Why not make a tiny change to save a small amount of tax budget? Isn’t it ridiculous that with so many strains on the budgets to help people in dire straits, we get paid an allowance we don’t need?

More and more people in our society are being left with no option but to turn to a food bank to feed themselves or their family. With a record high 17,981 3-day emergency food parcels given out by Cambridge City Foodbank from 29 February 2024 to 28 February 2025, a 11% increase from the previous year, more and more people in Cambridge on Universal Credit are being left with no option but to turn to our Foodbank to feed themselves or their family.  Redundancy, in-work poverty, caring for a sick family member, relationship breakdown, ill-health. People who never thought they would have to use a food bank hit hard by relentless rises in energy, food and travel costs. Stories of hunger. People in acute crisis. Living day to day. Counting the pennies and making items stretch as far as they can. Many feel ashamed and judged for having to rely on welfare and yet are still not able to afford the essentials. If this was you, how would you feel? If this is you, why suffer in silence?  Most people would expect the levels of support offered by our social security system, if we face hard times, to cover the essentials; to cover the fundamentals for healthy living. But it doesn’t. Research shows around a quarter of the costs of essentials aren’t covered by the basic payment with single adults at least £29 a week short and couples at least £57. Debt deductions are pulling the support available up to 25% below this. The £7 weekly uplift from April 2026 announced in the Spring Statement is therefore well off the amount needed. By signing this petition, we send a strong signal to our local MP Daniel Zeichner that the people of Cambridge support these long overdue changes to Universal Credit to ensure we can all afford the essentials in hard times. We also show that as a city we support each other’s wellbeing and dignity, united and as a community. Let’s make change happen and end the need for food banks. Sign today and make it count.  Your name will be seen on the petition. See the Cambridge City Foodbank data protection policy here if you have questions about how your data will be used:  Privacy & Cookies | Cambridge City Foodbank To get involved with the campaign group, please send an email to: [email protected]

Other people should join me in my campaign because the cost of living crisis effects all of us, lots of people need support/help from food banks and you may know someone who seeks help from one and you might too! For their benefit and for your benefit we should come together and ask the government for more funds to food banks because there just isn't enough money going into food banks.

On the 30th of January, my housemate, a university healthcare student, was struck by a car at the Wavertree-Tunnel road junction, resulting in a serious injury involving multiple breaks which ultimately required surgery. This is not a unique tragedy. This junction is crossed by hundreds of people daily, not only is it a direct access route to Edge Hill train station, but it is a popular route for commercial shoppers in the adjacent Wavertree retail park, University students getting to campus and young children getting to one of the many Primary schools in the area. The constant flow of vehicle traffic from four different directions allows for one second when pedestrians can cross without the safety of traffic lights before the next cars come charging. Traffic lights are needed immediately to put a stop to further incidents. Additionally, clear road markings will prohibit vehicle users from separating into two lanes where there is only meant to be one, preventing misuse of the junction and more tragic accidents. Let’s come together and hope that what happened to my housemate does not occur to anyone else. We need to make our roads safer. Sign this petition to support the installation of traffic lights and clear road markings at the Wavertree-Tunnel road junction.

Since the scheme was closed in 1994 the guarantor (government) have taken a total of £3.2 billion from the investment reserve and are to take another £2.3 billion in 2033.  The guarantor had a pension contribution holiday of about 7/8 years before 1994. Hence   for over 40 years the government have never contributed to the scheme but continue to profit from it.  At the recent Labour Party conference Ed Milliband committed “to finally deliver justice to the mine workers and their families”. However the labour government appear to have overlooked the BCSSS and are only engaged with the MPS.  Many people had their pensions moved from MPS to BCSSS, as their roles in the industry changed.  Both schemes have broadly similar aims, to provide pensions for retired staff from the coal mining industry. The government to “deliver justice” to all mineworkers must deal with BCSSS as it is with MPS and make the necessary changes to no longer profiteer from the BCSSS. 

This is important to save lives and be safer for everyone. The Kessock Bridge in the highland capital of Inverness has seen a number of suicides over the years and this year alone there has been an increase. If they were to raise the side barriers higher this would make it harder for people to attempt it.  Please look into this as a matter of great importance.

