Successful Campaigns

Dear friends, Thanks to YOU, last year the Government conceded on their dystopian plans to allow police to use GPS ankle tags on innocent campaigners and ban them from attending marches and demonstrations. We showed the Government that we would not allow extreme police powers in a democratic country like the UK, and thanks to thousands of us coming together they were forced to drop their plans. But we're still working to reclaim privacy and defend freedoms at this time of enormous technological change - you can find out about our other campaigns here https://you.38degrees.org.uk/partnerships/big-brother-watch Thank you for taking action. Silkie Carlo Big Brother Watch Director

The white paper was published! But there is still work to be done https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/apr/26/gambling-uk-white-paper-online-casinos

The Government has decided that the prescription charge upper age exemption will remain at 60, meaning that it will not align to the State Pension age. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/aligning-the-upper-age-for-nhs-prescription-charge-exemptions-with-the-state-pension-age/outcome/aligning-the-upper-age-for-nhs-prescription-charge-exemptions-with-the-state-pension-age-government-response#introduction

Pensions dashboard The government committed to getting the pensions dashboard off the ground. It means we’ll be able to keep track of all our pensions in one place, stopping us losing out on thousands of pounds. When news came out that the government was considering scrapping the dashboard, over 200,000 of us jumped into action. We signed open letters, emailed our MPs and our research, which proved how much people could lose without a pensions dashboard, was plastered all over the press. The government saw our messages in their inboxes and in the media - and yesterday they acted.

Just a few days after we handed in our huge petition to Westminster Council, the planning application to move the statue was withdrawn! Sir Niel Thorne, the former MP behind the bid to move the staue of Emmiline Pankhurst from its historic home said: “we realised considerable pressure was being put on Westminster City Council, who’d find it more difficult to approve moving the statue.” Thanks to our pressure, Emmeline Pankhurst will remain by Paliament - thank you! https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/16/emmeline-pankhurst-statue-will-remain-near-parliament-plan-move/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52732300

We won! British Gas reversed their decision to increase the minimum top-up amount for customers on pay-as-you-go tariffs. They’ve slashed the amount from £5 back to £1. This means people will no longer be forced to decide between spending their last £5 before payday on heating their home, or putting food on the table. And it’s thanks to the 91,000 of us who signed a huge petition, and thousands of us who spoke up and shared our experiences directly with British Gas. The 38 Degrees staff team met the British Gas CEO, and took these stories straight to him. Preet Kaur Gill, the MP who started this campaign on the 38 Degrees website, said: “This is a vital win for the thousands of people affected by British Gas’s decision to raise the minimum pre-pay top-up. I am so thankful to 38 Degrees and the 91,000 people who signed our petition. It would not have been possible without them.”

A recent tweet from the DWP says this will not be government policy! But we'll be keeping an eye out to make sure, in the event of a snap election, plans to raise the pension age don't make it into any party manifestos.

We won! On Friday the 11th of October after more than 80,000 of us piled in we managed to get these cleaners the real Living Wage!