Successful Campaigns

18 December update: Mr and Mrs Grant have this afternoon heard that they have now been granted a one year licence by Dorset Council, commencing 1 January 2024. This means that they can continue operating, and will now not be forced to close on 31 December as had previously been the case. Previously, Dorset Council had, at last, on Tuesday 12 December, carried out an inspection of the kennels. This should have occurred 2 months ago when Mr Grant originally applied for a new licence to commence 1 January. The inspection team on 12 December had stated that they were unaware of the challenge to Dorset Council's interpretation of the Regulations 2018 and associated DERFA statutory guidelines regarding the issue of a lack of integral exercise runs for each kennel and the statutory guidance that allows for multiple exercise opportunities in lieu of integral runs. It seems Dorset Council has now recognised its earlier erroneous interpretation of the DEFRA guidelines, and have accordingly dropped their previous intransigent position. Mr and Mrs Grant are now, with immediate effect, accepting further business throughout 2024. This petition relating to Dorset Council's previously declared intention to close the kennels on 1 January without an inspection was sent to the CEO Dorset Council on Tuesday 5 December; at that stage it had attracted 817 signatures since it was launched 3 days beforehand. It was accompanied by a report amplifying the detail contained in the petition, demonstrating exactly why the Council’s original position was in breach of the DEFRA guidance for boarding kennels, and thus unwarranted and unjust. The owners of Pets Haven kennels would again like to express their profound appreciation to all who supported the petition. As would all the dogs currently boarding there, and which can board there in 2024. Your involvement meant that Dorset Council was unable to ignore the issue.

We have sent this petition to the council

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

STOP PRESS - DECEMBER 2024 GALBA (Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport) is STILL fighting LBA's attempts to expand. So far, we’ve been incredibly successful in our five-year l battle. We have managed to block LBA at every stage of their expansion plans. But now LBA’s bosses have asked the government’s Planning Inspectors to overturn restrictions on night flights, at a Public Inquiry to be held in Leeds in March 2025. If LBA win they will be able to fly an UNLIMITED number of planes at night. Increasing night time flying is central to the airport's expansion plans. The reason is simple: unlimited night flying allows airlines to fly more of their planes round the clock, which means they can dramatically increase the number of flights at the airport. That’s what LBA’s appeal to the Planning Inspectors is all about. More night flights would mean more greenhouse gases from jet engines, polluting our fragile climate, when everyone knows we have to cut emissions as fast and as much as possible. The Climate Change Committee has repeatedly said that airports should not be allowed to expand because there are no large scale alternatives to the fossil fuels used to fly aircraft. OUR ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN We have successfully petitioned the Secretary of State to hold a public inquiry into the expansion of Leeds Bradford airport so that the full national impact of airport expansion can be assessed. The Public Inquiry was due to start on September 13th 2022. But Leeds Bradford Airport pulled out. Since then GALBA has been fighting expansion on many fronts. Here are some of the things we have achieved: We succeeded in calling for a public inquiry into the original planning application – causing LBA to withdraw its application. We achieved this win by using every tactic available to us, including the very best legal advice, an enormous public petition and a letter-writing campaign. We exposed hundreds of unlawful night flights at LBA over the past three summers. We were only able to do this because our dedicated and expert team literally logged every single arrival and departure at the airport – an extremely time-consuming and laborious process. Our hard work paid off because we were able to prove that the airport was not telling Leeds City Council the truth about night flight numbers and the Council was not independently monitoring them. We persuaded Leeds City Council to turn down the airport’s attempts to rewrite the rules that limit the number of night flights. This was a huge blow to the airport and we believe it only came about because Leeds City Council was not able to argue with our relentless monitoring and the detailed legal arguments that we presented to them. During this time we have kept our campaign at the top of the agenda. We’ve made politicians and the public take notice with a series of high profile demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, petitions, fundraisers and media appearances. Why is this important? As we stand on the brink of climate and ecological breakdown, airports throughout the UK are trying to expand. Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Stansted, Manston, Southampton, Luton and Gatwick are pressing ahead with expansion plans. Supporters of each expansion claim that the increase in carbon emissions is small in a national context. However, the cumulative impact would be a huge increase in emissions at precisely the time we should be doing everything in our power to reduce them. Leeds Bradford Airport expansion is a test case. The local authority has approved expansion, claiming that carbon emissions from international flights is not a matter for local authorities to consider! So we have called on the Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick, to order a public inquiry so that the climate impact of expansion can be assessed in a national context. This is not just about Leeds-Bradford. Approval of this application would open the floodgates of expansion at other regional airports. The government must intervene to stop the planned expansion of regional airports if it is to meet legally binding environmental targets and avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. You can hear it from the experts. Over 200 Leeds Uni Academics already agree. https://www.galba.uk/post/press-release-246-uni-of-leeds-staff-and-researchers-ask-robert-jenrick-to-call-in-lba-decision Most importantly please share with your friends and family. Tell them why this matters so much to you. Thank you from GALBA - Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport

Aintree racecourse have made safety improvements to the Grand National race in 2024. This includes reducing the number of horses running from 40 to 34 and bringing the start time forward to improve the Aintree ground. Despite these welcome new safety measures for the feature race, two horses still sadly died during the 3 day meet. We hope that Aintree racecourse will continue their progress and consider how the Grand National race in 2025 could be even safer. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/racing/grand-national-2024-safety-changes-horses-b2528159.html https://www.express.co.uk/sport/horseracing/1887883/Grand-National-Festival-Pikar-dead-Giovinco

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.

12/12/17 - We Won! Great news! Michael Gove, the Environment Minister has drafted a new law to specifically recognise animal sentience. The result of our campaign is fantastic news, this will keep standards of animal welfare, at the high levels we have come to expect, from a nation with a reputation for compassion and care. I am grateful to the Government for listening to us, and I think we should all be very proud of this achievement. - Dave Babb - Petition Starter Sky news say: "Mr Gove has been forced to act after social media campaigns by 38 Degrees, Compassion in World Farming and other groups targeted Conservative MPs, calling on them to reverse their vote against recognising animal sentience." The bill proposes ministers "must have regard to the welfare needs of animals as sentient beings in formulating and implementing Government policy". Unveiling his plans after visiting Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Mr Gove claimed: "As we leave the EU we will deliver a Green Brexit, not only maintaining but enhancing animal welfare standards...Animals are sentient beings who feel pain and suffering, so we are writing that principle into law and ensuring that we protect their welfare." Thank you so much to everyone who signed and shared the petition! Read more here: https://news.sky.com/story/government-draft-tougher-animal-cruelty-laws-after-sentience-row-11167159

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

Campaign win! Thanks to all your support and dedicated campaigning the Economic Crime Bill has now passed through Parliament. The bill introduces a crucial register for property owned through offshore companies. This is an important step to stop tax dodging and corruption. Other important legislation is in the pipeline. This is an amazing success. We will keep campaigning until we have closed every last tax loophole. We all deserve a fairer tax system. Thank you so much for your support. You can sign up here to take part in future campaigns: https://www.taxjustice.uk/sign-up.html.