NO to 70 Million

To our readers in the United Kingdom:

In the comments, a link to a most interesting e-petition appeared:

No to 70 million

The body of the text reads:

Responsible department: Home Office

Over the past ten years the government has permitted mass immigration despite very strong public opposition reflected in numerous opinion polls. We express our deep concern that, according to official figures, the population of the UK is expected to reach 70 million within 20 years with two thirds of the increase due to immigration. While we recognise the benefits that properly controlled immigration could bring to our economy and society, this population increase, which is the equivalent of building seven cities the size of Birmingham, will have a huge impact both on our quality of life and on our public services yet the public has never been consulted. So we call on the government to take all necessary steps to get immigration down to a level that will stabilise our population as close to the present level as possible and, certainly, well below 70 million.”

This e-petition has received the following response:

This e-petition has reached 100,000 signatures. The Government has notified the Backbench Business Committee in the House of Commons. This e-petition will remain live, and people will be able to continue adding their signatures.

In the meantime, we would like to update you on the Government’s current position on the substance of this e-petition.

“The response to this petition shows that the public feel strongly that immigration is too high and that this government should continue its work to bring numbers under control.

We have made sweeping changes to the immigration system to reduce net migration from the hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.

We have already introduced a limit on non-EU workers coming to the UK, radically overhauled the student visa system to cut abuse and will shortly be announcing reforms to the family and settlement routes.”

The petition, sponsored by Sir Andrew Green, closes in October of this year. Meanwhile, it remains online, available for signing by eligible citizens. Please scroll to the the bottom of that petition; there is a prominent button leading to the signature page.

I hope government’s response is accurately told here. It seems too good to be true.

I only wish we had such a mechanism in the U.S.