Over 75's are an important part of our communities and contribute so much with their experience and knowledge which they share with others. An increasing amount are struggling with household bills and cuts to services which they rely on. A free TV licence would at least mean one less bill to worry about and give them comfort and company when they are alone.

These sanctions are cruel and leaving single parents and people to suffer , these are bullying tactics by the government in hopes for people to work , millions of people signed on during COVID that never claimed benefits before , so you can imaging having no money bills to pay and needing food , the government can not solve the work problem so they are using bullying tactics, problem is people are getting sanctioned for stupid things , these actions are cruel and leaving people in dyer situations especially single parents , this needs to stop 

Carers provide over £162bn in savings to the UK economy and now carers are being targeted by the DWP for prosecution relating to overpayments that the DWP could have stopped. Dear Prime Minister, We, the undersigned call upon the government of the United Kingdom to immediately halt all existing and further investigations by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) into erroneous claims for Carers Allowance resulting in overpayments. The DWP has the facilities to be able to determine whether a claimant is being overpaid within weeks of the overpayment being made, so why is it taking this public body, years to detect overpayments. As you have already discussed in previous sittings in the House of Parliament and may have read in both local and national newspapers, carers are being scrutinised by the DWP, personal finances are being looked at, and law-abiding citizens are being convicted of fraud due to errors made by the DWP. These convictions are being used to prosecute “victims” of these overpayments for the DWP to use the Proceeds of Crimes Act to recover the overpayment, meaning that claimants are losing their right to family inheritance and life savings. The responsibility lies with the Department for Work and Pensions to notify claimants of the overpayments as soon as they are aware that the overpayment has occurred, this is fundamental in business as according to ACAS, so why is it not compulsory for the DWP to abide by these rules, and why are the DWP not asking persons who have been overpaid to repay the money at a rate that is suitable for them? The Department for Work and Pensions is a ministerial department that is overseen by the UK Government, we call upon you to act in the best interests of the public, to stop these proceedings and assist in the recovery of the public funds without turning pensioners, the vulnerable and the weak into criminals. Thank you for your time Prime Minister. On Behalf of carers across the UK.

Elderly people deserve better of you.

Gambling companies spend over a BILLION pounds on ads every year to convince us to gamble. And it works - studies show a clear link between seeing gambling ads and gambling more. Gambling isn't a harmless hobby. Hundreds and thousands of people across the UK are addicted to gambling and every day someone takes their life due to gambling. In 2021 Sadiq Khan pledged in his London Mayoral manifesto to ban gambling ads on the London transport network, but three years later as he heads into another election the ads remain all over TfL. There's outrage over “This bus is now a casino" ads on TfL, which forced the gambling company to promise to withdraw them. Every day thousands of children, people experiencing gambling addiction, those in recovery, and families bereaved by gambling, will have been forced to see them, when they were just trying to get from point A to B. We shouldn't have to wait for companies to decide to take gambling ads down. TfL has shown they're willing to turn down advertising cash before out of concern for commuters. They removed ads for strawberries and cream at Wimbledon because of health concerns - why do treats at tennis force TfL to act, but the risks of addiction don't? We can show TfL and the London Mayor that it's time to take the damage done by gambling seriously. Right now, they mostly hear from the advertisers instead of us, the people the Mayor and TfL are meant to serve. With a huge petition, we can show them that the backlash isn't worth the money they might get from casinos and betting companies, and turn promises into action.

As you may have noticed, the lack of a pedestrian crossing at the bottom of our road poses a serious risk to the safety of pedestrians, including children going to the school bus stop, elderly individuals, dog walkers going over to the rec and families. With the increasing traffic flow in our area, crossing the road has become increasingly hazardous, especially during peak hours. To address this issue and ensure the safety of all residents, I am proposing the installation of a safe pedestrian crossing at the bottom of our road. This will not only enhance the safety of pedestrians but also contribute to the overall well-being of our community. Protect our children getting to school safely as well as families and dog walkers accessing the recreation park safely and protect our Village from speeding drivers and HGV’s entering the village. We have the right to live in a safe village. If you share our commitment to pedestrian safety and would like to support this initiative, please sign the online petition below. Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to your support in making our neighbourhood a safer place for everyone.