Successful Campaigns

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

Buglife is delighted to confirm that the London Resort project has officially been terminated. This decision follows a High Court ruling to liquidate London Resort Company Holdings (LRCH) due to financial and contractual disputes, bringing an end to a decade of uncertainty and environmental concern. The High Court’s ruling not only signals the definitive end of the London Resort plan but also lifts the shadow of doubt that has loomed over local businesses and the community for years. It ensures that this critical natural space remains safeguarded for future generations. Furthermore, the Planning Inspectorate has held LRCH accountable for its "unreasonable behaviour" throughout the planning process, awarding legal costs to a number of organisations, including Buglife, National Highways, Kent Wildlife Trust and others. This recognition of wasted resources underscores the importance of due diligence and respect for environmental regulations in major development proposals.

UPDATE - 25/09/15 Victory! Amazing news, following a campaign from 38 Degrees members, restaurant company Las Iguanas have announced they are changing their unfair tips policy. It’s a fantastic victory for people power. https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2015/09/28/las-iguanas-campaign-victory/ Read their announcement here: http://www.iguanas.co.uk/news/ourpolicy "What a great result for the hard-working staff at Las Iguanas and all 38 Degrees members. This shows without a doubt that when the public get together and have a single-minded focus, then things can and will change. Other restaurants with unfair tipping policies should be looking at this and following suit." Samuel Hughes - Petition Starter

UPDATE: 01/11/16 We won! Following this campaign, a housing association called 'Dolphin Living' has come to the rescue of tenants at the Butterfields Estate in Walthamstow and bought 49 homes. Dolphin Living said: "Whilst our focus remains on bringing homes to market for those who live or work in the City of Westminster, we have taken the decision to invest in the Butterfields Estate at open market value. “This means that there will be no further evictions of tenants for at least the next 5 years, coupled with our commitment to ensure that no unrealistic rental increases are activated during this period – capped at 5% per annum.” Read more here: https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2016/11/07/win-save-butterfields-estate/

25/03/21 We are delighted to share breaking news that the Millstone Point salmon battery farm application has been REJECTED! The North Ayrshire Council Planning Committee has just concluded their discussion of the application by the "Scottish" Salmon Company; the councillors voted unanimously to refuse the proposal. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported on this long journey. There may yet be more chapters to this saga if the decision is appealed by the applicant; but for now we celebrate this momentous decision which rightly acknowledges the special qualities of this area and the vital importance of Arran's natural environment to our wellbeing and economy. With very best wishes, Russ Cheshire on behalf of all the Friends of Millstone Point.

Sign the newer and more up to date petition now: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-coul-links-protected-nature-from-destructive-deja-vu-golf-course-1

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.

After over two years of campaigning and thousands of people signing this petition, the Chancellor has closed the holiday let tax loophole! Since 2019, nearly 36,000 homes around England have been lost to the tourist industry, and many more in Wales and Scotland. This announcement should help make more homes available for local people, which will make rents more affordable. Thanks to everyone to who got involved and helped us bring attention to this issue by signing the petition: you made this victory possible.

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