A viral petition demanding a new general election over Labour and Sir Keir Starmer’s “broken promises” has soared to nearly three million signatures.

The Government swept to power with a massive majority in July’s national poll, ratcheting up a stonking 174-seat majority in the House of Commons.

But even as the results were declared, critics pointed out that Labour only achieved a 33.7% share of the vote – just 1.6% more than the party achieved when Jeremy Corbyn was comprehensively beaten in 2019.

Since then, the Government has slumped to record levels of unpopularity, with a net approval rating of -39 according to polling firm YouGov.

The petition is now at more than 2.9million and could surpass three million this weekend, with Elon Musk among the high-profile figures sharing it on social media.

Mr Westwood told the Express last week: “Not in my wildest dreams did I think this was going to take off like it has.”

He said Rachel Reeves’s tax-raising Budget, which will hike costs for small businesses like his due to rises in the living wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions, had caused his fury.

However, during an interview on ITV’s This Morning, Sir Keir dismissed the petition, saying he was “not surprised” his opponents wanted a second poll.

“That isn’t how our system works,” he added.