Kingsley Road runs alongside two primary schools and is used by pedestrians, cyclists, cars and buses. After much campaigning by Kingsley Community Primary School, a zebra crossing has been added to the road, however many cars still speed through it and ignore pedestrians crossing the road. In order to make the road safer for all road users, we the undersigned propose reducing the speed limit to 20mph and enforcing it with a speed camera. Residents who live on Kingsley Road have reported that it is difficult to reverse out of their driveways currently, as other cars drive past so fast. A child from Kingsley School has been involved in an incident on the road. Many parents with children at the schools are in favour of reducing the speed limit, as are local residents. There is no need for this road to have a 30mph speed limit. A driver driving at 20mph is far less likely to be involved in a road collision than one driving at 30mph.

Democracy is only an idea and it takes the will of the people to make our society even close to this task. We are held in tyranny and being robbed by a government who blatantly broke the law when they "won" the 2015 elections. https://www.rt.com/uk/337732-conservative-broke-law-election/

We want our kids to be kids again and enjoy learning for learning's sake not for Ofsted results or league table figures. Bring back the creativity and the fun - say goodbye to repetition and boredom! Between 9th to 13th May, children in Year 6 in England and Wales sit a whole week's worth of exams. They are lied to and told these will affect their whole life's careers which is simply untrue, Teachers are forced to put children under stress purely for league tables sakes. All year their curriculum has been centred around comprehension and arithmetic in order to pass these tests. Outdoor learning has decreased, childhood anxiety has increased, games have been replaced with grammar, playing with punctuation. Parents all over the country are joining forces on 3rd May for a day of fun learning out of school to show support for a SATs boycott and a return to teacher led assessments which value individuality and creativity in the school setting.

The Infrastructure Bill allows ALL public land to be privatised. To includes woods, communally owned parks, rivers, beaches, moors, mountains, village commons and fields The government is selling off the Land Registry to private, profit making interests. Schedule 3 of this Bill. This Bill was pushed through on it's Second Reading late in the evening the night before Parliament went off for their Easter holidays. This Must be stopped. The Land belongs to the People. No Government has the right to give it away to private enterprise for fracking, developments or any such other without public permission which will be completely denied if this Bill passes into Law. It wrests the land from local Councils and puts it squarely into the Private Sector where anyone with money can buy it up and use it for whatever they want. This is unconstitutional. http://www.thecanary.co/2016/03/25/16830/

Herriot-Watt University released a survey this week showing that the majority of the wider "Yes" campaign was to the left of the SNP. This is a new party that was built to address the concerns of voters who feel as if there isn't a party that fully embodies their values or desires for the future. We feel that if the far-right UKIP are to be included in debates, then the true left option of RISE needs to be included also.

Abandoning codes of practice for farm animal welfare is not in the best interests of the animals or those who will ultimately consume an animal raised in poorer conditions. The RSPCA said it has been voicing concerns for the past three years about the “downgrading” of the guidelines from statutory codes to industry-led guidance and criticised the lack of transparency around the process. The meat industry has had many scandals over the years and weakening regulations can only increase animal suffering and impact those consuming meat reared under poorer quality conditions.

We question whether this award is in keeping with the "truth and integrity in public affairs" of the Quakers. We question whether the JRRT should be paying legal fees. We ask for equity for the "Orkney 4"

We are continually told by Government that privatisation or the involvement of the private sector is the cure for all economic woes. The NHS is suffering from creeping privatisation, the national rail system was sold off years ago and the government is currently selling off executive agencies such as Ordnance Survey regardless of the business case. However they appear to be strangely reluctant to apply their policies at the heart of government by selling off their own premises. About £3.5 billion will need to be spent in the next few years on repairing the Palace of Westminster in the least expensive option considered. The buildings are apparently subsiding and are in any case very vulnerable to rising sea levels. The government should accept the logic of their own policies and relieve us of this expensive burden by relocating to a less expensive location (possibly an out-of-town retail area with good communications), and to complete the package outsource their day-to-day support services to one of the many out-sourcing companies they consider competent to manage hospitals, prisons and the rail network.

George Osborne wanted to take away payments from the disabled to give tax breaks to the rich. This is a right wing agenda and should be recognised by the BBC. The BBC was very quick to label Jeremy Corbyn as "Left-Wing" but has so far been reluctant to address George Osborne as "Right-Wing" we need to address the balance.

