Walsall Council are due to make a decision soon regarding the future of the council owned former Darlaston Labour Club, and it's adjoining car park. A focal point at the very heart of our community is under threat, and we need your help to save it; for everyone in our community! Darlaston Voice would like you to sign the petition to ensure the following: • The club is returned to community use as both a social club, also including wide ranging community services being incorporated to support residents of the local area • Old Church School retains the vital ability to continue providing a safe drop off/collection facility for children attending the school • That the building, and it's car park, are not allowed to fall into business hands, resulting from the Council deciding to sell the club

Many older people in the UK are required to fund their own care due to limited provision from the NHS and local authorities. This includes residential care and 24-hour home support, which are often necessary for basic dignity, safety, and quality of life. At present, these costs must be paid from income and savings that have already been taxed. In addition, pensioners may still be required to pay income tax on remaining income, creating a significant financial burden. Unlike discretionary spending, care costs are unavoidable for those with serious health conditions or reduced mobility. Without adequate care, individuals may deteriorate and require more intensive and costly state support, such as hospitalisation. We believe essential care costs should be treated similarly to necessary expenses in other contexts. For example, businesses are permitted to deduct legitimate operating costs before tax. A comparable principle should apply where individuals face unavoidable care expenses. We propose that pensioners be allowed to deduct essential care costs from their taxable income, either fully or up to a capped amount, with appropriate safeguards such as clear eligibility criteria and means-testing. This would help ensure a fairer tax system and reduce the financial strain on those who have contributed throughout their working lives. My father’s care cost over £6,000 per month. Following more than a year in a care home during and after Covid, this amounted to over £72,000 per year—far beyond what most people earn, and a significant drain on my mother’s resources. Now my mother requires 24-hour support herself. Her care costs £1,107 per week, with additional expenses—such as night-time support—adding further to that total (for example, an extra £350 last month alone). These are not choices. They are necessities—basic requirements for safety, dignity, and day-to-day living. Yet all of this is paid from income and savings that have already been taxed. In addition, she continues to pay tax on her remaining income, even though it is effectively used entirely to fund her care. I believe this is fundamentally unfair. That said, this is not about my family alone. My father has passed, and realistically, my mother will not benefit from any policy change that might result from this campaign. But this issue has concerned me for some time. It affects thousands of families across the UK, and many more will face the same situation in the years ahead. This is why I believe it is important to raise the issue now—not for personal gain, but in the interest of fairness.

On the Wirral people love their fitness! You only have to walk to New Brighton on a mild day and you'll see plenty of people; walking, running, cycling, and swimming, enjoying our promenade and local parks through exercise. But what about the local gym goers? Does our community provide a place for them work-out and train outside?  I believe that our local residents could be served better by providing outdoor Calisthenics gyms in our local parks and promenade, as free spaces to train in the fresh air, in a friendly and communal setting. 

Who is sick of trying to avoid potholes and there always one you can't avoid as oncoming traffic prevents it!  We pay our road tax and have our cars mot done and THEN pot holes are causing more wear on our suspension, tyres and just generally more wear and tear on tyres from POTHOLES!!!

Redbourn Pitches for Redbourn Children:   Redbourn Recreation Ground is undergoing re-development. Creating a new 3G football pitch and grass pitches.    This has in part been funded through £1.78m offered by a local housing developer in return for being able to build on the playing fields.    This was only given planning permission on the basis the improvements would be utilsed by the local community.    Unfortunately the Redbourn Playing Fields Trust ( the charity responsible for looking after the playing fields) have decided they will let these pitches to football clubs from outside the village.     Several members of the Trust are senior members of this football club, representing a clear Conflict of Interest and breech of Charities Law.    As it stands Redbourn Rovers, the only local football club in Redbourn, representing over 200 local children and 150 adults will not be allowed to play matches on these pitches.    We believe the Trust is in breech of its primary Charity Mandate which is to represent the interest of Redbourn and its residents.    We have tried to engage with the Trust for over 12 months. They have shown little interest in helping our local club and ensuring Redbourn children are allowed to play on their local pitches which has meant we've no choice but to raise awareness of this situation with the local Redbourn Community and pursue legal action.    Please join our campaign, sign our petition and ensure the voice of Redbourn children is heard.  They have a right to play on their local playing field and we must fight for their fair allocation of football pitches.       Redbourn Pitches for Redbourn Children   

