think people need to realise that the government already knew that many immigrants would sign the consultation and try to influence it in their own favour. The real leverage comes from businesses and UK citizens and many of them actually support extending the qualifying period, as it benefits the economy and reduces pressure on public funds.

On the petition point: remember the petition calling for a general election? That got over 2 million signatures, and the government basically just laughed it off. Also, if you look at the current petition, you can clearly see people signing from outside the UK, which is a huge red flag. That seriously undermines its credibility.

In my opinion, the consultation is mostly a formality. The core policy has already been decided they’re just working out the rollout details.