For many reasons. to house Britain's 1,500,000 homeless. to revitalise the building industry and its ancilliary suppliers. to return Britain to being a community in charge of its own destiny. We have the skills we have the labour and there's plenty of money around at very low rates of interest.

It has been almost forty years since the UN recognised that referring to migrants as 'illegal' is dehumanising, discriminatory, and above all, incorrect. Since 1975, the UN has used either 'undocumented' or 'irregular' to refer to migrants that 'do not fulfil the requirements established by the country of destination to enter, stay, or exercise an economic activity'. As Editor-in-Chief of the BBC Tony Hall has the mandate to implement this change and correct inaccurate reporting. The BBC continues to use the term 'illegal' with no justification. A headline as recent as 15 May 2014 reads: 'Illegal migration to EU rises by nearly half'. As a public service broadcaster and influential media organisation the BBC ought to abide by its own clear editorial guidlines that say: 'We...are committed to achieving due accuracy in all our output...Impartiality lies at the core of the BBC's commitment to its audiences'. Unfounded discrimination against migrants is a clear breach of these standards. Human Rights Watch recently observed, 'The term “illegal”...reinforces prejudices about nationals of a particular country or persons of a particular race.' The term incorrectly suggests that migrants are criminals and encourages prejudiced views about those individuals. Cecilia Malmström, European Commisioner for Home Affairs clarified the issue in 2010. She said, 'Let me be clear about my vocabulary...illegal migrants do not exist. People may come to the EU and might be required to use irregular ways...but no human being is illegal'. This petition supports the use of the word 'undocumented' instead of 'irregular' as 'irregular' retains connotations of otherness and deviation from a perceived norm, marking individuals as abnormal and continuing to estrange migrants. For more information see: http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/06/24/dispatches-why-we-should-outlaw-illegal http://picum.org/picum.org/uploads/file_/TerminologyLeaflet_reprint_FINAL.pdf http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/index.html

This is a humanitarian crisis on the same scale as Rwanda or Srebrenica. The Yazidi people are being hunted down purely for their beliefs

Hamas is regarded as a 'terrorist' organisation because it is fighting the Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip. If the blockade was lifted, there would be no need for Hamas to fire rockets into Israel, and thus no reason for Israel to continue with its programme of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza strip.

We, the undersigned members of Unite, were disappointed by Unite's decision, announced on 2 July 2014, to urge the Labour Party to commit to holding a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.[1] We believe this decision by Unite's Executive Council was a mistake. It does not reflect our wishes, it was taken without consulting Unite's members, and it demonstrates race-to-the-bottom politics. We believe the UK should remain a member of the EU because membership enhances UK workers' rights, including via the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.[2] We believe the best way to ensure the UK remains a member of the EU is for political parties to reject referendum calls and instead make the case for continued membership. With no referendum, there would be no risk of the UK exiting the EU. We note that the Conservative Party rejected the Charter when previously in power, and that it is only thanks to the Labour Party that it covers UK workers.[3] We note that because the Conservatives have committed to a parliamentary vote in favour of an in/out referendum on the EU, the only realistic prospect of avoiding such a referendum and saving the Charter is for the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats to commit themselves against such a vote.[4] The Liberal Democrats have already done this.[5] We emphasise that neither this petition, nor the act it requests, brings any injury to or discredit upon Unite or any member of Unite. On the contrary, the act requested would strengthen Unite by demonstrating Unite's commitment to the EU's protection of worker's rights, and would help to forge a Labour Party that will provide a real alternative to the Conservative Party in opposition and at the next General Election. REFERENCES: [1] http://www.unitetheunion.org/news/unite-urges-labour-party-to-hold-eu-referendum/ [2] http://ec.europa.eu/justice/fundamental-rights/charter/index_en.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charter_of_Fundamental_Rights_of_the_European_Union&oldid=614017036#Legal_status [3] http://socialrights.net/community-charter-of-fundamental-social-rights-of-workers/ [4] http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/02/david-cameron-eu-referendum-pledge-disaster [5] http://www.libdems.org.uk/european_election_manifesto_2014 Image source and license: https://secure.flickr.com/photos/skuds/3736995016/

GCHQ are taking away our freedoms and rights to privacy. Collecting masses of data that will undoubtably be leaked in the future. All of UK citizens privacy is now at risk!

