I am unbelievably chuffed that the Scottish Men's team, alongside England are qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Since childhood I have always loved a World Cup. My childish excitement however is being tempered by what that means in terms of matches being hosted on US soil. With the Trump administration increasingly flouting international law, issuing hostile military threats against the sovereign territory of our close European and NATO ally, Denmark, his increasingly authoritarian and dictatorial treatment of his own citizens, abuses of human rights and free speech - including the policing of 5 years of social media for any visitors to the country. I feel that we need to be wary of not only possible human rights abuses  against our own travelling support but also putting the players in an invidious position of having to weigh up their dreams since childhood of representing their country at a World Cup against potentially appearing to condone someone who may well become the next Hitler and the political leadership that may well become the fourth Reich. It is well known that Sir Stanley Matthews and his England team mates deeply regretted having to play against the German team in 1938 largely for PR purposes and against their better instincts. They looked upon it afterwards as a stain upon their otherwise illustrious careers. The British Government, the FAs and PFAs should mover heaven and earth to have FIFA (which has already stained its own reputation in relation to Donald Trump) to remove the US as a host and have the 2026 World Cup played in Mexico and Canada only. And failing that, boycott the World Cup. Do now, what you wish your counterparts in the 1930s with regard to Hitler's Germany and be on the right side of history.

The Aquarium roundabout is one of the oldest roundabouts in Britain and has been faithfully serving this major tourist resort with minimal accidents and incidents for 101 years. Brighton and Hove City Council have now removed this roundabout against the wishes of the vast majority of residents without public mandate, having moved to a cabinet system of governance and rewritten the city constitution, also without public mandate. Many local businesses and residents have complained that the removal of this roundabout will create permenant gridlock and discourage visitors from our seaside resort. They have been ignored by a council whose public remit is to serve us. This unreasonable and city-damaging decision will lengthen a great many vehicle journeys, thereby increasing emissions, and needs to be reversed immediately. Removing the Aquarium roundabout will create permanent city gridlock, discouraging visitors from visting a once-prime tourist resort.  We have a patchy coach service and an unreliable train service so for most visitors the only viable option is to visit Brighton and Hove by car.  There has been no economic risk impact assessment undertaken and the council have ignored all protests from local businesses and residents. They don't even seem to care about public transport and emergency vehicles being obstructed. Or that many contractors are now refusing to work in the city as it is too difficult to drive their vans full of tools.  No one can afford to pay emissions charges either as a result of artificially created gridlock. There is no logic or majority public benefit in removing this roundabout.

The current weekly closure is causing severe disruption, isolating vulnerable residents, and damaging local businesses. Prestwich is a thriving community built on accessibility, independence, and a strong local economy. The ongoing regeneration works promise long‑term benefits, but the current closure of Fairfax Road, a major route into the village, is causing serious and avoidable harm. The impact is already being felt: 👵 Elderly and vulnerable residents are being cut off • Many older residents rely on short, direct routes into the centre for shopping, appointments, and social contact. • The long diversions and reduced parking options make it significantly harder for them to access essential services. • This risks increased isolation and reduced independence. 🍽️ Local bars, cafés, and restaurants are suffering • Reduced footfall due to access issues is leaving businesses quieter than usual. • Prestwich’s hospitality sector already recovering from difficult years is now facing another blow. • Some venues are reporting noticeable drops in trade directly linked to the road closure and parking disruption. 🚗 Traffic congestion and delays are worsening • The diversion routes are creating long queues, delays, and confusion. • Residents, workers, and visitors are spending more time stuck in traffic and less time supporting the local economy. 📢 What we are asking for We call on Bury Council and the regeneration developers to: Review the midweek closure of Fairfax Road and open every night to allow residents to access Prestwich village more easily and ease the damage to the local businesses  The full closure of Fairfax Road is having a serious impact on everyday life in Prestwich. This route is one of the main ways people access the village, and without it, many elderly and vulnerable residents are struggling to reach shops, services, and social spaces. Local businesses are also seeing a drop in customers due to long diversions, reduced parking, and confusion about how to get into the centre. Prestwich deserves regeneration, but it must be done in a way that keeps the community connected and protects the businesses that make our town vibrant. We are calling for urgent action to restore safe, practical access during the works.

