Lulsgate Bottom was never meant to be eaten by an airport. In the second world war 14 acres was used by the RAF as an emergency landing field. In 1955 Bristol Corporation bought the field and it began to sprawl. The airport’s boom into a site of major ecological destruction began with privatisation in 1997. Since then passenger numbers have quadrupled from 2 million a year to 8.6 million a year [1] and the airport’s greenhouse gas emissions have skyrocketed to 746 kilotonnes CO2e in 2017. [2] This compares to emissions of 1149 kt CO2e from the entire North Somerset local authority in 2015. [3] Bristol Airport butts up against Goblin Combe Nature Reserve, a site of Natural Conservation Importance and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. [4] If Bristol Airport was rewilded it would triple the size of the nature reserve. With only three flights a week currently departing Bristol Airport, now is a unique opportunity to give this land back to nature. The government’s feeble attempt to deal with the crisis faced by the aviation industry consists of handouts to big corporations and does nothing to protect workers’ livelihoods. [5] Rather than letting workers bear the costs of the collapse of the aviation sector, the government needs to halt redundancies by immediately offering Bristol Airport workers redeployment on their current terms and conditions to green jobs in North Somerset. Restoring our ecosystems will need all hands on deck. This wouldn’t be the first time an airport has been successfully rewilded. Berlin’s former Tempelhof Airport is now a public park, home to rare nesting birds, 112 spider species and 68 beetle species. [6] The closure of Bristol Airport shouldn’t leave Bristolians less connected. The government’s nationalisation of the rail network to deal with the pandemic is an opportunity to lower costs and improve connections. Direct trains from Bristol to Scotland need to be priced as cheaply as budget airfares. New timetables and discounted fares need to connect trains from Temple Meads with Eurostar trains to Brussels and Paris. Trains from Bristol must integrate with ferries from Fishguard to Ireland and Plymouth to Spain. Airport workers who wish to continue their career in international transport should be offered roles in these improved routes. [1] UK Civil Aviation Authority via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Airport#cite_note-87 [2] Adrian Gibbs, ‘Just plane wrong: Bristol Airport’s expansion plan’: https://www.isonomia.co.uk/just-plane-wrong-bristol-airports-expansion-application/ [3] North Somerset Council, ‘Local Climate Commitment 2018’: https://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Climate-Local-Commitment-refresh-2018.pdf [4] Avon Wildlife Trust, ‘Goblin Combe’: https://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/nature-reserves/goblin-combe [5] New Economics Foundation, ‘Crisis support to aviation and the right to retrain’: https://neweconomics.org/2020/06/crisis-support-to-aviation-and-the-right-to-retrain [6] The Guardian, ‘How Berliners refused to give Tempelhof Airport over to developers’: https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/mar/05/how-berliners-refused-to-give-tempelhof-airport-over-to-developers

Recent events have made people more aware of our history and what figures we honour and celebrate with statues and monuments. Shirley Bassey is someone who came from humble beginnings in the old Tiger Bay of Cardiff who went on to achieve great success while still remembering her Cardiff/Welsh roots. Something permanent in the Welsh capital in honour of her would be a refreshing addition to the usual monuments and statues that we see of male aristocrats and landowners.

Captain Cook symbolises racial oppression and violence. James Cook invaded Australia just over 250 years ago. He shot the first Indigenous person who showed any sign of resistance and then claimed possession over the entire nation even though it clearly belonged to the people already there. Under James Cook's leadership, Australia was declared uninhabited because they did not view Indigenous people as humans. Therefore, murdering, enslaving and raping Indigenous people was legal under Australian law. What followed was over 250 years of genocidal activities and policies based on that murdered, enslaved and oppressed thousands of women, men and children. What James Cook did in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and others should be condemned in our history so that we can begin to heal from our shameful past. Cook should no longer be celebrated with a prominent statue. [1] - https://www.sbs.com.au/news/anti-racism-activists-in-the-uk-are-targeting-murderer-captain-cook-statues [2] - https://www.toppletheracists.org/ [3] - https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/15/magazine/how-to-pull-down-a-statue.html

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland are refusing to commission abortion services, despite regulations now in place which make abortion provision a legal requirement. This means that only limited abortion access has been provided and too many women and pregnant people have been refused treatment or forced to travel to receive treatment. The Minister for Health has also stated that limited access is an ‘interim’ measure, but there has been has been NO attempt by the Department to provide the abortion provisions that we need. We have the law. Now we need the access.

