'Why I started petition for fresh general election'

Publican Michael Westwood, who voted Tory in the last election, wants a re-run of the poll - and has launched a petition calling for it

A publican already fed up with the new government has said the viral response to his petition calling for a fresh election - just months after the vote - has been beyond his "wildest dreams".

Tory voter Michael Westwood's parliamentary petition has in a matter of days secured more than 2.5 million signatures backing his plea.

Mr Westwood said he launched it because he believed the Labour government - elected on 4 July - had "gone back on the promises" the party made.

But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was "not that surprised" people who did not vote Labour wanted a rerun of the poll.

Mr Westwood, who owns three pubs, said "tough times" were ahead for small businesses

Mr Westwood, who owns three pubs in the Black Country, including the Wagon and Horses in Oldbury, said: "The people that are currently in charge of the country, in my opinion, lied to get there."

He added of the petition: "To have my opinion and my thoughts put out there and to find out actually, quite a lot of people agree, I think it's fantastic. It just shows that you're not on your own."

He went on to predict that "tough times" were ahead following the national insurance hike and changes to business rates relief announced in the recent budget, which he said would have a "detrimental effect" on small businesses.

Mike Westwood launched the online petition last week

The petition, created on 20 November, currently has about 2.7 million signatures and will be considered for a debate in Parliament, although the document will not itself trigger an election.

When asked about the petition, the prime minister told ITV that he had "inherited a lot of problems" from the previous government and he had decided to "take the hard decisions first".

"Look, I remind myself that very many people didn't vote Labour at the last election," he said.

"I'm not surprised that many of them want a rerun. That isn't how our system works."

Mr Westwood said the response to his petition had been beyond his wildest dreams

Mr Westwood said it was his view the prime minister had in fact taken the "easy option".

"Small businesses," he said, "are the heart of this country, it's what makes this country tick, and there's not going to be any left."

He said of his document and its signatories: "All I wanted to do was give people a chance to express their opinion."

But some people have raised questions over signatories' authenticity, with petition data revealing a number of names appeared to be countries.

Speaking to BBC 5Live, Dr Daniel Gardham, from the Surrey Centre for Cyber Security, said that while only British citizens or UK residents could sign parliamentary petitions, checks were "quite minimal".

"It's self-declaration at the top of the form," he said. "So if you are not perhaps a British Citizen it would be quite easy for you to fill this out nonetheless."

Dr Gardham added it was important for systems to balance usability with security considerations.

"Actually this isn't the deciding factor in whether we see change, whether we see another election," he said, adding that there was "no harm in Parliament discussing it".