Do you find yourself ‘fighting’ with your child to get their Sparx Reader homework done? Are you seeing a child who used to love stories now viewing reading as a stressful chore? You are not alone. ​As parents, we know that the journey to becoming a reader isn't always easy. For my own daughter, now 11, it took years of careful, dedicated work from her primary teachers and us as parents to help her find the 'spark.' We spent countless nights finding the right books and building her confidence until she finally saw reading as something enjoyable. ​Tragically, since starting Sparx Reader at secondary school, that progress has been undone. ​At just 11 years old, she now refuses to read, telling me: 'There’s nothing fun about it anymore.' When reading is reduced to micro-quizzes, algorithm-driven targets, and the constant fear of 'red flags' or missing a weekly goal, the magic of the story is lost. It has become a task of compliance rather than a moment of discovery. ​We are calling for a change. ​While we support the school’s goal of high literacy, the current app-based model is turning our children off books at the very age they should be falling in love with them. The research from the OECD (PISA) and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) proves that 'reading for pleasure' is the greatest predictor of success—yet this system is making reading a source of anxiety. ​By signing this petition, we ask leadership at The Stanway School to: ​1. Acknowledge the negative impact Sparx Reader is having on student engagement and parental stress. 2. ​Trial research-backed, non-app alternatives (such as Reading Passports or teacher-led 'Book Talks') that prioritize the experience of reading over data points. ​3. Protect the progress made in primary school by fostering a culture where books are enjoyed, not just 'completed.' ​Let’s work with the school to ensure our children leave Stanway as confident, lifelong readers—not just students who know how to pass a digital quiz. ​Sign today to help us bring the joy back to reading.

With the current political chaos in the US and Trump’s failure to adhere to international norms, and given his apparent obsession with the Monarchy, calling off this visit would send a powerful message that his behaviour is not acceptable. A visit could also put the King and Queen’s lives in danger.

Across the country, ordinary people are being forced to pay thousands of pounds a year for public parks, roads and communal spaces on top of their council tax.  This happens on so-called unadopted estates, where councils approve new developments but never take responsibility for maintaining the public spaces created. Instead, the costs are passed permanently to residents through uncapped service charges. These parks and roads are: • open to everyone • promoted by councils as public amenities • part of the everyday fabric of towns and cities Yet the bill is quietly pushed onto a small group of households – families, key workers, pensioners and first-time buyers – many of whom are already struggling with the cost of living. Although initially well-intentioned, Councils are complicit in arrangements that have pushed costs onto some of the poorest in society, with the risk of pushing their constituents into poverty.  Case study: Elephant Park, Southwark Elephant Park is a major regeneration development with a large central park that is open to everyone and promoted as a public space. But local residents are paying for it privately. For a small one-bed flat in South Gardens, the typical 2025–26 service charge is £6,202. Around 15% of this goes towards public parkland and surrounding roads.  That means almost £1,000 a year paid by one resident towards public spaces, on top of their council tax. This is double charging: ordinary people paying twice for parks and roads that are meant to be public. This is a national problem, not a one-off Residents across the country are affected  from major regeneration schemes to new housing estates and garden communities. Examples raised publicly include developments in: • Elephant Park (London Borough of Southwark) • St Edeyrn’s Village (Cardiff) • Vickers Green (Crayford, London Borough of Bexley) • Garden City (Kent) • Church Meadows (Great Broughton, Cumbria) • Carleton Meadows (Penrith, Cumbria) • Elm Farm / Wymondham New Estates (Norfolk) • Brookdale Estate (Aiskew, North Yorkshire) • Queensgate Development (Stockton-on-Tees) • Wynyard Park (County Durham / Teesside) • Lodge Hill Development (Chattenden, Medway) • Hoo Peninsula New Estates (Medway, Kent) • West Myreton Estate (Menstrie, Clackmannanshire) • Greenbelt Estates – Kirkcaldy (Fife) • Greenbelt Estates – Kilmarnock (East Ayrshire) • Fairfields Estate (Milton Keynes) • Whitehouse Park (Milton Keynes) • Kingsbrook (Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire) • Cranbrook New Community (East Devon) • Great Kneighton (Cambridge) • Trumpington Meadows (Cambridge) • Northstowe (Cambridgeshire) • Barking Riverside (London Borough of Barking & Dagenham) • Chobham Manor (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London) • East Village (Stratford, London) • Newhall (Harlow, Essex) • Sherford New Community (Devon / Plymouth) • Poundbury (Dorchester) • Upton (Northampton) • Cambourne (Cambridgeshire) • Meridian Water (Enfield, London) • Kidbrooke Village (Greenwich, London) In every case, the pattern is the same: public infrastructure paid for by a small number of residents, with no cap to the their charges.  Parliament has heard the evidence In a recent House of Commons debate and evidence sessions on property service charges, MPs heard directly from residents paying for unadopted roads, parks and communal land. During that debate, Rebecca Paul MP made a clear recommendation: Councils should be mandated to adopt unadopted parks and roads.  This would end the practice of residents paying twice and close the planning loophole that has allowed “fleecehold” estates to spread. The evidence is clear. The solution has been stated publicly in Parliament. What’s missing is government action.  What we’re calling for We call on the UK Government to: • Mandate councils to adopt unadopted public parks, roads and communal spaces • Reform planning and Section 106 rules so public infrastructure cannot be permanently funded by residents • End double charging where people pay council tax and private service charges for the same services • Protect residents from uncapped, unaffordable estate charges Public spaces should be funded publicly, not hidden on household bills. Ordinary people should not be used as a substitute tax base. 

