Do they? Really? Whenever I have signed a No 10 petition, the answer has always come back that there is nothing they are able/willing/interested in doing about the problem, despite the number of signatories. I doubt even Stephen Fry’s Twitter campaign about Mandy’ Three Strikes rule will be heeded.

You can sign them and feel empowered, but ultimately, they appear to achieve nothing.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8380736.stm

+1
Either that or the wording implies that you're an idiot to think them wrong in the first place.

Democracy is mob rule dictatorship anyway. I expect nothing less from people whose sole raison d’etre is to tell me what to do really.

It'd be nice if you knew what the criteria for something getting done was, but then Jeremy Clarkson would probably be PM by now

Any of the ones I've signed usually got a response along the lines of one or more of the following:

1. 'We've continually funded the project (paste in headline figures), and as recently as...'
2. We're not considering doing something about this right now, but we'll keep it under review...'
3. 'Our survey said...'

I wish I was kidding about that last one

It's another way of making the masses believe they have control.

It's a fundamental aspect of 'Democracy', the public have to believe they are free and have control otherwise it doesn't function. The reality is very different when you pick it apart though.