EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

Sure, to understand the true split you'd need to have another referendum...

I think its the natural reaction to May claiming she speaks for the public - I just don't know how she can say this. The referendum was nearly 50/50, there is no evidence that the population has got more behind leaving in the following three years, so saying she speaks for the public as a whole when she patently does not needs calling out.

A petition growing at super speeds, plus a massive march at the weekend, is the best way we have at the moment to show politicians that it is not anything like how May is calling it.

At this point, it only needs to effect the thinking of one or two MPs and therefore be enough to change the course of things. These votes are likely to be on a knife edge. This is the only time I can recall when something like this actually has a chance of significantly influencing political decisions being made right now.

Aren’t these petitions just the epitome of filter bubbles? Which is part of the reason we were all so shocked that ‘leave’ won in the first place.

Yes

Still, I'd have thought you could use the myriad petitions to gauge how the view is/isn't shifting.
Within each petition you have the breakdown by constituency. Comparing how the percentages within a single petition are weighted relative to the other constituencies in the same petition you should be able to get some idea of how a previously strong leave constituency now compares to a previously strong remain etc.

Only from a curiosity point of view, would be too many caveats to be able to claim it was robust

Aren’t these petitions just the epitome of filter bubbles? Which is part of the reason we were all so shocked that ‘leave’ won in the first place.

A petition is a filter by definition. It explicitly asks for a demonstration of support. Complaining that it doesn't include dissenting opinions seems to be missing the point.

Petitions happen because the people organising/signing them know that other views are currently prevailing but wish their view to be heard.

So, no. Even though a lot of people will only have heard of the petition through their own bubble and only see supportive voices, the existence of the petition is a pretty big flag to say "Other people think differently". If some people are too blinkered to see that, it isn't petitions that made them that way.