Petition · past parliament
Government should not be able to reject petitions without having a fair debate.
Rejected
12 signatures
What the petition asks
Higher members of political parties should not be able to influence MP's votes in petitioned debates as it is undemocratic.
A petition attempting to trigger rules influencing another EU referendum and a petition attempting to block Donald Trump from making a state visit (both had well over 100,000 signatures) were both blocked by Parliament and Government by debates with pre-decided outcomes.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action. We're not sure what you mean by a "fair debate". You could start a new petition explaining clearly what you would like the Government or Parliament to do. For example, you could ask for the system to be changed so that the Government only provides its written response to a petition after it's been debated.
Timeline
| 18 Feb 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 8 Mar 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
12
Status
Rejected
Rejected
8 Mar 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.