What's the point in e-petitions on the Downing Street website if the Government just ignores the petition?

Question

The government has announced plans to trial road pricing but it's going to get the councils to do the dirty work of implementing it, thereby deflecting some of the blame, or so they hope.
This is in spite of a e-petition signed by, if I remember correctly, over two million individuals in the UK, including me. If that's not a solid block of public opinion telling them it's a rotten idea, I have no idea what is.
It isn't the only one they've completely ignored, however it is by far the largest one.
I'm assuming that the petitions are just a sop to public opinion and the Government have no intention of changing their mind on anything anyway, so don't bother putting that in an answer. It won't get any points from me.

Answer 1

Don't you see?.....By getting local councils to impliment it the government can claim it isn't them that are doing it.



In a way they are right, they will have no control over it....because they have ceded control to the local councils, the very thing this centrally obsessed government usually avoids doing.



This proves they have taken the petition very seriously indeed, they are scared to do it themselves so do it this back door way.

You didn't actually believe that the petition would stop them trying did you?

It just meant they had to be sneaky about it.



The answer now is to vote them out of office as soon as possible and vote against any local council who impliments the scheme.

Local politicians are even more scared of the electorate than MP's.



They'll soon roll over and play dead if they see they'll be out of office as a result.

Answer 2

Have indeed. Voted against the road charge proposal, knowing from a lifetime of experience that it would make no difference. Yo Blair and co do not, as you rightly suggest, give a damn about public opinion. They will just plough on regardless. The only way ever, in my 65 years of life experience, in which government is ever convinced of the 'will of the people' is when we all take to the streets and go berserk. I mean as in several days of running riots and all the rest. Does anyone really think that important political issues in Britain are settled by elected governments? They are not. All the rights which the citizen enjoys today have been hard won by the 'mob' on the streets. Some issues even lead to civil war. In any event, the real power is slowly being taken from central government by people like us here on the Internet saying it how we think it is. This, more than anything else, scares the politicians to death. They know we no longer need them.

Answer 3

All the governments plans can be made into an E-Petition but only the ones that the government are unsure about are the ones that are used. If the government has something they have already made their minds up on they will put it on just for publicity really.

Answer 4

e-petitions are an easy way for the indolent to register a view without having to get off their backsides to do anything about it. Even so, a mere 2 million could be provoked into opposing road pricing, which means the overwhelming majority must back it!



However, they do let the government know what issues are of concern to people - even if, at the end of the day, they have to do what we put them there to do and make the difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions that are necessary for the general good of the nation.

Answer 5

To feel good that they have heard a debate, Much like the U.S. turns polls about public opinion into news.

Answer 6

The government is creating diversions all over the place to cover up wrong doings that will do them in.

Answer 7

no they dont completely ignore them, what they do is write a standard email telling you why they have to do what they plan on doing. i signed the same petition and also one about tv licence and got standard emails from tony blair apparently teling me he understood but it was necessary to go ahead. its just lip service tis all.

Answer 8

If Labour are still on the run as they are at the moment they will not be introducing this properly until after the next election, something to bear in mind next time we get the chance to vote......................