Campaigns and Hubs Don't Lose Your Voice - LGBTQ+ Democracy Hub Starting a petition Petitions can be a good way of raising awareness of issues that impact you directly or are important to the wider LGBTQ+ community. A petition can help to make your voice, and the voices of your community, heard, and can encourage action on specific issues. What is a petition? Petitions are usually a formal, written request made by a person or group of people that asks for action or changes to be made. Petitions are diverse in their demands and are made by people from all walks of life and all political beliefs. You might have been asked to sign a petition before. More commonly, petitions are created online, but there are a number of ways to start a petition. Two examples are parliamentary petitions, and local government petitions. Parliamentary petitions – Petitions created on the government’s official website that are submitted to the government for review and potential response or debate in Parliament. These are generally issues of national importance. Local government petitions – Petitions directed at local authorities (councils) which campaign for change regarding issues in the local area. Other forms of petition – Petitions that are hosted on other, non-government sites and may direct policy requests at organisations, individuals, businesses, government, or other groups. What can a petition do? Petitions can have a huge impact. This usually depends on the number of people an individual petition can reach, the level of support it gets, and the organisation/ department to which the petition was made. In the case of petitions made to the government, it can result in the relevant government body discussing a particular issue or even making direct changes to policy or law. Petitions can also hold politicians, local governments and other public bodies to account by making them aware of issues that are important to people and potentially encouraging a public response to raised concerns. It’s important to remember that not all petitions result in formal action, but this doesn’t mean that the petition is a failure. Petitions can help to highlight issues in the media and kickstart conversation and awareness raising as well as mobilise communities and activists to work together to get heard. Petitions to the UK parliament have a formal consequence when they have reached a minimum number of signatures, this includes receiving a formal response from the government (10,000 signatures) or being considered for debate in the House of Commons (100,000 signatures). For signature thresholds, please see What happens after I submit a Petition. Who can create a petition? In the case of UK parliamentary petitions, only British citizens and UK residents are able to create a petition on the UK Government and Parliament website. Similarly, you cannot vote on a petition that has been submitted through to the UK Government and Parliament unless you are a British citizen or UK resident. If you are not a British citizen or resident in the UK, it might be useful to organise with your community or allies to work together to create a petition that can be submitted. Anyone can create a generalised petition on a platform like Change.org Planning your petition - Choose your petition topic If you are hoping to start a petition, it is usually a good idea to focus on one clear issue. Clearly identifying the problem, you want to address before starting your petition will help you communicate to others why it is important, and why it could resonate with them, too. That is why it is best to be specific when starting your petition. The more precise and actionable your petition is, the better. This gives people an idea of what practical changes to expect if your petition is successful. Decide what type of petition you want to start There are a number of different types of petitions that you can start, depending on who you want to see it. The main types of petitions are: UK Parliamentary Petition. Local government petition Online petition platforms: if you spend time online, then it is likely that you have seen or perhaps even signed an online petition. If you think an online petition is best suited to your issue, you can use websites like Change.org or 38 Degrees. Online petitions often allow people to raise issues and collect signatures in support of a change or action even though they may not directly lead to legislative or policy changes or always get on Parliament’s radar. There is more information about Submitting your petition below Create your petition It’s important to make your petition as accessible as possible, so that it can reach as many people as possible. Creating a clear, concise title for your petition will help people understand your concerns quickly. As well as identifying the issue you are concerned about, your petition should also state what you want to happen, or what your goal is. It can really help to have clear expectations outlined in your petition. Clearly define what you want to change. This also allows people to see that you are thinking about the practical actions you want taken. If you are able to, it can also be helpful to include facts, figures and personal stories to strengthen your argument or evidence your claims. Your petition should be accessible. Keep the language simple and give a clear outline of the issue and your goals without overloading your audience with too much information. For instance, if you’re creating a petition that affects LGBTQ+ people, try to remember that the community comes from all different kinds of backgrounds, and has diverse and varied lived experiences. Make sure your petition is easy to understand for everyone. Even if it is an issue, you know a lot about, people reading your petition might not have the same level of understanding. Creating a parliamentary petition The form on the UK parliamentary website is simple. First it asks for a brief description of what you want parliament to do in under 80 characters. It then asks for a more detailed description of the petition’s goal in under 300 characters. And lastly, it then asks for the reason why the petition is making the demand, in under 500 characters, as per the image below. Creating a local government petition Creating a petition to your local authority will differ, depending on the borough in which you live. Many of these systems require you to register an account with the local authority’s website. Promote your petition You want your petition to reach as many people as possible. There are a few ways to spread the word: Social media: using platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or LinkedIn can help you to reach a wider audience. You can ask friends and family to ‘share’ your social media posts about your petition to help the information spread further. Contact relevant groups: it can be helpful to reach out to, and team up with, charities or advocacy groups that support your cause. Reach out to local media: although local newspapers might seem to be a thing of the past, local news sources such as online media, radio, or even local television stations might be able to cover your petition. What happens after I submit a petition? If you have submitted a petition to the UK Government and Parliament through the official website, there are usually two stages that might happen next: After 10,000 signatures, petitions get a response from the government. After 100,000 signatures, petitions are considered for debate in Parliament. It's worth knowing that even if a petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it might not be put forward for debate if the issue has already been debated recently, or there’s a debate scheduled for the near future. You should be informed if this is the case and given details of petitions that touch upon issues similar to that which you raised. For local authorities, the way in which petitions are handled will differ depending on the individual council. You can find your local council using your postcode and visit their website for further information. Supported by the Greater London Authority, City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, London E16 1ZE. 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