A petition launched Friday urging British Prime Minister Theresa May not to form a ‘coalition of chaos’ with the Democratic Unionist Party has already gained over half a million signatures and counting.
The author of the ‘Stop the DUP & TORIES forming a Minority Government!’ petition, writing under the pen name Winston Churchill, called the proposed alliance “a disgusting, desperate attempt to stay in power.”
Unlike previous online petitions filed through the UK government website, this petition is non-binding and will not trigger an official response from the government nor has the potential to force debate in the House of Commons.
The official petitions website is currently down until a new Petitions Committee is set up by the House of Commons.
The change.org petition criticizes several highly contentious stances held by various members of the DUP at one point including belief in creationism, anti-abortion and anti-gay rights advocacy.
The petition ends with a call for May to resign.
British conservatives have expressed unease with the proposed alliance with the DUP online.
As a Protestant Unionist about to marry an Irish Catholic, here’s the Amnesty Pride lecture I gave in Belfast…https://t.co/NdRaT2s3W5
— Ruth Davidson (@RuthDavidsonMSP) June 9, 2017
1. The precipitous fall from predicted ‘landslide’ to minority Govt was wholly avoidable; the result of hubris & a failure to listen
— Sarah Wollaston (@sarahwollaston) June 9, 2017
Former New Labour ‘sultan of spin’ Alastair Campbell also weighed in describing the proposal as a “dangerous disgrace.”
Having started this election with her own position in mind she is ending it in the same way. The #DUPCoalition is a dangerous disgrace
— Alastair Campbell (@campbellclaret) June 9, 2017
