No taxation without representation! Do you believe the forecasts from Somerset Council of a £100m budget shortfall when their numbers have not been independently audited and verified? Valued public services with modest budgets like toilets, CCTV and recycling centres are to be cut, when internal efficiency savings have yet to be made, whilst financial management and budget forecasting in this new Somerset super council does not command public confidence. It is time that these budget forecasts and tax rise proposals are put to the public in a referendum. In good conscience, how could anyone vote for the current cuts, whilst so many questions as to how this new super council got into this parlous state “out of the blue”, remain unanswered?

We should not confirm such agreements when they have a 'rat's tail' of disadvantages in the medium and long term. We already trade successfully with these countries without the apparent problems that this agreement will throw up. Is it just a piece of window dressing from a bunch of brexit-tears?

This would be a tax on people and businesses, threatening jobs and livelihoods, and impacting vulnerable people most of all. New research shows the British public are against the Taxi Tax, with 7 out of 10 opposed to 20% VAT being imposed on private hire and minicab journeys. This opposition was highest among low-income households (71%), women (71%), over 65s (75%) and those suffering from mobility impairments (74%) (Source: YouGov, 2 November 2023). Low-income households and vulnerable groups are those who say they can least afford the new tax. Almost 8 in 10 low-income households who use private hire minicab services (78%) say they will find it hard to pay higher prices, alongside 68% of those users with mobility impairments. Government data shows that in 2021/22 VAT amounted to 12.4% of income for the lowest earners but only 4.7% of income for the top earners. As people struggle with the daily cost of living, putting VAT on minicab trips stands to negatively impact those on lower incomes disproportionately.

Drugging women or men is an awful crime, leaving victims abused and traumatized. We look to our politicians to represent and protect us. James Cleverly’s appalling behaviour does not represent or protect us. It could easily embolden perpetrators to commit drugging and abuse crimes against women and men and the LGBTQ+ community. He should face the consequences of his terrible decision to think that it is a joking matter.

Paula Vennells said she had “listened” after over 1.2million people signed the 38 Degrees petition to strip her of her CBE due to the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of postal workers. Now Alan Bates, the ex-postmaster who led the decades-long fight to expose the Horizon system scandal, should be recognised with the same honour himself. He had previously turned down an OBE as he believed it would be a “slap in the face” to the victims to accept an honour while Ms Vennells still held her CBE. Usually honours are announced to mark the New Year and the Monarch's birthday, but in special circumstances they can also be awarded at other times. Carol Vorderman, the presenter of the Pride of Britain Awards that recognised Alan Bates last year, is leading calls for him to receive a CBE at least. She said: "When I think of heroes I think of brave people who fight a Goliath for the good of all, and not themselves. Who are tenacious, who never give in. Alan Bates is all of those things. He shouldn't just get a CBE. He should be in the House of Lords getting his teeth into other matters. In Alan Bates we trust." Tory former Cabinet minister David Jones said: “Alan Bates has obviously done a huge amount to expose what was going on at the Post Office. Personally speaking, I think that if Ms Vennells had the CBE, I think that he would easily be worth that.” Labour MP Kevan Jones, a member of the Horizon compensation advisory board, said: “Alan Bates should definitely take up his OBE, but I think he deserves an honour much higher for all his efforts.” We understand the Government could award him with an honour immediately without waiting for the King’s Birthday Honours in June. The CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) is the highest honour (excluding a knighthood/damehood), followed by the OBE and then MBE. Alan has campaigned tirelessly for almost 20 years to expose the truth about the Post Office Scandal and get justice for subpostmasters whose lives it destroyed. He and his partner Suzanne Sercombe took over a shop in Llandudno that included a post office counter in 1998, investing £65,000 in the business. By the end of 2000, after the introduction of the Post Office’s new Horizon computer system, unexplained losses appeared in his accounts. In 2003, his contract was terminated. His careful record-keeping proved he was not at fault, but the Post Office said by then £1,200 was unaccounted for – a sum Alan said was never there in the first place and had simply appeared as a result of a glitch in the system. Alan’s determination to get to the truth began almost immediately. Setting up a website to highlight his concerns, he also reached out to journalists to highlight the case and made contact with other subpostmasters. He led a group of 555 postmasters in taking the Post Office to the High Court in a Group Litigation Order. In 2019, a judge ruled that the computer system contained “bugs, errors and defects”, and the Post Office agreed to settle with all the claimants who joined the GLO. Alan has become a national treasure after millions watched his long and painful fight for justice portrayed in the ITV drama, Mr Bates vs the Post Office.

