The petitions website can be made to say whatever the government wants it to say. If 100,000 people sign this petition by - say - March, and Brown calls a spring General Election, he can claim he is "in touch" with the common voter and make capital from it. If he ends up with egg on his face, he can simply accuse the Tory party of mobilising its 290,000 members, or dismiss the whole petition by comparing it to some of the other frivolous shite on there. That whole Number 10 petitions website is simply an illusion of consultation, an attempt to stifle genuine dissent while picking up a few pointers about the public mood. If we play along with it, we simply make Brown's job easier.