“Hold a referendum on whether to keep the 2050 net zero target”
At the last election all three parties committed to Net Zero by 2050 with the Lib Dems setting out to get there more quickly but no party gave any details, except for the odd line in their manifestos. Whoever you voted for Net Zero was a given.
In October’s budget Rishi Sunak increased total spending and taxes, neither being good for economic recovery, but made no mention of the potential £3 trillion bill for meeting the Net Zero target by 2050. Also, in the Telegraph recently, a poll showed that 42% of adults supported a vote on Net Zero.
For me Net Zero and the whole Climate Change debate is at the heart of our democracy as reflected in The Harrogate Agenda’s fourth demand ‘The People’s Consent’. This demand sets out the principles by which the people, via referendums, can hold the government to account between elections.
This is why on the 27th October I have launched this petition to ‘Hold a referendum on whether to keep the 2050 Net zero target.’
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/599602
The petition states:-
“I believe the Net Zero lacks legitimacy and without a referendum the current Climate change policy lacks the explicit consent of the people, as argued by The Harrogate Agenda. This exposes a massive democratic deficit in our system of government.”
The petition will be up for six months, until April next year. At 10,000 signatures we are guaranteed a response from the government and with 100,000 it would be considered for a debate in parliament. At the moment this is the only tool available to us, and while not ideal, we must not waste this opportunity. As at 8th November the petition had 17,244 votes and the previous petition on Net Zero, in 2020, only got just over 7,000 votes in the six months. This subject appears to have hit a nerve with the public!
So, whether you support Net Zero or not all real democrats should support this petition and sign it and pass it on to your friends and contacts.
This is democracy in action so please use the opportunity provided by this petition.
With a government distancing itself further and further away from the average voter, I can see that one of the few tools at our disposal to bring it back, is the use of more and more referendums.
ReplyDeleteAs I've written elsewhere, only with their increased use, will the voter get used to engaging him or herself with the democratic process and the effort required to be informed.
There will be many against this use of referendums, quoting media manipulation by the rich and powerful, but an informed voter will be able to see straight through any such manipulation attempt as many, or arguably, most did, in the Brexit referendum.