UK Government e-petition website launched

(The Guardian): The Commons Speaker, John Bercow, has emerged as a strong supporter of government plans to allow electronic petitions as a way of shaping the parliamentary agenda and increasing public engagement. A government e-petition website will go live on Thursday, showing petitions that have been accepted for consideration for debate in the Commons. The leader of the house, Sir George Young, has said petitions that garner more than 100,000 signatures should warrant consideration for debate. Bercow is understood to be flexible about how parliament should be seen to be responding to an e-petition garnering big support.

 He does not necessarily think every issue should be considered at a full- length debate, but might simply require a minister to come to the house and answer a question on the issue. The e-petition page on the government's Directgov website will show the e-petitions that have been accepted so far.

It is widely expected that supporters of capital punishment, immigration controls, withdrawal from Europe and opposition to green taxes will initially dominate. An e-petition will only be allowed to stay on the website for a year, and duplicates will not be allowed.

See HM Government e-petitions