http://www.itv.com/news/2015-09-08/badly-burned-toddler-exposes-horror-refugees-are-fleeing/

We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. We want refugees to be welcome in rural areas too. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

This is important because thousands of innocent people are losing their lives on the grounds of their sexuality, something they simply CANNOT change. It promotes hatred and propagates the children. Those who are gay and want to live a normal life don't have this option as a result of its prejudice and legal position.

Because we are fellow human beings, that's all. This is something we can really help with. We have a moral duty, and its time we did something human for our fellow humans. Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

The people of Dundee are deeply disturbed by the images of huge numbers of refugees fleeing conflicts and want to do everything we can to help these people. Scotland has a history of offering shelter to people displaced by war and persecution: in the past Dundee welcomed refugees after WWII as well as Basques, Ugandan Asians, Chileans and Syrian Kurds. These people and their families became part of our city and have made a great contribution to Dundee: socially, culturally and economically. We the people of Dundee want to keep this tradition of offering safety and shelter to those in desperate need. The scale of the humanitarian crisis at the moment is vast yet the response from many has been negative or even hostile. As Dundonians, we want to tell the people who have lost so much that they are welcome in our homes, in our streets and our communities – as we would undoubtedly be welcomed by them if we ever need their help. Dundee has been in the news recently for being the “coolest little city”. But we want Dundee to be known as the kindest little city.

Fair business practice

To all British retailers, Just over 4 months ago I found out I was pregnant. Since that moment my life has been a roller coaster ride of emotions ranging from so-excited-I-could-burst to oh-my-god-what-are-we-doing?-this-is-absolutely-terrifying. Indeed, as a FTM or first time mum there are lots of things to get my head round. Knowing what FTM means for example, or becoming highly acquainted with the toilet bowl. There seems to be an endless list of adjustments to be made, whether it be my sleeping position or how to sneeze without causing myself pain. All of these things I hadn’t expected. I actually said to a friend that I’m convinced the reason why it’s been deemed bad luck to share your pregnancy news before you’ve completed the first trimester is because the first trimester is so bloody horrible that if non-parents were to know they’d never consider starting a family. All in all it’s been emotional. One of the biggest factors to contend with is the effect of pregnancy on your body. People talk about the pregnancy glow but I must admit I can’t say I feel bouncing when every part of my body hurts, I’m out of breath, covered in spots like a pubescent teenager and watching my body expand by the day. Like any woman I take pride in my appearance, like to keep up to date with fashion and know that when I’m not feeling my best I want to be dressed in my favourite clothes. This has been a problem. On a recent visit to the UK I was looking forward to hitting the streets of London and Manchester and getting my hands on some maternity clothes. I’ve reached the point of no return with my ‘normal’ clothes and I was looking forward to shopping in the both fashionable and affordable high street stores. Sadly I shouldn’t have bothered. After dragging my podgy ankles up and down Oxford Street I realised that it was time to make another realisation: I was now an outcast of society. All the stores I entered (bar three) told me that they no longer stocked maternity clothes in-store, instead opting to sell them online. Now I’m a big online shopper, I love it, especially living abroad but I only love it because after 30 odd years I know my size. Being pregnant I don’t. Never has there been a more important time to try clothes on because I’m still coming to terms with my ever-changing shape. Trying to explain this to various shop assistants and managers I got some sympathetic glances and suggestions to try plus size clothing but i left feeling hugely disappointed. It’s not as if I’m the only pregnant woman in the world so what has changed the attitudes of the retailers? Why is being pregnant now out of fashion? Most fashion stores now stock a variety of ranges for different body types, tall, petite, plus-size. So why has pregnancy clothing suddenly been deemed uncommercial? In the few stores I visited which did stock maternity clothes there was a very limited range (usually just a rail or two) and bizarrely these sections were located in the most inaccessible parts of the store, requiring me to climb several flights of stairs, manoeuvre through enthusiastic bargain-hunters and rifle through childrenswear before finding my one pair of over-the-bump jeans. The store whose praises i would like to sing however is H&M. In virtually all the stores I entered I found a maternity range, clearly signposted and easy to find and with a decent range of fashionable clothes at reasonable prices. Were it not for them I would probably have burst into tears a few times during my shopping trip (I’ll blame the hormones). So to all the other retailers who have, for some unbeknown reason, decided to purge their stores of maternity clothes and move them all online; I urge you to reconsider. Having children is a wonderful thing and mothers are truly awesome at dealing with pregnancy and childbirth (trust me on this one) so please, please don’t alienate young mothers and make their self esteem take yet another beating. At a time when everything is changing lets allow mothers to at least indulge in a good bit of retail therapy. Yours sincerely (and pregnant) Olivia

As it stands, only the father's name and 'rank or profession' is needed on a marriage certificate. We believe this is archaic; a father's name and profession was important when marriage was seen as the passing of a possession (the woman) from one man (the father) to another (the husband). This is no longer the case. If the information is necessary for public record, then the mother's name and profession should be included too. Mothers play as vital a part in their children's upbringing as men do (and sometimes more...) and this should be reflected in modern marriage certificates. Ideally a person would be able to include information for only one parent if they so wish. Having to include a parent with whom one does not have a good relationship on something as significant as a marriage certificate can be unnecessarily upsetting.

It is important because the existing practice is unfair, dishonest and discriminatory all of which are un-British. It often results in pensioners who have gone to live with their families in countries like Canada or Australia having to sponge on their children or return to a lonely life in the UK where, of course, they become a burden on the NHS. The exclusion of British pensioners in most countries from receiving their rightful pension is irrational. Pension freezing means that after twenty years a pensioner is getting less than half of his or her entitlement. Our Government claims to be fair and honest but it seems to be unfair and dishonest. If we all pay the same compulsory contributions we should all get the same pension.

Disabled customers should not have to justify their disability to bored customer care staff in a supermarket. Having to produce proof of a disability (as the blue badge will have been left on display in their vehicle) is undignified and demeaning. Having to divulge sensitive and personal information in a public area of a supermarket is unfair and unjust. Forcing customers to struggle back through a shop to the customer care desk in order to avoid being fined when they are wheelchair bound, struggle to walk or are in pain is a disgraceful way to treat a customer. Refusing to accept the validity of a blue badge becuase they are not on a supermarkets database is highly unfair and quite possibly illegal.