The £1.15 charge soon adds up when a number of books are reserved. On the other hand, the £150,000 ECC says it will save with this charge, is paltry when compared to ECC's overall budget of over £2 billion (Campaigners say cuts are 'biggest attack' on Essex libraries - BBC News). And when cuts are made to libraries, it increases costs elsewhere, such as the social care budget. Our libraries are excellent value for money, and should not be squeezed further. Two surveys have already found this charge will make a real difference to how people use libraries. Between three-quarters and ninety percent of those surveyed said they would either use their library less, or stop using their library altogether (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CspgVDTDV/). And we've seen this before, where a decline in use caused by cuts, is then used to justify closing libraries. With 2026 declared the National Year of Reading in an attempt to reverse an alarming decline in reading, particularly reading for pleasure, now really isn't the time to place further barriers in the way of using libraries. And the principle of a public library is that it should be free. ECC has set our libraries up to fail, and this disastrous charge must be scrapped.

For too long people with eating disorders have been failed. For too long people with eating disorders have been neglected.    We are calling on the Government for a standalone eating disorder strategy.    Eating disorders are among the most serious and life-threatening mental illnesses yet they have been overlooked and underfunded for far too long. As a result, they now have one of the largest treatment gaps in modern healthcare. In the past decade, eating disorders have risen at an alarming rate, a crisis that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.    Right now, too many people are waiting for help. Too many are being turned away. Too many are deteriorating while services are stretched beyond breaking point. Eating disorders do not discriminate. They affect people of all ages, genders, and ethnic backgrounds. Yet public understanding remains narrow, and services fail to reflect the true scale and diversity of need. Binge Eating Disorder is now significantly more common than anorexia, yet there are still no dedicated NHS treatment pathways for it in many areas. Children as young as four are being diagnosed with ARFID and are unable to access specialist support. Families are being left to cope alone. Clinicians are trying to save lives in systems that are underfunded, under-resourced and overwhelmed. Lives are being lost. Families are being torn apart. The human and financial cost of inaction is devastating. We urgently need a comprehensive, properly funded, cross-government National Eating Disorder Strategy that: • Delivers an Inquiry to urgently review the current services and why people are dying or getting worse in treatment • Guarantees timely access to specialist treatment for people of all ages • Provides dedicated support for all eating disorder diagnoses, including Binge Eating Disorder and ARFID • Invests in early intervention and prevention • Addresses workforce shortages and ensures proper training • Tackles inequalities in access and outcomes • Commits to long-term, sustainable funding • Treats eating disorders as the public health emergency they are. • Ensures treatment models are disability and neurodiversity-informed

We call on the council, police, and local MPs to take urgent action to protect law-abiding residents of Hinckley, Barwell, Earl Shilton, and Elmesthorpe from ongoing antisocial and illegal street racing activity. Each month, groups of modified vehicles gather in the Clickers Way and A47 area near Barwell and Earl Shilton, Leicestershire, to engage in street racing and cruising. These events involve cars being driven at speed, often without lights, alongside excessive engine revving and noise. This behaviour is dangerous, disruptive, and unlawful. There have been numerous near misses, with innocent road users put at serious risk of collision. The activity has also caused damage to public infrastructure, including road surfaces, lamp posts, signage, fences, and roundabouts—repairs that ultimately place further strain on already limited council funds. In addition, the noise pollution significantly affects local residents, often late into the night. The sound travels widely, creating conditions comparable to living next to a racetrack, even for those not directly adjacent to the roads. This has led to increased anxiety among residents, who feel unsafe using local roads and concerned for younger or newly qualified drivers who may encounter these events. We urge the relevant authorities to implement effective measures to deter this behaviour and ensure public safety. Preventative action is essential to avoid serious injury or loss of life. It should not take a tragedy for meaningful action to be taken.

