More than 400,000 Britons sign up to call for UK elections

A petition demanding an “immediate” general election in the United Kingdom has surpassed 400,000 signatures, far more than the number needed — 100,000 — to be considered for debate in Parliament.

The growing number of signatures, which accumulates about 4,000 new signatories every hour, reflects the tension in society, which regrets the management of the economy by the government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, reports Bloomberg.

“The chaos in which the UK government is plunged is unprecedented,” reads the petition, which was launched before the budgets announced at the end of September by the recent Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng. In recent weeks, the country has seen sterling plummet to an all-time low and the Bank of England has intervened to prevent pension funds from becoming insolvent.

“Let the people decide who leads us in this turmoil,” the petition states.

Parliament has not set a date for this debate. At the moment, there are more than a dozen petitions — 14 — awaiting parliamentary debate. However, this petition is by far the one with the most signatories.

For its part, the Truss Government has responded that “the United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy, not a presidential one”. In this regard, the Executive has argued that the 2019 general election justifies its continuation in power because “there is a majority (of the Conservative Party) in the House of Commons.”

“A change of leader of the ruling party does not trigger a general election, this situation has also been experienced under governments of successive political colors,” the Cabinet’s response indicates.

They also reiterated the Prime Minister’s priorities. “(Truss) is determined to address the challenges facing the country and ensure opportunity and prosperity for all people and future generations,” they remind, citing the speech Truss gave on September 6.