Elon Musk has continued his war of words with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, by apparently throwing his support behind an online petition calling for a new general election.
The petition, which can be viewed and signed here, was started by pub-owner Michael Westwood and accuses the ruling Labour Party of going back on the promises it made to get elected in July of this year. Nearly two million people have already signed the petition, which, although not binding, does legally require a government response and is also considered for debate in parliament.
Evidence of Growing Public Discontent?
Opposition figures have seized on the petition as evidence of widespread dissatisfaction with Starmer's government. Conservative shadow minister Robert Jenrick described the petition as an expression of anger that "Labour lied," while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said, "I've never seen anything like it."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also joined the fray by responding to a post on his X platform celebrating the petition reaching the one million mark. Musk posted, "The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state."
The people of Britain have had enough of a tyrannical police state https://t.co/0PtR5qQOKw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2024
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A History of Clashes Between Musk and Starmer
This is not the first time Musk has butted heads with Keir Starmer and the Labour government. In the summer, civil disorder broke out in parts of Britain in response to the killing of three girls in the town of Southport. The prime suspect in the case is a second-generation immigrant and is accused of possessing al-Qaeda-related documents that contravene Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Musk posted at the time that "civil war is inevitable" in the UK, in response to claims that much of the disorder was fuelled by anger at mass immigration. A government spokesman hit back by saying there was "no justification" for such a claim.
The Southport riots were a severe early test for Keir Starmer, who was barely a month into his premiership at the time. The riots led to accusations of a "two-tier" justice system, with claims that while white working-class protestors were hit with the full force of the law, protestors from other ethnic groups were treated more leniently or even accommodated by the police.
Starmer dismissed claims of "two-tier" policing, despite last year saying in response to a report into the Metropolitan Police, that "The sexist, racist and homophobic abuses of power that have run rife in the Met have shattered the trust that Britain's policing relies on and let victims down." Notably, he said this before he was leading the government of the day.
Calls for Musk to Testify Intensify
Last week Labour MP, Chi Onwurah, indicated that she wanted to summon Elon Musk to appear before the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee to testify about the role of X in the Southport riots. She accused Musk of promoting "pure disinformation".
Musk hit back by saying that the US would in fact summon them to answer for their "censorship and threats to American citizens".
