Conspiracy theorists spouting lies are running rampant on social media. From the anti-vaccine movement which is threatening lives, to the anti-5G movement which is burning down telecoms masts - they're having a huge and dangerous impact on society. Yet social media companies are taking no responsibility for publishing these lies. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has called on Facebook and other social media platforms to do more to make sure harmful, fake news is not spread on their platforms. And with the news that a life-saving Coronavirus vaccine could be on it’s way, it’s more important than ever that these harmful lies aren’t being spread. A huge petition calling on Facebook and other social media media platforms to clean up their act will show them that when so much is at stake, they need to take this seriously. It could be enough to force them to clamp down on dangerous lies being spread on their platform once and for all.

The Oxford-Witney-Carterton A40 corridor is already congested and thousands of new houses are being built or planned, with consequently even more cars on the existing roads. Previous County plans going back to 2001 had envisaged the urgent need for the creation of alternative forms of transport on this busy corridor, exploring various possibilities including a rail link. The previous MP pledged in his maiden speech to work towards the reopening of a rail link between Oxford and Carterton. Twenty years later we the people of West Oxfordshire and Oxford are still waiting. We, therefore, request to: a) plan a viable and sustainable rail route from Oxford to Carterton alongside the A40 corridor protecting the proposed route from further development b) cost the route in question and work with central government and the rail authorities towards the creation of this link

Parcel delivery firm Hermes are hiring for 10,000 new jobs to cope with the huge increase in demand for online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic. But, Hermes is facing criticism that it doesn’t protect all of their delivery drivers. Many drivers still don’t receive any sick pay and aren’t guaranteed the legal minimum wage. It just isn’t fair. It's time Hermes did more to ensure all staff receive basic workers rights. Sign the petition to pressure Hermes to do more to protect all drivers now!

Banks and building societies have closed or scheduled the closure of more than 3,500 UK branches since January 2015. For some of us, this is an inconvenience. For others, especially those of us who are elderly, vulnerable or live in rural communities, it can mean we’re left stranded without cash to pay for our weekly shop or left without access to basic face-to-face bank services. The Financial Conduct Authority - the regulator for banks across the country - has drafted a set of guidelines that would help protect vulnerable customers from bank closures, by forcing banks to consider the impact of closures, and consider alternatives.With 1 in 10 adults already saying they don’t know how they’d cope in a society where cash wasn’t easily available, this is very welcome news. But so far, nothing is set in stone. The regulator has opened a consultation to see what people think of the guidelines. A huge petition calling on the regulator to hold banks to account over closures will give them the support they need to follow through with their plans.

*Newsflash* - Welsh government pledges to use wool in public buildings. Please add your signature so that English, Scottish and Northern Irish governments follow the Welsh government's lead. https://www.farminguk.com/news/welsh-government-pledges-to-use-wool-in-public-buildings_56471.html?fbclid=iwar1ggxqeqvhx5nqqmdkge0av06mzro-qcmbsl-l9iue51rfbtdlukgu4zyq These 1000 wool fleeces are about to be incorporated into the manure heap. What a waste of a once valuable resource. A sustainable product that could be used to insulate homes for all government grant supported buildings. Sheep farmers receive less for their wool than the cost of shearing the sheep. Last year David Jones, who is pictured with his wool above, received 28p a fleece and paid the shearer £1. This year the value it set to drop by at least half. Hence he and many other farmer's across the country, decision to plough their wool into the fields as fertiliser. Last week Stuart Fletcher a farmer from East Sussex posted a similar photo on Facebook and to date has had nearly 2 million views and tens of thousands of 'likes', 'shares' and 'comments'. When asked as to why Stuart posted this photo, he said "because is made me sad". https://www.facebook.com/Fletchersflock/posts/1671402433029379 Wool is sustainable, fire-retardant, bio-degradable, and the most efficient form of insulation. On the 1st January 2021 sheep farmers may be further affected by possible new tariffs on sheep meat of at least 40%. Currently over half our sheep exports go to the EU and will never be substituted by trade deals with the USA or Japan, for example. Sheep farmers' incomes are being squeezed at every point. This Campaign has now been endorsed by; NFU NFU Scotland NFU Cymru Ulster Farmers Union British Wool (formerly The British Wool Marketing Board) National Sheep Association The Campaign for Wool - patron HRH The Prince of Wales Country Landowners Association Tenant Farmers Association Please sign this petition, because; - We want to revive our wool manufacturing industries, - We want to make this government use our money to insulate our buildings with a home-grown sustainable product, - We want to help sheep farmers make a decent income from their fleeces, - We want to create manufacturing jobs, - We want to maintain the upland landscape, - We want to put a smile back on Stuart's and other sheep farmers face's. Royal endorsement of wool - HRH the Prince of Wales stated “Wool is a product that the most brilliant boffin in the most hi-tech laboratory could never create.” And “it is important to remind people of how valuable and sustainable wool is as a fibre and as a natural material”. Links BBC News - Chancellor announces £2Bn of grants for home owners to install energy saving improvements. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53313640 NZ Campaign Newshub (New Zealand) article https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/rural/2020/07/govt-accused-of-greenwashing-over-failure-to-use-kiwi-wool-in-public-buildings.html The Shropshire Star https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/farming/2020/07/20/low-cost-of-wool-forces-shropshire-farmer-to-use-fleeces-for-compost/

