By GB News (Politics) | Created at 2024-11-25 18:58:48 | Updated at 2024-11-27 07:48:58
1 day ago
A heated exchange erupted on GB News between presenter Martin Daubney and former Labour minister Ivor Caplin over a petition calling for a new General Election.
The clash centred on the significance of the petition, which has now gathered more than two million signatures just months after Labour's landslide victory.
Caplin dismissed the petition as "a bit of fun", while Daubney challenged Labour's stance on the matter.
"I'm afraid a General Election is not permitted and won't happen so we can easily forget it", Caplin told GB News viewers.
Martin Daubney and Ivor Caplin clashed on GB News
GB NEWS
The former Labour minister emphasised that unlike Brexit, which he called "a one-off event", the rules for calling a General Election are clearly defined.
He maintained that the petition, despite its significant support, would not lead to any constitutional changes.
"He's not running this. He doesn't want a General Election and he won't have one because the rules don't allow him to unless he really wanted to," Caplin explained.
The former Labour minister defended the government's need for time to implement its agenda.
"You can't say after four or five months a government should not be allowed time to do the things they want to do," he argued, adding: "14 years we spent with the Tories dealing with absolute nonsense."
The petition, created by Michael Westwood on October 31, has exceeded the 100,000-signature threshold required for parliamentary debate consideration.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed the petition on Monday's Good Morning Britain, stating: "I remind myself that very many people didn't vote Labour at the last election. I'm not surprised that many of them want a re-run, that isn't how our system works."
The petition argues that "the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election."
