This wonderful, iconic sculpture is a local landmark, and by far the best single piece of artwork in Wolverhampton. It is one of only seven castings; the others are all in prestigious public collections around the world. How many other cities and how many other shopping centres have artwork of this importance on public display? It has stood in the Centre since 1968, but was secretly removed in May, on the pretext of building work that will not begin till next year. The owners, Delancey and RBS, refuse to say where the sculpture or the time capsule in its plinth now are, and refuse to give any reassurance that it will not be sold off. RBS claims the ownership of the sculpture and the right to sell it, in the face of opposition by local shoppers, art lovers, city councillors, the city centre MP, the Hepworth Estate, the Mander family and arts organisations. And yet RBS is still 80% taxpayer owned! In any case the sculpture was provided by the artist at cost price, because of her wish that it should be an asset for the people of Wolverhampton. In effect, she donated it. This is asset stripping of a particularly unpleasant kind - taking away one of the few real quality items from a city centre that is still struggling from the effects of the recession. Hepworth intended this sculpture for the people of Wolverhampton, not for the RBS private art stash, nor for the private pleasure of some art collecting billionaire. This is one more example of the current threat to public art in the UK from its removal from public access and sale to private collectors. Plans for the redevelopment of the Mander Centre must be modified to include the Hepworth, and it must be returned to its place of pride as soon as practicable, and a firm guarantee given of this.

This September, historic yet run-down Keir Hardie Hall is being put up for auction. Most people today know it as a working men's club, but it was actually named in 1915 to honour posthumously of one of Britain's lesser known, but arguably most important, statesmen. Keir Hardie was unusual, both in his own era & our own: a politician who rejected the self-interested pursuit of power & money. His life's work was an attempt to bring about equality, justice and freedom for the poor and marginalised: men, women and children, regardless of ethnicity or religion. During the brutal years of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, ideas he advocated (universal healthcare; equality for women; universal state education; countries of empire being entitled to national sovereignty; state pensions; decent housing; employment rights & even animal welfare) were largely ridiculed. After the carnage of two world wars, successive governments were able to realise many of them. Ninety-nine years after Hardie addressed his final great anti-war speech to an audience in Norwich, we seem to have come full circle: Many of the benchmarks of late twentieth century civilisation are under threat -both nationally and globally. Ninety-nine years from now they may have been written out of history altogether. Our city, which appears affluent to visitors, is actually blighted by hidden poverty. It's of huge importance that Norwich City Council (run by a Labour majority with a strong Green opposition) acts now to ensure Keir Hardie Hall's historical context is not lost, whilst simultaneously helping to meet our current need for decent, energy-efficient, genuinely affordable, housing for all. Let's give this building a future befitting its past.

