More than 700,000 people and counting have put their names to a petition calling for a general election to be held immediately in a bid to “end the chaos”.
The petition in question – which has been set up on the official parliament.uk petitions platform – comes after Liz Truss stepped down from her role as leader of the Conservative Party yesterday in what was a history-making move, and officially made her the shortest-serving Prime Minister in the history of the UK after only being in office for just 44 days.
During Truss‘s 44 days as leader, following a takeover from outgoing PM Boris Johnson on 5 September 2022, her time in offer was turbulent – to say the least.
She was elected during an ongoing cost of living crisis and an energy supply crisis, in which her government – and the former Chancellor she sacked six days before her resignation, Kwasi Kwarteng – implemented an Energy Price Guarantee that limited energy prices for households, businesses, and public sector organisations.
Her government also announced large-scale borrowing and various tax cuts in a mini-budget unveiled on 23 September – which was poorly received, and the subject of major backlash from all sides, and went on to cause economic chaos and see the value of the pound plummet.
Truss’s time in office also saw the death and state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, which means 10 whole days of her leadership were spent in a period of unprecedented national mourning.
So perhaps turbulent is putting it likely?
Liz Truss resigned as leader of the Conservative Party and stepped down as PM on 20 October 2022 / Credit: 10 Downing Street
With all of that drama unfolding in just 44 days, on top of everything that has already happened in the world of politics this year, it’s probably not that surprising to learn of the fact that a petition calling for a general election to be held immediately has gone on to become one of the most popular petitions to ever to appear on parliament.uk.
The petition wants to “to end the chaos of the current government”.
“Call an immediate general election so that the people can decide who should lead us through the unprecedented crises threatening the UK,” the petition’s call-to-action reads.
“The chaos engulfing the UK government is unprecedented. Over 40 ministers resigned leaving departments without leadership during cost of living, energy and climate crises. War rages in Ukraine, the Northern Ireland Protocol has further damaged our relationship with Europe, recession looms; the UK itself may cease to exist as Scotland seeks independence.
“This is the greatest set of challenges we have seen in our lifetimes.”
More than 700,000 have signed a petition calling for immediate general election / Credit: Conservative Party | Labour Party
Ultimately, the creator of the petition is calling on the government to “let the people decide who leads us through this turmoil” – and dozens of people every minute appear to agree with this.
Given that the petition already has more than 732,000 signatures and is rapidly gaining more every minute, it’s expected that it could hit the one million mark some time in the near future – which is a feat not many public petitions achieve.
Addressing the popularity of the petition, a government spokesperson said in response: “The UK is a Parliamentary democracy and the Conservative Party remains the majority party. The Prime Minister has pledged to ensure opportunity and prosperity for all people and future generations, and a change in the leader of the governing party does not trigger a general election.
“This has been the case under governments of successive political colours… and remains the case.”
Will we ever get a general election though? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Everton are reportedly already hoping to sign Jack Grealish from Manchester City permanently
Danny Jones
Everton FC are reportedly already considering signing Jack Grealish on a permanent deal after an impressive start to his spell on loan from Manchester City.
The former Aston Villa talisman has struggled to remain in the starting XI under Pep Guardiola since joining the club in 2021, but since arriving on Merseyside, he’s already been a difference-maker in every match for the Toffees thus far.
Grealish has not only registered four assists in just two starts for Everton but also won the very first player of the month award in the Premier League this season for his contributions.
Safe to say he’s fast made a big impact over in Liverpool – hence why it is now thought that manager David Moyes wants to make his transfer permanent.
Becoming just the 10th Toffee to ever win the accolade, the Birmingham-born creator is now thought to be the primary transfer target, despite the summer window having only recently closed.
He writes that despite the deal between Everton and Man City already including a £50 million option to buy next summer, that number is “not fixed and is more a consequence of accounting than a set price.”
The England international still has two years on his contract in the blue half of Manchester, but the previous valuation (which is half the amount City paid for him in a then record fee for a British player), so it is believed that he could be signed for an even better cut-price offer as his deal runs down.
Put it this way, it looks like the supporters would do just about anything to keep him at the Hill Dickinson.
Jack Grealish giving his shirt to an Everton fan after their brilliant win away at Wolves today.
Bascombe goes on to explain, however, that his salary considerations could be a significant obstacle. Grealish is estimated to be earning approximately £12m a year, which is almost certainly too rich for Everton’s blood.
Taking that into account, it’d be a case of whether or not the Brummy forward would be willing to accept a much lower wage to depart the Etihad Stadium for Everton long-term; alternatively, waiting for him to become a free agent in a few transfer windows’ time would also be an option.
What about you, Blues: would you like to see Jack Grealish stay and fight for his place under Guardiola, or would you understand/support him making his Everton permanent?
Interestingly, there could be yet more shuffling of the pack in the middle of the park for Pep, as a forgotten man is apparently going to be given another chance to revive his City career…
Kalvin Phillips is reportedly set to be reintegrated into the Manchester City squad
Danny Jones
Long-exiled Manchester City player Kalvin Phillips is reportedly on the verge of being reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad this season.
The ex-Leeds United star, who signed for the Blues back in 2022, has still only made just 16 appearances for the club, but could now be eyeing up a potential renaissance.
Man City have made plenty of signings this year, but with a number of outgoings and several injuries in key positions, it looks like there could be an avenue for the one-time England international to fight his way back into the team.
As per Telegraph Sport‘s Mike McGrath, Kalvin Phillips is set to be reintroduced to City’s 25-man Premier League selection; the question is, can he make it into a first-team XI?
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Kalvin Phillips has chance to resurrect career at the Etihad Stadium after failed loan spells with Ipswich and West Ham
According to McGrath, Phillips will be “given a chance to resurrect his career at the Etihad Stadium” with the meat and potatoes of the 2025/26 campaign still yet to get properly underway.
Now 29, the Yorkshireman is well and truly within the crucial ‘prime’ years as an athlete, and after such an extended period on the sidelines, he’ll be more motivated than anyone to get his career back on track.
The central defensive midfielder – who was formerly considered a key cog in the middle of the park for Leeds – has spent two loan spells away from the Etihad, but neither really worked out for the undeniably talented footballer.
Having joined West Ham for the latter portion of the 23/24 term and spending the last 12 months on loan at struggling Ipswich Town, his time at both clubs was pretty forgettable, punctuated by little more than a couple of unfortunate red cards and more time on the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports fairly recently, he confessed that the last couple of years have been very difficult and was visibly emotional discussing his struggles since moving to Man City.
It’s also worth noting that Guardiola himself has admitted to feeling “so bad” for Kalvin Phillips’ situation – perhaps why he now looks like he could be given a second chance.
CDM-wise, Rodri and Nico González are considered the go-to options, but Stockport-born Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovačić have also been used in the role.
Once again, although Man City face somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, any prolonged absences could at least see an opportunity arise for the forgotten man.
What do you make of Kalvin Phillips’ chances of being restored to the Manchester City squad and maybe even putting himself back into national team contention ahead of the World Cup?
Emily Sergeant -
21st October 2022 
