LABOUR members of Hillingdon Council have failed in a bid to reduce the number of signatures needed on an online petition.

Currently, only 20 signatures are needed on a paper petition, but if a resident wishes to use an online version they must collect 100 signatures.

Signatories also need to register with the Hillingdon Council website - an obstacle that might put people off signing.

With paper petitions currently unworkable, Cllr Stuart Mathers proposed reducing the online threshold from 100 to 20 signatures.

He also asked for the requirement to register with the website be removed.

However, Conservative councillors voted down the proposal after Cllr Richard Lewis, lead spokesman on arts and culture, told a council meeting the present system was working well.

He added: “It’s a case of it ain’t broke, so no need to fix it.”

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Mathers said: "This is a huge concern as we want residents to stay safe during the pandemic while being able to engage with the council on issues they are concerned about.”