Sepp Blatter has expressed concern about the safety of the players playing in 50 degree heat. There has also been concern about the shady way Qatar - one of the World's richest countries - has obtained the right to host the world cup. But no-one seems to have expressed concern that there are already over 1200 dead migrant workers building the British designed stadiums that we are all supposed to be enjoying in 8 years time. This is not on. There are reports that workers, who have travelled from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, are living in slave like conditions and earning as little as 45p an hour. The ITUC has based the estimate on current mortality figures for Nepalese and Indian workers who form the bulk of Qatar's 1.2 million-strong migrant workforce, the large majority of whom are builders. While it admits that the cause of death is not clear for many of the deceased – with autopsies often not being conducted and routine attribution to heart failure – it believes harsh and dangerous conditions at work and cramped and squalid living quarters are to blame. Workers described forced labour in 50C heat, employers who retain salaries for several months and passports making it impossible for them to leave and being denied free drinking water. The investigation found sickness is endemic among workers living in overcrowded and insanitary conditions and hunger has been reported. Thirty Nepalese construction workers took refuge in the their country's embassy and subsequently left the country, after they claimed they received no pay. It it simply an affront to humanity that Qatar is to host the world cup and an utter disgrace that no-one in the world of football seems to care. We need to show the FA and FIFA and their sponsers that we the people care about these issues and this is not OK. It is not Ok that there are already 1200 dead workers building the stadiums. We need to show that we care about these workers and their families and that what once was a beautiful tournament is fast becoming a giant corporate money machine that has no regard for even the very people that make it happen. That number again, 1200 dead workers. And there's 8 years to go.

Israel's continual blockade of Gaza, expanding illegal settlements in Palestinian territory and massacre of Palestinian women and children needs to STOP. This is state terrorism. Our government together with the US and other European countries sell Israel the arms to do this. All the Palestinians can do is fire rockets which are intercepted easily by Israeli mighty fire power. We all feel helpless as the world cannot stop Israel from killing more civilians. A boycott of Israeli goods is something we can all do in our small way, maybe it will affect them and make them consider longer term peace options. In the meantime let's sign a petition to our government to stop selling arms to Israel.

The Internet is the world's greatest platform for free speech. I accept the need to censor a few things, but not the need to do so in secret. Far from it. Why should the applicant have an automatic right to censor another's work without being held accountable for doing so?

Self evident to anyone with a conscience

Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories cause harm and poverty to Palestinians, and are an obstacle to peace in the region. Israeli settlements are illegal under international humanitarian law. This is important because the Palestinians are currently under violent attack and need resources to rebuild their lives, home and future. They cannot do this if their produce are stolen from them and sold to the Americas and Europe. According to a study conducted by Dr. Majid Sbeih from Al-Quds University for the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center in Palestine, 82% of Palestinian workers have the desire and willingness to leave their jobs in the settlements, provided that a suitable alternative is available. However, suitable alternatives will not be found as long as the Palestinian economy is under occupation. We are calling on companies to withdraw investment in and end trade operations with Israeli settlement businesses.

EPSRC is a branch of Research Council UK, the largest public funding agency in your country. It supplies hundreds of millions of pounds in funding every year. See www.epsrc.ac.uk. The pretense is that this money is given to Research Organizations with adequate procedures to tackle scientific fraud. This is not so. In fact, fraud in publicly funded research has promoted the careers of incompetent people at British Universities. I know most of you won't know much chemistry, but there is Wikipaedia to check up simple scientific facts: what would you think, after checking that aluminum sulphate is Al2(SO4)3 and phenol an acid, I told you that two academics at two of the top five Universities in the UK wrote a research paper where they gave phenol as an alkali and aluminum sulphate as AlSO4? (Pst! Now that you are at the Wikipaedia site you could make a donation... ;-) ) And remember, corruption only spreads...It is therefore in your interest that public funding is not abused. Also, by claiming that organisations funded by EPSRC have procedures to deal efficiently with fraud lends legitimacy to such institutions when dealing with people they have damaged. For example, I want to confront EPSRC with a range of allegations which includes those made in this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2umhkGxHbasY241U3huLUZQTzA/edit?usp=sharing in an example case which still affects me.