Free Petitions
Success and Failure of Petitions

When it comes to success stories, there are a tonne to talk about. But just as there are successes, there are also many failures. We are going to take a look at some of the successes and failures of recent petitions from 2007. Perhaps you can learn a few lessons from each of these. The main thing to remember is that not every petition is going to succeed. Success will depend on a number of different factors, including how much time you put in to the planning stages and how well you execute the promotion and other parts of the petitioning process. Let’s start with a success story.

At the beginning of 2007, almost six hundred thousand people signed a petition in Britain against road user pricing changes. Interestingly, this was an electronic petition, despite the fact that it was aimed at the government. As we have discussed in previous articles, the best way to petition a government or local body is to file a manual or physical petition. This is because such petitioning methods hold much more weight when it comes to official issues such as this one. Unsurprisingly, the petition failed to produce the results that it set out to produce, however we actually consider it a technical success. The way in which the petition was conducted, managed, organised, and promoted is reflected in the number of signatures that were collected. Surely, on the basis that it was the largest petition in Britain to date, we can consider it somewhat of a success. It made the government stop, look, and think again about what they were about to do.

This is the least we can ask for! Imagine that the person who decided to start this petition visited the parliament house by themself, and tried to express their opinion with a simple written letter, with a lone signature at the bottom. Sadly, the recipient of the letter would probably take a trip straight to the rubbish bin, and the issue would continue to be ignored. No doubt this will provide some people with an incentive to get out there, put some effort in, and bring an issue to light with society as a whole. Just look at the intense support that one person can muster, beginning from their frustration with a particular issue.

Having seen this technical success, lets now look at a terrible failure. In late 2007, a similar petition to the government in New Zealand, this time regarding child smacking laws, was thrown out completely because the auditor found false, fraudulent information within the data collected from petition participants. The organisers claimed that they knew nothing about the deception that was included in their final reports, and apologised profusely for it. Obviously, the petition was struck down and seen as being void. This demonstrates the need to plan and prepare for such a phenomenon before it happens. It is critical that you put protective measures in place to stop things like this from destroying all of the hard work that you have done. Just imagine how the organisers and participants felt when they knew they had been let down by a lack of planning and understanding of the petitioning process! Do not let this happen to you.

The overall result that we can take from these two case studies is the following: Petitioning does work, but it has to be planned and executed carefully and precisely to ensure that the end result is successful and valid. Throughout this website, we have given you numerous tips to get your petition on its way to success, but obviously we cannot tell you everything. It is up to you to use your initiative to discover what is best for you. We have provided a set of guidelines to cover most petitions on most issues, but we will never be able to cover every case and every situation. Think before you act. Make sure that you have a quality foundation on which to build your support base. Ensure that the people who you represent are treated with respect, privacy, and goodwill. Do all that you can to prevent the deceptive actions which some will attempt to perform against you to stall your efforts. But most of all, remember the reason why you are petitioning in the first place. Be passionate about your cause, and you will go a long way. If you are not, or if you become uninterested in the petition after a while, the chances of success will drop dramatically.

The fact that you are reading this will probably already have catapulted you in front of the many other people who start, struggle, and eventually give up on petitioning. Whatever your issue and whatever your cause – we wish you luck with your petitioning endeavours and thank you for taking the time to better your chances of success.