A pub landlord from Dudley who set up a viral petition calling for another general election said he never dreamt it would end up with support from millions of people.

Michael Westwood, from Gornal, initially sent the petition out to 60 people but it spread so quickly it's now been shared by Tesla billionaire Elon Musk and actor Sir Michael Caine. 

Within a week, Mr Westwood's petition gained 2.7 million signatures and has been discussed on TV by the prime minister.

The 40-year-old said he “never could have imagined” the support his petition has received, calling the public’s reaction “surreal.”

He said: “I started off sending it to about 60 people on WhatsApp, asking them to sign it if they agreed with my sentiment.

“I knew people would resonate with it because people are fed up, but I’m shocked that it’s picked up this much pace and had this much coverage.

“With the likes Elon Musk and Sir Michael Caine sharing the petition, it’s clear it means a lot to a lot of people.”

Mr Westwood is the landlord of three pubs across the Black Country: The Waggon and Horses in Oldbury, the Shoulder of Mutton in Blackheath and the Five Ways Inn in Gornal.

He started the petition because, as a small business owner, he feels Sir Keir Starmer’s government have not lived up to the promises they made during their election campaign.

He said: “I was reading about the proposed changes that were coming in the budget, and I thought this isn’t what Labour promised.

“I asked myself, if voters knew during the election what they did now, would Labour be the ones in power?”

“As a small business owner, I have concerns, and I have spoken to other small business owners who all feel the same.

“I think people need to be able to hold those in power to account if they feel they have been lied to.”

Mr Westwood described himself as “open-minded” when it comes to politics and said that if either Reform or the Conservative party had won the election and had “failed to deliver on promises like Labour have”, he would have still started the petition.

Sir Keir Starmer addressed the petition on ITV’s This Morning programme, saying: “I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election.

“I’m not surprised that many of them want a re-run. That isn’t how our system works.”

However, Mr Westwood said: “When Sir Keir was addressing the petition, he came across like he wasn’t fazed, but there is almost three million of us who have signed it now.

“I’m not here to criticise him personally, but enough is enough.

“If those in power are telling us lies, they should be held accountable.”