North Yorkshire County Council is trying AGAIN to close local Libraries, if communities don’t agree to raise funds and run them themselves on a voluntary basis. The Council are carrying out a “consultation” but the choices are a) you run your own library or b) your library will be closed down. This affects 20 rural libraries in North Yorkshire. In July 2014, Mr Justice Collins ruled in the High Court that the public consultation in Lincolnshire was flawed and had failed to deal with an alternative proposal. A similar flawed consultation has taken place in Leicestershire. Libraries are such an important hub of local rural communities. They are used by the young, the elderly, job seekers, people accessing the internet and others. I live in Bentham, a small market town in Craven. If our Library were to close down, I would need to travel to the nearest “core” Library in Skipton, a mere 27 miles away, at a cost of £10.10 by train. How would the young or the elderly get there? Bentham wouldn’t be the friendly town with a sense of community without the Library.

Many patients are very anxious about the future of their local hospital, particularly after various media disclosures, including the announcement that 1,000 beds in hospitals across the city (of Birmingham) are due to be axed! Our campaign group, Save Good Hope’s Local Services, brings together local people who use and care very much about our local hospital, Good Hope, in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. We are independent of any political party and are campaigning to stop the closure of key departments at our hospital. Closures of key departments at Good Hope Hospital could be the start of a slippery slope: in many areas of England, hospitals have already either been downgraded or even closed. One of our main aims, as stated in an earlier petition, has recently been successfully achieved. A public meeting to discuss the Trust’s proposals finally having being held in October, after much campaigning! And now we are calling for people across Birmingham to say NO to the closure of key departments at the hospital. These were revealed in the Trust's document (before the consultations had even finished!) as the following: 1. The transfer of Trauma FROM Good Hope to Heartlands Hospital; 2. The transfer of Orthopaedics, Ophthalmology and Colorectal Surgery FROM Good Hope to Heartlands and Solihull, both great distances to travel for many people and particularly difficult for carers and those they care for, the elderly, very young and disabled. In response to concern already expressed by many people at the ongoing consultations regarding transport, the Trust have suggested the equivalent of `taxi’ ambulances so to speak. But who would pay for this? Even if it was to be the Trust, how long would they actually pay before saying they had run out of funds? Would patients then be expected to pay, including those from other areas even further out, such as Tamworth & Lichfield? The Heart Of England Trust has been reported in the media as being the highest earning Trust IN THE COUNTRY from car parking charges, netting an annual profit of nearly £4million! At the public meeting, one of our campaigners asked the Trust why and if that money could be used to help keep our hospital services local? At present, it is obvious that this Trust STILL lacks openness, transparency and empathy with patients. They need to really start to `think like a patient’, because at the moment, they don’t.

To improve the quality of the North's rail lines, by encouraging the main rail service to improve its quality of service, so people in the north of England don't feel neglected. This will also encourage more people to use the train. More people want a reliable rail service, so commuting between cities should be more comfortable and reliable

so people can walk home safely and be seen

People in the affected areas are suffering from increased crime and fear of crime, such as damage to cars and property. Taxis, the fire brigade and police can't see house numbers in the dark, delaying responses, which could threaten people's safety - the police apparently oppose KCC's action. People are worried if they have to go out in the dark streets because they could trip on uneven pavements and tree roots. This affects many people who return from work late at night or have to leave very early to get to work. I live in Thanet, and there have been many complaints about KCC's policy of turning off lights on social media such as Streetlife, and this affects most people except those who live on main roads.

The proposed savings of £2.85 million from the Library Services in Barnet threatens the existence of one of the last remaining community amenities we have left. Three options have been put forward by the Council to make these savings; all three will see a reduction in the quality and quantity of service provision. Option one will see the size of library cut in all but four libraries. This idea fails to understand that libraries are used for their space as well as their books; less places for pupils and students to study and read results in a reduction of the quality of service. Option two will see the closure of Burnt Oak, Childs Hill, Mill Hill, East Finchley, Osidge and South Friern Libraries and a significant reduction of staffing levels at the remaining libraries. This option does not consider how the remaining libraries will cope with increased footfall owning to the closure of the other libraries, particularly around peak library times. Option three is a mix of the two, with some libraries being handed over to community groups and reduced staffing elsewhere. Libraries are the embodiment of social provision and community spirit. They are more than just books; they offer children's activities during term and holidays which are used by parents and nurseries. They offer access to the internet to those that don't have access. They provide space for people to read and study in peace that is not always possible in their homes. They are places to host community events, training and education. I use the library for my daughter; renting books but mainly for their toddler activities. My nursery also go there regularly. Please sign this petition if you believe in the universal provision of literature, education and community services in Barnet. Say no to the erosion of this great social asset.

