2025. Does ANYONE think this is sustainable growth?
6 June 2025
What Direct Democracy allows you to vote on - June 2025
Most new build homes must have solar panels - Miliband - More Costs heaped on Citizens
Electricity prices may vary in different areas - Climate Apartheid
France demanding more money to stop migrant boats in Channel
4 June 2025
Petitions in the UK are useless
Petitions in the UK — particularly those on the official UK Parliament Petitions website — often draw criticism as "useless paper tigers" because while they give the illusion of influence, they frequently result in limited tangible outcomes. Here's a breakdown of why many people view them this way:
1. Lack of Binding Power
-
No legal obligation: Even if a petition gets over 100,000 signatures and is debated in Parliament, the government is not required to act on it.
-
Symbolic debates: Parliamentary debates on petitions often have low attendance and no follow-up actions.
2. Government Responses Are Often Formulaic
-
At 10,000 signatures, the government must respond in writing. But these responses are frequently boilerplate, vague, and non-committal.
-
Ministers may restate existing policy rather than engage meaningfully with the issue.
3. Political Expediency Trumps Public Opinion
-
Petitions that go against the government's political agenda are easily dismissed, regardless of how many people support them.
-
If a petition aligns with political will, it may lead to change — but in such cases, the petition likely wasn't the cause, just part of the optics.
4. Debates Don’t Equal Decisions
-
Petitions can trigger debates, but debates don’t lead directly to laws or reforms.
-
Many debates are held in Westminster Hall rather than the main House of Commons chamber, reducing their impact.
5. Low Barrier, Low Commitment
-
It takes seconds to sign a petition. While that encourages participation, it also means the signal-to-noise ratio is low — it’s easy for politicians to disregard.
6. Petition Saturation
-
There are so many petitions, and so many reach the threshold for debate, that it’s impossible for Parliament to treat each with serious weight.
-
This volume diminishes the impact of each individual petition.
Summary:
UK petitions can raise awareness and mobilize public interest, but they rarely lead to direct political change. They are tools for expression, not power. As such, they’re often seen as safe pressure valves — ways to let the public vent without forcing real action.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)