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Throughout history, alongside earnest appeals for change, there have always been petitions crafted with a touch of humor.
It comes as no surprise, then, that serious petitions to governments have long been accompanied by lighthearted campaigns intended to elicit a laugh.
While some of the most significant advancements in civil rights originated from petitions to government, including the abolition of slavery, the same cannot be said for initiatives such as the petition to rename raccoons Trash Pandas.
As parliament commemorates the 10th anniversary of its e-petitions system, the enthusiasm for initiating and signing petitions remains strong. According to 2022 survey data from the Office for National Statistics, 57% of people reported having signed a petition of some kind in the past year.
The simple act of adding one’s name to support a cause has allowed the practice of petitioning to thrive, even in the digital age.
The launch of Downing Street’s e-petition site in 2006 opened the doors of No 10 to the public more widely than ever before, inevitably leading to a surge of spoof campaigns.
A petition advocating for broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson to become prime minister quickly garnered support from over 50,000 individuals, although a jocular YouTube response from Downing Street led to accusations that Gordon Brown’s government was wasting taxpayer money.
By 2011, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government decided to transfer e-petitions from a government website to a parliamentary platform and tighten the rules. Still, humorous petitions managed to slip through.
These included a proposal to criminalize the misdescription of a casserole with a pastry lid as a pie, requests to reinstate Bacardi Breezers in the UK, and a suggestion to legislate that “Have I Got News for You” be broadcast during political crises.
In 2015, a committee of MPs was established to determine which petitions, upon reaching 100,000 signatures (a threshold few achieve), would be debated by MPs in Westminster Hall.
This forum allows backbenchers to voice concerns that have not made the government’s agenda, followed by a speech from a junior minister who praises contributors while typically refraining from promising government action.
However, this has not deterred the British public from petitioning for important issues such as ensuring UK road signs feature a geometrically correct football, declaring the Eurovision Song Contest a national holiday, and recognizing Jediism as a religion.
One notable success story resulting from an e-petition is Finn’s Law, named after Finn, a German Shepherd police dog who sustained near-fatal injuries after being stabbed with a 30cm (12in) hunting knife while pursuing a suspect.
Finn’s handler, Dave Wardell, stated that a colleague launched the petition as they were receiving emergency treatment in hospital, calling for those who attack police service animals to face the same criminal charges as those who attack a police officer.
Mr. Wardell, who believes his loyal dog “undoubtedly” saved his life, said they hoped the petition would “galvanize” the outpouring of emotion surrounding the attack, although they did not anticipate reaching 130,000 signatures in just 11 days.
“Without that petition, we wouldn’t have received the support from MPs in the House of Commons that led to Finn’s Law,” he said.
“The support simply exploded, and people would say, ‘I’ve never spoken to my MP before, and now I feel like I’ve got into Westminster.'”
With backing from local groups such as schools and Women’s Institutes, MPs also rallied behind the campaign, and the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Act 2019 came into effect within three years.
“That length of time to achieve a change in the law is incredibly quick,” Mr. Wardell said, adding that he was proud to have left a legacy for Finn and secured new protections for service animals.
Since the parliamentary petitions committee was established, 162 successful petitions have resulted in debates among MPs. While these debates are not binding, they provide a means to exert pressure on ministers.
Only five petitions have garnered over a million signatures in the past decade, including a 2016 petition to “Prevent Donald Trump from making a state visit to the UK,” which received 1.9 million signatures.
The largest e-petitions both called for reversing the Brexit decision. The 2016 petition, “EU Referendum rules triggering a 2nd EU Referendum,” attracted over 4.1 million signatures, and the 2019 petition, “Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU,” garnered nearly 6.1 million signatures.
The publicity associated with these larger petitions is not without its risks. Margaret Georgiadou, the woman behind the largest e-petition, received death threats and abuse from opponents who disagreed with her.
While none of these petitions achieved immediate success, they arguably indicated discontent with the Conservative government’s performance at the time.
However, a perceived lack of tangible change stemming from some petitions has led some individuals to abandon the system altogether, including Sam Grossick, who advocates for the e-petitions site to be shut down entirely.
“The government’s response is always the same: ‘we hear you, but we’re not going to do anything about it,'” he said.
“The current system gives the illusion of a feedback loop, but it’s a dead end.”
When asked about the irony of petitioning for an end to petitions, he replied: “The irony is not lost on me. Using the very system we want to shut down is the most direct way to highlight its effectiveness – or lack thereof.”
Mr. Grossick described joke petitions as “a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun” but also “a sad reflection on the state of things,” adding, “when a serious mechanism for public engagement is so broken, people will treat it as a joke.”
Petitions Committee chair Jamie Stone defended the system, stating that it has provided millions of people in the UK with “the chance to engage directly in democracy” and “help set the agenda in Parliament.”
He asserted that the parliamentary e-petitions system has become “a bridge between the public and Parliament,” demonstrating that “democracy does not end at the ballot box.”
Regardless of differing opinions on their impact, the tradition of humorous petitions persists into the 21st century, exemplified by appeals for MPs to refrain from laughing in Parliament, for banning lorries from the second lane on motorways, and for the government to “tell the truth” about Santa.
One particularly disheartened individual even appealed for penalty-taking to be incorporated into the English National Curriculum in lieu of maths lessons, following England’s defeat at a major tournament.
While another called for action to stop people signing petitions for no real reason, some official responses appear to have belatedly embraced the spirit of things, stating: “We think you started this petition as a joke.”
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