This petition is a direct response to the perception that we cannot change the system which already exists. Even if it isn't fit for purpose, up to date with the modern world, or representative of most of the electorate. We can! The promise of parliamentary debate on any petition which reached 100.000 signatures was a brave manifesto promise by the conservatives, but without some significant changes in the way the commons work, these petitions will fall on deaf (or absent) ears. We live in an age of technology and information, many embrace it, many fear it. It is an age where almost everything you do is done on line. Whatever your personal feelings about it, the internet is here to stay, and has the so far untapped potential to allow YOU unprecedented control over YOUR life, and the direction of politics in real time. We have social media which is acting as a lightning rod, by allowing us to display our righteous indignation at policy's which we don't agree with, but with no effect whatsoever. How many would bother to sign a petition which WOULD be heard by those that create all of our futures? Internet petitions are branded "slacktivism" by the press, and yet many of us who walk in the middle of the road, or the "silent majority" fear taking part in any more pro active activism, because of the disproportionate response by the state to peaceful protest. Also in these austere times many simply cannot afford to take the time to participate in politics, except by signing these e- petitions, and going out to vote once every 4 or 5 years. At these times you are faced with a choice; to support one of 3 main parties, because it supports something which you are passionate about, even though you do not support all of the manifesto, give your vote to a fringe party, or like 45% of the electorate, not bother at all. If these changes were implemented then that would no longer need to be the way. At present there is no record (accessible to the public) of attendance in the commons except for voting figures. This is not acceptable, as the public must be able to see whether their MP has attended any debate which they have petitioned for, and for general transparency, as promised by every incoming government. All MPs are public servants, paid by the public purse, and, as we're reminded when we call HMRC, DWP, or any other government body, we are all customers of the state, and as customers we are entitled be listened to, and served well. We demand a certain level of service for our taxes,and as customers, as voters and most importantly as Humans, we demand the right to determine how we live, and have our voice heard! Its time to accept your "invitation to join the government of Britain" (This was the title of the Conservative manifesto 2010) "People have been shut out of Westminster politics for too long. Having a single vote every four or five years is not good enough – we need to give people real control over how they are governed. So, with a Conservative government, any petition that secures 100,000 signatures will be eligible for formal debate in Parliament". "The Big Society runs consistently through our policy programme. Our plans to reform public services, mend our broken society,and rebuild trust in politics are all part of our Big Society agenda. These plans involve redistributing power from the state to society; from the centre to local communities, giving people the opportunity to take more control over their lives". "Big Society; our reform plans require a social response in order to be successful. So building the Big Society is not just a question of the state stepping back and hoping for the best: it will require an active role for the state. The state must take action to agitate for, catalyse and galvanise social renewal. We must use the state to help remake society". The above are all excerpts from the Conservative party manifesto, printed before winning the 2010 general election. They all seem to say very much the same as this petition, and yet more and more of the people I speak to, feel the same as me, that they have less and less freedom, power and control over the way they are governed. Apathy is a dangerous thing because it shows a lack of hope. A lack of hope is acceptance of that which makes you unhappy. Acceptance of unhappiness is surrender. Once surrender has been accepted, it is irrevocable.

Despite a doubling in the demands on food banks in the past year, the UK Government refused to claim the UK's £22m share of a £2bn fund voted by the European Union in 2013 to tackle food deprivation across the EU. Instead, it has taken the minimum allowed sum of £3m which, despite the intention of the EU fund, it is using to prop up its already failing work programme. Labour MEP Richard Howitt, who helped negotiate the fund, said it 'defied belief' that David Cameron’s Government had 'sought to block a fund for the most deprived’. “The cost of this Government’s anti-European ideology, coupled with its bitterly felt cost-of-living crisis, is literally taking food from the mouths of children,” he said. This money would ease some of the current burden on food banks, as well as supporting the many other UK charities which help the homeless and those fleeing domestic violence.

We have a brand new, gleaming hospital which people cannot reach because it is not on a bus route. Many of the services based there: physiotherapy, falls prevention, community dieticians, are geared towards people who are frail and cannot walk long distances. 500m might not seem a long distance for most people, but on a zimmer frame or crutches it is forever. Parts of the hospital are empty because local GPs do not want to move to a building which their patients cannot access. The plans for this building always included a bus stop, but what we need now is a bus which will actually stop outside the hospital door. There is a cross party consensus that this needs to happen urgently. Please add your voice so the Mayor of London understands how important this is. Thanks.

We, the undersigned, are students, alumni and staff of Royal Holloway, University of London concerned about the recent pay rises awarded the Principal Paul Layzell. In 2012-2013, Professor Layzell was awarded an £8,000 pay rise of 3%, which he is yet to justify and we still do not know whether he was in receipt of a pay rise in 2013-2014.

Green Fields and Wild Life habitats will be lost forever. Local people want to preserve the countryside for future generations, their wishes should be respected, the Localism Act should be honoured. Impacts on local communities are being ignored by Planners who have complete dis-regard for others, value of land is at a premium, greedy people are making money at the expense of the environment and the people that live there.

The Jam Butty Camp has provided generations of Salfordian school children with the experience of a holiday by the sea, many of which would have never had the chance of a holiday under normal circumstances. Over the years it has supported our City and so when under attack we come to its aid and in turn support it. The camp is just as much a part of Salford as the Civic Centre you all inhabit, and should be protected at all costs. The purpose of this facility is just as relevant today as it was when it was first set up, and by the councils own admission the City and its people are suffering from the austerity cuts, and for many children this will be the only chance they have of having a holiday away from City life. This camp holds a special place in the hearts of many Salfordian's and should be immune to the Councils cuts on the grounds it provides a special service to Salford which is priceless.

