‘Invite the Greens’ petition hits 200,000 signatures
The petition demanding the major broadcasters invite the Greens onto the 2015 General Election debates has now reached over 200,000 signatures.
It hit the 200k mark this afternoon, piling further pressure on the media companies, including the BBC, to open up the televised debates to the Green Party.
The landmark means that the petition has racked up an average of 50,000 signatures per week since launching exactly four weeks ago, on the 13th October.
The petition, by Robyn Meadwell, states: “The Green Party beat the Liberal Democrats in the 2014 European Elections and is polling neck-and-neck with them in General Election opinion polls. In May 2014 more than 1.2 million people voted Green – more than 150,000 more than voted Liberal Democrat.
“Natalie Bennett has just as much a right to be on that panel as the men. Apparently it’s too “messy” to have too many candidates in a TV debate.
“By excluding a party with a female leader, we are sending a clear message to the public — politics is still an old boys club.”
The 200,000 signatures follow Caroline Lucas’ appearance on BBC Question Time last Thursday, which led to the hashtag #InviteTheGreens trending across the UK.
The BBC will come under the most heat after this news, in the wake of the BBC Trust’s decision to open up the question of the TV debates to a public consultation this week – a move welcomed by the Greens and the SNP.
Thousands have joined the Greens over the past few weeks following the broadcasters’ controversial move, with the parties’ now having a combined UK-wide membership of over 31,000.
I have emailed the admin office of The Greens and the Leader Ms Natalie Bennett several times, but gained no reply as to why The Greens have a deafening silence in informing the public of new and unique policies that would bring The Greens tens of millions of voters, from the 70 per cent non-voters bloc in England Wales.
Welfare reform is killing people. Some allege at around 200 a week in early deaths or suicides of all ages, but especially the over 50s.
The 70 per cent rise in starvation is in no small measure due to the 70 per cent rise in benefit sanctions to all ages.
The 20 per cent poor are in the main in work, (half of over 50s are within the working poor) and the rest include the over 50s, where the majority reason not in work is due to disability/chronic illness.
The Greens are chasing exactly the same small band of voters as all the main parties, which is the young with money in good jobs. So only get a tiny amount of votes.
If The Greens’ 2015 manifesto pledge of replacing the cruel benefits regime that is starving and killing people was well promoted in media and on billboards, then The Greens would pass Labour like it was standing still:
– universal Citizen Income, automatic, non-withdrawable
(saving billions in benefits admin – DWP – Jobcentres – no need of private contracts)
– A Bettered State Pension, giving each citizen a full state pension instead of huge numbers of women born from 1953 and men born from 1951 being left with NIL STATE PENSION FOR LIFE.
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/state-pension-at-60-now