London: More than six million people have signed an online petition urging the British government to stop the process of the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union, commonly called ‘Brexit’.
Since the petition was put online on March 20, the number of signatures have climbed dramatically. It also caused the website to crash for a brief moment owing to the high traffic, Anadolu News Agency reported.
“The government repeatedly claims ‘exiting the EU is the will of people.’ We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now for remaining in the EU. A people’s vote may not happen — so vote now,” the petition stated.
After the online petition received more than a quarter of a million signatures, the Petitions Committee tweeted, “The rate of signing is the highest the site has ever had to deal with.”
Meanwhile, the British government had responded to the online petition, saying that they have no plans to revoke Article 50, a process triggered any country leaving the EU bloc.
It is worth mentioning that any online petition signed by 100,000 people is taken up by the lawmakers for a debate in the British Parliament”>Parliament.
No resolution seems to be in sight for the UK as the British Parliament”>Parliament has earlier rejected a “no-deal Brexit” scenario. The EU, on the other hand, has reiterated on multiple occasions that the previously negotiated Withdrawal Agreement, which has now been rejected thrice, is the best that can be put on offer.
In yet another blow for British Prime Minister Theresa May, the UK Parliament”>Parliament rejected the Brexit deal for the third time on Friday, with the EU warning that a no-deal Brexit is now a ‘likely scenario’.
The withdrawal deal, negotiated by May with the EU, is touted to be shelved following the third defeat. The UK is now slated to leave the EU on April 12.
May had earlier announced that she would step down if her deal was passed in the British Parliament”>Parliament. Despite the rejection, calls from parliamentarians regarding May’s resignation have magnified.
Adding to the crisis, May had also previously rejected calls for a second referendum, putting forth her resolve to honour the outcome of the 2016 vote and leave the EU.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]