To see if the morality of the rules around expense claims matters more than the letter of the law. To show how he did this here is a helpful video from the bbc to explain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPqG7MjPwic

The continued exclusion of overseas pensioners from up-rating adjustments to their State Pensions means that the real terms incomes of those affected falls year-on-year. Over time this leads to hardship, poverty, loss of independence and loneliness. Some individuals have been forced to return to the UK, away from loved ones, just to get by. This policy also creates a barrier to pensioner emigration from the UK, as the prospect of a frozen pension means that many feel they simply couldn't afford to do so. Given the countries involved are largely in the Commonwealth, those in British Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities are disproportionately impacted. There is no dispute about the entitlement to receive a State Pension overseas. All British pensioners who have made the required NI contributions during their working life are eligible. The issue at stake is whether that pension is universally uprated or not. At the moment, the government's policy is inconsistent and unfair, with half British pensioners abroad getting up-rated and the other half excluded. This creates crazy anomalies i.e. uprating in the USA, frozen pensions in Canada. It is time for reform to give all pensioners the full state pension they deserve, wherever they live, and to end this injustice once and for all. A positive, and easily affordable, step forward would be for the Government to include all pensioners in the 2.7% State Pension up-rating to be granted this year, by withdrawing the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2016 currently before parliament. CASE STUDIES: Anne Puckridge Former college lecturer Anne Puckridge, now 91, lived and worked in the UK all her working life, paying mandatory NI contributions throughout this time. In 2002, aged 77 she finally retired and decided to move to Canada to be with her daughter and grandchildren who had moved to Calgary in the 1990s. Fourteen years on, Anne, who served as an intelligence officer in the Women’s Royal Navy in the Second World War, is struggling to live on the frozen £75.50 a week rate, she was entitled to when she moved abroad. Anne now feels that she will be forced to move back to Britain, because her pension will no longer cover day to day expenses and she is increasingly reliant on her daughter to get by. Anne says: “It’s the small things, and the injustice, that is really getting to me. I value my independence, but I can’t go on living on the breadline and I don’t want to inflict this on my family. As well as ever-increasingly poverty, I feel a sense of stress and shame, which is affecting my health.” Abhik Bonnerjee Abhik Bonnerjee, now 73, moved from India to Glasgow in 1960. He worked in the UK for 38 years, in shipbuilding, steel manufacture and the food industry. He owned an Indian restaurant for 6 years. Abhik returned to India in 1997 and reached the State Pension retirement age in 2008 when it was paid at £87.30 a week. Having made all the required NI contributions, if Abhik still in the UK today he would get £115.95, 28% more. The decline in his real terms income has left Abhik concerned about losing his home. He now feels he may have to move back to the UK. Abhik says: “The current situation makes me very, very angry. The government are scaremongering… [The Minister] says it will cost a lot of money but it is only a tiny percentage [of the pensions budget]. The government should be doing more, especially for Commonwealth countries and MPs can’t explain why they are not.” Rita Young Rita Young, 78, lives in Peterborough in the UK. She retired in 2002, aged 67, having enjoyed a long career in market research and as a community volunteer. Rita’s son moved to work in Australia some time ago and now has a family there. Since being widowed Rita has wanted to join her son and grandchildren in Australia, but has felt unable to do so due to the prospect of a frozen pension. As she gets older Rita finds daily life increasingly difficult, especially as she doesn’t have a family around who she can call on. She is deeply saddened that she is not able to be with her family during the later stages of her life, and feels that it is a complete injustice that had her son moved to a different country (e.g. France or the USA) she would be able join him with a full UK pension. Rita has spoken at the National Pensioners Convention about the issue and is very active in her community. Rita says: “I worked and contributed to my State Pension all my life. It doesn't seem fair that the government can just stop uprating it because I want to be with my family.” Geoff Amatt Geoff Amatt from Abergele in Wales reached 100 last year. Geoff contributed to the UK economy all his life and fought for his country during the Second World War. Geoff’s daughter Jean emigrated to Calgary, Canada more than 40 years ago, yet Geoff was unable to follow in the knowledge that his State Pension would be frozen at the rate of leaving the country. £29 per week at the time. As a result Geoff has been separated from his two grandchildren and two great grandchildren throughout his retirement. He has lived alone, largely dependent on the state for care, since his wife died seven years ago. Jean says: “Frozen pensions are unbelievably unfair. Canadians get their pension uprated in they live in the UK yet we don’t offer the same for those moving in the other direction. The government is keeping families apart and I worry about my father left all alone in Britain while we’re thousands of miles away.”

There are a number of entrances along this stretch of road and the it is used by horse riders, including children on ponies, cyclists and farm vehicles all limited as to speed. A number of locals have expressed their concern as to the speed of many cars along this stretch who may be unaware of the hazards often present in this area. The purpose of this petition is to show support for the proposal already posted on Hampshire County Council's Public Notices site to restrict the speed limit. UPDATE: The petition and the Pony Mad Hackers backing the campaign and the council proposals appeared in the Clanfield Post! http://www.clanfieldpost.co.uk/article.cfm?id=104746&headline=Catherington%20riders%20back%20bid%20to%20reduce%20speed%20limit%20on%20Lovedean%20Lane§ionIs=news&searchyear=2016 We're very grateful to Paul Ferguson of the Petersfield Post for taking the time to come down and visit, then write an article about our campaign. (Image courtesy of the generosity of those who release their work to the public domain via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_Kingdom_40mph_speed_limit_sign.jpg)