• Kincora - The Scandal of Child Abuse in Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland, although part of the United Kingdom, is in large part under the control and influence of a relatively small number of parties with vested interests. The only chance of justice for the victims of child abuse at Kincora is an independent and external inquiry that will establish the facts without fear of external influence.
    136 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Paul Devlin
  • KEEP PALMERSTON ROAD SOUTH PEDESTRIANISED
    UPDATE: I saw on 25th July that Councillor Ellcome has approved the reopening of the street. Sources: Portsmouth News: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/business/local-business/palmerston-road-pedestrian-zone-to-be-opened-to-cars-again-1-6200011 Team Local: http://www.teamlocals.co.uk/palmerston-road-south-to-be-reopened-to-traffic-700000-osborne-road-scheme-approved Whilst a minority of businesses in the southern end of Palmerston Road at the heart of Southsea's shopping area claim the pedestrianisation of the precinct is an underlying factor in their downturn, a majority passionately believe the pedestrianisation of the zone has made for a more affluent area with anti-social behaviour being tackled. In December 2013, 29 of 31 businesses responded to a survey created to find the opinions of business owners in the southern end of Palmerston Road regarding the pedestrian zone. 59% were in favour of the zone remaining in place with an 11:00am delivery window. In December 2013 another survey was undertaken and hand-delivered to residents of the southern end of Palmerston Road, asking the same questions posed to businesses. 40 out of 127 residents responded to the survey and the results were in favour of keeping the pedestrian zone. 26/40 said the zone should remain. CCTV, a core force against anti-social behaviour, will be made more effective due to vehicles not obstructing the view of potential incidents in the southern end of Palmerston Road. Safety is also a strong concern for business owners in the area, especially with the presence of pubs where alcohol can lower people's inhibitions and potentially lead to endangerment of customers should the road be opened to vehicles.
    403 of 500 Signatures
    Created by Craig Cook
  • Bring Andargachew Tsige Home
    Andargachew Tsige is a campaigner for democracy in Ethiopia, he is an innocent man trying to bring change to his native country. He was sentenced to death in absentia for trumped up charges. Freedom of speech and dissent is a basic human right, which the Ethiopian government denies its people.
    176 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Graham Peebles
  • A Proper Independent Judge Should be Appointed
    Lady Butler-Sloss, the judge you have appointed, is the sister of Sir Michael Havers who tried to prevent Geoffrey Dickens from naming Sir Peter Hayman being named as a member of the paedophile information exchange. This means that from her position at the highest level of the very establishment she is supposed to be investigating, it is very difficult for the public to have the complete confidence that she will get to the bottom of things where establishment figures are concerned. There should be several lay people sitting with her, seeing everything she sees. These people are there to serve, who have never been in politics or public service, who are good decent sensible people who can take a balanced view.
    6,215 of 7,000 Signatures
    Created by David Steen
  • No Privatisation at National Gallery
    The National Gallery has decided to privatise up to 400 of its 600 staff including those who look after security of the paintings, deal with the public and requests for information about the collection, complaints, school bookings and more. This came just a week after Director Nicholas Penny announced his resignation. Ten senior managers at the Gallery have left, been made redundant or dismissed in the last two years. A temporary “Security Consultant” responsible for the privatisation used to work for G4S, the private security firm. Only last November the Gallery Executive endorsed the view that privatisation could not guarantee quality of service and would not save money. Now they and the Board of Trustees have announced privatisation is the only option. This petition is initiated by the PCS union (Culture Sector) and so far supported officially by the Peoples' Assembly, the Musicians' Union, Lost Arts, BECTU and SERTUC
    136,124 of 200,000 Signatures
    Created by Clara Paillard
  • Save Bury Hospice
    Bury Hospice provides invaluable in-patient, out-patient/day services and hospice at home services. They ensure vital support and care for those with a terminal or life-limiting illness and their friends and families.
    182 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Karen Leach
  • Save Punchbowl Spaldings Live Bands on Sunday afternoons
    Live Bands are a regular Sunday event throughout the summer at THE PUNCHBOWL. There is always a free BBQ which attracts a cross section of customers from young families to pensioners and everybody in between. This is being threatened by ONE complainant. The sessions only last for two 45mins or three 30mins sessions between 4pm and 7pm. We are being persecuted by one persons hate campaign that the council continue to take seriously. Please support our petition that could have larger implications on the freedom of the masses as opposed to the dictatorship of the few.
    1,577 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by Peter Williams
  • Keep Frome Dancing - Fight for your right to party!
    Frome is one of the most creative and diverse towns in the South West and for its own arts festival to miss out on an event as unique as Sensonic is a real shame. It is important that Mendip recognise that dance music, in all its various forms, is not a threat and that a huge number of people in Frome desire an event such as this. Without a decent medium-sized space where DJs and visual artists can perform and people can go and appreciate this, Frome is in danger of losing its diversity.
