Locally elected councillors should be free to reflect the views of their local voters, to whom they are accountable, on how council money should be spent - or where it should not go. To prevent local councils from making decisions to reflect the views of their voters is profoundly anti-democratic and Un-British. Compelling councils to invest in the arms trade, or industries supportive of law-breaking foreign regimes, is high-handed and centralising. It makes a mockery of previous government statements about local democracy.

Call for landowners to stop upland heather burning as new research shows link to increased flood risk New research from Leeds University into the impacts of permitted heather burning on upland peat bog shows that for the 20% biggest storms, the flow of water over land is higher than in areas where the moorland has not been burnt. This will contribute to “flashy” river flows in the valleys below the moors, with the water level rising quickly and causing flooding. The researchers conclude, “We would expect these effects to have a larger impact on river flow as the proportion of the catchment that has undergone more recent burning increases (i.e. the shorter the prescribed burn rotation interval).” The likely causes of this increased overland water flow are that prescribed burning – the controlled, so-called “cool burning” that Natural England allows in winter on protected sites like Walshaw Moor Estate – removes the rough understorey of dense vegetation such as Sphagnum moss and also compacts the upper peat. So instead of slow moving water that sinks into the peat, during intense rainstorms, water runs off the peat and pours into streams and rivers. image - www.independant.co.uk info - www.energyroyd.org.uk

It is getting to the point where it becomes propaganda and dangerous to British society intentionally trying to sway the opinions of every day people(the electorate) to their (guardian) very own political agenda.this is a dangerous act that they are committing with almost 5 articles daily demonising corbyn. There's nothing impartial about this newspaper when it comes to politics,whilst other papers are accused of bias reporting I feel the guardian is most important with recent breaking stories such as the Edward Snowden release.

In short, privacy. As we have seen in the past, there is no such thing as privacy when hackers have become very skilled at accessing whatever they want or desire. End to end encryption adds a very large barrier to this snooping, and adding a backdoor for governments also adds a back door for hackers. The government should have no right in accessing anyone's encrypted communications. Not everyone is a terrorist and the people have the right to a level of privacy.

Uber has an estimated value of 33 billion in four years trading. In setting up in the uk it has appointed a friend of David Cameron as its head . At the same time it has registered its uk tax office in Amsterdam. According to an investigative tv programme (which I will not name incase its shut down) four existing London hackney cab drivers paid £23,500 in tax last year. Uber with its many drivers in London and other major Uk cities paid in total £2000 less. The Uk tax revenues will yet again be diminished even more as this corporation expands further. Where will these lost revenues for the NHS education and defence be replaced from. Who are the beneficiaries of this lost UK tax revenue.

Mark Kermode is a lover of film. His knowledge is encyclopaedic without holding personal agenda, he is not biased towards one genre against another and he has a great public rapport and sense of humour which comes across easily. He is able to communicate his enthusiasm for cinema to his audience. His views are informed and fun. He would be a great boost for the programme, the film industry and lovers of film both old and young.

The NHS Clayton Hospital site is already owned by the public so the first civic response should be to re-purpose the site for continued public use. It is official policy of The Department of Health that, where surplus NHS land is being considered for disposal, NHS Trusts should "provide the public with the opportunity to consider for themselves whether estate is being best used". The site was originally an 18th century garden built on for a 19th/20th-century hospital. None of the jumble of hospital buildings are listed for preservation and their complete demolition would considerably enhance the conservation area. It is a large central site and any in-filling with contemporary buildings would be extremely detrimental to the character of the whole conservation area. The site would be relatively inexpensive to landscape into a park/garden. The site retains many large trees within an existing stone boundary wall and ornate entrance ways. A park/garden would provide a much-needed open green leisure space within the city centre for all city centre users. The park/garden could provide many other amenities such as a terrace cafe, childrens play areas, dog walking area, etc. The site would create a spectacular public open space for the city which could be used for civic gatherings and events.

When on the news the broadcaster says something like ' The latest research by the Foundation for Better Health and Future shows that there is no relationship between fracking and high levels of toxic material found nearby water drinking wells.' this sounds very impressive. We can all rest assured now. Fracking very safe. But if we knew that the Foundation for Better Health and Future is sponsored by the fracking industry - we may think twice about these results before we take them as true. This will make us more aware of the forces that are playing with us and try to influence public policies.

Members of the public find it difficult to support a political party 100%. Our system is out of date, our MPs out of touch, the public go unheard. We agree with points made by the Lib Dems, the Conservatives, Labour, the Green Party, the SNP etc and sometimes we disagree with them all. Either way we can't communicate with the government effectively. The system needs to work for us all but instead it's dusty, nobody really understands it or cares to sort it out with any long term vision. We need to start again. Simplify. Direct questions, direct answers. If regular referendums were to take place, the public are truly part of the process, allowing us to demonstrate what we care about, that we're united and want to invest in the future of this land and it's people. Less moaning and more doing, having a proactive and fair say, feeling satisfied that the decisions are being made and supported by the majority of the UK. Let the UK public vote for their future. This Kingdom can then begin to feel proud and respected, and most importantly, united.

I have High Functioning Autism and this is a recognised as a disability under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and the Equality Act 2010. However many employers fail to recognise this as well as a lot of retail outlets and public places. People with Autism get anxious in unfamiliar situations and can become very agitated as well, just like myself. They also have no sense of danger and this is very common in children. People with Autism also have difficulty with social and communication skills. This campaign is to make people more aware of the needs of people with Autism and to campaign for more help for disabled people. Autism is a disability but it is an invisible one. Just because it can't be seen doesn't mean that it is not there.

They can be bought for £1,100 including training 8 members of staff. I have helped to raise funds for local schools to install one but surely the councils should have a duty of care. This is life saving equipment

Fracking is opposed by so many people across the country and yet the government won't listen to our protests. Theyre not listening to demonstrations and theyre not listening to local councils. But there is one thing they listen to: money. If we tell energy suppliers we won't buy from them if they deal in fracked shale gas, then they won't buy it. If no one buys it, it won't be financially viable and then maybe the government will finally understand that we the people can't be ignored on this issue! We need to act fast, before fracking starts in the UK.