NBC has not given the people of Northampton the opportunity to say they do not like the plans put forward in their new consultation on the future of Northampton Market Square and have presented a fait accompli - this petition redresses the balance. Our Market Square is reputedly the largest and oldest enclosed market square in England. It has been in existence since 1235 and has been the centre of town life since then, with many locally and nationally important events taking place there. As such, it should not be changed and those events that took place in the square over its long history commemorated. Please see the Civic Society alternative plan for the square.

Nursing is a degree-entry profession. Registration with the NMC is paid for and renewed annually with regular reviews and revalidation. There are requirements to satisfy continuing professional development and a minimum of practice hours. Nurses are subject to a Code of Practice and can be struck off the register if found unfit to practise. In the recent General Election, a parliamentary candidate (Ian Levy, Conservative, Blyth Valley) claimed to be a nurse, whereas he was a mental health health care assistant. Some voters may have assumed that he had specific knowledge or expertise and this may have also extended to his credibility. Nurses are regarded by the public as one of the most trusted and reliable professions. He was duly elected. The skills and experience of healthcare assistants and the wider nursing family are vital to healthcare provision; it would be impossible to provide a service without them. This petition in no way denigrates their role or ability - it merely seeks to provide a legal limitation on the use of the term 'Nurse.' The Nurses Registration Act 1919 established a register of nurses and the foundation of nursing training, but did not protect the designation. The term 'registered nurse' is protected, but is ungainly and rarely used in everyday writing or speech. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”, in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale. It is time to acknowledge the impact of the title Nurse by protecting it.

The M65 is extremely dangerous from Colne to Burnley. It floods in several places because the drains cannot cope with the amount of surface water trapped by the concrete barriers. There are no lights resulting in difficult driving conditions at night; especially in winter, culminating in many accidents every week. This situation is only going to cost lives. It is time action was taken to improve the M65 and stop using 'money' and the reduction in 'carbon footprint' as an excuse. Lives are far more important.

In 2016, Firstbuses Glasgow axed the 4 bus service from Knightswood and Jordanhill, disconnecting our two communities and denying them direct access to their town centre, the Byres Road area, Glasgow University and Sauchiehall Street. To get to these places now, the 27,000 residents have long walks or have to take two buses or means of transport and go long ways round. Journeys that used to take 10-25 minutes now take up to one hour. The cut affects families and people of all ages, making it harder to get to schools, nurseries, work, health services, education, friends, families and social activities. Older people, the disabled and women are worst affected. The Sauchiehall Street area is a shopping and entertainment centre, with cinemas, theatres and concert halls as well as a transport hub with Buchanan Street Bus Station and Queen Street Station. The drop in numbers of people being able to access these areas must be affecting businesses along the route. The cut is forcing people who previously opted to use the bus to use their cars. This is the exact opposite of what Glasgow Council and the Scottish Government are calling for, that is for people to leave their cars at home as they account for 68.1% of overall transport greenhouse gas emissions. Cuts to local bus routes like this make it more difficult to reach carbon neutral targets. The cut is also contrary to local and national government policy which advocates greater connectivity, reliability, frequency, affordability and accessibility of public transport services. The current situation increases social isolation for residents, making many prisoners in their own homes and adversely affecting their physical and mental wellbeing. We are calling for the reconnection of our communities to the number 4 bus route so that we can once again access our town centre and local services with ease.

Newspapers hold massive power - they are read by millions of people every day. But that power is abused when facts and opinions are mixed. Most papers answer to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), whose own rules say they must “make a clear distinction between comment, conjecture and fact”. But IPSO isn’t enforcing its own rules. Studies show that election coverage across many papers had a clear bias. Freedom of the press is crucial and newspapers can support whoever they like. But facts are facts - so news reports must be fair, accurate and clear. Sign the petition now and tell IPSO to act now to protect our democracy.

The 2019 general election has seen some truly dodgy behaviour: fake news, misleading leaflets, untruthful ads on social media. And parties have been getting away with it. Why? Because the organisation that oversees elections is just too weak. The Electoral commission is the organisation tasked with this crucial role but its powers are limited and outdated. For instance, its rules are based on how elections were run decades ago, before social media and fake news played such a key role. Our democracy won't work if it's polluted by disinformation. The Electoral Commission needs more power so it can impose bigger fines - and help clean up our democracy

A report by MPs which reveals whether or not there has been secret Russian interference in British politics has been delayed for months. No reason for the refusal has been given. Everyone in the country has a right to know if a foreign power has been trying to influence our politics. The British public should be told the truth about whether or not there was interference in our politics. The government should release the report as soon as possible and be honest with the public.

This general election has seen untruthful ads or plain lies on social media. At the moment Facebook do not do enough to get rid of ads that spread lies or misinformation. Other social media platforms have already taken action. Twitter recently banned all political ads. The spread of misinformation and lies in our politics could have a serious impact on our democracy. Facebook have the power to change their rules to crack down on the spread of political ads which mislead people. They make a lot of money out of these adverts so they have a duty to do better.

During the election, Boris Johnson failed to show up to the Channel 4 leaders debate - demonstrating that he doesn’t see the climate crisis as a priority for his government. Environmental experts are saying that urgent action is needed far earlier than the 2050 deadline set in the Conservative manifesto. Boris Johnson needs to take real action on climate NOW - and the only way he will, is if he knows the public expects him to. Will you add your name to the petition before it's too late?

Our most cherished public broadcasters could be under threat. In the recent election, politicians hinted they would make moves to undermine Channel 4 and the BBC. Key figures in the Conservative Party first said they would review Channel 4’s broadcasting obligations if they win an election. Then, Boris Johnson hinted he would look at scrapping the BBC licence fee. Now that Boris Johnson is Prime Minister, we need to make it clear: strong public broadcasters are vital to our democracy. The government must take steps to protect the BBC and Channel 4 for future generations. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/28/ice-sculpture-to-replace-boris-johnson-in-channel-4-climate-debate https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/culture/news/108452/boris-johnson-hints-bbc-licence-fee-could-be-scrapped-if-tories-win

The Conservative Party manifesto was shockingly empty of ideas to make sure people will be supported and cared for in old age. It's because they don't want to take on such a complicated task of fixing social care - but they must. At the moment elderly people, kids, and other adults who need support aren't getting the help they need to get dressed, wash or eat their lunch. The new government cannot shirk their responsibility. They must take concrete action now to overhaul how social care works, so we can all live out our days with dignity.

Having had this illness for over 20 years,I feel medications should be free, we never asked to be ill with this dreadful illness, and it's not right we have to pay for them where other illnesses like ms, epilepsy, diabetics etc have free drugs, kidney disease is a terminal illness eith no cure only treatment options in the form of medications, diaylis or possible transplant, we deal enough with the stress of the unknown let alone fight for something that should be free, also I'd like chronic kidney disease to be more known and have a benefit in place for the patients with this illness, and not one that's based on pip where we have to fit into a category of needed help, most patients like me dnt need help but due to diaylis and being tired and can't work but can't get help I want this changing to be fair for all, why should some get help and not others we are all suffering in are own way.