Every product we buy has a story – of the people who grew it, picked it, stitched it, or packed it. But not every story is fair. Everything we buy in the UK should guarantee fair pay, safe working conditions, and care for the environment. But business that puts profit over people and planet is still mainstream. Promises of “cheap” and “fast” hide the real cost, paid by the people who produce the things we use every day, their communities, and our planet. Some businesses are doing things the right way: working in partnership, paying fair wages, protecting workers, and safeguarding the environment. But too often they’re undercut by those who are not, pushing rising costs onto the people behind our food, drink and clothing. We can change this. Fairtrade is calling on the government to pass a new law that holds businesses accountable for any abuse or climate damage behind their products. Together, we can demand rules that make every business take responsibility. Together, we can level the playing field. Together, we can protect people and planet. Your voice matters, add your name today. This petition is being run in partnership with The Fairtrade Foundation. All signatures from this page and Fairtrade’s Page will be combined and delivered to the UK government as a single voice for change.

We, the residents of Delaware Road and surrounding areas, are formally requesting the installation of speed bumps (traffic calming measures) on Delaware Road due to ongoing safety concerns. Delaware Road is a residential street where vehicles frequently exceed safe speeds, creating a significant risk to pedestrians, residents, and especially children. This concern is heightened due to the presence of Thorpedene Primary School. Meaning there is regular foot traffic from children and families travelling to and from school. The area is predominantly residential and includes vulnerable road users such as young children and elderly residents in due course, due to the elderly living facility being built on the corner of the road. 

I suffer with peripheral neuropathy (neuropathic pain)and osteoarthritis, amongst other things, that cause me pain to walk.    I can barely walk without getting breathless, as the pain is quite severe.    I applied for a renew Blue Badge, having had one for over 10 years, but I have been refused one. I’ve sent my neurologist letter to them, and a GP summary of my conditions but they have still refused me.  I use crutches or a walking pole to keep my balance.  I have pain every minute every day, and it is a progressive disorder, and dibilitating.  I have numbness in my hands,feet, and legs, this comes with tingling and burning sensations, worse when mobile, and at night times when going to bed.      I have now had to stop going out because of fear I can’t park near to my destination, so I’m feeling isolated from society which has affected my mental health and physical well-being.  I’ve spoken to Norfolk County Council,I have  filled their forms in, sent all the necessary documents, and I have still been refused a blue badge.  Making this petition is a last resort to get enough signatures from all those disabled people out there who have been refused a BLUE  BADGE When they have tried to renew, or can’t get one, when their circumstances warrant one.    Hopefully if you sign, could you share with your friends and family, and ask them to share with theirs.  

Millions across the UK are already struggling just to get by. Bills are rising, wages aren’t keeping up, and families are being pushed to the brink. As the impacts of the Iran war ripple through the global economy, things are set to get even worse. This illegal war has caused chaos, devastation and instability, and now it’s driving up the cost of fuel, food and everyday essentials here at home. Households are already feeling the pressure from rising fuel prices and further disruption is on the way. But while ordinary people are being squeezed, some corporations are set to cash in. Oil and gas giants, big banks, industrial agriculture companies and defence companies are likely to make RECORD profits from the crisis, profits made possible by soaring prices and global instability. No company should be allowed to profiteer from a crisis leaving millions struggling to afford the basics. That’s why the Government must introduce bigger taxes on companies making eye-watering profits off the back of the Iran war, and use the money raised to provide direct cost of living support and head-off the next crisis by investing in renewable energy. This is a chance to stand up for fairness, support people through a national crisis, and build a more secure future.  Signed, The British Public