Over 2.7 million people have already signed petition calling for new general election
27th November 2024
A petition calling for a new general election has surpassed 2,760,000 signatures in just a week.
The creators of the petition said that the current Labour government has gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.
On Monday, PM Starmer was asked about the petition on ITV’s This Morning programme. However, he dismissed calls for an election by saying that it is “not how our system works”.
He added: “Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election.
“I am not surprised many of them want a re-run.”
Petitions that received more than 100,000 signatures should be debated in Parliament, however, it is unlikely that it would trigger a new election.
Access the petition here.
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Autumn Budget
The farming industry was one of the sectors that have been severely impacted by the Autumn Budget.
On 30th October, chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed reforms to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) from April 2026.
From this date, the first £1m of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax. But, for assets over £1m, inheritance tax will apply with 50% relief.
The change came despite significant lobbying from the farming industry and a statement from the now Defra secretary of state Steve Reed last year that Labour had “no intention of changing APR”.
Defra subsequently revealed that the agricultural budget will remain at £2.4 billion for 2025/26.
Other announcements included the minimum wage increase to £12.21 an hour and a rise in employer National Insurance contribution rate from 13.8% to 15%.
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