Cumbria already has Sellafield. The Sellafield site has the biggest amount of radioactivity on the planet. A major accident involving the liquid high level waste tanks would have catastrophic consequences and make the area uninhabitable for many generations. The area around the Sellafield site should be an untouchable buffer zone to: a) provide a measure of safety for surrounding towns and villages b) to accommodate the documented leakage of radiation from the Sellafield site into groundwater. c) to minimise the target area for terrorist attack (instead of doubling it) Instead of honouring a beautiful wildlife diverse landscape bought by the public purse and guaranteeing a buffer zone around Sellafield the UK government are planning to sell off a vast area. The land stretches to the villages of Beckermet, Braystones and Calder Bridge. Not only this but the companies who are being wooed to buy the land are the very same companies responsible for Fukushima. "The Moorside Project" is being promoted by NUGEN a company 100% owned by Toshiba. Toshiba’s proposed three new reactors are AP1000s. These are the next generation of the same old uranium burning technology. The difference is that these reactors burn the uranium for longer and harder. The resulting radioactive wastes are much hotter and have to be cooled for decades longer. The NDA have told Radiation Free Lakeland that the fresh water resource for cooling is “a matter for the operators.” Currently Sellafield uses over 4 million gallons of water daily to abstracted from Wastwater, the River Ehen, the River Calder and boreholes in the area. Sellafield stopped producing electricity in 2003. The elephant in the room is of course Toshiba’s track record in nuclear safety. Toshiba supplied the steam generator, architecture and reactor for Fukushima reactors numbers 3 and 5, while Hitachi (merged with Toshiba) supplied the reactor, steam generator and architecture for Fukushima reactor no 4. The beautiful wildlife diverse land: http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/08/10/stop-moorcide/ Contaminated Groundwater - Sellafield https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_download.php?id=773168039435386&eid=AStZ3li3tSP5MQf_c8WSzWkcyXiQmeST9PaQWg1eXJj-piwqsP2voi22A76xtKEBQRc&inline=1&ext=1434548939&hash=ASuZJtM5OwSjtXCA http://www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/wpdd/rcd-workshop/C-2___OH_The_Sellafield_contaminated_land_and_groundwater.pdf.pdf After– Fukushima – Daiichi - Toshiba looks for new orders overseas http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/us-toshiba-nuclear-idUSBRE99204I20131003 Hitachi, Toshiba and GE Merge Nuclear Operations http://www.modernpowersystems.com/news/newshitachi-toshiba-and-ge-merge-nuclear-fuel-operations http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/how-can-the-nuclear-industry-profit-from-nucl/blog/44192/ Escalating cost of ‘clean up’ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/feb/11/sellafield-consortium-cost-clean-up Not enough Fresh water to cool new build wastes http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/why-has-the-wettest-place-in-england-not-got-enough-freshwater/ http://enenews.com/watch-top-economist-nuclear-power-is-over-frankly-i-think-from-a-business-perspective-its-over-i-think-its-over-video What the industry is gleefully saying about 'Moorside' http://www.spyghana.com/moorside-nuclear-power-project-course/ MOORSIDE REPORT by Radiation Free Lakeland 19.9.14 http://mariannewildart.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/moorside-rafl-report-19-9-141.pdf NEW report commissioned by Radiation Free Lakeland is critical of the AP1000 reactor design. The report has been written by the Edinburgh Energy and Environment Consultancy. The report says that "The AP1000 reactor design is not fit for purpose and so should be refused a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) and Statement of Design Acceptability (SDA)″. http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2988356/ap1000_reactor_design_is_dangerous_and_not_fit_for_purpose.html The AP1000 Nuclear Reactors proposed for Moorside in Cumbria and their Environmental Impact - Edinburgh Energy and Environment Consultancy July 2017 https://issuu.com/radiationfreelakeland/docs/moorside_-_environmental_impact_by_

Two women are killed every week in England by a partner or ex-partner. These are the women who desperately need these specialist refuges. Last year Women's Aid member organisations supported nearly 10,000 women and over 10,000 children in refuge accommodation. However, on one day alone in 2013, 155 women with 103 children were turned away from the first refuge they approached, primarily due to a lack of available spaces. From 2010 to 2014 the number of specialist refuges declined from 187 to 155, leaving many more vulnerable women and children at risk and without specialist support. Closures of specialist refuges will cost lives. Help us to keep these services open for the women and children who need them. Help us Save Refuges to Save Lives.

It will encourage many people to commute by the railways to get quicker travel and cheaper payments. In addition many people are asking for their railways to be brought back especially in North Wales. My Dad would use the railways more then he would use the car.

As part of the CDC’s allocation of an extra 3,360 new homes in Cirencester their intention is to build an estate of 2,500 houses on the fields to the south west of Cirencester. We believe Cirencester’s residents have not been made fully aware of CDC's plans, which would fundamentally change the character of our market town. Cirencester’s population of 19,000 would be increased by nearly 40% In contrast, other Cotswold towns will be proportionately much less developed, and most villages, despite their needs, will only have minimal, or no, new housing. Focusing development on Cirencester, and specifically on one large site, risks dwarfing the existing historic town, and diminishing its distinctive character. The distance from the planned estate to the town centre is too great to walk. Many will opt for the car, thereby exacerbating the existing traffic congestion and parking problems in the town Sustainable housing development should be distributed throughout the whole Cotswold region, and not disproportionately concentrated on one site in Cirencester. If you are local, or work in Cirencester, and share our concerns please sign the petition. (If you have already signed the paper petition please do NOT duplicate here) Thank you.

Everyone has parents who may need care as they age. Unless you die young you will all get old and may need care. The cost of caring for old or disabled people and children is for the most part payed for with taxpayers money. It is outrageous that private equity companies can profit from need, financed by tax money of ordinary people and pay poverty wages.

Neath Port Talbot has for centuries been an industrial area but now in the 21st century, the surrounding countryside is starting to return to its former glory with much of the area now supporting a thriving tourist industry. The people of Neath Port Talbot would like to keep it this way and do not want any form of shale gas or oil extraction by any method whatsoever, namely by Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking), Coal Bed Methane or Underground Coal Gasification.

