• SAVE OUR GREEN - MONTAGU ESTATE
    Investors ISOS wish to build 12 houses on the last field on our estate. This is the last piece of green for our children to play on and people to walk their dogs. We used to have a strip of green through the estate and now there is only 19% left and they want to take that away from us also. There are other sites (brown field) which are ready for development, but in less desirable areas. If they developed on our Burnfoot Way site this would have a detrimental impact upon residential amenities and the standard of living for the whole community, reduce house prices for private owners, prevent the disabled and elderly from any visible greenery. • With no place to go our children will not be able to play. • A possible 30-40 people to share what is left of our space. • Over-development will crowd our area with more brick and square walls, leaving little to no character left. • For 6 months to a year our area will be flooded with noise and smell from construction of these buildings. • Loss of privacy. • Overshadowing/loss of light on roads and bottom floor flats. • Public services, such as drainage and water supply. • Highway safety is compromised: traffic generation, road capacity, means of access, visibility, car parking and effects on pedestrians/cyclists.
    938 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Stephanie Sutton Picture
  • Automatic voter registration
    Voting is the main opportunity for citizens to exercise control over the leadership of the country and local authorities. It could be argued that it is a civic duty to vote. It therefore follows that it is a civic duty of the Government to make every effort to make voting easily understood and accessible to all of the electorate. Automatic Registration would take a huge step towards this goal. I believe that Automatic Voter Registration would contribute to our democracy, helping to make it more truly representative. Before every election, groups committed to democracy try to encourage electors to vote. Simply, they should not have to do that. There is no infringement of civil liberty in automatic registration. National Insurance details are held on every citizen of the country and the same information could be used to compile the Electoral Register. Anyone wishing to opt out simply doesn't vote, so there is no undue pressure. Bad politicians are elected by good people who don't bother to vote.
    12 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Dorothy Nelson
  • Emergency Petition: Free British Citizen Andy
    The UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond landed in Addis Ababa today – just miles from where my partner (a British citizen) Andy is being illegally imprisoned under sentence of death. He could use this visit to demand Andy’s freedom and bring him home to our family in London, and pressure is building on him to do so. Andy made Britain (London) his home in 1979, after fleeing political persecution by the Ethiopian government. He is a prominent opposition activist, working towards a democratic Ethiopia. In 2009, the regime said that they would execute Andy if he ever returned. But he was kidnapped by Ethiopian security forces from an airport in Yemen in June 2014 and rendered to Ethiopia. He is now held in a brutal prison in Ethiopia. We're not able to speak to him, and we have no idea what is going to happen to him. Until now Philip Hammond has refused to demand Andy’s release. If he’s going to change his position, he needs to know that he’s out of step with public opinion – and we need to remind him that he has a duty to Andy’s children to bring their father home. If enough of us sign this petition, we could convince Hammond to follow our lead and make a demand directly to the authorities who are holding Andy. We have to act fast – Hammond’s visit is only for two days.
    29,408 of 30,000 Signatures
    Created by Yemi Hailemariam
  • DON’T LET VIRGIN TAKE OVER OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH SERVICE
    A costly procurement process for community health and social care in Bath & N.E. Somerset is currently under way, because all health contracts must now be put out to competitive tender. At the moment, these services are provided by Sirona, which is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. The procurement process is in its final stages prior to the award of a new seven-year, £70 million per annum contract. Apart from Sirona, the only other organisation now shortlisted for this contract is Virgin Care Ltd. Virgin Care Ltd pays no corporation tax in the UK and should therefore not profit from the UK taxpayer. It is part of a group whose ultimate parent company is based in the British Virgin Islands, which is a tax haven. Virgin Care does not currently record a profit in the UK after administrative expenses, but the company’s structure makes it unlikely to pay any tax in the UK in the foreseeable future(ref.1 below) Despite this, since entering the health market in 2010 Virgin Care has been awarded contracts worth over £1 billion, with several large contracts in community health. (ref. 2) If this contract is awarded to Virgin, it will contribute to the rapidly advancing privatisation of the NHS. A report two years ago by an international panel of experts working for the Commonwealth Fund declared the NHS to be the best healthcare system and rated its care superior to that of countries that spend far more on health. The Commonwealth Fund, a Washington-based foundation, is respected around the world for its analysis of the performance of different countries’ health systems.(ref.3) The NHS should remain a publicly provided, publicly funded health service for the benefit of all UK citizens, not for the benefit of those who wish to make a profit. My partner has had an excellent service from Sirona since being diagnosed last year with Parkinson's Disease . We fear that this provision will be greatly reduced if Virgin are awarded the contract and make cuts in order to provide profits. 1. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/21/ow-lucrative--deals-go-to-firms-that-use-tax-havens 2. http://www.nhsforsale.info/private-providers/private-provider-profiles-2/virgin.html 3. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/17/nhs-health
    3,231 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by John Ingham
  • Implement the promised plug-in grants for electric motorcycles
    The DfT's delay is blighting sales of electric bikes. Orders for hundreds of e-bikes have been put on hold while potential customers await the introduction of the incentive. The failure to implement the e-bike grants could cost jobs in the motorcycle industry and undermines the Government's repeated claims to be promoting green transport. Unlike the grants for cars and vans, a plug-in grant for electric motorcycles would also cut congestion.