The Government is sneaking in new powers to spy on all of our bank accounts on the premise of dealing with welfare fraud and error. It will force banks to flag people who meet secret criteria to the government. Everyone wants fraudulent uses of public money to be dealt with, and the government already has strong powers to check the bank statements of suspects. But this is a major expansion of government power that takes away our financial privacy like never before and does away with the presumption of innocence - the democratic principle that you shouldn't be spied on unless police suspect you of wrongdoing. People who are disabled, sick, carers or looking for work should not be treated like criminals by default. None of us should. We must stop this! I don’t want my bank account to be spied on. If thousands of us sign this petition, we can make Rishi Sunak drop these dangerous new bank spying powers.

The success of Gwyneth Hughes' drama starring Toby Jones, Mr. Bates vs The Post Office, which has just aired in January 2024, is inspirational. For so long, so many people have felt powerless, frustrated and angry with our politicians who just seem absorb our ire like a sponge and show no sign of contrition, acceptance of culpability or, indeed, action. Yet, these dramas have suddenly resulted in a reaction. They have to react! It's an election year! Please help to show that we are not as dumb as they think we are and we do care.

The BBC's Charter states that the first public purpose of the BBC is to provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them, and that the BBC should provide duly accurate and impartial news, current affairs and factual programming to build people’s understanding of all parts of the United Kingdom and of the wider world. 45 minutes on a weekday is not long enough to contribute effectively to this aim, and the proposal to cut it to 30 minutes is the wrong way to go.

Since X/Twitter reinstated Tommy Robinson’s biggest social media platform on 6 November 2023, he has wasted no time in whipping up anti-Muslim hate on the site once again. Tommy Robinson is a prominent far-right figure and founder of the English Defence League. In 2018, he was banned from Twitter for violating rules around ‘hateful conduct’ and now has 5 years of hateful content to share. And Katie Hopkins was banned in 2020 after years of anti-migrant hate. Her past statements include calling migrants “cockroaches” and “a plague of feral humans” and describing London Mayor Sadiq Khan as the "Muslim mayor of Londonistan". Blocking the far right’s social media limits their ability to spread the word about their events, fundraisers and hateful rhetoric. After Robinson’s ban from Twitter in 2018 and from Facebook and YouTube in 2019, hundreds of thousands of fewer people saw his content every month. Before his bans Robinson was able to get 10,000 supporters to his rallies, while in 2019 numbers struggled to get beyond a few hundred. We stand against Musk’s decision to give them both a platform to spread hate and misinformation. Do you agree? Add your name today.

The MP's will not change their behaviour, it will only get worse. They need the public, from all political persuasions and with one voice, to demand change. They are supposed to be serving us!

Rishi Sunak sacked an MP from his parliamentary position for representing his constituent’s views after Paul Bristow wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to call for a ceasefire in the Israel and Gaza conflict. MPs should not be disciplined for bringing attention to their constituents’ views. So far, Labour has allowed MPs to deviate from the party line without disciplinary action. The sacking is all over the news and Keir Starmer is being asked if MPs will be disciplined for breaking from the party line. This is a huge opportunity to show all party leaders that MPs must be allowed to discuss their constituents’ wishes. A huge petition signed by people up and down the UK could force the Prime Minister to change his mind and show opposition parties that they shouldn’t follow Rishi Sunak’s lead. Our MPs are meant to represent us, and they shouldn’t be punished for that.

Jeremy Hunt is calling for pension funds to invest our money differently. This could effect how much money we have when we retire because the value of most pensions goes up and down depending on how they’re invested, but it won’t affect MPs' because they get a fixed income from their pension. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) decides the conditions for MP's pensions. A petition signed by hundreds of thousands of people demanding that MPs' pensions follow the same rules as all of us, could make them act quickly because they won't be used to huge public attention.