The Duke of Lancaster is the last passenger only steam turbine ship left in existence. She is listed on the Historic Ships Register. When she was open as the Funship she became the third most popular tourist attraction in Wales, creating many jobs. She could do this again regenerating the area, bringing so many benefits to the local and surrounding area. The Council should allow the ship to be restored and reopened as a Funship.

Britain has unfinished business in Iraq, from the errors of 1914 to 1932 and the debacle of 2003 to the religious genocide against Christians and other groups right now.

The sight of people crammed into bomb shelters, waiting for the scream of the rocket to pass overhead and praying their country's military defence systems hold strong, is now an everyday occurence in Israel. Yet there are currently active campaigns to weaken those very defences keeping these families alive day after day. A current petition asking the Prime Minister to stop the sales of British-made weapon-parts to Israel has cited the controversial Sayeeda Warsi who called the British policy on the Gaza crisis "morally indefensible". Yet there can be little more morally indefensible than an attempt to withold Israel's means to defend itself against a barrage of rocket attacks from a terrorist organisation with one clear aim - to destroy Israel and kill the entire Jewish population. There are claims that the anti-Israel petition to which we object was sent to over one million people in an email which opens with an evocative description of "men, women and innocent children being killed, injured and driven from their homes" at the hands of Israel. The deaths of so many civilians in Gaza is tragic and heartbreaking. But there is incontrovertible evidence to show that the innocent casualties would have been greatly reduced had Hamas not repeatedly used Palestinian children and civilians as human shields. It is widely accepted that Hamas is using schools and hospitals as rocket launch sites, and there is clear evidence to show that well over a hundred of Hamas' rockets have misfired and landed within Gaza. There is also absolute proof that Israel routinely warns civilians in Gaza ahead of any military attack on the area, by leaflet and telephone. There can be no doubt that responsibility for a great many unnecessary deaths rests within Gaza itself. The petition to which we object has cherry-picked messages only from anti-Israel politicians, like the very worst of the biased, propagandist media. There are many other politicians and respected figures who have spoken up in public support of Israel and who could equally be cited. Ex-Prime Minister and Peace Envoy to the Middle East, Tony Blair said: "If 80 rockets would be fired upon the citizens of Great Britain, no way I wouldn't be taking action. If an Israeli prime minister would fail to take action, people would say that this is unacceptable". What do you think would happen if Israel's weapons were blocked? What would happen if they lost their means to defend themselves from terrorists firing rockets into their country and tunnelling into their towns for the sole purpose of killing as many Israelis as possible? The death count in the Middle East would not be reduced. It would increase. But it would be Israelis dying. Jews instead of Arabs. The frightening and difficult question is whether Jewish deaths seem to be more acceptable to some than Arab deaths. The number of innocent people in Gaza who have been killed is sad and terrible. But the unequal comparison of numbers of Arab deaths versus numbers of Israeli deaths is being manipulated into an indicator of victim versus aggressor. In fact the only reason more Israelis haven't been killed is because of Israel's Iron Dome defence system, which shoots rockets out of the sky. Without their sophisticated defences a huge number of Israelis would have been killed in this current conflict. The frightening fact is that it seems a great many people would be happier if the Israeli death count were in the hundreds or thousands too. Over recent weeks there has been a sharp rise in open and violent anti-semitism across Europe and the rest of the world. This is the issue that campaigning organisations should be tackling. When they choose instead to add fuel to an already out-of-control fire, spreading half-truths and prejudice and adding to the anti-Israel and anti-semitic propaganda filling our newspapers and inboxes, they are contributing to an already volatile and dangerous situation. We therefore urge the Prime Minister to disregard the petition calling for him to withdraw support from Israel. If David Cameron bows to pressure to stop the sale of weapons-parts to Israel, he will be denying the right of the only democratic state in the Middle East to defend itself from terrorist attack. In the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel." You can contact us at [email protected] Any anti-semitic or threatening emails received will be forwarded to the police as appropriate.

On Sunday the town of Sinjar in Iraq fell to ISIS. This is home to the Yazidi people. (The Yazidi are an ancient people with distinct religious beliefs. Citizens of this religion are peaceful people who acknowledge all principles and humanitarian values and respect all religions,) Many of the people fled to the mountains to escape. They are now surrounded by ISIS, who have cut off any routes of escape. Many are thought to be children. Many have already been killed. We need to offer them support. This is a race against time to help these people. International communities need to act immediately. You can email Philip Hammond here: [email protected] I have set up a just giving page if you can help financially. I have chosen Christian Aid as they are one of the few charities on the ground at the moment. Please visit http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/sally-newing-iraq