Ethical treatment of employees outside of the UK is quite rightly championed, with many consumers opting to purchase fair trade alternatives that command a higher premium. Yet in the UK, poor treatment of staff continuously falls outside of the consumer spotlight. Prominent displays of working conditions, as appraised by staff, would likely inform shopping habits and ensure employers take appropriate steps to provide fairer working conditions. The consequences of doing this should not be underestimated:- • It is likely to reduce stress related illness that is largely responsible for circa £6.5bn per annum. • It is likely to reduce the financial burden incurred by the NHS in terms of treating patients. • Should employers feel obliged to increase wages, it seems entirely plausible that the financial support given by the government could reduce. • Lastly, unemployment may similarly reduce if potential employees see that their working conditions are guaranteed to meet at least a ‘good’ standard. Consequently I implore you to consider the health and financial well-being of UK workers and the UK itself by encouraging a good employer ethos.

Southwark Council are threatening to evict the Feminist Library from the building on Westminster Bridge Rd, London, that has been its home for 30 years. The council have given notice that the rent on the Library’s space in the building, which has housed a variety of community groups alongside the Library for the past 30 years, will be raised from £12,000 to £30,000 a year. Council officers are refusing to negotiate - join us in calling upon them to work with us to save the Library. On 10th February, Southwark Council Cabinet approved a report that ‘highlights the need for a thriving VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) that mobilises community action and makes best use of community resources, skills, knowledge and spaces’. We cannot understand how treating our organisation in such a way is consistent with approving this report. [1] Dr Laura Schwartz, Associate Professor of Modern British History, University of Warwick has said: ‘"The Feminist Library is a wonderful cultural resource that needs to be defended at all costs. Generations of my students have used it for their academic research, as well as informing themselves about the continued oppression of women in our society and how to fight against it. The Library is now the only archive in London where a wide array of feminist publications are truly accessible to the general public and available on the open shelves. It also provides one of the few spaces in central London where women and feminist activists can come together to meet and organise for a better world. If the Feminist Library is evicted from its current premises, Southwark Council will not only be guilty of cultural vandalism but also of silencing women." Learn more about the Feminist Library and donate to our Emergency fund here: http://feministlibrary.co.uk/support/emergencyfund/ About the Feminist Library: The Feminist Library has an incomparable collection of over 7,000 books, 1500 periodical titles from around the world, archives of feminist individuals and organisations, pamphlets, papers, posters, and ephemera. We also provide space for meetings, readings, exhibitions and events, a space which supports and encourages research, mutual support, activism and community projects, with well over 20 different groups having used the events space just in the past calendar year, a number of them national and international. We are volunteer led, as we have been all our life; we are intergenerational, being significant custodians of our feminist heritage, whilst looking to the future; and our approach is intersectional – we provide a space for different feminisms to co-exist. We support not just archiving work, but also publish our own zines and support independent producers and artists. We are a registered charity, and completely self-funding. [1] Details of report http://casouthwark.org.uk/focus-southwark/southwark-council-agrees-new-voluntary-sector-strategy ‘Southwark Council Agrees to New Voluntary Sector Strategy’

In 2000 the UK banned all fur farming, to prevent animal cruelty. However the law does not prevent the import of real fur. There is no legal provision to make suppliers declare whether their products are made with real or fake fur. Real fur from abroad is now common in high street clothing shops. To send a message to our overseas business partners that the UK does not tolerate the cruel methods of fur farming; we need a law that bans the import of all real farmed fur, and which puts the onus on importers to prove that any fur they use is fake, vintage or taken from free-range animals that died of old age.

There are plans to close Lynton House Surgery on London Road High Wycombe and relocate to a unit in Wycombe Hospital whilst reducing appointments in the hospital surgery. Where possible they will be pushing patients to their Cressex Surgery - A 2 bus journey for many patients! The Big Issue is.... There is a notable shortage of Doctors Surgeries in the east end of High Wycombe. If Lynton House Surgery closes and moves out of Ryemead there will be no local practice in the area . We already have a shortage of doctors in High Wycombe and this is a serious problem in the East end of High Wycombe We are faced with a housing explosion in the east end of High Wycombe and we are faced with several Doctors practices in the Wycombe area not taking new patients. We need Lynton House Surgery to remain and for Bucks County Council, Primary Care authority and NHS England to step forward and fund the delivery of a new Health Centre to meet the needs of Ryemead and Micklefield residents in the east end of High Wycombe. We are 3 doctors short in High Wycombe already!