    166 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Paul Smith
  • Ban Dangerous Pesticides in nottingham
    The use of glyphosates has already been banned or restricted in 8 countries. It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals whether we like it or not. This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other's health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees. If you don't live in this area, click here to start a campaign for your city: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-a-pesticide-campaign
    1,738 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by lisa carr
  • Get betting shops off our high streets
    Betting shops have become not merely a feature of British high streets but a plague. In some areas one can see several of them in a row, punctuated by pound and charity shops, the juxtaposition making sense because after time in a betting shop that is what most punters can afford. As well as ruing lives these places are also an aesthetic disaster, their garish blank colours particular destroying whatever is still visually pleasing about the centres of some of our finest cities. The government can do something about this, and if it means driving gambling underground, so be it - let's drive it underground!
    6 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Charles Turner
  • To examine David Mundell's Election Expenses from Nov 2014 to May 7th 2015
    It is important because: 1: It is very hard to believe that he spent nothing on transport. 2:He is very close to his spending limit and may exceed that if transport costs were even reasonably substantial for such a large constituency as he campaigned within/for. 3:In the interests of democracy, it is important to know whether David Mundell has exceeded this limit. 4:If there is any misrepresentation of the facts, then I consider that a very serious matter for a person of such high office.
    2,021 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Chris Darroch
  • Ban Dangerous Pesticides in Glasgow
    The use of glyphosates has already been banned or restricted in 8 countries. It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals whether we like it or not. This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other's health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees. If you don't live in this area, click here to start a campaign for your city: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-a-pesticide-campaign
    1,827 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Grry Mlly
  • Free parking for disabled drivers/passengers!!
    If your attending hospital for treatment etc you shouldn't have to pay to park!! It's not like you chose to have a long term illness and you don't go to hospital for fun!! My daughter is 14 she suffers with a lot of conditions including cerebral palsy (which affects all 4 limbs resulting in her being wheelchair bound and unable to do anything for herself) ulcerative colitis (which causes flare-ups of ulcers on her colon and she needs admitting to hospital and given very strong steroids to stop the constant diarrhoea and sickness) she now has SMA caused by her scoliosis getting worse and is currently being fed through a tube going into her small bowel whilst waiting for major spinal surgery!! We have to go to north tees on a regular basis for blood tests and to monitor her weight etc I get very angry that I have to pay £3 for parking to go for tests however. We can go to the cinema or shopping and not pay for a thing!!!!
