• Lord Bramall
    It is established legal precedent that guilt has to be proved in a court of law, until that time innocence is assumed. Lord Bramall has suffered excessively purely as a result of the Metropolitan Police incompetence.
    5 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Michael Edwards
  • Legal & General - Save the Kingswood Office
    Over 1,550 jobs at Kingswood will be lost if Legal & General goes ahead with plans to close the flagship site in Kingswood, Surrey. Closure will have a devastating impact on the local community, costing millions. Many Legal & General workers in Kingswood are members of the trade union Unite, which has supported their campaign to defend jobs since the company first announced their intentions in 2015. The firm plan to close the site by the middle of 2018, citing cost cutting measures. This is despite L&G increasing operating profits in 2015 by 18% to £750 million. Shockingly Legal & General have neglected to carry out any research into the impact of closing Kingswood on the local community. An independent assessment commissioned by Unite has revealed that the closure will rip a devastating £21 million black hole in the local economy. This will be devastating for the local economy, threatening jobs in businesses and services in Kingswood and across the county. This flies in the face of Legal & General’s stated commitment to the long-term wellbeing of local communities. (Source: CLES Consulting, Centre for Local Economic Strategies, 2016)
    908 of 1,000 Signatures
    Created by Unite Kingswood
  • Demand the SNP state they will ban Fracking in Scotland
    Our environment is important to us and it's about time we started to realise this. We need to focus on renewable energy. I believe a stronger stance against fracking would also gain the SNP more support.
    43 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Paul Rossi
  • Stop Criminalising Homelessness and Begging
    Increasing numbers of homeless people are being arrested for begging around the country. In 2013-14, 2771 cases were brought before the courts, a 70% increase on the previous year. Police use an archaic law which deems those found begging to be 'idle and disorderly'. Begging was made a recordable offence in 2003 against the strong criticisms of civil rights groups and homelessness organisations. Those prosecuted can be fined up to £1000 excluding court charges when found with just a few pennies. Those who have 'gathered alms' (that is, accepted money, food or other material goods offered to them) can be prosecuted under this same law with the same consequences. Some people are kept in cells for several nights. Although begging in and of itself is not an imprisonable offence, if the person is already on bail for another case a simple arrest for begging can lead to imprisonment. Those who are fined will inevitably have to beg more to pay off these fines, risking further arrests and fines, a punishment which stands out in its absurdity. Punishing the destitute for trying to survive is both costly and morally abhorrent. It is a waste of tax payers' money which is spent paying police who 'catch people out' in organised undercover operations, as well as on court cases to prosecute them. The minimum cost of bringing one case to the Magistrates' Court is £1000, meaning that in the year 2013-14, bringing begging cases before the courts cost the taxpayer at least £2.777 million. This is money that could be spent helping people rather than punishing them. Police also routinely move homeless people on under part 3 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014) which gives police the power to confiscate property and exclude individuals from a particular area for up to 48 hours, with the officer also able to impose by what manner and route the person must leave. Failure to comply is a criminal offence which can result in a £2500 fine or 3 months in prison. Refusing to surrender your property is punishable by a fine of up to £500. The two conditions needed by officers to issue a dispersal order are firstly, that the constable has 'reasonable grounds to suspect that the behaviour of the person in the locality has contributed or is likely to contribute to (a) members of the public in the locality being harassed, alarmed or distressed, or (b) the occurrence in the locality of crime or disorder, and secondly, that the constable considers that giving a direction to the person is necessary for the purpose of removing or reducing the likelihood of (a) or (b)'. Given that begging is a crime considered 'idle and disorderly', the two laws in tandem essentially give police de facto power to exclude any homeless person from any area simply because they think it is likely that the person, being homeless, might beg there. The highly subjective definition of 'anti-social behaviour' as that which contributes or is likely to contribute to members of the public in the locality being harassed, alarmed or distressed reinforces this and even with the decriminalisation of begging, would still give police the power to move on any homeless person from any area simply because they believe doing so is necessary for the purpose of removing or reducing the likelihood of members of the public being distressed by seeing them. Seeing people forced to live on the streets is distressing to much of the public for good reason, but this compassionate distress means that under this definition a homeless person is considered to be exhibiting anti-social behaviour simply by existing visibly. The anti-social behaviour that causes the public distress is not caused by the homeless person however, but by the authorities' failure to provide people with shelter in a country that has 600,000 empty homes. As described by someone living on the street, being asked to move on when you have nowhere to go is like being asked to walk into a brick wall. These laws and their enforcement victimize vulnerable people who are already suffering the daily struggle of life on the streets or in insecure and unstable temporary accommodation. We believe that kicking someone for limping when it is you who cut off their leg is shameless and cruel. We believe that the government should be providing homes for the homeless, not handcuffs. We therefore call on parliament to repeal without replacement section 3 of the Vagrancy Act (1824), to amend part 3 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act (2014) to safeguard homeless people from its discriminatory use, and for an ultimate end to the criminalisation of homelessness by any and all other laws that may be newly concocted or dug up for this purpose. If you have an MP who may be sympathetic, get in touch with them to push this issue to parliament. We launched this petition at our demo at Brighton Magistrate's court on the 20th January.
    748 of 800 Signatures
    Created by J J
  • Keep Cheltenham's Family Tree center open
    This family center brings together all different parents from many walks of life and helps support them through the good and the bad times. Provides a warm and friendly environment for parents and preschool children to attend 4 days a week. Without it, many parents would feel isolated.
    140 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Georgina M
  • End MPs' expenses!
