As of writing this, the petition to stop funding cuts has gained 33,390 signatures. That's a third of what's needed to trigger a debate in parliament and there's still 4 months to go before the June deadline.
Some MPs have already expressed a desire to debate on behalf of this
cause. Laura Sherriff has done the profession and those we serve a big
service, but more needs to be done.
E-petitions on their own are not magic bullets that slay unpopular policies, but combining it with the momentum of public outrage, media spotlight and social networking will let the ministers who make the decisions aware they're under scrutiny.
I wrote previously about how the cap in student numbers was rejected and how hush hush those meetings were. This time round, there's a lot more media attention. We have the Daily Mail describing pharmacists as a vital stone holding up the NHS (complete with eye catching numbers), and a pharmacist's heartfelt appeal for the public for support in the Guardian. One commenter wrote:
Here are links to the articles I mentioned:
Comments