The National Railway Museum in York is a cultural treasure-house of railway trains, railwayana and railway ephemera. In short, the greatest and largest collection of such in the world. A veritable three-dimensional encyclopaedia of travel and transport history. It has, over the years, proved its ability to show diverse and ever-changing exhibitions such that the public and tourists do not treat it as a 'once-and-once only' experience. It branched out to host an award-winning production of E. Nesbit's 'The Railway Children', teaming up with The York Theatre Royal Company to do so, to great acclaim. It is a hands-on museum that caters for those who want to be involved, every bit as much as those who merely wish to stand and admire the stunning collection of engines and rolling stock. The Railway Museum appeals to all ages, as a place of entertainment and serious education, and as such acts as a research and study centre for universal railway history. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This campaign will be running in co-operation with the '38 Degrees' campaigns to save the Manchester Museum Of Science and Industry and the Bradford Media Museum. http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-mosi http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-national-media-museum-bradford Three powerhouses of technology in the north of England; with campaigns that form a three-pronged trident which, it is hoped, will prick the conscience of central government regarding the folly of losing these museums, There is also a local York campaign to save the Railway Museum: http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/indepth/savethenrm/?ref=mmnsp which is being run by The York Press, and has the active support of Hugh Bayley MP. Please support all these campaigns to save the nation's heritage in the north.

Affected borrowers will pay substantially more than they believed they would be paying. If one lender is allowed to get away with changing mortgage terms in this way what's to stop other mortgage lenders copying them? You may not be affected by this change but stopping Bank of Ireland might prevent your mortgage lender imposing unfair terms on your mortgage in the future. No borrower with a tracker rate mortgage can afford to allow Bank of Ireland to get away with this.

As you are probably aware; Navitus Bay Wind Park (1) will be located off the Dorset and Hampshire Coasts, to the west of the Isle of Wight, and also visible from Bournemouth, Poole and Swanage. I understand this development could produce the equivalent energy to power 800,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by up to 1,125,000 tonnes per annum. This will be a tremendous contribution to our country's energy needs and carbon reductions. It will also help towards our renewable energy target of 15% which in the past few years has been behind plan and behind the progress rates of many other EU nations (2). I am very concerned however that a small group of local activists are using information that has little to no scientific backing to discredit this development and are creating fears about the impact on tourism and jobs in the area. I would urge you to balance any of their views against the report produced by The University of Edinburgh, presented to a Committee of the Scottish Parliament (3) in which there is clear consensus that there has been no measurable economic impact, either positively or negatively, of wind farms on tourism and concludes that “while some strongly held localised and anecdotal opinion exists, the Committee has seen no empirical evidence which demonstrates that the tourism industry in Scotland will be adversely affected by the deployment of renewable energy projects, particularly onshore and offshore wind” I appreciate the turbines will be visible from the coast on a clear day but believe this to be a small and perfectly acceptable compromise for the benefits delivered. Furthermore, I personally confirm that this development will not any way restrict the frequency or manner in which I enjoy the beach and coastal areas in the effected locations. 1. www.navitusbaywindpark.co.uk 2. http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/reports/doc/com_2013_0175_res_en.pdf 3. www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_EconomyEnergyandTourismCommittee/Reports/eeR-12-07w-r.pdf

Potash is a vital source of potassium which is an essential nutrient for plant growth that strengthens cell walls, increases disease resistance and aids the absorption of nitrogen and phosphorous. The York Potash Project will mine polyhalite, a unique source of potassium, magnesium, sulphur and calcium, which can play a key role in balanced fertilisation across the world. With growing world populations it is vital for food security that the UK has a long term supply of this mineral. The York Potash deposit is the largest and highest grade deposit in the world and a new, deep mine with infrastructure that is below ground or hidden behind extensive landscaping can set new benchmarks for sensitive development, whilst creating thousands of jobs and giving a major boost to local and national economies.

The BBC reported last November: “An ‘intolerable risk’ is being posed by hazardous waste stored in run-down buildings at Sellafield nuclear plant, a watchdog has found.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-20228176 The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) stated: “Some of the older facilities at Sellafield containing highly hazardous radioactive waste have deteriorated so much that their contents pose significant risks to people and the environment." http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1213/sellafield_risk_reduction.aspx This waste has already been created, and it has to be kept safe until a proper solution is in place for dealing with it. West Cumbria urgently needs government investment to enable it to safeguard this material on behalf of us all. What's more, the problem is growing - there’s 44 tonnes more waste currently being moved down from Dounreay, with another 30 tonnes in the pipeline. The Government must immediately commit the investment to make Sellafield safe. This is one item of expenditure that simply must not be cut back. The Government must also order the NDA to stop shipping waste into Sellafield, until the facilities are given a clean bill of health by the NAO.

Those who cannot afford £75,000 can defer payment until after their death, and nobody would be forced to sell their home in their lifetime. But once the bill is settled by disposal of the property, many ordinary families will be left with little to show for what their relative has worked for all their life. In Liverpool, where the average home is worth around £132,000, there would be just £57,000 left over after settling the contribution to care costs. Stephen Burke, head of charity United for All Ages, called it “the dampest of damp squibs”. He added: “It is a con of the worst sort. There are fairer and better alternatives. The Government could have raised the capital threshold of paying for care to £200,000.” Labour peer Lord Warner, who sat on the Dilnot Commission, said members thought the cost cap should have been £50,000 at most. He added: “At that level, it would mean on average no-one would have to dispose of more than about a third of the value of their housing assets.” Shadow Care Minister Liz Kendall said the package was a “small step forward” as the assets people could own and still qualify for help had increased five-fold from just £23,250. But she added: “It won’t be fair for people with modest homes.”