    Why in 2016 when the government are looking to make cuts, should they be immune to the same austerity they force so many others to live with? Last year a reported 1.1 million people were forced into using food banks, this year they are trying to force our NHS to do more, with less. They have already attacked the disabled, and raised tuition fees for those looking to further their education while at the same time taking a pay rise. Why should they get to claim personal expenses? Especially when the average MP salary is £67,060. The UK average salary is reported to be £26,500, and yet you and I have to pay for our own food, our own travel expenses, as well as our own day to day living expenses. Whilst I understand that staffing costs make up nearly three quarters of the total MP expenses budget, staffing and office costs as well as reasonable long distance travel costs should be managed by the IPSA. Any other personal claims simply shouldn't be allowed. Let's stand together and remind the Government they stand in office to serve the greater goods best interest and not their own.
    404 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Craig Ashford
  • STOP THE HOUSING BILL!
    The Housing Bill will take away public funding from affordable homes for rent, instead funnelling money into ‘Starter Homes’ that only the rich can afford. It will make it easier for private landlords to evict renters, and do nothing to control private rents. The bill will also force cash-strapped councils to hand over millions of pounds to housing associations to allow them to sell their properties cheaply, and replace secure tenancies with ones as short as 2 years Social housing has been the bedrock of many communities for the past 70 years. It pays for itself and 30 years ago provided homes to one in three British people, allowing people and communities to thrive. We are not against people buying a home, but this must not be at the expense of social housing for those who can’t afford to buy.
    5,635 of 6,000 Signatures
    Created by Eileen Short
  • Save autism services for young people in West Berkshire
    Oasis and Befriending are essential to the wellbeing of our autistic children and are a lifeline for them and their families. They help them to learn how to socialise, make friends and to try activities like shopping, bowling or swimming – things that other kids often take for granted. Autistic children are not able to take part in these normal, everyday activities without support and understanding from people trained in autism. Young people with autism are very socially isolated and need expert help to learn social skills and to be around other people. The Oasis Club and Befriending staff have specialist training and experience in autism which is essential in order to communicate with and support children with autism. Without these schemes, autistic children in West Berkshire will have nowhere to go. They will be denied what every child should have - a life with friends where they get to go out and do things in a safe environment with people who understand them and their differences. “Our son had to be home educated for a number of years when depression and anxiety threatened to overwhelm him and the Oasis Club was particularly crucial in those years as his only opportunity to mix with other kids, and our only chance in the week to re-charge our flagging batteries. Oasis has been the single biggest factor in his development from isolated, lonely and unhappy boy to the confident, sociable and happy young man he is today.” We need your support to reverse this decision and ensure children with autism continue to have access to essential services. Please sign this petition to tell West Berkshire Council: • Not to shut down the Oasis Club • Not to shut down the Befriending scheme And to • Keep funding short breaks services for children with autism Please help us to stop West Berkshire Council from closing down these vital services for autistic children. The more people who sign the petition, the louder our voice. With thanks, Kate Lo, West Berkshire Branch of the National Autistic Society
    2,490 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Kate Lo
  • To allow claimants of Tax Credits email certain departments.
    When claiming Tax Credits, the only options you have available to you are that of phone calls, and letters. I have recently been in touch with Tax Credits, and found to my great frustration that the only way the staff will communicate with you is via phone, or writing. This would be okay if the phones were answered in a timely manner, or that the post was direct to the department that it is intended to go to. I have had my post lost, I have had my calls unanswered, and have been cut off. And have now missed an important deadline. If there was a dedicated email address for the departments listed above, I would have had a paper trail, and not missed the deadline. I am not asking for personal emails to be known, just one where claimants can send relevant information through.
    4 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Charlotte Saunders
  • Keep Barnsley Frack Free
    We are concerned that fracking could: • Contaminate our water supply • Pollute the air with hazardous chemicals • Cause earthquakes • Reduce the value of our homes • Increase our insurance premiums • Make our roads less safe by increasing heavy traffic • Leak methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide • Cause illness in local populations • Increase noise and light pollution from drilling operations and traffic movement. Fracking is bad for our environment, bad for our communities and we call upon Barnsley Council to reject fracking in Barnsley.
    2,896 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Andy Hemingway
  • Stop unprecedented 10.6% cut to Welsh books industry
    The future of publishing in Wales and with it ‘a distinctive literature from Wales’ could be under threat if the Welsh Government agrees a proposed 10.6% cut to industry funding. Wales’ small but vibrant and diverse publishing industry produces everything from Costa prize-winning poetry titles to young adult novels, from books about sporting and music legends to Welsh history and art, from prize-winning literature: fiction, biography, travel and memoir, academic titles and Welsh classics, to richly illustrated titles and books for children, in English and Welsh. Its independent publishing companies are spread across the country, providing skilled work for an estimated 1000 plus people, from authors to publishers, freelance editors, designers, illustrators, printers, booksellers and many others, often in areas of high unemployment. After a decade of standstill funding, grants to Welsh publishing in English will have been cut by 21% - £158,050 – in the last three years if these latest plans go through. Sign this petition to protect the future of Welsh literature and the Welsh books industry. Join in the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #WelshBooksMatter
    2,163 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Rosie Johns
  • Save the fishing community of Cove Harbour
    Landowner Pralhad Kohle is trying to prevent fishermen at Cove Bay from using their boats, as people in the community have done since the 1790s. He is trying to evict them and has blocked access with boulders. Cove Bay would not be the place that it is without the harbour. Cove was built and founded on fishing and removing the boats would remove the heart of the village. It would take away people's livelihoods and remove a natural resource from future generations. The local community deserve to keep their heritage, and be allowed to enjoy it.
    11,316 of 15,000 Signatures
    Created by Claire Adam