• Oblige the UK's wealthiest people to give something back
    Just like on the popular TV programme 'The Secret Millionaire', I would like to see the wealthy obliged to spend just a few days per year with under privileged families who live on the breadline. If the families of people who actually live on the meagre salaries paid by these wealthy people were chosen then the exercise would be all the more poignant. The rich would have the opportunity to see that the poor often work much harder than they do.....and that not all people have the support, education, connections or the love in their lives needed to enable them to climb the ladder in our society. I believe that there are very few people in the world that are worth salaries in the hundreds of thousands yet many people are lucky enough to enjoy that sort of income -18 000 people now earn over £1 million per year in the UK and over 1000 people are worth over £65 million.......footballer Gareth Bale earns in one week what the average person in the UK earns in ten years - surely some obligation should come with that. Whilst a fairer tax system is essential, simply imposing higher taxes using the socialist model does risk driving people, innovation and investment out of our country. On the other hand, capitalism as it stands has created obscene extremes of wealth with no responsibility attached. I believe that giving the rich a social obligation to spend just a few days a year living with or volunteering in poor communities would have an incredibly cathartic effect. It could promote compassion, generosity, altruism, mutual learning and hopefully philanthropism. This would help rich people to truly earn what they earn. It is our right to demand that those who posess most of the wealth in our country give something back and make an effort to understand the lives of the huge proportion of our society who work for next to nothing. This is not simply about redistribution of wealth but about bridging divides and having a more compassionate society and hence a more generous society. The wealthy can only fully appreciate how difficult life is on the minimum wage, or less, by diving into that life to see it for themselves. Any communion of disperate parts of our society can only be a good thing and is in fact essential. This is not about stunting capitalism but about responsible capitalism and the responsibility that comes with wealth and power.
    106 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Darren Wassell
  • Make billionaire Bernie Ecclestone pay his taxes
    At a time of austerity for the majority of working people in the UK and David Cameron and Nick Clegg claiming we are "in this together", the UK government continues to show it is one rule for the rich and one for the poor when it comes to paying taxes. ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS. It is time David Cameron stepped up and made good on his pledge for a fairer Britain.
    137 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Glenn Lennox
  • Change Capitalistic system - Wellbeing of all citizens - 5 Year Plan! - 21stcenturycapitalism.org
    The current Capitalistic system has failed dismally, it has before and inevitably will again in the future causing further devastating misery and absolute despair across the globe if it is allowed to continue as it stands, with the undeserving populace of the world inevitably once again left to pick up the pieces of a failed and abused system still being allowed to be broken by just a few of the greediest and most gluttonous who are allowed to walk free! This current Capitalistic system has also resulted in the top few percentile of a countries population owning the vast majority of that countries assets and wealth leaving the majority of its' population progressively disenfranchised, increasingly exploited and even more poorer leaving generations for years to come suffering the consequences from this colossal failure that has been allowed to continue without proper scrutiny or rehabilitation. Check it out for yourself:- The report asserts... “...vicious circle where wealth and power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving the rest behind”.“This means the rules are constantly rewritten in favour of the rich, for example through policies such as lower taxes for high earners,” it says. The charity said the findings were “deeply worrying”, and that such inequality was a “sign of economic failure”. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/blogs/2014/03/5-richest-families-in-uk-are-wealthier-than-poorest-20-pc http://www.oxfam.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2014/03/a-tale-of-two-britains “400 people owning the wealth of half of the population of the United States”. The guardian The report, launched at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, states that "wealthy elites have co-opted political power to rig the rules of the economic game, undermining democracy". The 85 richest people on the planet "own the wealth of half the world's population," Oxfam said. The report exposes the "pernicious impact" of growing inequality that helps "the richest undermine democratic processes and drive policies that promote their interests at the expense of everyone else", the statement said. "We cannot hope to win the fight against poverty without tackling inequality. Widening inequality is creating a vicious circle where wealth and power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, leaving the rest of us to fight over crumbs from the top table," said Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam Exec. Director. Present:- With the current Capitalistic system the employer exploits the employee to the extremes and the owners and shareholders cream off any profits made by them - Which has seen a scandalous pay gap develop between the highest paid and the lowest paid in the same company, and leaves many disenfranchised having to claim for unemployment benefits which keeps the wages of the lowest paid low and the working class having to pay higher taxes, leaving the richest in our society able to afford tax avoidance schemes!!! I want to revolutionize that broken and dilapidated system and make this planet we all live on a much better place and more inclusive for all the citizens of the world, and desperately need all your help if we are ever going to achieve this seismic change for the benefit of all humanity. Future:- The system I propose is a more modern, inclusive, and balanced Capitalistic System that’s fit for the 21st Century where company profits are shared out fairly between all the employees who actually make the product and deliver the service, the corporate employer who needs to reinvest funds for the future and the corporate shareholders who require and expect a fair return on their much needed investments. It is not only much fairer for the vast majority of all those concerned but this should also allow for a better more enfranchised and caring society whereby the wealth is redistributed more evenly throughout the population across all pay levels, giving scope for full employment prospects with everyone in a company pulling in the same direction which should deliver more wealth, better health and a much more balanced sense of well-being throughout all our communities in the future! This can be achieved over a 5 year period in a stable and controlled manner so as not to destabilise the markets and also allow a level playing field for all concerned parties by gradually increasing the employees share of the company profits/share ownership of a corporate company and placing it into an independent employees trust fund where it would be split equally between each employee. This would start at 10% of the profits/shares for the 1st year, then 20% the profits/shares the 2nd year, 30% the 3rd year, etc. - So this employees proportion is gradually increased until the wealth of the few at the top at present is re-distributed fairly and more evenly throughout the whole populace for a better and more inclusive society! 21stcenturycapitalism.org - The Athena Party.org
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Neil Carter
  • UNFREEZE UK PENSIONS
    Lots of pensioners are living abroad on very low incomes because their pensions have been frozen. My aunt aged 84 who qualifies for a British pension is in receipt of the pension she starting to get when she was 60. The amount she receives has remained the same - frozen at the 1990 rate just because she lives abroad. How can this be fair ?
