Successful Campaigns

UPDATE: 25/10/18 Your support has helped gain concessions from government with the creation of a £60,000 fund to complete the mapping of pollinator habitat in England. Buglife welcomes this as a first step towards securing the future of our pollinators. This is real affirmative action in the battle to preserve the buzz of life. Once mapping is completed more resource will be needed to deliver the on-the-ground action to turn the maps into landscapes full of wildflowers for pollinators.

Strongbow, Carling and Tennent's have all pledged to ditch plastic beer and cider rings by 2021! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/14/carling-beer-ditch-plastic-packaging-become-sustainable/

Wilko scraps plan to cut sick pay for 21,000 staff! https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/coronavirus-wilko-scraps-plan-cut-21745338

02/05/18 A message from Grahame: Thanks so much for signing Pauline's petition. I am really pleased to let you know that Pauline has just been granted 30 months leave to stay! So people power really can work! We still have some mountains to cross but we can at last relax a bit now and admire the view! Over 100,000 signatures in less than 10 weeks is amazing. Knowing there are so many good people out there has given us great strength. Apparently the Home Secretary received some 16,000 tweets from petition signers over just the past 2 days (LOL!). Thanks also to 38 Degrees who have been brilliant! Without this support I'm sure Pauline would have been just another case to brush under the carpet! Whilst the decision does not mitigate for the injustices Pauline has suffered (as clearly described by our barrister) it will at least allow the long recovery process to begin. We can now start planning the rest of our lives - including a long-awaited honeymoon! I really hope that lessons can be learned so others don't have to go through the same nightmare. I for one will one work tirelessly to this end. Keep well and thanks again. Grahame (& Pauline) x

On the 3rd December 2020 the Environment Secretary announced plans to ban live exports following Britain’s departure from the EU. This ban is dependent upon the result of an eight-week consultation, beginning today, which seeks views on ending the export of live animals for slaughter and fattening where the journeys begin or transit through England or Wales. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55167473 Due to this awful trade, animals must endure excessively long journeys, and frequently experience pain, exhaustion, stress and overcrowding. Having campaigned to put an end to this suffering for over 50 years, we are delighted to hear that the Government plans to ban live exports at long last. Echoing our sentiments exactly, George Eustice, Defra Secretary of State, called the trade a “cruel and unnecessary practice”, in a press release on the announcement.

Significant success! I am absolutely delighted to be writing today to tell you that we have had a considerable victory in our campaign to have the beds reinstated at Rothbury Community Hospital. There have had to be compromises, but what we have achieved is a pragmatic agreement. As you will remember, we argued for Coquetdale Cares: The Community Vision, back in 2017. Earlier this year, myself and Maurice Cole, met with Sir Jim Mackey and Claire Riley of the NHS Trust. They really listened to our concerns and began to get things moving. During the last few months, the CCG and the NHS Trust have been listening and working together, and with community representatives, to make what they are calling The Art of the Possible, a reality. The Art of the Possible is their response to our Vision. And we like it! It involves a plan to: Increase outpatient clinics, from falls clinics through to orthopaedics and others, some of which will use new technological links that enable virtual consultations. Provide additional clinical and daycare services utilising the hospital site as a hub for health and care delivery. Services include: Dementia care Learning disability forums Health and well-being clinics Chemotherapy care Enhanced emergency healthcare planning Mental Health and IAPT services Physiotherapy Dentistry Introduce a new metric to measure the number of miles travelled for services and, where possible, the NHS will look to reduce this. Introduce a flexible bed model – with inpatient beds available within the hospital for short-term rehab and end of life care. The number of beds will be dependent on clinical need. Importantly, they have really taken on board our idea to have rooms available for carers/partners/loved ones to stay when appropriate. This will be particularly during end-of-life care, and potentially if someone is admitted with dementia, their carers could stay too. They are definitely looking into making this available. I hope you will agree that this is all excellent news. The team are delighted. However - at the CCG Meeting yesterday, I made a sincere promise to the community - to keep a watchful eye on how this all develops. We have every intention of closely monitoring the unfolding of this. We cannot afford at this stage to let our guard down. The opening date is planned for 1st April 2020. Let's hope there is nothing 'foolish' about it! With great thanks to you for your continued belief in the Campaign and support of it. Love and happiness Katie Katie Scott Co-ordinator, Save Rothbury Community Hospital Campaign https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-49497435 https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/victory-sight-rothbury-hospital-campaigners-16826710 https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/health/health-chiefs-and-campaigners-hail-significant-progress-on-future-of-rothbury-hospital-492708

18/12/16 - We Won Due to this campaign Aldi, Asda, Boots, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Superdrug, Tesco and Wilkinsons have all promised to switch to paper sticks! What a way to end the year. I'm so grateful to all the 38 Degrees members who got behind City to Sea's campaign and put pressure on our retailers to Switch the Stick. Your signatures, shares and social media action made every bit of difference ... the seas, rivers and coastlines will be a lot cleaner in the coming years thanks to you! Natalie Fee City to Sea - www.citytosea.org.uk

UPDATE 07/07/16 The government have scrapped their plans to sell of the Land Registry https://www.theguardian.com/money/2016/sep/07/land-registery-sell-off-plan-put-on-hold Read more on the 38 degrees campaign here: https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2016/07/07/land-registry-winning/

Update 08/04/16 - We Won! The government have backed down on their plans to change animal welfare codes. The government said it had reconsidered the move "in light of views raised". It said the current statutory system would stay in place, but that it would "continue to work with industry" to improve the animal welfare code system. Read more here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35992493

UPDATE: 26.2.16. ASDA has reinstated all of its charity collection points in all of its stores.