A protest is set to take place on Bonfire Night calling for a General Election. The protest is set to take place on November 5, a date synonymous with revolts against the Government.
The protest is being organised after Liz Truss announced her resignation as Prime Minister today (October 17) triggering a Conservative leadership election. But after serving only 45 days in office and following turmoil in Parliament yesterday, many people around the country are calling for a General Election instead.
Politics4You is organising the demonstration. Taking to Twitter the group said: "We hereby announce a formal protest on the 5TH OF NOVEMBER to DEMAND A GENERAL ELECTION. The Met police have been notified. Will YOU stand up for democracy? Please share. It is TIME for our voice to be HEARD. #GeneralElectionNow #ToriesOutNow."
Protestors will meet outside Whitehall to call for the General Election. Without a national election, it is down to Conservative MPs to choose a new leader of their party - and therefore a Prime Minister. However, this means the public will not have a say in who leads the country.
November 5 has been chosen as the date of the protest as it is Guy Fawkes Night. On that date in 1605, Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
At the same time as the protests were announced, nearly 200,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a General Election to be held. The petition has been set up by the editor of The Independent newspaper, David Marley, on the Change.org website.
In the petition, Mr Marley says: "Liz Truss has quit as prime minister after just 45 days in office. She had no mandate for her abrupt changes of policy when she took charge – except from 81,000 Conservative Party members, a tiny and unrepresentative section of the population. Nor did she have any authority for her U-turns, repeatedly changing the government’s fundamental stance on taxes and public spending.
"Announcing her resignation, Ms Truss said a new prime minister would be chosen within a week. We at The Independent believe this is unacceptable. This will be the third Conservative prime minister since the last general election in 2019.
"Who is leading our country should be decided in a general election, not in the strange bubble of yet another Conservative leadership election. It is time for voters to decide who should govern the country and uphold the democratic principles our governing bodies are built on. For this reason, we are calling for a general election now.
"It is a simple and fundamental principle that the government derives its democratic legitimacy from the people. Let them have their say. Thank you for your support."
