The pub landlord behind the viral petition calling for a general election has revealed why he decided to start it.
Michael Westwood launched the petition – which has now gained over 2.5 million signatures – last week after growing “fed up” with Sir Keir Starmer just four months after Labour won the general election in a landslide.
“I just thought they were being so negative all the time,” he told the MailOnline.
“They were putting the fear of God into people that everything was so bad. They had also gone back on their manifesto promises. I was just frustrated at what I was seeing and hearing it all the time and it really annoyed me.
“I just typed into Google ‘how to change the Prime Minister’ and it came back with start a petition. So that’s what I did.”
The aims of the petition, published on the government website, reads: “I would like there to be another general election. I believe the current Labour government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead-up to the last election.”
The petition was only set up on November 20, but has already received over 2,616,000 signatures at the time of writing. The majority of signatories to the petition are concentrated in Conservatives or Reform safe seats.
Mr Westwood, who runs three pubs in the West Midlands, said despite starting the petition he does not consider himself political but has been “staggered” by the support.
He voted Conservative in the last election but insisted there are “a lot of people” who are unhappy with the government and added: “Not just those who did not vote for him, but lots of Labour voters as well.
“Since they won the election all they have done is talk down the country and they have not been truthful.”
The prime minister responded to the petition on Monday as it continues to gain thousands of signatures each day.
Asked about the petition on ITV’s This Morning programme on Monday, Sir Keir dismissed calls for an election by saying that it is “not how our system works”.
He said: “Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election. I am not surprised many of them want a re-run.”