We need to commemorate those people who helped others by their selfless efforts to improve the lot of the many.

Richmond Park is a National Nature Reserve, an SSSI and a Grade 1 Listed landscape. The weekend closure would not only enhance the experience for cyclists and other users but would also promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the natural and physical environment of the Park, and its peace and natural beauty for the benefit the public and future generations. The park is a great asset for SW London, it should be a safe place for families to explore and for people to ride bicycles around without having the roads jammed up with cars.

England is a democratic country. People should have a say in their local affairs. The Department of Energy and Climate Change has granted 4 Fracking licences for Somerset, for a large area including the Mendips, Wells, Shepton Mallet, Pilton, Bruton. PEDL 225 (Wells, Shepton etc) runs from 1 July 2008 until 30 June 2039! It's quite surprising that a licence with such long-term and potentially devastating effects could be granted quietly without local people being informed or having any say in it. In order to be able to start fracking, the fracking company needs to get a PEDL licence, a lease from the local landowner and planning permission from the local authority (Somerset County Council). That's the situation at the moment, but the government is already taking steps to change the process to cut out the local authority's involvement so that the Secretary of State can give permission using the "streamlined planning regime" set out in the Planning Act 2008. The government has also just changed the planning laws (in January) so that fracking companies no longer have to notify landowners or homeowners that they are going to frack under their property - all they have to do is put a notice in the paper. In order to make enough money/find enough gas, there will have to be 2000 wells across the Mendips. A huge amount of infrastructure will be required to make the whole thing work. Hundreds of lorries will have to travel to and from the area during the whole time the wells are being prepared and used. An enormous amount of water (from local water sources) will be used, polluted and then required to be dealt with. There will be 3000-19000 cubic metres of "flowback" (the fracturing fluid injected into the shale with chemicals during fracking) per well. This "wastewater" returns to the surface and needs to be treated, so additional infrastructure will be required for this and extra vehicle movements to take it away. After the area has been fracked for a period of years with the accompanying industrialisation/devastation of the area the fracking company will leave. They will then come back and refrack it about 10 years later. This may be done several times for each well. There are huge concerns over the safety of fracking. Chemicals are injected into the land during the process and 25-75% of them remain in the land afterwards, having the potential to get into our water, air and land. Fracking companies are allowed to keep the exact details about which chemicals they are using secret. There is no duty on the fracking companies to take out insurance against the risk of contamination because the government considered this would "add to existing regulation". The government clearly hopes to get fracking started in this country whether or not people want it, and in the quietest way possible. This is undemocratic. A fracking company already wants to start exploring areas of the Mendips (including Ston Easton) and they are applying for planning permission to start production in Keynsham this year. People who live in Somerset should be kept informed about these proposals which are going to have a huge and long lasting effect on the area. We need to get together and make sure we can make our voices heard about this before it is too late. Please sign this petition and pass it on to anyone you know who will be interested. My aims in starting this petition are firstly to raise awareness of the reality of the situation and secondly to make a database of interested people so that we can keep in touch with each other about fracking developments and get together to speak out/protest if and when it becomes necessary. Please email me if you would like to get involved in this campaign.

There are at least 9 groups which use the library from tiny tots to the elderly - including knitting groups, family history group, creative writing groups, toddler groups and even wool spinning. The computers enable the unemployed without internet access at home to search for work as the job centre requires them to do. The buses from St Just to Penzance have recently been cut and the prices raised. St Just is a growing community with a new housing estate just built which will house many people who will benefit from a local library. Tourist use the library in summer for computer access and the valuable local knowledge of our librarians. Your cuts will mean the library is only open for one full day and two half days. This is planned to happen in June - just in time for the height of the tourist season!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tky42vHUHlI Just 6 months after granting a Tree Preservation Order on this London Plane Tree, Mendip has received an application to fell. Unfortunately the TPO will not save the tree from Pangmore Development's application if approved by Mendip District Council. This is one of the last trees in the town centre and certainly the last tree of note in the Kingsway precinct. It is a specimen town centre tree and plays a major contribution in the character of the Conservation Area, and its felling would be a major loss to the aesthetic quality of the town.

Carers are classed as unemployed yet they get payed less than current unemployed levels. Carers work 24/7 without recognition, Carers at a minimum, need to receive the same amount of Benefits as the unemployed and refine their roles as employed with all rights. Care payments are also taxable so they should be given the same rights as anyone that is working and the same support regardless of their ability to have another Job along with being a care giver. For many caring for someone that has a disability is a 24/7 Job with no holiday pay and no other way of gaining an income. Being a Carer receiving £61.35 a wk whilst the unemployed receive £72.50. As a Carer on £61.35 wk we have to pay our own eye tests and prescriptions, the unemployed don't!! It costs over £500 wk to look after someone in Care but home Carers receive £61.35 wk. Carers save the economy more than £120billion yr but Carers only receive £61.35 wk. Why don't you allow a Carer some Airtime? Lets also be very clear on the Carers Allowance, its a deduction of Benefits the person Being Cared for would normally receive, so in real terms I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul( no pun intended) Its a mockery of the system and abuse of situation. Thousands are giving up work to look after a loved one. We also have over 800.000 kids who receive nothing for the caring they provide whilst missing out on growing up as a child should, enjoying a childhood. Again this wont get Airtime unless we take our concerns directly to those responsible. This Government must stop paying lip service to Carers, they are a vital to the Economy. The SNP have now committed to this.