Some politicians are plotting an attempt to seize back dominance of the petitioning system in Britain - and hope the internet will prove the means to achieve their goal. At the heart of the issue is a struggle for parliament's ongoing relevance. At present it is Downing Street which has the bragging rights when it comes to petitions; it's no coincidence today's protest by hauliers, angry at the government's 2p fuel duty hike, will be delivering their petition to the prime minister rather than parliament. MPs would much rather they head to the Commons – and steps are in motion to do something about it.
Petitions were originally set up under Richard II's reign and, for hundreds of years were used by constituents to hassle parliament on specific issues. The arrangement was a happy one; it was the "inherent right of every commoner" to pester those in power.
The biggest and most recent innovation, however, has been the Downing Street e-petitions website. This received 5.5 million signatures and some 29,000 petitions in its first year of operation. Good for politics overall, no doubt? But where was the Commons?
The Hansard Society's eDemocracy programme director, Andy Williamson, spoke passionately about their importance in Westminster last week. He talked of "closing the gap between citizens and parliament" and described e-petitions as "the start of the transformation of parliament into the digital age". Tentative efforts from the Welsh Assembly and Scottish parliament, as with many devolution-related issues, are leading the way. According to its Audit of Political Engagement, people are more likely to sign a petition than engage in any other political act.
MPs are now ready to step up their own efforts on e-petitioning. Mr Knight's committee published its report last month.
MPs will be the "facilitator" for e-petitions presented by their constituents, the report recommends. The e-petitions will be presented to the Commons and the government will respond to every submission within three months. MPs could even indicate their own support for a petition in a different box. The Commons would debate petitions three times a year in Westminster Hall.
The arguments against the proposed rollout are many. MPs could be swamped by the extra workload heaped upon them, making e-petitions unworkable. They could have to become editors, struggling with the "trivial or mischievous" time-wasters which blight the Downing Street website. Confidence in parliament might even be eroded. And the whole affair could prove damaging in terms of costs.
