Petition against indyref2 reaches over 145,000 signatures

An online petition calling for a second independence referendum bid to be dropped has reached over 145,000 signatures.

The petition, on the official parliament petition site, is titled: “Another Scottish independence referendum should not be allowed to happen”.

The introduction states that “We in Scotland are fed up of persecution by the SNP leader who is solely intent on getting independence at any cost. As a result, Scotland is suffering hugely.”

More than 145,000 people have signed, meaning that the issue has to be considered for a debate in parliament.

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Debate consideration is triggered on any petition signed by over 145,000 people, and any petition with over 10,000 signatures merits an official Government response.

The Westminster Government has yet to indicate whether or not it would allow a second ballot on independence.

Petitions on the parliamentary system can be signed by anyone from the UK, although an interactive map shows the vast majority of signatories are from Scotland.

The areas of the UK which signed the petition

The map also breaks down the signatories by area, with the East Renfrewshire constituency held by SNP MP Kirsten Oswald the most popular seat for those signing the petition.

Two Edinburgh seats, Edinburgh West (held by former SNP MP Michelle Thomson) and Edinburgh North and Leith (held by Deirdre Brock) are among the other areas with a higher proportion of those signing the petition.

Most petitions that are signed by over 145,000 people are debated more often than not, although the petitions website explains that some issues won’t be debated, for example if it has already been discussed or is due to be discussed in the near future.

The link has been shared a number of times by senior unionists online, with Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser tweeting that the demographics of the petition map were ‘fascinating’.