Grade I listed Leaden Hall was built for the C13th architect for Salisbury cathedral, Elias Dereham, to serve as a model for other canonries in the Close.  Although largely rebuilt in the early C18th, it includes elements from that original building.  It was probably the first residential building on Salisbury Cathedral Close and forms an essential part of that precious, protected setting. In the early C19th the artist John Constable regularly stayed at the Hall and painted many fine pictures of the house, its gardens and landscape, as well as his famous views of the cathedral, some of which include the house.  Extraordinarily, much of that garden - a rare example of a designed landscape for a smaller Georgian house - remains. Salisbury Dean & Chapter, having neglected the house for many years and allowing it to fall into a state of severe disrepair, have now applied to convert the building into a modern office block for themselves.  To get the insulation and floor loading levels required for a modern office, as well as some reconfigurations, substantial interventions would be necessary that would destroy or obscure historic fabric and alter the appearance of the building.  They would raise the ridgeline of the roof that faces the cathedral close and remove a chimney that forms part of its historic façade.  This will irreversibly change the appearance of the Hall, its setting and the other important historic buildings on Salisbury Cathedral Close. The application also includes a proposal to build a large-scale, new archive building immediately next to the house, in its kitchen garden.   This will destroy the Georgian kitchen garden - a very rare surviving example of one in an urban setting - which renowned artist John Constable painted.  The proposed new building will stand forward of the façade of the Hall, interrupting the established building line and impacting the protected setting of the Hall and other Grade I listed buildings on the Close.  The lofty single-storey building will abut, and in the next two decades be within the flood plain.  This means that the irreplaceable medieval manuscripts it is intended to house will be put at unacceptable levels of risk. If this application is approved it sets a extremely dangerous precedent for heritage protection in England.  The applicant has delayed urgent repairs to the important Grade I building seemingly in order to use the building's poor condition as an excuse to push through a scheme that causes harm to the historic building, but delivers no public benefit.   If the application succeeds, other owners of Grade I buildings might do the same. Please act now, by signing this petition to alert the Planning Committee to these serious concerns and urge them to do the right thing and reject this harmful proposal. Please note the donation button on this page funds 38 Degrees, not our campaign - if you are able to donate to our campaign work, please click HERE

