Keir Starmer rejects petition demanding recent normal election vote as signatures hit two million

Keir Starmer has rejected an online petition demanding a general election.

The Prime Minister said he was “not surprised” that some people who did not support Labour in July’s election might want a second poll.

His comments came as some right-wing MPs – including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage – gleefully shared the petition on social media over the weekend. It has now gathered over two million signatures.

Elon Musk – the X owner who clashed with the PM during the summer amid scenes of violent disorder – has even claimed it is evidence the “people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state”.

But asked about the petition on Monday, the PM told ITV’s This Morning: “Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election.

“I’m not surprised that many of them want a rerun. That isn’t how our system works. There will be plenty of people who didn’t want us in the first place. So, what my focus is on is the decisions that I have to make every day.”

The petition – set up on Parliament’s website – states: “I would like there to be another General Election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.”

The Express reported it was set up by pub owner Michael Westwood, who voted for the Conservatives at the election.

He said: “Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to take off like it has”.

But there is virtually no chance of the Government calling a general election. Just five months ago Labour won a historic Commons majority with over 9.7million people voting for the party.

The Tories were also turfed out of office after 14 years with just 121 seats in the Commons – the party’s worst-ever election defeat. The next election is expected to be held in 2029.