Downing Street accepts 'e-petition'

Petitioners will no longer have to knock on Number 10

It is a tradition older than voting itself.

But the humble petition is set to receive a 21st Century makeover on Tuesday as Downing Street formally accepts an online appeal.

We can see e-petitioning growing and growing

Brian Mairs
e-campaigner

Led by online stockbrokers, the electronically-submitted plea will call for the abolition of stamp duty on share transactions.

A tax of 0.5% is currently levied on UK investors for each purchase of stocks or shares in UK-registered companies.

But campaigners believe the UK is "out of step with the rest of the world" by retaining the tax, which has been scrapped in Germany and Japan.

Brian Mairs from the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers said online brokers were leading the charge for the abolition because the frequency of their trading meant the tax was more visible.

Petitions have traditionally been handed in on paper

It was a "drag on investments" which risked driving business abroad, he added.

The e-petition has been timed to raise the profile of the campaign in the run-up to the Budget on Wednesday.

A total of 2,000 signatures - collected over the internet during the past fortnight - are to be e-mailed to Downing Street officials, who will then send a formal reply confirming they have been received, also by e-mail.

When the Scottish Parliament began experimenting with e-petitions, it required a printed copy of signatures for verification.

But Mr Mairs predicted the novel lobbying method would soon catch on.

Growing and growing

"It is a much more effective way of generating a petition than standing on a street corner or knocking on doors.

"Now that Downing Street sees this as a valid way of generating a petition we can see it growing and growing."

And if the e-petition does take off as he predicts, activists could once again find themselves struggling to make themselves heard - this time above a cacophony of mouse clicking.