What should we campaign on next?

Legalise, control and tax drugs.

We all know it makes sense. 

We can reduce the access of minors to drugs.  We can reduce the contaminents in drugs.  We can remove much of the need for crime to fund drugs.  We put criminal gangs out of business.  We reduce the prison population.  We can, painlessly, reduce the deficit from the tax revenue whilst massively increasing spend on rehabilitation.

Put another way: were drugs legal, controlled and taxed an argument for their prohibition would be an argument for paying through the nose for crime, child endagerement, overcrowded prisons and deficient health care.

We should look at the treatment by ATOS of disabled people and sick people claiming incapacity benefit. It is a national disgrace, a boot in the ribs for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Even those who appeal against an adverse decision successfully are often then told that they will have to start the whole process all over again, just what someone seriously ill or severely disabled wants to cope with. We should petition for some decent standards for ATOS to be forced to adhere to.

presently there are a vast amount of uninsured drivers who cause both financial and emotional problems for other law abiding citizens through both accidents and extremely large increases in Insurance premiums.
Why not add to the price of fuel an amount that would cover ‘third party’ cover.
In this way basic Insurance could not be avoided.
The revenue collection mechanism is already in place in that the present Tax system could incorporate this.
Simples!

I would like to stop funding wars, so please campaign to remove war budget from taxes.

I am trying to get a cyclepath along the A361 from Bloxham to Banbury . School children and many others use this to get to school and work. County Council will not help. SUSTRANS have a cycleway but it is wrong direction ( children will not cycle 4 miles if they can only do 1 mile) . I have to say in my previous job at County was to put in the SUSTRANs route …..We need your help in making cycling to school safe . Road is an HGV prefered route , by county , path only 1 metre wide at its widest .. Help us please.Our webb page is http://www.tinyurl.com/B2Bcyclepath to complete the forms etc.
Thanks.

Dave Chapman.

ps see you on saturday in Bicester.

Re-establishing the English parliament.

The Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish all have their own governments working in their interests. Only England is left with the UK parliament. The English have neither recognition or representation.

Note that your last two major campaigns were England only (although you didn’t say so). Only English forestry assets were being put up for sale and only the English NHS faces the ConDem “reforms” and underfunding.

The people of England (outside London) get less funding per person per year than Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish – as a consequence we get the worst most expensive services.

The UK government puts the UK not England first – we deserve the same funding and democratic representation given to the people of the other home nations.

English parliament now.

No it doesn’t require any more politicians. No it won’t cost any more money in fact it could save a fortune.

We should
follow the lead of many ex-world leaders and support the decriminalisation of
some drugs, by making things illegal we only help criminals and force people to
live in atrocious conditions for a few peoples moral high ground.   

Fuel prices.

Give Asylum Seekers the right to work. That way, they will not need to rely on the voucher scheme (and therefore the tax payer) and their quality of life in the UK whilst seeking asylum will be vastly improved. They will also be contributing to the economy. Having the right to work is a human right. This is an issue of morality.

Overfishing and destruction of the oceans.

How about stopping the forced dumping of nuclear waste in a populated rural area, many miles from any nuclear installation, an action that was approved after a unanimous referendum declining the proposal and after being refused by the local councillor.  This is the test run and if deemed successful it may well lead to the dumping of nuclear waste in other highly populated areas around the country.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/25/nuclear-waste-kings-cliffe-landfill
http://www.kingscliffewastewatchers.co.uk/

Say our State Pensions by being fair to all pensioners, present and future – and not just future. Present proposed policy will put exisiting pensioners into poverty whereas future pensioners will be considerably better. Why have two levels of pensioners.
Fair to all – is the Governments slogan.

Protect our local authority libraries, archives and museums.  They support education, culture and leisure activities, including David Cameron’s Big Society, but they are being cut by local authorities up and down the country.

Support British farmers and growers who producde the best and safest food around. We currently import 80% of the tomatoes eaten in this country for instance, Spain and the Canaries being the biggest suppliers, then Holland. Even our own government has been recommending buying Spanish produce as they think it might have a lower carbon footprint. Wityhh the news awash with stories about E coli, when are we going to wake up?

