Successful Campaigns

UPDATE 17/07/17 Bernard Kenny is going to be awarded a George Medal for his bravery http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/17/pensioner-who-tried-to-stop-jo-cox-murder-to-be-awarded-george-medal-6715169/

We won! The Welsh Government will not build the £1.6bn M4 relief road, First Minister Mark Drakeford has decided. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48512697

UPDATE: 14/09/16 Warren Farm can continue farming, and the Weeks family can continue their farming family history. We have heard this week that Teignbridge District Council has declared the land that has been selected for the SANGS is to the north of Dawlish, which adjoins one of the new housing developments. Thank you so much for signing this petition, and for campaigning with me to keep Warren Farm farming. I would like to thank my fellow campaigners, Cllr Martin Wrigley and Cllr Gary Taylor too, for their part in driving this campaign forward. And finally, sending best wishes to Richard Weeks and his family, for the continued farming of Warren Farm.

Brilliant news - Michael Gove has abandoned his plans to drop climate change from the curriculum! And the papers are reporting that it was the “widespread support” for our campaign that persuaded him to change his mind. As a teacher, it means so much to me to know that young people will have the opportunity to understand climate change and how it will affect their lives. It’s only by educating children about what their future will look like that we can give them the chance to shape it for the better. The outpouring of support for our campaign was incredible. More than 37,000 of us came together with campaigners from the UK Youth Climate Coalition and People & Planet. We signed petitions, wrote letters and took our campaign right to Gove’s Department for Education. Thank you so much to everyone who stood with me to do this. It couldn’t have happened without you.

We're ending the campaign because we were successful in getting all but one of the high-street chains listed to reverse their ban on reusable cups and containers. Mc Donalds is the only one still not accepting reusables and we have been in contact with them and are aware its because its global policy ATM so there is nothing we can do in the UK for now.

09/03/19 - Success! "Thank You" to all of you for signing our petition to list College Farm as an Asset of Community Value. Last night the committee at Barnet Council met and unanimously agreed that the Farm should be listed. This is an important step in ensuring the farm stays as an open space for all and does not fall into the clutches of developers and is a great example of "People Power". This campaign has been run by the Finchley Society, our slogan is "We care for Finchley". If you like what we do why not visit our website at www.finchleysociety.org.uk. Thanks Michael Crick

No parent should have to hold their children and comfort them as they die, or be told that their child has been harmed by someone who is supposed to love them. But that’s exactly what I had to experience 10 years ago when my sons Jack and Paul were killed by their father after a family court judge granted him unsupervised contact with them, despite my warnings. For the past nine years, I’ve been campaigning with Women’s Aid to ensure children are at the heart of every decision made in the family courts and their voices, wishes and feelings are heard. I’ve been to Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament to help get key changes through in the Domestic Abuse Act.  In 2017, we saw new guidance published for judges making decisions about child contact in cases of domestic abuse. And in 2020, the Government committed to make the family courts safer for adult and child survivors. But years later, we’re still waiting for true reform to keep children safe now and for generations to come.  That’s why I’m calling on the new Labour Government and family courts to ensure, once and for all, that decisions made about parental contact do not allow known abusers to have unsafe contact with children that puts their lives at risk.

01/02/18 - We Won! On February the 1st, I presented full council with the 5,623 signatures of the ‘Open Brighton's Homeless Shelters 365 days a year’ petition and made an appeal to the room. After some debate, there was then a vote on expanding the provision of services to those already homeless. In a stunning repeat of last year’s unanimous vote, the council have now agreed - without abstentions - to send an extra £25,000 for night shelters, bringing the total to £160,000. This is an amazing result, and you played a key part in it. I’m so proud of what we achieved, as you should be.

Great news! 03/11/22 The news we have all been waiting for has at last arrived! The Port of Dover recently announced that it has abandoned its plans to dredge the Goodwin Sands for landfill for their port development. As you can imagine, after six and a half years of campaigning this news is extremely welcome as it clearly shows that development does not need to come at the expense of the environment. We would like to thank you all for your encouragement, donations and support, without which we would not have achieved this positive outcome. This campaign has definitely been a huge joint effort. We would like to recognise the support provided by our MP Natalie Elphicke who understood both the need for the port development and our concerns for the marine environment. We have no doubt that she was instrumental in encouraging the Port of Dover to source the necessary landfill elsewhere. Despite this result being a vindication of all we have fought for, we know this is just a battle won, not the whole war and we will not be resting on our laurels. We are acutely aware that assurances need to be sought from all the major stakeholders including The Crown Estate, the Environment Agency and the Marine Management Organisation that they will never allow the Goodwins to be exploited ever again. Thank you again for staying with us over the past six years and we look forward to keeping you updated on our continued work to Save Our Sands. Best wishes, Joanna and Fiona

UPDATE 03/03/19 Great news! The Clinical Commissioning Group announced that they are recommissioning end of life care in the borough. The new, improved, service will involve reopening the Michael Sobell Hospice as soon as the necessary formalities and essential refurbishment work can be completed. The planned service will not only provide for people who wish to die in a hospice environment but also for those who wish to die at home. Harlington Hospice have already built up an exemplary track record for supporting the latter. They have received a ‘Good’ rating from the Care Quality Commission for all of their assessment criteria. East and North Herts announced their intention of withdrawing from running the Michael Sobell Hospice in the future. However they said that they are prepared to discuss how they can work with the new provider. Harlington Hospice are very keen to be commissioned for this role. They have the full backing of the Michael Sobell Hospice Charity and the two are already having regular meetings to see how they might be able to work together to the best effect. Councillor John Riley, who chaired the meeting, said that the Michael Sobell Hospice Charity was at last able to tell its supporters that it is ‘business as usual’. When the hospice very soon reopens it will be able to provide all the holistic care with which the name Michael Sobell has become associated over the years, but coupled with more flexibility and greater choice for its patients. The Michael Sobell Hospice Charity is now in a position to re-engage with its supporters and resume its essential role in financially supporting the end of life care the local community values so highly. Thanks Terry Dean