I’ve previously written about the futility of promoting government petitions, and why I continue to do it anyway. There’s a link at the bottom of this blog.

In my last Diary post I reported that the government had dismissed a petition, calling for an independent enquiry into pro-Israeli influence in UK politics, that had already obtained >113k signatures in less than 3 months. I wasn’t surprised, it would have revealed a lot that government would prefer to remain obscured if can’t be hidden.

A few weeks later this petition acquired nearly 75k signatures in less than a month and received a response that is frankly insulting! Hopefully the Petitions Committee will decide it didn’t address the issue and will request a further response.

Hold a referendum to bring the water industry into public ownership https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762640

The government response in brief is:

Nationalisation would take years and involve complex legal processes, diverting effort from cleaning up rivers, lakes and seas. We are taking action now through stronger regulation and enforcement.

Poppycock! The they go on to say:

The government recognises the strength of public concern about the performance of the water industry. Water is a vital public service, and people rightly expect clean rivers, reliable services and greater accountability from water companies.

However, “the government has no intention of nationalising the water sector currently.” Of course not, we wouldn’t need a bloody petition for something the government planned on doing anyway. Or we wouldn’t if we agreed with their plans and could trust them to carry them out!

There are many ways to make our voices heard besides signing petitions, and they’re potentially more effective which is why they’re suppressed. We’re not all able to participate in direct action or join in mass protests in support of those who do. Yet we cannot remain silent! We must speak up in any way we can, even if it’s only sharing what others have said on social media ✊

Donating to a cause you believe in is good if you can afford it, a £1 donation from a million individuals is more valuable than £1m from a billionaire to whom it is petty cash! I’ve given up naming the causes I donate to, it’s a lot but I’m aware that others can’t afford be as generous as I am and I don’t want to appear to be bragging – not that anyone who’s been following me for any length of time would accuse me of such a thing 😅

It’s really a matter of doing what we can with the means available, and assisting comrades who might need assistance to all they would wish. We can do it by membership of a political party, a trade union, or a community organisation. “Solidarity” is the keyword for a socialist movement, I fear that some socialists might be forgetting that 🙁