MPs prepare for debate on calling immediate General Election after petition reaches milestone
MPs are preparing to debate a petition calling for an immediate General Election after more than one million Britons demanded a snap poll.
Tory MP John Lamont will open the debate in Westminster Hall at 4.30pm on January 12.
The debate could last up to three hours, with Labour MP Anna Turley responding on behalf of the Government.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Lamont said: “People are sick of all the mistakes that Keir Starmer and this Labour Government are making.
“Whether it’s the tax on jobs, the Family Farm Tax, a U-turn Winter Fuel Payments, Digital ID, the list is endless.
“People have had enough, and they want change.”
After the petition received 10,000 signatures, the Government maintained its focus was on delivering on Sir Keir’s 2024 General Election manifesto.
The Cabinet Office said: “The Prime Minister can call a general election at a time of their choosing by requesting a dissolution of Parliament from the Sovereign within the five-year life of a Parliament.
“The Government was elected by the British people on a mandate of change at the July 2024 General Election.
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Westminster Hall hosted a 150-minute debate last January
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“This Government is fixing the foundations and delivering change with investment and reform to deliver growth, with more jobs, more money in people’s pockets, to rebuild Britain and get the NHS back on its feet.
“This will be built on the strong foundations of a stable economy, national security and secure borders as we put politics back in the service of working people. On entering office, a £22billion black hole was identified in the nation’s finances.
“We inherited unprecedented challenges, with crumbling public services and crippled public finances, but will deliver a decade of national renewal through our five missions: economic growth, fixing the NHS, safer streets, making Britain a clean energy super-power and opportunity for all.
“This is what was promised and is what we are delivering. The Government’s first Budget freed up tens of billions of pounds to invest in Britain’s future while locking in stability, preventing devastating austerity in our public services and protecting working people’s payslips.
Sir Keir Starmer entered No10 following a landslide victory in 2024
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“Mission-led government rejects the sticking-plaster solutions of the past and unites public and private sectors, national, devolved and local government, business and unions, and the whole of civil society in a shared purpose. The Government will continue to deliver the manifesto of change that it was elected on.”
A third petition calling for an immediate General Election could also force a Westminster Hall debate, after receiving more than 100,000 signatures earlier this month.
Despite public calls for a snap poll, it is highly unlikely that Britons will go to the polls anytime soon.
Under the now-repealed Fixed Term Parliaments Act, the Prime Minister needed to pass a vote to hold a national poll.
The petition will return to Westminster Hall on Monday
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The Dissolution & Calling of Parliament Act restored the Prime Minister’s ability to call a General Election via the Royal Prerogative.
A no-confidence motion could theoretically force a General Election, although the composition of the Commons makes such a scenario incredibly unlikely.
The last time a Prime Minister was defeated in a confidence vote came in 1979, when James Callaghan lost by one vote ahead of Margaret Thatcher’s first General Election victory.
There have only been two other confidence votes lost by the Government in the House of Commons over the course of the 20th century, with Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald both suffering defeats in 1924.
Sir Keir Starmer during a campaign rally ahead of the 2024 General Election | GETTY
Both Boris Johnson and Theresa May more recently avoided being added to the Commons humiliation list by seeing off no-confidence votes by majorities of 109 and 19, respectively.
However, Sir Keir entered No10 off the back of a huge landslide, giving the Prime Minister a so-called super-majority in the Commons.
However, the Prime Minister came close to facing his first shock parliamentary defeat last month after rebels plotted to revolt over his now-axed proposals to slash £5billion from Britain’s ballooning benefits bill.
He could also face a Brexit revolt from backbench Labour MPs next week, with the Liberal Democrats pushing forward with a Private Members’ Bill to rejoin the customs union.
