THOUSANDS of people in Gwent backed a petition to parliament for an urgent general election.

Most of the signatories from the area came from the Monmouth constituency - the only seat currently held by a Conservative MP.

David Davies has held the seat for the Tories since 2005 and retained his seat at the last election, in December 2019, with a nearly 20 per cent majority.

The petition follows weeks of disruption and economic uncertainty in the wake of the new UK Government's plans for tax cuts.

The blowback was so great, prime minister Liz Truss sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng - who, like her, had been in the job for little more than a month - and brought in Jeremy Hunt to replace him.

Mr Hunt on Monday announced the reversal of nearly all of his predecessor's "mini budget" policies and said "the most important objective for our country right now is stability".

But opponents argue Ms Truss' government has suffered irreparable damage and a new public vote is the solution.

At the time of writing, the petition for an election was signed by 5,324 people in Gwent, comprising:

• 1,096 people in the Monmouth constituency

• 900 in Newport West

• 889 in Caerphilly

• 704 in Newport East

• 670 in Torfaen

• 590 in Islwyn

• 475 in Blaenau Gwent

It called for "an immediate general election so that the people can decide who should lead us through the unprecedented crises threatening the UK".

The petition gained more than 638,000 signatures across the UK, and was debated in the House of Commons on Monday.

Labour MP Catherine McKinnell said: "Weeks into office, any semblance of authority that our prime minister may have had has been shattered, along with confidence in her and in this government’s ability to govern."

But the government has hit back, with the Cabinet Office saying the UK's political system does not mean an election is necessary nor expected, even when there is growing public support for one.

"The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy, not a presidential one," a statement read. "A change in the leader of the governing party does not trigger a general election – this has been the case under governments of successive political colours."

The Cabinet Office added: "In her speech of September 6, the new prime minister set out three early priorities: to grow Britain’s economy, deal with the energy crisis caused by Putin’s war, and putting the national health service on a firm footing.

"The prime minister is determined to address the challenges the country faces and ensure opportunity and prosperity for all people and future generations."