Blackpool Tower is not simply an attraction — it is the defining symbol of Blackpool and a nationally recognised heritage landmark. Under current management by Merlin Entertainments, the Tower has steadily lost the character, dignity, and sense of occasion that once made it special. Long-standing traditions that reflected pride and heritage have been removed, presentation has been standardised, and key parts of the Tower are no longer reliably open throughout the year. These decisions may reduce operating costs, but they have also weakened the Tower’s identity and diminished the visitor experience. The Tower’s decline does not exist in isolation. When its presence is reduced or hollowed out, Blackpool itself suffers — through loss of atmosphere, reduced off-season tourism, and damage to the town’s reputation. A landmark of this cultural importance should not be treated as a generic, seasonal attraction. We call on Merlin Entertainments, working with Blackpool Council, to: 1. Publicly recognise Blackpool Tower as a heritage landmark, not a standard attraction 2. Restore heritage presentation, atmosphere, and standards that reflect the Tower’s historic importance 3. Commit to reliable, year-round opening of core Tower experiences wherever safety allows 4. Engage openly with the public and local community about the Tower’s long-term future 5. Prioritise long-term cultural and economic value over short-term cost cutting Blackpool Tower matters. Protecting its heritage is not nostalgia — it is essential to the future of Blackpool itself. “Local issue with national heritage importance” Blackpool Tower is more than a tourist attraction — it is the heart of the town’s identity and a symbol recognised across the UK. Its heritage, traditions, and unique atmosphere have drawn generations of visitors, supporting local businesses, jobs, and the wider tourism economy. When the Tower loses its character, closes off key experiences, or strips away its historic presentation, it is not just the attraction that suffers — Blackpool itself loses a core part of its cultural and economic vitality. Protecting the Tower’s heritage ensures the town remains a place people want to visit, preserves jobs and revenue year-round, and safeguards a landmark that is central to Blackpool’s story and pride. This is not just about Blackpool though. This is a landmark and part of the heritage of the whole of the UK... Could you imagine the Eiffel Tower being taken over and run down so badly that it made Paris into what Blackpool has become? 

Thousands of jobseekers are wasting huge amounts of time, energy, and emotional investment applying for jobs, only to find out at the interview stage that the salary does not meet their needs. Phrases like "Competitive Salary" are misleading and hide the true seniority of a role. Transparency stops the unfair practice of low-balling candidates based on their "salary expectations" rather than the value of the job. It saves time for both the recruiter and the applicant. In 2024, I was made redundant after working for a large financial institution for 25 years in mid-senior roles. So far I have been unsuccessful at finding a new job, despite my experience and qualifications. For most applications, I am asked about my salary history or expectations. Even when I explicitly state I am happy to accept significantly less, sometimes £20-25k less I can tell employers are afraid I will 'walk' as soon as a better offer comes along. In several cases, I wouldn't have applied for a role at all had I known the pay wouldn't meet my financial needs. Listing the salary upfront would have saved everyone's time For example, one role required three days in the office. Because I have mobility issues and don't drive, the commute would have cost me £260 a month in taxis, but the employer was unwilling to negotiate on this. It was heartbreaking to receive a rejection email after investing so much time preparing, researching, and tailoring my CV for a job that was financially unviable from the start.

Public footpaths in Enfield and across the country are becoming dangerous to walk on. The uneven paving and broken concrete create serious trip hazards, especially for the elderly and infirm. As a pensioner, I am now afraid to leave my rented home unaided because I fear tripping on the uneven pavement and injuring myself. Going out for food shopping should not be a frightening experience. Everyone deserves to walk in their community without taking their life in their hands or fearing a fall due to careless maintenance.

Seasonal celebrations are meaningful because they are limited in time. When retailers rush ahead, they dilute the excitement, anticipation, and cultural significance associated with these holidays. Instead of fostering joy, this practice contributes to consumer fatigue and a sense that traditions are being reduced to marketing cycles rather than moments to be genuinely enjoyed.

To protect drivers from charges that could have been avoided by holding owners and car parks more accountable for ensuring correct, visible signage, and to prevent profiting from this.