A new tool on the Number 10 website allows people to set up their own petitions to the Prime Minister, and currently the petition to repeal the Hunting Act is proving by far the most popular.
The Number 10 website is aiming to encourage people to put their own concerns and campaigns forward, and amongst calls for Tony Blair to resign and requests to legalise cannabis, the repeal of the Hunting Act was one of the first petitions on the site.
So far nearly 4,300 people have digitally ‘signed’ the petition, which makes it the most popular idea by far. Scrapping ID cards, and trident also have lots of support – 717 and 1057 signatures respectively – but these still come nowhere near to the support garnered by the pro-hunt lobby.
Around 500 petitions are online so far, in only a few days of the idea launching, meaning it is catching on with the public in a very real way.
The project is being funded by taxpayers money, so none of the petitions can be party political in any way. Rejected petitions will still be listed on a separate part of the website, with reasons why they could not be included.
The website can be found at petitions.pm.gov.uk. The hunting petition can be found on the first page of five.
