A CUMBRIAN MP has responded to growing calls for a general election, after more than two million people signed a petition expressing dissatisfaction with the Labour government.

The petition, hosted on Parliament’s website, accuses Labour of failing to deliver on promises made during the July election campaign, during which the party won a landslide victory and regained Carlisle for the first time since 2005.

Julie Minns, the MP for Carlisle, issued a statement to the News & Star addressing the concerns raised, defending the Government’s mandate and urging constituents to engage directly with her.

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“We live in a democracy where governments are elected by the ballot box, not online petitions,” she said.

“This Labour Government was elected in a landslide, after 14 years of Tory mismanagement of our nation’s economy and public finances, and we have a mandate to lead until 2029.”

The challenges faced by Labour upon taking office, which Ms Minns called a ‘skip fire inherited from Tories’, required quick and ‘difficult’ decisions to be made to ‘rebuild our public services and deliver the change that people voted for’.

Ms Minns did, however, acknowledge that some constituents signed the petition, and invited them to share their concerns at her advice surgeries.

5,653 in the Carlisle constituency signed the petition, 5.488 per cent of the 103,000 constituents.

This figure was similar across north and west Cumbria’s Labour seats. For example, in Markus Campbell-Savours’ seat (Penrith and the Solway), 5,344 people signed, equating to 5.498 per cent of the 97,200 constituents, and in Josh MacAlister’s seat (Whitehaven and Workington), 5,091 people signed, equating to 5.474 per cent of the 93,000 constituents.

“There will be people in my own constituency who have signed this petition, and I say do please come and see me at my advice surgeries,” Ms Minns said.

“I am here to listen to your genuine concerns and your ideas for how the change we desperately need can be funded and delivered.”

The Labour Government has faced backlash for policies such as limiting winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners and changes to inheritance tax that farmers claim could threaten their businesses.

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Ms Minns also challenged critics to propose viable alternatives, stating: “There will always be those who hold different views, but it is incumbent on those who oppose to also say what they would do instead to pay for a health service fit for the future, to repair our potholed roads, to switch on cleaner cheaper energy, to build more houses and to end the crisis in our schools.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously defended his government on ITV’s This Morning, describing its decisions as ‘tough but fair’ and asserting his focus on the responsibilities of governance.

The petition remains open for signatures until May 2025, with significant international attention, including contributions from the United States and France.

Josh MacAlister and Markus Campbell-Savours were asked to comment.