A Year of Change: 2024 UK Impact Report
Dec 19, 2024
We are pleased to share the “Change.org UK 2024 Impact Report”, highlighting the impact of petitions throughout the year.
You can find a pdf version of the report at this link, but here is an overview of the impact made on the platform in the UK in 2024.
Roughly 10% of the UK’s entire population used Change.org to make a difference to their lives and their communities this year. Over 6.5 million different people signed petitions over 25 million times throughout the course of 2024; and tens of thousands of our users launched their own petitions, with over 36,000 having been published since January. Across an incredibly diverse range of issues, over 850 people declared victory on their petitions, demonstrating that Change.org helps people take small actions which can make a real difference.
2024 in Numbers
- 6.5+ million users taking action
- 25+ million signatures
- 36,000+ people in the UK starting their own petitions
- 859 victories
- 13,000+ news articles covering Change.org Petitions, a 24% increase compared to 2023.
Top victories of the year
Guarantee the Full Triple Lock Increase for Older People in April 2024
Pensioner’s rights campaigner Dennis Reed launched his petition to save the triple lock in September 2023. Nine months later, he was able to declare victory after the Conservative Government pledged to retain the measure in its budget. As an added bonus, Dennis was also able to tell his supporters that – thanks to his campaign – all major parties pledged to keep the triple lock in their election manifestos. Dennis has since launched another petition in a bid to reverse the decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance.
Andy Malkinson was imprisoned for 17 years for a crime he didn’t commit. After judges finally overturned his conviction in July 2023, he launched a Change.org petition to call for a full, public apology from the criminal cases review commission. In April this year, he finally succeeded. Andy said: “I want to thank the more than 162,000 of you who signed my petition…This week, your support paid off. Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) Chair Helen Pitcher offered me an unreserved apology. After receiving a damning independent report on the CCRC’s handling of my case, she has finally accepted that her organisation failed me. I feel vindicated by this – but it really is too little too late. If Helen Pitcher was a true leader, she would have apologised to me last year when I started this petition.”
Grant Alan Bates a knighthood in recognition of his battle for justice for sub-postmasters
Alan Bates became a household name overnight with the airing of Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office on ITV in January. Petition starter Calvin was moved to create the petition after watching the docudrama. Over 150,000 Change.org users in the UK supported calling for Alan to be properly recognised for the vital work he did to uncover one of the biggest miscarriages of justice in British history. Calvin said the Change.org petition helped show that the public appreciated Bates’ work, and the petition declared victory after he was included in the King’s Birthday Honours List.
Sherko is a long-time resident of Chesterfield, having arrived in the UK as a refugee in 2003 in the wake of the Iraq War. He was twice granted ‘leave to remain’ in the UK, and was even issued with a British travel document allowing him to leave and re-enter the UK. However, in 2021 he was informed by the Home Office he would be forcibly removed to Iraq. Campaigners fighting the deportation of Sherko Ismail had to wait for three years for their victory, but in May 2024 they were finally able to announce that Sherko won his appeal against his deportation, and can build a future in the country he has called home for nearly two decades.
A cat, affectionately named Defib by paramedics, had lived at Walthamstow Ambulance station for 16 years when they were faced with eviction from the premises after a change of management within London Ambulance Service. A paramedic based in Walthamstow started the petition, which quickly went viral on social media and attracted signatures from all over the UK. After just three days, London Ambulance Service bowed to the public pressure and confirmed that Defib would not be going anywhere. Declaring victory on the campaign, the petition starter said “thanks so much for giving one small cat such a huge voice”.
Give new and expectant mothers six months to pursue discrimination claims
Amongst the oldest of our petitions that declared victory this year, Joeli Brearley’s petition was first launched in 2017. Joeli started her petition after being sacked whilst four months pregnant, a decision which she says was a result of employment discrimination on the grounds that she was pregnant. She sought an amendment to the law which would give expectant mothers six – rather than three – months to pursue a discrimination claim; as the status quo forced expectant mums to begin their tribunals whilst heavily pregnant. Following the new Government’s election in July, they introduced legislation giving Joeli exactly what she had campaigned for, an outcome which she described as leaving her “elated”.
Become a Member
Regular contributions from users are pivotal to enabling and amplifying these inspiring campaigns. To continue fostering victories like these, Change.org invites anyone in the UK to become a member to contribute each month, or contribute directly to a petition to help it gain visibility and signatures.
Politicians as Petitioners
Since the General Election in July, MPs have increasingly turned to Change.org to start their own petitions on a range of issues. In December, Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative) and John Slinger (Labour) jointly attended a petition delivery in a show of cross-party support for gambling reform, while other MPs have started their own petitions:
- Richard Burgon MP: The Labour MP for Leeds East used a petition to lobby for a new wealth tax ahead of the Autumn Budget.
- Zarah Sultana MP: The Independent MP for Coventry South launched a campaign to save the £2 bus fare cap after an increase was announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Budget.
- Josh Babarinde MP: The Lib Dem MP for Eastbourne started a petition to create new, specific offences for domestic abuse.
Beyond Westminster, dozens of councillors have used Change.org throughout the year to build support amongst their constituents on local issues. The biggest petition started by a councillor on the platform this year, with almost 200,000 signatures, came from Matthew Goodwin-Freeman, a Conservative Councillor for Harrow, London, who is using Change.org in an attempt to block Mayor Sadiq Khan’s rumoured knighthood.