More than 9,000 people signed the latest anti-GST petition, which will be presented to deputies this morning before the States meeting starts, according to organisers.
That’s more than 45% of the number who voted at the last general election (nearly 20,000), and nearly double the number who voted at the by-election earlier this year (under 5,000).
In fact, only four deputies got more votes in 2025 than the petition had signatures.
Organiser Chris Murray said he was “ecstatic” that 9,002 people – and 273 businesses – had signed the petition, as it showed the strength of the anti-GST feeling in the island.
He said: “Remember when thousands marched to stop GST?
“Well now, the people have written it on paper.”
At the last general election, 19,686 people voted out of a possible 27,293 eligible voters.
45% of that is 8,859 people – which the petition has now surpassed.
Of course, there are stricter rules and checks for elections than a petition, and there’s no way to know how many of the people who signed it voted at the 2025 election.
There’s unlikely to be a one-to-one correlation between people who signed the petition and people who voted, and the petition hasn’t been independently verified to check there are no invalid or duplicate signatures.
But even allowing for that, it’s still a number that GST sceptics will hail as a demonstration that they are more than a small but vocal minority.