    532 of 600 Signatures
    Created by Ben Waller
  • More spending on the NHS
    This is important because the vast majority of people reading this petition will still be around in five years, and so this affects YOU. If we don't act now, then our safety and the safety of future generations will be in danger as our National Health Service slowly crumbles from a lack of funds.Furthermore, the population is ever increasing; as the ONS predicts, within 25 years the UK population will reach just over 73 million. This will put further strain on an already struggling institution. We need to say NO to spending £1.4 billion on redundancies, and YES to more spending on the NHS itself, its resources and its staff.
    94 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Dan Shears
  • Save Our District Nursing Services
    The shortage comes despite longstanding commitments from the Government to hugely expand the scope of care in the home and community – a reform which is seen as crucial if the NHS is to survive into the next century, as the population ages and the number of people living with long-term health conditions such as diabetes, dementia and Parkinson's grows. District nurses can also play a key role in end of life care, ensuring that patients are able to die at home with their families. But the service is now seriously over-stretched, the RCN said, with many district nurses seeing more than 12 patients in a single day and, in rural areas, often driving up to 70 miles per shift. A lack of any district nurses would not mean the end of home care visits, but would lead a serious disintegration of the community care system, the RCN said, which often requires many different organisations and individuals – including GPs, healthcare assistants and social workers – to operate in tandem, often with a district nurse serving as de facto manager. Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the RCN, said that district nurses were the “foundation of a system which should be able to manage conditions and keep sick and frail people at home”. “Remove those foundations and the whole edifice could come crashing down,” he said. “The NHS and the people who run it, have long paid lip service to the ideal of moving care closer to home. But many people up and down the country are still in need of expert care from district nurses.”
    11,273 of 15,000 Signatures
    Created by Paul Ford
  • Make NHS Complaints Count!
    When we are treated in hospital or by another practitioner we need to be able to trust that we receive correct, well administered, well handled treatment. When we complain we need to see clearly that our complaint is well handled, and, most important, that the outcome of the complaint is carried through in practice. When we are forced, because of the closure of ranks, to complain to the Ombudsman we expect fair and even handed treatment of our complaint, with high professional standards. This is about us, our lives and in some cases our deaths. We need to be able to trust hospitals, doctors and nurses. And, when it all goes wrong and we have to complain, we need to be sure that our complaint is given a fair hearing. We need to be able to trust the Ombudsman. Today we cannot.
    670 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Tim Trent Picture
  • Amend the Infrastructure Bill to exclude forests and limit land sales to surplus land
    The Infrastructure Bill is a rag-bag of proposals that we were told would just tidy up a few loose ends. Instead, it makes major changes in a number of critical areas, not just in the sale of public land. This petition is about Clause 21, which in its current form enables the transfer of any public land through the Homes and Communities Agency to developers. No doubt other campaigns will oppose other parts of the bill, especially the section on fracking which has not yet been published. Members of the House of Lords have already talked about these problem ands proposed amendments that will improve the bill. You can find out more here: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/infrastructure.html The Government has given assurances that the Public Forest Estate is not included in current land sale schemes, and that this will be made clear later. But I think that we need to see it spelt out in the primary legislation - the Infrastructure Bill - and if the Government is truely determined to manage our woodlands properly, it will accept these amendments. I live in the Forest of Dean, and we have particular concerns around the loss of public access when public land is sold. Our forest is not "ancient" - it's a working Forest, producing timber, fuel and food - but we need those rights to maintain our way of life and culture. Some Foresters have historic rights to mine coal or graze sheep in the Forest, and without access these rights will die. But even if you only visit woodlands for fun, the loss of access could affect your quality of life and your mental and physical health. Selling off forests would also threaten biodiversity in this country - for example, wild bees survive better in wooded areas, perhaps because of lower levels of pesticides. Forests also reduce the risk of flooding and drought, because they absorb heavy rain and release it slowly into their surroundings, and of course they absorb CO2 as well, both in the trees and in the soil. For all these reasons, it is really important that we retain our woodlands and plant new ones. In 2011, the threatened disposal of our public forests and woodlands was prevented when the Public Bodies Bill was amended, as part of a spectacular climb-down by the government. This was followed by a massive public consultation and the publication of the report from the Independent Panel on Forestry (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-panel-on-forestry-final-report), that should have resulted in legislation to protect our forests permanently – but that never happened. So once again we need to make sure a Bill is amended to protect our treasured public woodlands and public land. The Independent Panel on Forestry Final Report would allow the sale of genuinely "surplus" forestry land but proposes a reasonable set of safeguards that would protect our forests from excessive development. You can see the all the proposed amendments to the Infrastructure Bill here: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/infrastructure/documents.html and looking at the "Amendment papers" section.
    6,511 of 7,000 Signatures
    Created by Jacky Smith Picture