Take away libraries and condemn generations of children to poor literacy levels ,the unemployed to job sanctions and most of all to leave my disabled daughter heartbroken because libraries are what she loves the most . To see her face light up and see her clapping in old swan and dovecot library is a beautiful sight . Where will I take her ? 30 quid round trip to central library :( we ask you to sign this to help Layla and all the other kids , the disabled , the elderly , the unemployed to have access to libraries . Stand with us ,fight the cuts , get them to stop !!!! Thank you

Why it matters I am addressing this petition to the above three party leaders because I have no real idea who will form the next government after May 2015. Our national railways were privatised in the 1990 with the usual promises of better services, cheaper fares, less or no pull on the taxpayer and ownership by us, the British public. Despite the fact of course that we already owned the railway. As with every privatisation before and after it the results have been very different to those promised. However it is true that many train companies that run franchises in the UK are publicly owned, but by other European countries. Arriva is a wholly owned subsidiary of the German national rail company Deutsche Bahn, and runs the Arriva Trains Wales and Cross Country franchises. The French national rail operator SNCF has a majority stake in Keolis, which operates the Trans Pennine franchise in partnership with FirstGroup. Keolis is also a minority partner in the Govia rail operating company, which runs the Southern, Southeastern and London Midland services. The Dutch state railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen owns Abellio, which has a 50% stake in Serco-Abellio, which runs the Merseyrail and Northern Rail franchises. Abellio also runs Scotrail. European governments make millions of pounds a year in dividends from their British operations. From the subsidies paid by British tax payers. Please do not read this piece as an 'anti-foreigner' rant. I simply do not understand how paying other governments vast profits to run our railways is good for the British people. Since privatisation billions of pounds of tax payer subsidised profits have gone into the coffers of other governments. There is one railway still at the moment in the hands of the UK tax payer. The state-owned East Coast railway paid £225m to the government in the year to March 2014. In our hands now but for how long. We are about to sell our stake in Eurostar. Who to? It seems the French State Railways SNCF. As a side word I can tell you that last year I travelled First Class on SNCF from Tarbes in the South West of France to Paris, a journey of about 600 Km, for a cost of 45 Euros. Subsidised? Probably. Should I thank the British taxpayer for their contribution? So the publicly owned East Coast Railway paid £225m in 'profits' to the UK taxpayers. What should we do with it now? Privatise it seems. And one of the front runners to take over this publicly owned success story? It seems its a joint venture between Keolis and Eurostar, subsidiaries of France's state-owned railway company, SNCF. So should I book my return journey to Tarbes now or wait a little while. After all it could be even cheaper in a few months.

On the say-so of just 3 councillors and the silencing of Full Council on the issue, Brixham Town Council is seeking to fill the sudden vacancy of Town Clerk by automatic internal appointment. A town council is the tier of government closest to the residents who pay for it and who pay the salaries of its employees, and as such it should be the most transparent in the use of residents' money. A town council must be above any suspicion of favouritism or cronyism. It is obliged to appoint on merit the best person available to fill the key post of Clerk and if it does not advertise the post it cannot know who is available. It must consider all applicants and carry out a fair, open and transparent appointments procedure. Although this is currently an issue in Brixham, South Devon, the principle applies equally to all town/parish councils throughout the land. NB 9 October: I have now resigned from Brixham Town Council because of this unprincipled act and the culture of cronyism which allowed it..

Currently there are hundreds of day centres up and down the country who are providing day care for thousands of patients. Many of their customers are disabled but the facilities that they have do not readily reflect this. As there is no national inspection team for these units at present, they do not have the incentive to provide full disabled facilities. If an annual (or more frequent) inspection were to be carried out by CQC then shortcomings could be highlighted to the governing body or local authority and provision made for the facilities to be upgraded. My wife has attended one such centre catering for Alzheimer's and other dementias for a number of years. She is wheelchair bound as she cannot maintain her own weight and has had to leave as they do not have adequate hoists or, indeed, a disabled toilet.

Plastic waste is persistent in the environment, highly toxic and poisons marine animals. It is working up the whole marine food chain to the extent that autopsies performed on beached whales and dolphins reveal a huge amount of damage to all organs. Unless action is taken immediately the seas and oceans will be a toxic soup. Already some areas of the Pacific are so contaminated that the mortality rate amongst sea birds and mammals is high and even albatross chicks have abdomens full of discarded plastic waste.

The "NHS Bill 2015" campaign is calling on all General Election candidates to sign up to the new "NHS Reinstatement Bill", and is already attracting cross-party support. The “Campaign for an NHS Reinstatement Bill 2015" has produced an “NHS Reinstatement Bill” which sets out the legal steps needed not only to reverse the failings of the Health & Social Care Act 2012, but to fully restore the NHS in England as an accountable public service. Unless we all keep the pressure on MP's of all parties in the run up to the next election, our voices will be lost in the spin, sound bites and agendas. We were fooled in 2010 by false the promise of no NHS re-organisations. With the secret TTIP negotiations ongoing, now, more then ever, everyone has to make their voices heard regarding the NHS. Please contact your MP and prospective parliamentary candidates and ask them to support Professor Pollock's "NHS Reinstatement Bill", and ask them if they do not, why not? You can reach your MP via https://www.writetothem.com/ For further information, please see: https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/caroline-molloy/new-law-proposed-to-stop-nhs-becoming-simply-memory