We’re approaching the three month anniversary of the “Create A Petition” facility on the official 10 Downing Street website.
In case you didn’t know about it, this is how it works:
Downing Street is working in partnership with the non-partisan charitable project mySociety to provide a service to allow citizens, charities and campaign groups to set up petitions that are hosted on the Downing Street website, enabling anyone to address and deliver a petition directly to the Prime Minister.
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No petition will be rejected unless it violates these terms. And even when petitions cannot be not hosted No10 will still publish as much of rejected petitions as is consistent with legal and anti-spam requirements, including the reason why it could not be hosted.
To date, there have been over two thousand petitions created.
Some have been successful. Half a million have supported calls “to Scrap the planned vehicle tracking and road pricing policy”
Others, less so. “We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Solve the problem of 3rd world debt” has only one supporter.
Not every petition has been entirely serious. I do quite like the idea that we should “replace the national anthem with ‘Gold’ by Spandau Ballet”:
We, the people of Britain, feel that our current National Anthem has lost a bit of its sparkle.
When we are confronted by the rare occasion of us winning a medal at the Olympics, we all have to mumble through “God Save The Queen”, well God help us in 2012!
We would thereby like to table the suggestion that we change the National Anthem to something more modern and appropriate and that will re-invigorate our pride.
What we specifically want to see, is that the National Anthem be changed in favour of “Gold” by Spandau Ballet.
Further, we would like our National Olympic Committee to decree that Tony Hadley is the only person permitted to handle medal ceremonies where the National Anthem is played.
We don’t mind what he wears when he does this, but preference is given towards a a gold colured suit.
However, as a folkie, I’m more inclined to support the petition to award a knighthood to “Ashley Hutchings for his outstanding contribution to the preservation of and education about English folk music and dance, its traditions and heritage”
Not all submissions have been accepted. Among those petitions rejected are:
“We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Send Chris Hedley to Outer Mongolia until he has recovered from the plague” (rejected because “was outside the remit or powers of the Prime Minister and Government”)
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Support the Iranian resistance and Maryam Rajavi – Submitted by Pouya of NCRI (rejected because “It contained material which is potentially confidential, commercially sensitive, or which may cause personal distress or loss”)
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stopp torturing me by the electromagnetic microwave weapon. Hi I am Iranian British and targeted by the Iranian terorist government and British suporter. They using electromagnetic radiation, microwave weapon and torturing me at 24/7 daily basic. they bombardemant my brain to killing me. Stop electromagnetic microwave haressmant. (rejected because “It was an issue for which an e-petition is not the appropriate channel”)
So what are you waiting for? Go create a petition.
