Last thursday a simple petition started by Michael Westwood turned into something much bigger than expected. The west-midlands pub owner thought hed get maybe 2000 signatures but got way more than that: the counter shows over 2-million supporters (and its still going up)
The 40-year old businessman who owns three pubs and runs a wholesale drinks company — The Jinja Beer Company believes Labour hasnt kept its word: “We were lied to by Starmer and his cronies to get into power“. His main worry is about the recent budget changes which include higher minimum wage and increased national insurance costs that might hurt small-businesses
I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead-up to the last election
Even Elon Musk joined the discussion on his X platform; however theres some doubt about the petitions numbers. You only need to tick a box saying youre British and give basic info to sign it‚ and many signatures seem to come from outside UK
Recent polls show Labour isnt doing great: about half their voters feel let down already (based on early oct data). The autumn statement didnt help much - only 20% think it will make things better while 38% expect worse results
The whole situation shows a bigger issue - trust in politics is at its lowest point since measurements began. From the 90s scandals through Brexit and up to now people just dont believe politicians anymore. Sir John Curtice (polling expert) says: this distrust has deep roots going back to Majorʼs government
The petition might not lead to new elections but it shows how quick the public mood can change after summerʼs vote. Small parties like Reform and Greens might get more support next time if things dont improve