Over the last 40 years the average home has increased by 43 times, however salaries are not increasing at the same rate. With more and more of young professionals having to raid the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ in order to afford their first home, what does the government intend to do to tackle this?

These cuts are unfair and further disadvantage people who are in a position of need. Approximately 660,000 UK social housing residents have been impacted by the cuts (Fullfact, 2013). This has had significant negative impacts on lives across the UK, leaving thousands of people desperately struggling to pay rent and make ends meet. Hundreds of thousands of residents have gotten into rent arrears, resorted to food banks, and been kicked out of homes they have lived in their whole lives. This is drastically immoral and WRONG. Sign the petition to help us rid the unfair Bedroom Tax!

Since the introduction of the Bedroom Tax, affected tenants have been forced to make a series of cutbacks in order to survive on a lower income. The Department for Work and Pensions estimated that 75% had to cut back on their expenditure on food, 46% reduced the amount they spent on heating and 33% spent less on travel. These are cutbacks that are not necessary - the harshness of the Bedroom Tax is the reason for such measures. 14-25% reduction in housing benefit is a large chunk of income to lose, especially when this money is essential to pay bills. Those losing housing benefit struggle to increase income levels after the tax; 50% of affected tenants wished to do this, by either finding employment or increasing their hours at their current employment, yet found difficulty in being able to do this.

Why spend millions refurbishing Westminster to retain traditions that hinder progress? This is an opportunity for modernisation of process as well as infrastructure. Including virtual conference facilities in the upgrade would allow MPs from outside London to choose between attending debates in person or using a virtual link. MPs would save time and taxpayers money by reducing their travel costs and negating the need for second homes.

Hundreds of primary schools are closed each year to cater for local elections. In addition, thousands are closed to cater for general elections and referendums. Other countries hold their elections on Saturdays. A recent legal precedence ruled that a parent could not remove a child from school to go on holiday, but local authorities are regularly forced to close schools to facilitate elections.

Plans to sell off Oswestry's council houses were voted against ten years ago. Our attitude to this has not changed. Oswestry needs more social housing, not less. We want investment in building new homes in the right places for our community whilst protecting our heritage.

A spokesperson for the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) confirmed to the Independent this week that charges would have to be made before the general election on 8 June. However, due to "election rules" the CPS may be unable to make a public announcement about any formal charges. The public may therefore end up being none the wiser if their prospective MP has been charged. There are ongoing electoral fraud investigations against a substantial number of Conservative MPs. Not only do these allegations have pointed implications for this election, but there are also wider lessons on campaign spending that still need to be learnt. Just last month the Electoral Commission handed out the largest fine in its history - £70,000 - to the Conservatives for violating electoral law. This came after a 13-month long investigation into the party’s campaign spending during by-elections in 2014 and the general election in 2015. Far from this record fine marking the end of the saga, criminal charges are at this very moment being considered by the Crown Prosecution Service against at least 30 individuals in the Conservative party. Many of them are currently MPs, many of them will be candidates in this election, and many of them could be re-elected. This can NOT be allowed to happen; we have a right to the information so that we can make a fully informed decision! http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/alexandra-runswick/election-expenses_b_16146174.html

Investigations by Channel 4 News over a year have uncovered alleged electoral fraud & corruption which has already led to the resignation of some officials. It has been reported that 14 police forces have so far referred approximately 30 MPs to the CPS for alleged electoral fraud who, with officials may have illegally influenced the result of the previous election. The police forces would not have referred the matter to the CPS without compelling evidence. The electorate has a fundamental legal right to know which MPs may be found guilty may face custodial sentences preventing them from representing their constituents. If charges are brought, as many expect, an immediate high court injunction or supreme court hearing must be brought on behalf of the allegedly defrauded electorate either to bar those found guilty or at least to postpone the election until such time as guilt or innocence is proven. All details must be disclosed prior to the proposed election or those already allegedly guilty of of gaining election through corrupt means may be re-elected and the proposed election being judged null and void.

Imagine an election, where your vote would be as easy as checking an update on your phone. In our age of social media, everything is online - from our pensions, tax details, banking and car insurance - and so voting online should be a service for people too. If citizens were able to vote online, this would empower thousands more people to register and vote: as a vote would simply be a question of logging into your smartphone, and swiping right or left, to select your candidate or party of choice. Please add your signature to help petition the UK Government, to make online voting an option for all general and local elections in the UK. Let's put democracy in the palms of people's hands,

Are Opinion Polls now harming the democratic process? The reporting of opinion polls has become increasingly central to the work of broadcast and print media, but they are proving to be increasingly flawed and inaccurate in their predictions. In the British context they also skew reporting by focusing attention on the ratings of party leaders; we are not voting for a president and it is worth underlining that none of those leading the Conservative Party, Labour Party or the Liberal Democrats at the 2015 election are any longer in post. The biggest problem with opinion polls is that they are presented as a predictor of what the result will be, despite all recent evidence to the contrary. By being reported in this way they can be an influence on turnout and how the voter casts their vote because the election or referendum is often being portrayed as a foregone conclusion. Polls rather than policy often become the story. I am asking concerned individuals to call on responsible sections of the media to suspend reporting opinion poll results for a period of five days before election day. This would be a shot in the arm for the democratic process by allowing the discussion to be about policy and principles and not about polls. The media needs to be about more than partisanship and entertainment if it is to contribute to a healthy and representative democracy.

Current planning law states that if a developer will make less than 20% profit on a new development, they can ignore a council's regulations about building affordable and social housing. Leaked documents from several developers have shown that the maths they use to work out their profit margins are purposefully misleading, allowing them to claim they will make less than 20% profit on a development by undervaluing the prices of the houses they will sell and over-costing the labour. To combat this Islington, Greenwich, Lambeth and Bristol councils have introduced a policy that forces developers "viability assessments" to be made public. By bringing these dodgy maths into the public domain, Councils, campaigning groups and individuals will be able to hold developers to account and force them to use more honest maths. ___________ As a recent graduate taking my first steps in my career, I'm considering long term housing rather than long term renting. Many like me are doing the same in Birmingham, but sadly we may be being cheated of feasible means of settling in our nation's second city. Bottom lines left unchecked don't add up to fair societies. Let's hold companies accountable to their legal responsibilities in required affordable housing. -Sam, Campaigner

It's important to allow easy acces for UK voters to vote in a way that fits around modern life. It's also important that if we open up this access that we get a clear understanding of the pledges each party are making so that voters can make a truly informed decision that aligns with people's values and principles for the UK should be run.