    82 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Christine Harben Picture
  • Ban TV advertising of exploitative companies
    These advertisements are aimed at sections of society who are in dire financial need, or there would be no demand, and it is not likely that obtaining a 'payday loan' at exorbitant interest rates or gambling on-line will be to the benefit of individuals, their families and ultimately society as a whole. It is not difficult to imagine the distress that will ensue repaying loans of over 1000% APR. as advertised on billboard information for the same companies. We believe that a civilised society would not only end this type of commercial exploitation swiftly, but would legislate immediatley to close these industries down, review why they have been allowed to operate for so long and publish details of the individuals who have been profiting by them and defending them to Government.
    65 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Sheldon Young
  • Fair deal for pensioner's savings:
    Many pensioners live on a relatively meager pension supplemented by interest from their savings. Over recent years interest rates have been derisory leading to a poverty trap for many senior citizens. This must be urgently addressed.
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Joy Reardon
  • Close The 'Tax Gap'
    Our tax system is open to massive abuse by individuals and corporations of all sizes. Whilst the government works very hard to target those who supposedly milk the benefit system, they are less than vocal in their crusade against those who defraud the taxpayer by avoidance and non-payment of tax. It is time to close the tax gap.
    39 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Mark Jeffery
  • Limit London property rental to average maintenance cost
    Fact 1. Londoners without property must pay a large and ever increasing proportion of their hard earned income to their landlord as rent. Fact 2. The market value of rent in London is generally far higher than the long term cost of property maintenance. Property owners in London therefore often have a rental income which is well above the cost of maintenance. How can that be morally justified? The rate of extortion from tenants to landlords has been steadily increasing for decades, to the point now where even middle income Londoners are increasingly being forced to leave their home town. Property ownership removes the need to pay rent, but why should it also give anyone the right to an unearned income? Limiting the maximum property rental in London to the average cost of maintenance would be a long term solution to the problem of accommodation costs in London. The incentive to buy would remain as the prospect of paying a large chunk of your salary every month into your own pocket rather than someone else's. The squealing which this would induce in rich win-win property investors would of course be deafening! FAQs for this campaign are listed here: https://sites.google.com/site/limitlondonrents/home/faqs
    46 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Andrew Morris
  • Make Zero-Hour Contracts Illegal in all Sectors of Work
    It's important as greater numbers of people are being offered these contracts and a higher percentage of these people are young. If we don't provide decent working contracts for young people they have no hope for the future, and this is detrimental to a feel-good factor in an economic recovery. It is also treating people as commodities.
    105 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Joanna Barker
  • Make childcare costs an allowable business expense.
    For many self-employed people, they cannot operate without using a childcare provider. Eg. If you are a self-employed single parent who needs to meet a business client in their offices; why won't the HMRC accept that the childcare expense is wholly and exclusively for business purposes? The current position is an anomaly and indirectly discrimminates against women who disproportionately suffer a detriment under the current rules.
    63 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Nicholas Win
  • Hold Banks and bankers accountable
    It is important for the people of this country to know that no one is above the law. The current situation where the tax payer is bailing out the financial institutions is intolerable. How did banks end up selling and purchasing unsustainable mortgages if no fraud was committed.
    139 of 200 Signatures
    Created by David Nicholson
  • Why can't we cash in our small pension pot?
    Vast numbers of people are frustrated by restrictions on cashing in small pension pots, forcing them to take incomes of less than £5 a week, or in my case £72 a year! Government rules restrict us to taking just a tiny slice of our money, when we could cash in an amount of £2,000 or more, making a real difference to our lives.
    14 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Daniel Sencier