[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Public demand for an early general election is exploding in the United Kingdom.
According to Bloomberg and other sources on the 3rd (local time), the number of early general election petitions registered on the UK Parliament website is approaching 500,000. It has already far exceeded the 100,000 threshold required for parliamentary discussion.
The petition was registered in early July but did not receive much attention until recently, when the new Liz Truss government announced a ?45 billion tax cut plan, followed by a sharp decline in the British pound. Since then, the number of petitions has surged. On the 29th of last month, the petition count surpassed the 100,000 mark required for parliamentary debate, and it has continued to increase explosively. As of 4:48 PM on the 4th (Korean time), the number stands at 495,202.
The UK House of Commons has not yet set a date for discussion.
In 2011, the UK passed a bill that removed the Prime Minister's authority to call an early general election and transferred that power to the House of Commons. According to the bill, an early general election can only be held if conditions such as approval by two-thirds of the members of the House of Commons are met. However, after winning the 2019 general election, the Conservative Party restored the Prime Minister's authority to decide on early elections.
Therefore, even if the number of petitions demanding an early general election surges, if Truss does not step down and holds firm, it will be difficult to hold an early election. Conservative MPs opposing Truss are expected to focus on protecting the Truss government for now, despite expressing dissatisfaction, as current polls indicate a very high likelihood of losing power.
In a poll conducted by YouGov on the 28th and 29th of last month, the Conservative Party's support rate was only 21%. The Labour Party recorded 54%, widening the gap with the Conservatives to 33 percentage points, the largest since the late 1990s.
Opposition parties such as the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are expected to use public sentiment as a means to pressure the Truss government. Although the Truss government withdrew the plan to reduce the top income tax rate from 45% to 40%, one of the key promises of the tax cut plan, the Liberal Democrats are demanding the complete withdrawal of the tax cut plan.
Currently, the Conservative Party holds 357 seats out of 650 in the House of Commons, which is a majority, while the Labour Party holds 200 seats.
The current UK Parliament was first convened on December 17, 2019, and will be automatically dissolved on December 17, 2024, marking its fifth year. Since the law requires the dissolution of Parliament at least 25 sitting days before a general election, the next UK general election is expected to be held no later than January 24, 2025.
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