The scoring of children in their first weeks on entry to their new schools: -Is Damaging for children and inappropriate practice at an important transition time -Will undermine the current methods of assessment and practice used in early years settings -Will not improve the quality of schools -Is not a reliable source of data -Will lead to a further formalisation of learning in the early years and downgrading of play -Transfers funding from school budgets to private companies -Prevents the local education authority from having an active role in overviewing and monitoring assessments in the early years across the county and places this role directly into the hands of the private assessment providers and the DFE. We call on the Borough Council to write to the Secretary of State for Education calling for the removal of Baseline Assessment and the retention of the existing Early Years Foundation Stage Profile in our schools. We also call on the Borough Council to support any school that chooses not to implement the Baseline assessment. Reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35549611

We call on Lewisham Councillors to reject the planning application for a 19 storey tower block beside Catford Station, where there is already an approved plan to meet Lewisham's housing needs. This plan should be enforced and any future proposals consulted on widely. A 19 storey building is wholly disproportionate and out of keeping with the human scale of the area. Approval would set a very dangerous precedent that would affect the whole of Catford.

It is a simple fact of economics that if demand increases without a corresponding increase in supply then market forces will drive up prices. Our countries inability to build enough homes for the growing population is well documented. What is not so well documented is that the governments various schemes to help first time buyers onto the housing ladder simply exacerbate the problem of high house prices. The schemes may be welcomed by those in or near a position to buy their first home, but in the long run all the schemes do is drive house prices higher. Exorbitant house prices force a growing percentage of the population into private rental. As house prices increase private rental costs also increase, which in turn makes it far more difficult for those renting to build the deposit required to own a home. Those renting are forced to save a far larger percentage of their disposable income in order to build their deposit; and this of course relies on there being any disposable income left to save. Reports this week suggest that the average first-time buyer will have already spent £50000 on rent. With all this money being saved by those looking to build a deposit, there is less and less money being put back into the economy. The growing percentage of the country who are building a deposit will be eating out less, limiting their purchase of luxury goods and generally saving money wherever possible. There is a concept known as the velocity of money that effectively states that the faster money moves around the faster the economy grows; money sat in savings accounts is stagnant and does very little for the economy. The upshot of this is that growth of the economy is limited, which in turn limits the number of jobs paying a decent wage, which in turn forces more of the population to rely on taxpayer funded benefits. Less taxpayers money would be required to fund benefits if there were more jobs paying a living salary. The money made available by the reduced reliance on benefits could be used to increase funding for the NHS, reduce the tax burden on the population, make higher education free again, and many other causes. In short, it is my opinion that a large number of the problems facing this country could be resolved if the government truly committed to investing in a long-term infrastructure and house building program rather than wasting taxpayer money driving up the cost of already exorbitant house prices. This is a policy that would fairly benefit the whole country rather than just a few.

Anyone who has been admitted to hospital is aware of the vital role that junior doctors play in maintaining a health service open to all. Demoralise and demonise the junior doctors and the BMA and not only will a great many of our doctors be driven out of public service, but the NHS will start to fragment. We will end up with a privatised health service with access determined by income. Please do not let this happen.

This post office is vital for the local economy. This backdoor privatisation will threaten jobs and lower the standard and range of services that is provided. It is also an important focal point for the community.

We feel that MP Andrew Turner is no longer fit to conduct his duties as spokesperson for the residents of the Isle of Wight. It is becoming increasingly obvious that his views and voting record are not in alignment with the needs of the local people. He recently claimed he was doing all in his power to bring the issues of cuts to our local budget to Westminster, in an attempt to gain more funds, only to vote for a reduction in local government grants later the same day. Completely contradicting his previous efforts. Although his comments at PMQT about Tigers got the attention of the country, it wasn't in a positive or productive manner. The most vulnerable people in our society are going to suffer the most by the time the entire cuts (including some statutory services) are rolled out & our Council looks like it will be bankrupt. Eventually everyone will be effected by the inability of our present MP to fairly represent us at a governmental level. It's time to step aside & let someone who has a clear understanding of the political situation and has the peoples best interests at heart take the reigns.

This is incredibly important, the level of animal cruelty has become unbearable, these animals have no voice and nobody to represent them politically in the world of law making. In 2016 how can we say that we live in a civilized society with the amount of animal abuse, when vegans and veggies are openly laughed at as being loonies just because they respect the animal kingdom and an animals right to life, the animals desperately need a voice and we want that voice to be the labour party.

Vivisection is ineffective and archaic. Animals do not share our DNA, there is nothing that we can learn from animals that is relevant to the human body. As such we ask that Newcastle University moves on to modern forms of research such as computer modelling, micro- dosing and organ on a chip which are vastly more accurate than the outdated cruelty that they currently use. It is time to stop placing profit over results. This cruelty must end, for the sake of the animals. Sentient beings have the right to live a life free from suffering and torture. These tests are not conducted for results, they are conducted for profit. Modern testing is far more reliable and applicable to the human body. We the undersigned wish for advancement in treatments and medication which does not happen when using animals.