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Your petitions and the 2024 General Election: FAQs

30 May 2024

The General Election means that the petitions website and all petitions closed on Thursday 30 May. Those petitions will not reopen after the election.

Why is the petitions site closed?

When there is a general election, Parliament closes for a few weeks before the vote, for the election campaign. The petitions website is part of the official work of Parliament, so it had to stop too.

When can I start a new petition?

The petitions site will open again once the House of Commons sets up a new Petitions Committee. We don't know yet exactly when that will happen.

You can follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @HoCPetitions for updates, or check back on the petitions site for updates.

What happened to the petitions open on the site?

All petitions that were open on the site are now closed and can no longer be signed. They won’t be reopened after the election. They’re available for people to read on the site.

Will my petition be opened again after the election?

No, petitions will not be reopened after the election. You can start a new petition when the site re-opens. This could have the same wording as a petition you started before the election.

Can I carry over the signatures my petition has already collected?

No, signatures cannot be carried over to new petitions started after the general election. You can start a new petition and collect new signatures when the site re-opens.  This can include people who signed your previous petition. 

My petition got 10,000 signatures before the site closed. Will the Government still have to respond?

The Government can’t respond during the election period. After the election, it will be up to the Government to decide whether to respond to petitions from before the election.

My petition got 100,000 signatures before the site closed. Will it get debated?

The Petitions Committee (the group of MPs who decide which petitions are debated) ceased to exist when Parliament was dissolved. Decisions about whether to debate any petitions from the previous Parliament will be the responsibility of the new Petitions Committee. Previous Petitions Committees have generally agreed to schedule debates on petitions that received 100,000 signatures but were unable to be debated before a general election.

Why is there currently no Petitions Committee?

The election means that all the Committees cease to exist. New committees will be appointed by the new House of Commons.

Further information 

We’ll update this website with news about the new Petitions Committee. You can also follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @HoCPetitions for updates.

Image: House of Commons