Successful Campaigns

We won, the proposal was withdrawn by east lothian Council. What a result for the community of Haddington.

We did it! We got supermarkets to do the right thing and hand back their business rates relief back to the government. In total, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons, and Aldi, are returning £2bn in relief money. Though this money should never have been given to them in the first place, our win proves that by piling on the pressure, we can hold these big businesses to account. And that's not all: we've also influenced how other big retailers handle their relief money. This is huge. By showing support for this campaign, you've played an important role in how we recover from this crisis. Now that we've had £2bn handed back, we need to see this money distributed to the right causes. When we clapped for carers and other essential workers, we weren’t thinking of supermarket CEOs or shareholders, but the thousands of people working on shop floors around the country who took the greatest risks to keep the rest of us safe and well-supplied.

STOP PRESS - DECEMBER 2024 GALBA (Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport) is STILL fighting LBA's attempts to expand. So far, we’ve been incredibly successful in our five-year l battle. We have managed to block LBA at every stage of their expansion plans. But now LBA’s bosses have asked the government’s Planning Inspectors to overturn restrictions on night flights, at a Public Inquiry to be held in Leeds in March 2025. If LBA win they will be able to fly an UNLIMITED number of planes at night. Increasing night time flying is central to the airport's expansion plans. The reason is simple: unlimited night flying allows airlines to fly more of their planes round the clock, which means they can dramatically increase the number of flights at the airport. That’s what LBA’s appeal to the Planning Inspectors is all about. More night flights would mean more greenhouse gases from jet engines, polluting our fragile climate, when everyone knows we have to cut emissions as fast and as much as possible. The Climate Change Committee has repeatedly said that airports should not be allowed to expand because there are no large scale alternatives to the fossil fuels used to fly aircraft. OUR ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN We have successfully petitioned the Secretary of State to hold a public inquiry into the expansion of Leeds Bradford airport so that the full national impact of airport expansion can be assessed. The Public Inquiry was due to start on September 13th 2022. But Leeds Bradford Airport pulled out. Since then GALBA has been fighting expansion on many fronts. Here are some of the things we have achieved: We succeeded in calling for a public inquiry into the original planning application – causing LBA to withdraw its application. We achieved this win by using every tactic available to us, including the very best legal advice, an enormous public petition and a letter-writing campaign. We exposed hundreds of unlawful night flights at LBA over the past three summers. We were only able to do this because our dedicated and expert team literally logged every single arrival and departure at the airport – an extremely time-consuming and laborious process. Our hard work paid off because we were able to prove that the airport was not telling Leeds City Council the truth about night flight numbers and the Council was not independently monitoring them. We persuaded Leeds City Council to turn down the airport’s attempts to rewrite the rules that limit the number of night flights. This was a huge blow to the airport and we believe it only came about because Leeds City Council was not able to argue with our relentless monitoring and the detailed legal arguments that we presented to them. During this time we have kept our campaign at the top of the agenda. We’ve made politicians and the public take notice with a series of high profile demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, petitions, fundraisers and media appearances. Why is this important? As we stand on the brink of climate and ecological breakdown, airports throughout the UK are trying to expand. Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Stansted, Manston, Southampton, Luton and Gatwick are pressing ahead with expansion plans. Supporters of each expansion claim that the increase in carbon emissions is small in a national context. However, the cumulative impact would be a huge increase in emissions at precisely the time we should be doing everything in our power to reduce them. Leeds Bradford Airport expansion is a test case. The local authority has approved expansion, claiming that carbon emissions from international flights is not a matter for local authorities to consider! So we have called on the Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick, to order a public inquiry so that the climate impact of expansion can be assessed in a national context. This is not just about Leeds-Bradford. Approval of this application would open the floodgates of expansion at other regional airports. The government must intervene to stop the planned expansion of regional airports if it is to meet legally binding environmental targets and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. You can hear it from the experts. Over 200 Leeds Uni Academics already agree. https://www.galba.uk/post/press-release-246-uni-of-leeds-staff-and-researchers-ask-robert-jenrick-to-call-in-lba-decision Most importantly please share with your friends and family. Tell them why this matters so much to you. Thank you from GALBA - Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport

The closing of the petition was preempted by the decision of OfCom to not humour the complainants by punishing or admonishing ITV for the broadcasting of the performance by Diversity. The petition was submitted to OfCom, nonetheless, and I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who signed I have no doubt that the existence of of these various petitions will have influenced OfCom to come to the right decision

Buglife is delighted to confirm that the London Resort project has officially been terminated. This decision follows a High Court ruling to liquidate London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) due to financial and contractual disputes, bringing an end to a decade of uncertainty and environmental concern. The High Court’s ruling not only signals the definitive end of the London Resort plan but also lifts the shadow of doubt that has loomed over local businesses and the community for years. It ensures that this critical natural space remains safeguarded for future generations. Furthermore, the Planning Inspectorate has held LRCH accountable for its "unreasonable behaviour" throughout the planning process, awarding legal costs to a number of organisations, including Buglife, National Highways, Kent Wildlife Trust and others. This recognition of wasted resources underscores the importance of due diligence and respect for environmental regulations in major development proposals.

UPDATE: 25/10/18 Your support has helped gain concessions from government with the creation of a £60,000 fund to complete the mapping of pollinator habitat in England. Buglife welcomes this as a first step towards securing the future of our pollinators. This is real affirmative action in the battle to preserve the buzz of life. Once mapping is completed more resource will be needed to deliver the on-the-ground action to turn the maps into landscapes full of wildflowers for pollinators.

28th February - BREAKING: we’ve just won! PG Tips have today announced that they are removing plastic from their tea bags. Because 38 Degrees-ers like you stood up to Britain’s biggest tea manufacturer, there will now be 10 billion fewer fewer plastic tea bags damaging our environment every year. https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2018/02/28/pg-tips-won/ PG Tips announces plans to remove plastic from tea bags: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/28/pg-tips-switches-plastic-free-tea-bags-200000-sign-gardeners/

12/12/17 - We Won! Great news! Michael Gove, the Environment Minister has drafted a new law to specifically recognise animal sentience. The result of our campaign is fantastic news, this will keep standards of animal welfare, at the high levels we have come to expect, from a nation with a reputation for compassion and care. I am grateful to the Government for listening to us, and I think we should all be very proud of this achievement. - Dave Babb - Petition Starter Sky news say: "Mr Gove has been forced to act after social media campaigns by 38 Degrees, Compassion in World Farming and other groups targeted Conservative MPs, calling on them to reverse their vote against recognising animal sentience." The bill proposes ministers "must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing Government policy". Unveiling his plans after visiting Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Mr Gove claimed: "As we leave the EU we will deliver a Green Brexit, not only maintaining but enhancing animal welfare standards...Animals are sentient beings who feel pain and suffering, so we are writing that principle into law and ensuring that we protect their welfare." Thank you so much to everyone who signed and shared the petition! Read more here: https://news.sky.com/story/government-draft-tougher-animal-cruelty-laws-after-sentience-row-11167159

Update 16/11/17 We won! Homebase says it intends to end the sale of plants grown that have been treated with neonicotinoid-based pesticides by the end of 2018. They said: "We have been working closely with our suppliers and seeking advice from other stakeholders about the use of neonicotinoids and we have committed to stop using these insecticides on garden plants, as well as removing neonicotinoid-based garden care products from sale by the end of 2018." Read more here: https://www.hortweek.com/homebase-bunnings-stop-selling-neonicotinoid-treated-plants/retail/article/1450434