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed how deeply broken Scotland’s housing system is. Before the pandemic, tenants were already living paycheck-to-paycheck with exploitative and unaffordable rents. Because of coronavirus, many workers have lost their jobs or faced reduced incomes and have been unable to pay rent altogether. While some people have been lucky enough to quarantine in comfortable, warm, spacious homes -- far too many renters have had to see out the pandemic in cramped, dangerously poor-quality housing. So far, the Scottish Government has been woefully inadequate in its support for tenants, doing little more than introducing a temporary ban on evictions while home-owners and landlords have benefitted from mortgage freezes and millions in interest-free loans from the Scottish Government. We are now nearing the end of the eviction-ban, and as things stand, tens of thousands of people who have not been able to afford their rents are now shouldered with crushing debt burdens. This will cause an unprecedented wave of evictions across the country and will only further prolong this health crisis. It can’t be allowed to happen. That’s why we are demanding that the Scottish Government immediately: 1) Extend the evictions-ban for all tenants who have fallen into rent arrears as a result of the pandemic 2) Introduce emergency support measures to stop tenants facing enormous and unaffordable debt burdens from unpaid rent And in the long-term: 3) Implement rent controls to protect tenants from sky-high rents and punitive increases, as well as to guarantee that landlords can’t take advantage of new support measures for tenants by increasing rents 4) Build more social housing that is healthy, safe, affordable, and in quantities that will meet everyone’s needs

Costa Coffee has applied to set up a cafe in the Eastbourne railway station, right next door to Bella's Cafe, a local business. This move threatens the very existence of Bella's, a cafe that has survived rail strikes, austerity, a COVID19 lock-down and is now faced with overwhelming opposition. Costa has already three coffee bars in Eastbourne and one of them is directly across the road from the station! Bella's is well liked in the community and has won awards for its service. It has endured a terrible business climate to serve its customers to a high standard. They are a local employer and have even provided discounts for NHS front-line staff. Costa's move, if it goes ahead, will be seen as commercial predation and domination where a large corporation rides roughshod over a local business. We therefore ask you not to go ahead with the establishment of a coffee bar in the Eastbourne Railway Terminus.

The statue of slave trader Edward Colston stood in the centre of Bristol for 124 years, where it has stood as an offensive provocation to the black community, in the literal centre of our city. For at least the last 30 years the statue was the subject of controversy, and many pleas to Bristol City Council that it be removed; finally, in June 2020 the matter was taken into the hands of the people, who forcibly removed the statue, as BCC were clearly unwilling to do so, despite voluble popular feeling. Within a few weeks, in an act of guerilla art, the empty plinth of the Colston statue was filled with a sculpture by renowned artist Mark Quinn of Jen Reid, a BLM protestor involved in the removal of the Colston statue. In contrast to their 30 years of procrastination over removal of Colston's statue, BCC sprang into action to remove this popular addition to Bristol centre within 24 hours of its installation. The people of Bristol were not consulted about this removal, and we'd like the new, improved statue put back until such time as a long-term replacement can be found. It won't be permanent, we understand, but it's an appropriate placeholder that symbolises Bristol's rejection of racist iconography, and our pride in our multicultural community. People should have a chance to see it in place, and allow it to heal some of the harm done by 124 years of glorification of Bristol's shameful involvement in the slave trade, and the council's subsequent disrespect for its black community. - [Jen Reid] recalled climbing onto [the plinth] after the Colston statue was pulled down and spontaneously raising her arm in a Black Power salute. "It was like an electrical charge of power was running through me." "My immediate thoughts were for the enslaved people who died at the hands of Colston and to give them power. I wanted to give George Floyd power, I wanted to give power to Black people like me who have suffered injustices and inequality. A surge of power out to them all. Creating this sculpture is so important as it helps keep the journey towards racial justice and equity moving, because black lives matter every day." “This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for black people like me. It’s about black children seeing it up there." “It’s something to feel proud of, to have a sense of belonging, because we actually do belong here and we’re not going anywhere." We're asking Bristol City Council to restore the statue to the plinth, so that Jen's daughter and other children can see it.

In July alone, 3,848 job losses have been announced in the Welsh Aviation industry. That figure only covers sites with union membership and agreements. There could be many more jobs at risk. Until the pandemic, Welsh Aviation had seen 10 years of growth – with excellent apprenticeship schemes bringing young women, as well as young men, into highly skilled engineering jobs. In 18 months, perhaps less, this sector will be back on track – as long as these jobs are protected. If not, they'll be gone forever. We are calling on Central Government in Westminster to listen to Welsh aviation workers and stop this tsunami of job losses.

There is a perfectly good access road from Callywith College that was built for the explicit purpose of providing access to this new development. This road currently sits unused. The proposed access road from Castle Street however, will result in demolition of an existing home, currently housing a young family of 5 with disabled children. It will blight a neighbourhood of vulnerable residents with significantly increased traffic. And will cause avoidable and unnecessary environmental damage through the destruction of a hedge row, and the tearing down of oak trees.

We are seeing an increase in both motorbikes and cars speeding through the village, putting themselves, other motorists and pedestrians and local families at risk of serious injury or death and creating excessive noise pollution. If you are concerned about this growing problem, please sign our petition calling for action to be taken to prevent future accidents and deaths and reduce noise levels.

The government has spent billions to help protect Britain during the coronavirus crisis. Now Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, is looking for ways for the government to make this money back. Increasing capital gains tax - instead of cutting things from those who need it - could be a fair way to help cover the cost of extra spending during the coronavirus pandemic. It means the financial burden of the pandemic is removed from those of us working on the front lines, struggling to feed our families, or losing our jobs. Taxing the wealthy for assets like art or second homes will mean those of us who can afford to pay more do, and those of us who can’t don’t have to.