A public petition for the British government not to go through with Brexit gained so many signatures that the Parliament website crashed on Thursday.
“We're very sorry that the site is still experiencing problems. We are working urgently to get it back up and running as soon as possible,” the Parliament's petitions committee said in a tweet.
The petition called for Prime Minister Theresa May to revoke Article 50 and keep the UK in the European Union. Article 50 is a statute in European law that begins a withdrawal process from the international bloc. For the first time ever, The article was invoked by the UK on March 29, 2017, less than a year after voters chose to leave.
The petitions committee said that between 80,000 and 100,000 people have been simultaneously viewing the petition and nearly 2,000 signatures are being submitted every minute.
The total number of signatures surpassed 1 million before the site crashed Thursday afternoon local time, according to the BBC. Throughout the day, #RevokeA50Now was trending on Twitter and anti-Brexit lawmakers in Parliament were urging constituents to continue the petition campaign, once the site is back up.
The petition was signed by prominent supporters of the “remain” side of the debate, such as actor Hugh Grant and signer Annie Lennox.
“Worth a shot...” Game of Thrones actor Daniel Portman said on Twitter as he urged his followers to sign.
The site crashed as Prime Minister May was in Brussels trying to persuade European officials to delay the UK’s withdrawal beyond the March 29 deadline.
The request came after the British Parliament rejected yet another Brexit proposal last week, setting the stage for the UK to leave the EU without a formal agreement.
On International Women's Day, we should not only focus on the women who came before us but but also the women doing the work today for a better tomorrow. Ms. James, also known as @iamthatenglishteacher on TikTok, is an Arkansas teacher who took her talents to the video-sharing app to expand her classroom from four walls to the world! She joins Cheddar News to discuss her love for teaching.
Two friends have joined forces to come up with an app dedicated to making mental health more approachable and to provide users with the tools needed to improve their mental health and overall well-being. Co-Founders of the Dial App Jonah Salita and Marcel Johnson, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu and Smile Train CEO Susie Schaefer join Cheddar News to talk about how Smile Train continues to support those with a cleft lip this International Women's Day.
On this International Women’s Day, Deb Cupp, president of Microsoft U.S., joined Cheddar News to talk about the implementation of her pillars to extend the company's culture, such as acting with care and putting the team first. "What I like about the pillars is they're very simple, so it's easy for us to think about how they show up every day in our lives," Cupp said.
Christian Nunes, President of the National Organization for Women, joins Cheddar Reveals to take a look at where the women's rights movement stands today and where it's headed.
Steven Spielberg has spoken out against the Motion Picture Academy’s decision to move the presentation of eight categories to the pre-show off-air for this year’s Oscars. "We should all have a seat at the supper table together, live at five," said the Academy Award-winning director, who is also nominated for two statues at this year's event.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Sally Roesch Wagner, Historian & Executive Director, The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, discusses how the early women's rights movement evolved and the hidden influence of Native American women on early American feminists.; Christian Nunes, President of the National Organization for Women, takes a look at where the women's rights movement stands today and where it's headed; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Ascent of Woman.'
Sally Roesch Wagner, Historian & Executive Director, The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss how the early women's rights movement evolved and the hidden influence of Native American women on early American feminists.
