CAPITAL PUNISHMENT – LESSON 5
Politics
Parliament 'could be forced to debate the restoration of capital
punishment'
MPs could be forced into debating the restoration of capital punishment as the
Government’s new e-petitions initiative is expected to be hijacked by right wing
campaigners.
Photo: ALAMY
By Murray Wardrop
7:30AM BST 04 Aug 2011
From today, the public will be allowed to set up internet petitions on a Government website on
any subject. Petitions which attract more than 100,000 supporters must be debated in the House of
Commons.
However, the scheme is likely to backfire immediately because right wing internet bloggers have
been collecting signatures for several days calling for the reintroduction of the death penalty.
Sir George Young, leader of the House of Commons, said MPs cannot ignore the issues raised by
the system, which could pave the way for the first vote on capital punishment since 1998.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Sir George – who is overseeing the e-petitions scheme – said: “What
else is Parliament for? People have strong opinions and it does not serve democracy well if we
ignore them or pretend their views do not exist.”
The concept, conceived in the Coalition agreement, is designed to give ordinary people a bigger
say in government and reconnect voters with Parliament amid concerns of waning trust in the
political system following scandals such as disclosures over MPs' expenses.