Keir Starmer has dismissed a petition demanding another general election as the number of people signing it passed the two million mark.
The prime minister said he was “not surprised” that his popularity has nosedived because of many of the decisions Labour has taken since winning power nearly five months ago.
The online petition, posted on parliament’s website, says: “I would like there to be another general election. I believe the current Labour Government have gone back on the promises they laid out in the lead up to the last election.”
A Labour source told HuffPost UK yesterday: “This government was elected just a few months ago with an overwhelming mandate to deliver change. The sooner those who lost accept that, the better.”
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning today, Starmer was told by presenter Andy Peters that two million had now signed the petition, which only went up two days ago.
But the PM said: “I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election and I’m unsurprised that many of them want a rerun.
“That isn’t how our system works. There will be plenty of people who didn’t want us in in the first place, so what I focus on is the decisions that I have to make every day.”
Peters then said: “You want us, the public, to trust you and like you and think ‘he’s the man to do the job’. But your approvals ratings are lower than Nigel Farage’s right now. Even saying it to the prime minister of the country, that’s disappointing.”
But Starmer said: “If you make your mind up, as I have done, that we’re going to do the difficult things first, then I think it’s inevitable that people do feel they’re difficult decisions, I understand that.
“But I do think, in their heart of hearts, most people know if they’ve turned around a business or an organisation, or even redone your own house, you can give a lick of paint quickly or you can fix the foundations.
“I think people understand that if you run towards the difficult decisions, and really turn it around, then we will all feel the benefit.
“I’m not surprised, quite frankly, that as we’re doing the tough stuff there are plenty of people who say ‘I’m impacted, I don’t like it’. But we’ve got to make the big calls on the NHS and on schools that are really important for the here and now and for the future.”