So You Think Petitions Are A Waste Of Time?

Some people are understandably sceptical as to the effectiveness of petitions, and even think they are a waste of time.

Here's what we think:

(i). First, we must be clear that petitions are just one tool among many for campaigning, and we have plans for other campaigning styles and methods which we hope and expect to make use of in the future.

(ii). Petitions are a campaign 'tool' in three respects: first, they are a means to an end and can, directly or indirectly, bring about the realisation of the political goal; second, the campaign to promote the petition itself can lead to gains that promote the eventual realisation of the political goal; and, third, the petition itself must also be acted on in some way.  The first two points are obvious.  Regarding the third point, a petition normally implies that somebody will engage in petitioning of the relevant authorities, which normally involves engagement with law-makers and decision-makers.  This engagement is in and of itself valuable and useful, even if it doesn't directly or immediately lead to realisation of the goal sought.

(iii). A petition itself and its promotion is also a form of propaganda in its own right and raises awareness of the issue among people, keeps the issue in the public eye and on social media, lets people know that others agree with them about the issue and that 'something' is being done about it, and also lets people know that there is a campaign they can join and contribute to if they wish.  It also offers encouragement to others who may want to run their own campaigns independently of us but towards the same or a closely-similar goal.

(iv). It is true that UK Parliament petitions are a rather cosmetic exercise, but that should not lead us to dismiss petitions as a campaign method.  Voting and the secret ballot were initially a cosmetic exercise too.  Mass enfranchisement was a concession to the burgeoning industrial working class in the (not unfounded) belief that it could be used to manage and control the masses, yet voting has turned into the ruling class’s Achilles' heel.  It's all about how we make use of the tools available to us.

(v). It is said that petitions to the UK Parliament have not led to any legislative changes, but even if that is the case, it should be remembered that, first, petitioning is not an automatic law-making process; second, the effectiveness of any petition depends on a range of favourable factors that are often absent in amateur petitions, such as: the popularity of the issue, the underlying campaign and momentum behind it, how well-crafted and worded the petition itself is and - crucially - whether the petition covers a matter that is actionable by the government and Parliament respectively; and, third, petitions have influenced debate and can lead to changes in the law over time.  The change we want will not happen overnight.

(vi). Critics sometimes argue that petitions are a sham intended to fool us into believing that we somehow have a say in government and laws, but we are not so fooled.  We have never laboured under any such belief.  We know that petitioning is simply a campaigning method and nothing more.