A Labour MP today blamed ‘foreign interference’ for a petition demanding a fresh general election gaining more than three million signatures.
Yasmin Qureshi said that the appeal had also been ‘hijacked’ by the party’s opponents, as it was debated by MPs.
The petition, which accuses Labour of having ‘gone back on the promises’ the party made before July’s election, was set up by Michael Westwood, a Tory voter who owns three pubs in the Black Country.
He was in the Westminster Hall audience for the debate this afternoon, along with Piers Corbyn, the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms Qureshi, the MP for Bolton South and Walkden, told MPs petitions were usually used ‘for particular issues of concern to people in the country’.
But there was uproar when she went on: ‘It is not normally used as a mechanism to hijack and play party politics.
‘In the last 14 years we saw crisis after crisis caused by the ill-formed policies and plans and the rank cronyism of the previous government. Unlike them we engaged in the process, we had debate, we did not commandeer a public petition to demand a new election.
‘This petition has grown, some of it to do with a lot of misinformation, some of it to do with foreign interference … you may laugh at it but that happens to be correct as well.’
Yasmin Qureshi said that the appeal had also been ‘hijacked’ by the party’s opponents, as it was debated by MPs.
The petition, which accuses Labour of having ‘gone back on the promises’ the party made before July’s election, was set up by Michael Westwood, a Tory voter who owns three pubs in the Black Country. He was in the Westminster Hall audience for the debate this afternoon, along with Piers Corbyn , the brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The e-petition, which accuses Labour of having ‘gone back on the promises’ the party made before July’s election, will be debated in Westminster Hall this afternoon
Set up the online petition on Parliament’s website on 20 November, the petition quickly went viral and was promoted on social media by Elon Musk, thought to be the world’s richest man, who is an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump.
The billionaire businessman shared the petition on X, the social media site he owns, claiming ‘the people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state’.
But there were allegations that many of the signatures were not genuine, and had been filled in by malicious programmes based abroad.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch used Prime Minister’s Questions in late November to taunt Sir Keir Starmer over the millions of people who were asking him ‘to go’.
But the PM shot back that there was a ‘massive petition on 4 July in this country’ that saw millions of voters support Labour at the ballot box.
Mr Westwood voted for the Conservatives at last summer’s general election and predicted ‘tough times’ ahead following Labour’s Budget in October.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her first fiscal package to hike national insurance for employers, which sparked a huge backlash among businesses.
Explaining why he set up the petition, Mr Westwood told the BBC: ‘The people that are currently in charge of the country, in my opinion, lied to get there.’
In their manifesto ahead of July’s general election, Labour vowed to ‘not increase taxes on working people’ – including national insurance, income tax or VAT.
Explaining why he set up the petition, Mr Westwood told the BBC: ‘The people that are currently in charge of the country, in my opinion, lied to get there.’
He added: ‘To have my opinion and my thoughts put out there and to find out actually, quite a lot of people agree, I think it’s fantastic. It just shows that you’re not on your own.’
Previously asked about the petition, Sir Keir ruled out calling another general election but said he was ‘not surprised’ some people who did not support Labour in July might want a second poll.
The PM told ITV: ‘Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election.
‘I’m not surprised that many of them want a re-run. That isn’t how our system works. There will be plenty of people who didn’t want us in in the first place.
‘So, what my focus is on is the decisions that I have to make every day.’
In its official response to the petition, the Government said: ‘This Government was elected on a mandate of change at the July 2024 general election.
‘Our full focus is on fixing the foundations, rebuilding Britain, and restoring public confidence in government.’
