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.
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 27, 2022, with Tesla stocks absorbing an initial hit following Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, Russia pausing its natural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission taking off, and more.
Members-only home swapping network Kindred recently announced its launch alongside a $7.75 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Homeowners and renters can exchange homes on Kindred's platform, which the company says allows members to travel and take advantage of remote-work flexibility at the fraction of the cost of a hotel or rental home. Justin Palefsky and Tas Amina, co-founders of Kindred, join Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Vice President Kamala Harris has Covid, Robinhood layoffs, and a new Marvel movie has a surprising star. Here is all the news you Need2Know for Wednesday, April 27, 2022.
New Jersey has legalized recreational marijuana. The state missed cannabis holiday 4/20 by just a day. Cannabis giant Curaleaf operates three dispensaries in New Jersey. The company's CEO Joe Bayern joins Cheddar to recap the big day.
Tim Brown, research professor at Desert Research Institute and director at the Western Regional Climate Center, joins Cheddar News to discuss the environmental impact of recent wildfires.
According to the Morning Consult, consumer spending in March was significantly impacted by inflation even as habits changed from purchasing goods to services as pandemic restrictions ebbed. Kayla Bruun, an economic analyst for the Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to talk about the findings."Consumers are getting more and more concerned about paying for gas, paying for groceries — all these prices that are rising so quickly for things that they really don't have the choice but to buy," she said. "They're starting to cut back on the things that are a little bit more discretionary, realizing with prices as high as they are, it's maybe not the best time to be booking a vacation or upgrading their kitchen."
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 26, 2022, with Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter for $44 billion, Russia warning of a possible threat of World War III, the FDA approving a COVID treatment for children under 12, and more.
Plastic pollution is a problem that experts say is only getting worse. One organization is looking to change that. Activists want to save the beauty of our oceans, with the beauty of art. Brad Parks, conservation education director of the Washed Ashore project, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
