[Air-l] Petition Tony Blair, online that is

[Dominic Pinto]

There are no obligations on the UK government. The
Scottish Parliament seems to be further on though see
http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/

This site is a product of mysociety.org, and related
involved people who were/are behind
theyworkforyou.com, and other on-line enterprises
going back 10+ years.

These are all examples of amongst other things making
the proceedings of the legislature, and government,
more understandable, approachable, responsive,
accountable, and help check and hold the executive to
account.

The UK system is in many respects still a feudal form
of government on which has been grafted over time
various additional attributes, such that there is in
the modern era now a government representing a
minority of the popular vote exercising all the powers
of the monarch (the 'prerogative' powers) plus those
that had been taken under parliamentary or statute
control. All in all, there is very limited scrutiny or
holding to account by the legislature of either the
passage of legsilation, or the actions of the
executive.

At the end of course, you can always throw the
bastards out ........ :-) ..... but it may, in the
database state, be too late by then.

Mass petitions have a long history - Wat Tyler and the
Peasants Revolt of the 14th century being an early
example of a mass petition albiet with some bloody
features, and a negative outcome.

Listen also to the discussion from this morning's BBC
Radio 4's In Our Time at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime.shtml

Other examples might include the Pilgrimage of Grace
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/grace.html; small
scale ones e.g. one handed in by an MP on behalf of
constituents
http://www.derekwyatt.co.uk/news_item.aspx?i_PageID=113440
Petitions to Parliament concerning the Corn Laws
http://www.historyhome.co.uk/peel/cornlaws/petition.htm

Petitions to Mr Tony
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6147842.stm
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page297.asp - he'll
still accept paper petitions, and these often get good
media coverage, which is part of the reason for so
doing, but not all e-petitions will be accepted or put
up on the government site.





--- Ildiko Kaposi <pphkai01 at phd.ceu.hu> wrote:

> Wainer,
> 
> What's the reason for your disbelief? 
> 
> I took only a cursory glance at the sight, so I'm
> not well-informed.
> First of all, I don't know what the online
> petitioning implies exactly,
> i.e. whether there are any obligatory consequences
> for the Right Hon.
> Blair or government policy. But online petitioning
> as such is practised
> elsewhere, and e-democracy has been something of a
> priority for the UK
> government, so this seems to fit the pattern.
> Am I misreading the initiative?
> 
> Ildiko
> 
> 
> >>> "Wainer Lusoli" <w.lusoli at lse.ac.uk> 11/17/06
> 1:56 PM >>>
> http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/
> 
> Still rubbing my eyes in disbelief
> 
> Any thoughts, anyone?
> 
<snip>

Dominic Pinto BA MIEEE MCMI MRi FRSA
http://www.ecademy.com/user/dominicpinto

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