    204 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Rebecca Richmond
  • Save Highbury Fields
    Islington is the borough with the fewest green spaces in the whole of London. Highbury Fields is a precious open space that the people of Islington have enjoyed for more than 250 years. But it is being threatened by the council's inability to manage the public health and safety risks caused by the huge number of barbecue parties on Highbury Fields. A simple survey done by Islington Council in August 2015 shows that about half of the users of the park come from outside the borough. Other councils in London have decided that their green spaces should be for everybody not just those who barbecue. But in Islington those who simply want to enjoy the open air on Highbury Fields find themselves in a smoke zone. These are the main dangers threatening the Fields and why you should be concerned: AIR POLLUTION A dangerous pollutant known as PM2.5* is released into the atmosphere when burning charcoal in barbeques. In 2015, multiple spot readings were taken of PM2.5 levels using personal monitors. Kings College London's Pollution Unit produced a report which showed that barbeques on Highbury Fields were affecting PM2.5 concentrations on and adjacent to the park - some of these spot readings were extremely high (rivalling those of Delhi and Beijing) This means that users of the park, passers-by and residents were exposed, the amount of exposure being greater the closer to the lit barbecues. The study also showed that the levels measured were 2-3 times worse than that of the traffic at Marylebone Road - a major trunk road (where King's have a monitoring station). Short term pollution can affect health - coughs, wheezes, increase in hospital admissions, strokes and heart attacks, worsening of asthma, smarting of eyes, headaches, sore throats, etc. DEFRA states that: Exposure to high concentrations of PM2.5 (e.g. during short term pollution episodes) can [also] exacerbate lung and heart conditions, significantly affecting quality of life and increase deaths and hospital admissions. Children, the elderly and those with predisposed respiratory and cardiovascular disease, are known to be more susceptible to the health impacts from air pollution (http://laqm.defra.gov.uk/public-health/pm25.html). The World Health Organisation states that small particulate pollution (PM) have health impacts even at very low concentrations - indeed no threshold has been identified below which no damage to health is observed. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/ In other words, even small concentrations can have an impact on health and there is no safe level of PM. Some residents living in the vicinity of the park (who arguably are exposed to longer periods of pollution) have significant health problems including respiratory illnesses. Some have difficulty in breathing - their health and wellbeing are seriously affected by the high levels of PM2.5 coming from the smoke from barbeques, and they have nowhere else to go. A 2nd scientific study was undertaken last year, which confirmed the findings of the King's report. There was a strong correlation between barbecues on Highbury Fields and PM2.5 exposure, as measured by a fixed monitoring station 25 meters away. This occurred during weekends and weekdays too, and at times, persisted for hours. Yet Islington Council has ignored advise that PM2.5 pollution levels during barbecues are extremely high and does nothing to stop the smoke wafting over children's play areas in the Fields. Barbecues are banned in most of the parks of London on safety and health grounds. But Islington continues to encourage them and says "there are no public health grounds" for changing their policy. *PM2.5 are tiny particles produced in barbeque smoke which are so small they can penetrate deep into the lungs. Long term effects on health include stunted lung growth in children, lung cancer, asthma and early death. It is also implicated in dementia and diabetes. DAMAGE TO GRASS As Islington's barbecue policy attracts growing crowds from the boroughs where barbecues are banned, the park's grass has become scorched with hundreds of burnt patches. Last year one spot count revealed more than 230 deep burns - unsightly, sad and unnecessary. But Islington's environment department says this level of damage is not excessive. LITTER Rubbish has become a major issue. Scores of hot disposable barbecue units are discarded and food debris, bottle and broken glass are left strewn across the Fields. Animals on the Fields suffer from cuts or eat plastic and inappropriate food and become ill. Discarded food attracts foxes, rodents and pigeons - all pests and a threat to health. Dog walkers, strollers and joggers and those who simply want to sit and enjoy the Fields all have to suffer them looking like a rubbish tip. This Summer, a resident counted 82 bins altogether in the park servicing the immense amount of rubbish generated by barbeque users. FIRE Each year the Fire Brigade is called to put out fires started by those who barbecue. Fire engines have had to attend on two consecutive days in May this year. Each visit costs hundreds of pounds. HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS All users of the Fields are at risk from hot coals, bin fires, metal grills from disposable barbecues, broken glass and debris left behind. It's an accident waiting to happen. HIGHBURY FIELDS FOREVER For over 250 years Highbury Fields and its leafy walks have provided a haven for the people of Islington. In 1885 Islington Council and the Metropolitan Board of Works purchased the Fields as a "lung of the parish" essential to the health and well being of the thickly - peopled district surrounding it. Thousands of us have pushed our prams, taken our first steps, learned to ride our bikes, courted, skated, picnicked, walked our dogs and played on the Fields. Help to keep Highbury Fields for all of us.
    1,306 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Michael Kuhn Picture
  • Ban Dangerous Pesticides in Harrow
    The use of glyphosates has already been banned or restricted in 8 countries. It is not acceptable that ourselves, our children and the animals we share our community with are being routinely exposed to these chemicals whether we like it or not. This is a matter of great importance for those of us who care about each other's health and the health of our children, our cats, our dogs and all the flora and fauna of this city, of course including our beloved bees. If you don't live in this area, click here to start a campaign for your city: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/start-a-pesticide-campaign
    704 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Annette Kelly