The 'big four' supermarkets: Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsburys do not pay the Living Wage. These companies employ around 900,000 people meaning that together they employ the second largest number of people in the UK after the NHS. The Living Wage is “the threshold at which people can live above the poverty level with a sufficient safety net to provide for quality of life”. We need to ask these supermarkets to pay their staff the living wage. Big companies don’t like bad publicity. 38 Degrees members put pressure on the Olympic sponsors who were dodging their tax in the summer, and they caved to public pressure. We need to shame them into paying their staff a wage which affords them dignity and shows that they’re worth more than the legal minimum. Sign this petition to show the CEOs that you think they should pay their staff a wage they can live on! Together we can work together to lift people out of poverty. These supermarkets can afford it! The salaries paid to their CEOs are evidence of this. Justin King, the CEO of Sainsburys, receives £3.2 million a year; Philip Clarke of Tesco, £6.9 million; Dalton Philips of Morrisons, £4 million; Andy Clarke of Asda's pay is not in the public domain. If they can afford to pay their bosses this much, they can afford to pay their staff a few pounds more an hour. Tesco announced sales of more than £1 billion a week and annual profits of more than £3 billion despite the impact of the global downturn. Sainsburys opened five supermarkets, 28 convenience stores and two extensions, adding 267,000 square feet to its estate over the last three months. If they can afford to expand to at this rate, they can afford to pay their staff more. The Living Wage is beneficial to employees, employers and taxpayers. It prevents working poverty and the exploitation of low-paid workers. Taxpayers top up the low wages of supermarket workers by £50 a week in tax credits. If all low paid workers earned the living wage, the government could save £823 million a year by decreasing welfare benefits. It’s not just those who are unemployed who are in poverty, it’s also those in work who just don’t earn enough money to pay for the basics. One-fifth of women and one-seventh of men earn less than £7 per hour. More than six million working adults in Britain are living in poverty. Since the beginning of the Living Wage campaign in 2001 led by Citizens UK, they have lifted 45,000 people out of poverty and put over £210 million into the pockets of some of the lowest paid workers in the UK. *UPDATE* I have made a short link if you'd like to share the petition on Twitter: It is http://bit.ly/Big4LW745

Year after year gas and electricity prices have risen, to the point that millions of us can't afford to TURN THE HEAT ON, and thousands freeze to death every winter. Yet, the Big Six energy companies are so profitable that they pay billions of pounds in dividends to shareholders and millions of pounds in pay and bonuses to their executives. And no wonder they make so much money - in just over 8 years, from October 2004 until February 2013, my gas charges increased by a whopping 279.36%* and electricity charges by 69.89%.** Poverty is destroying the lives of millions of people in the UK, and if the misery and deaths caused by fuel poverty are ever to be eliminated, energy must be affordable by all. This will never happen while our energy sector is in the hands of private profiteers. We must TURN THE HEAT ON Government to get rid of The Big Six and restore the UK energy sector to public ownership. * from 1.439p to 4.02p per kWh ** from 7.328p to 12.45p per kWh

Cleaners are as integral to the team as shop assistants, managers, and directors. Outsourcing the cleaning services is demeaning, discriminatory and clearly counter to your founder's vision. We are grateful to Polly Toynbee for alerting us to the situation in a recent Guardian article. For some of us, it is so unjust and morally repugnant that we intend to boycott John Lewis, Waitrose and Greenbee until this injustice is put right - and encourage others to do likewise.

Austerity and recession are destroying employment opportunities all over the region. More than 64,000 young people, aged 18-24, are now out of work in the North West. There are 149,000 young people who are not in Education, Employment and Training (NEETs). With one in five young people jobless, many are being forced to take unskilled, part-time, temporary work, unpaid internships or work experience. Others simply become detached from society. Meanwhile, the abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance and increases in tuition fees are preventing thousands from gaining qualifications and new skills for the job market. Urgent action must be taken to give the young people of the North West a future that works. Taking positive action to help our young people will demand commitment, determination and real resources from Government, employers and trade unions. The North West TUC pledges to play its part. We urge MPs, local councillors, employers and others to sign up here – and pledge to take practical and immediate action to give young people a future that works.

STOP HIGH STREET LOAN SHARKS Through floods of tears our friend outlined her debt problem. She had borrowed from friends to make ends meet until payday. When she found paying them back difficult from her small salary she took out loans from high street money shops. New money shops are opening all the time. We get 3% APR on our savings. She was being charged between 2000% and 4000% APR. To default at such interest rates is like chasing a train that has left the station. You never catch up. Worse still she had assembled a “portfolio” of companies hoping to pay off one by another. Could we help her? Having money was useless because none of these companies wanted to provide statements or invoices. A nightmare. Yes. Is it legal? Yes. Slavery? Well yes. Salvation? For her yes through a Debt Relief Order thanks to you the great British taxpayer and the Legal Aid Scheme. My friend is not alone. 45% of people say they struggle to make it to payday. Millions are vulnerable to these legal loan sharks. Legislation is urgently needed. France caps the maximum charge for a loan at 133% APR and Germany 200% APR. For more information try www.sharkstoppers.org Dear 38degrees members please back the campaign to encourage parliament to pass legislation as soon as possible to introduce loan capping in the UK.

Why should a select minority make a profit from services which we all need and which could, with proper strategic investment, make Britain a more competitive player in the world.