West India Dock facilitated the transatlantic slave trade, to store the sugar from the West Indian plantations where enslaved men, women and children worked. Our successful campaign led to the removal of slave trader Robert Milligan’s statue. This was a step forward in reconciling with the history of systemic human exploitation to amass wealth. However, this is not enough. It is equally important to install a monument to represent the movement against institutional racism by honouring a Black African abolitionist. Olaudah Equiano was born around the year 1745 in Guinea. At eleven he and his sister were kidnapped while out playing and were enslaved. In 1786 in London, he became involved in the movement to abolish slavery. He was a prominent member of the 'Sons of Africa', the first Black political organisation in Britain to campaign for abolitionism. In the spring of 1789, he published his autobiography, 'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African'. It is one of the earliest books published by a black African writer which contributed hugely in setting the scene through religious and economic arguments for the abolition of slavery. Equiano’s work had the overt anti-slavery agenda and a more subtle anti-racist project to dispel some of the racist myths existed in eighteenth-century England. Equiano did not just publish the book and leave it to fend for itself. Instead, he vigorously promoted it by going on lecture tours around England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and by promoting his book he was also promoting the idea of the abolition of slavery. During the early 1790s, Equiano had not just turned his life story into a document opposing slavery but had transformed his entire life into an anti-slavery document. Equiano is a symbol of resistance to the slave trade and slavery. To honour the millions of slaves who were exploited to the benefit West India Dock, to honour all those who suffered from the transatlantic slave trade, we demand a memorial of Olaudah Equiano. You can read more about Olaudah Equiano at https://brycchancarey.com/equiano/biog.htm The short bio of Olaudah Equiano is compiled from Brycchan Carey's blog entry. He is an academic and author on slavery, emancipation, and abolition. #Black Lives Matter

My 12 year old son mentioned this to me, where I thought it was a wonderful idea to put forward to replace a negative part of history, with a positive piece of history. He initially thought of Rosa Parks but we looked for British inspirational people.

Remove and take down the Statue of Nancy Astor in Plymouth. She was Anti-Catholic, Anti-Semitic and a Nazi sympathiser. Her statue remains to celebrate racism and slavery. It needs to be taken down and is featured on a 'Statue Hit-List' according to this post by the telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/09/protesters-draw-statues-hit-list-toppling-colston-memorial/ Nancy Astor was famous for being the first woman to take a seat in parliament, but she was not the first woman to have won a seat. Revolutionary suffragist, Constance Markievicz was elected to the House of Commons earlier in 1918, but the Irishwoman refused to take the oath to the crown. A further troubling aspect of Nancy's character was that her time was rife with bigotry, yet she stood out amongst bigots. Her are some of her quotes: Nancy Astor to MP Alan Graham in 1938: "Only a Jew like you would dare to be rude to me." To James McDonald in 1934 at a Jewish charity dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London: “Did I not after all believe there must be something in the Jews themselves that had bought them persecution throughout all the ages. Was it not therefore, in the final analysis, their responsibility?" Nancy also reportedly told an African-American church that they should be grateful for slavery because it had allowed them to be introduced to Christianity, while in Rhodesia she proudly told the white minority government leaders that she was the daughter of a slave owner." Please support this petition to support equality and promote the values we have today rather than the ignorance, bigotry and racism of the past. Thank you.

This site is very important to Scottish history many if our ancestors fought and died for Scotland and its people its major tourist attraction from many people across the world

London is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. According to ‘Trust for London’, 41% of Londoners are from BAME backgrounds In 2020, London’s population is estimated at 9.3 million people. London is the most diverse area within the U.K. when it comes to religious beliefs with the highest percentage of people identifying as Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish. LBC is a popular radio station with 2.78m listeners. This is their current presenter lineup: https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/

Studies show that maintaining family ties Is vital to rehabilitation and reduces re offending! How is keeping inmates away from families doing this!? My son is 19 years old and in a hmp&yoi with no signs of video calls happening anytime soon and I’ve not seen him for 14 long weeks. Being in prison is the punishment they do not deserve a further one Others are in the same situation and need to see loved 1s it’s affecting inmates mental heath and their family’s.

BECAUSE THIS COUTRY WE NEVER HAVE PACE AND JUSTICE OF THE EVENTS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING AROUND THE WORLD. #BLACK LIVES MATTER WE US IN A BLACK COMMUNITY WE FELT LIKE THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT DOING ANY THING ABOUT THE SITUATION. I FOUND THIS DISGRACEFUL AND UNDEREXTABLE THAT HE IS ALLOWED PEOPLE WALK PASS EVERY AND SEE THE STATURE REMIND US WHAT BLACK PEOPLE GO THROUGH THIS NEED TO BE TAKING DOWN.

Having an accident when riding a bike without a helmet gives added risk to head trauma or brain damage putting unnecessary pressure on NHS resources when wearing a helmet can be the difference.