With 3 Million Signatures, Petition to Undo Brexit Hits Parliament

The petition needed 1,00,000 signatures to be debated in parliament.

A Remain supporter with a European flag across the street from the Houses of Parliament. (Photo: AP)

After the Brexit vote, which decided that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union, a petition demanding a reversal of the decision has reached three million signatures, reported The Times of India.

The number of signatures has well surpassed the 1,00,000 signatures required to begin a debate in the House of Commons.

Conservative MP Ben Howlett took to Twitter to confirm that the petition will be discussed by a Select Committee in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the report said.

The petition was started by William Oliver Healey. It reads:

We, the undersigned, call upon Her Majesty’s Government to implement a rule that if the Remain or Leave vote is less than 60 percent based a turnout less than 75 percent there should be another referendum.

The website of the parliamentary petition at one point crashed due to the number of people adding their names to the call for another referendum. It remains unclear if a change to the rules demanded by the petition were to come into force and inserted into UK legislation.

A parallel petition calling for London Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare “Londependence” – or the British capital an independent state – has also been signed by thousands of people. The petition’s organiser, James O’Malley, said the capital was “a world city”, and should “remain at the heart of Europe”.

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The petition read:

London is an international city, and we want to remain at the heart of Europe. Let’s face it – the rest of the country disagrees. So, rather than passive aggressively vote against each other at every election, let’s make the divorce official and move in with our friends on the continent. This petition is calling on Mayor Sadiq Khan to declare London independent, and apply to join the EU.

Also Read: So What Do the Brits Have to Say About Brexit?

Mayor Khan himself issued a statement on the negotiations for Britain’s departure from the EU.

It is crucial that London has a voice at the table during those renegotiations, alongside Scotland and Northern Ireland. Although we will be outside the EU, it is crucial that we remain part of the single market. Leaving the single market of 500 million people – with its free-trade benefits – would be a mistake.

Sadiq Khan, Mayor, London

An overwhelming 60 percent of Londoners had voted to remain in the EU compared with other English cities like Birmingham and Coventry.

Also Read: Oh Blimey! The Quint Explains The Brexit Mess

#LondonStays Gains Momentum on Twitter

A Twitter account @London_Stays has been set up, with many people tweeting with #LondonStays in the wake of the vote. This is the inaugural tweet from the account:

A demonstration has been planned on Tuesday to gather support of Londoners and request them to stay as a part of EU.

(With agency inputs)