A massive petition calling for an immediate dissolution of Parliament and a general election has passed a huge milestone. The online document has more than 200,000 signatures at the time of writing. Robert JF Barnes's petition has 205,519 supporters - but a debate concerning it has been ruled out by officials anyway.

It reads: "On July 4 2024, Sir Keir Starmer was elected as Prime Minister. Since then, his Government has introduced measures that were not included in the Labour Party's manifesto. We believe we were misled and the obfuscation has only got worse since Starmer took power. It is time for action. We believe the Government has failed to defend our borders from the small boats.

"We have no confidence in the way this Government has acted. Pensioners and farmers have been directly affected by policies that were not included in Labour's manifesto. Our country cannot go on like this. Dissolve Parliament and call a General Election now!"

It comes as Sir Keir has come under mounting pressure over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to the United States.

The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is set to hear from Foreign Office mandarin Sir Philip Barton at 9am, followed by the Prime Minister's former Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney at 11am.

Parliament's Petitions Committee has decided not to schedule a debate regarding Mr Barnes's call for a national poll.

It said: "The Committee recognised the support that this petition has received. However, the issue raised by this petition has recently been discussed by MPs in a petitions debate on this topic.

"A debate took place on 12 January 2026 on e-petition 727309, 'Call an immediate general election'."

The Cabinet Office said in response to the petition: "The Government holds office by virtue of being able to command the confidence of the House of Commons, whose members are elected by the public. There are no plans to change these arrangements.

"The Prime Minister can call a general election at a time of their choosing by requesting a dissolution of Parliament from the Sovereign within the five-year life of a Parliament. The Government was elected by the British people on a mandate of change at the July 2024 general election."

It added that ministers remain "focused on delivering the change the country", and argued that since coming into office Labour has "restored stability across government; and secured £340 billion of investment into our country".

Officials added: "Wages under this Government have increased more during our first year in office than under the previous 10 years of the last government. We have reduced NHS waiting lists by 225,000 and rolled out thousands of free breakfast clubs across the country. We have also increased the National Minimum Wage and our manifesto pledge to introduce an Employment Rights Act has now been passed into law.

"We recognise people across the country want to see change in their everyday lives. As a result of the decisions this Government has taken, families will see £150 come off their energy bills this year, rail fares will remain frozen for the first time in 30 years and NHS prescription charges will be capped below £10.

"The Government will continue to deliver the manifesto of change that it was elected on."