Given the current news story about the abuse of people in residentiasl/hospital settings, it would seem an opportune time to campaign to make it impossible for people to be admitted to and funded to be in such institutions unless all other avenues for community-based support have been thoroughly explored. There have been many examples of people who, once given access to the right support, have been able to return from restrictive placements in institutions to live nearer to or with their families/friends. Often, many of the reasons that they were placed and remained in restrictive settings are alleviated simply by being out of those type pf settings: you only have to imagine how you would react to waking up tomorrow morning to find yourself in one to appreciate the effect of environment on behaviour!
My suggestion may not be the most well-worded that is possible, and there are many others who could help with this, but the general idea is there!
Very best wishes
Robin.

Meat is the second largest producer of greenhouse gases (some recent studies indicate it is the single largest), the biggest reason for deforestation in the Amazon (80% of deforestation is for livestock grazing or growing crops for livestock), the major cause of water consumption and grain consumption, and so much more!!!  Helping people to understand the environmental devastation of the livestock industry can change the world.  The 70 BILLION animals we kill each year for eating cause far more environemental devastation  than a  mere 7 billion people. 

Also, while a child dies every 5 seconds of starvation, livestock animal are getting fat on three meals a day.  It takes 13 pounds of grain to make one pound of meat, but that 13 pounds of grain could feed over 30 people!  We are letting children die of starvation and destroying our environment for our taste for meat.  Eating fruits, vegetable, grains, nuts, etc. is better for the planet and better for our health. 

That same pound of beef takes thousands of gallons of water to produce while a plant-baed meal takes less than 100 gallons. 

Save the Welsh language TV channel, S4C.  English speakers have dozens of channels to choose from but Welsh speakers only have one in our language and that is now under threat from the Westminster government.  It was established by statute in 1982 as an independent body, so as to be outside the political sphere and free of political control.

t is now included in the Public Bodies Bill, which would enable ministers to abolish it without going through Parliament, which would leave us without any TV channel at all in our own language. Its funds are being reduced by a quarter and it is being taken over by the BBC, which means it will have to compete for resources with other BBC channels and services, such as the World Service.

We should:

Remove S4C from the Public Bodies Bill.
Ensure its editorial, managerial and financial independence form the BBC.

Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy – currently underway (2011-12) in the EU.  The Commission is due to release its proposals (from Maria Damanaki’s office DG Mare) in July. UK Government needs particularly to press France, Germany and spain on a ban of discards (as seen on Hugh’s Fish Fight), and many other measures.

Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy – currently underway (2011-12) in the EU.  The Commission is due to release its proposals (from Maria Damanaki’s office DG Mare) in July. UK Government needs particularly to press France, Germany and spain on a ban of discards (as seen on Hugh’s Fish Fight), and many other measures.

We should campaign to de-clutter our highways of the repeated signs and traffic lights. Why do we need to have upto five traffic lights pointing at the same line of traffic? When one gets to a crossing it is not unusual to have a trafic light to the left and the right of the stop line, then to have further lights on the other side of the crossing which duplicate these lights! I am sure with propoer positioning the numbers could be dramatically reduced saving on energy costs, replacement costs etc. It may also lead to drivers driving more safely.

Over-use of antibiotics in farming. The resistant MRSA strain just discovered and the new form of E Coli are both antibiotic resistant. Prophylactic use of antibiotics in farming in particular creates a huge experiment in natural selection driving antibiotic resistance, and bacteria in sewers and sewage works (and in the sea / rivers probably) can swap genes.  Human use is a problem but the biggest use is in farming.  

Add road tax to the fuel duty and then nobody could avoid paying it.

Stop the senseless, illegal murder in Libya – see:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28234.htm

It is hard to understand why there has been next to no coverage of the fact that more than 25% of all cuts fall on 3% of the population – people with most severe disabilities - http://www.campaignforafairsociety.org/

It sounds as if care for the elderly is a biggie.

Oppose Fracking. Huge areas of S England (and parts of the N and Wales) are being explored for gas fracking, mostly without anyone realising it.  Fracking produces polluted water and is designed to extract gas adsorbed onto rocks. It is scraping the bottom of the barrel on fossil fuels and will extend reliance on fossil fuels in the uk when investment should be going into renewables such as anaerobic digestion of waste, solar, wave and wind.  Licensed by the govt

The next campaign should be to abolish the Central Banking System – with mounting debts for the country and everyone in it the Privately owned Banking system should be abolished. To replace it we should insist on the Government printing it’s own money for distribution, that way there will be NO shareholders to pay out and ALL of the interest will return to the Government for reinvestment back into the community.

We should, campaign on behalf of the rapidly forgotten Disabled people of this country. They recently went on a march (as best they could) and received almost no coverage from our wonderful press. Save for the Guardian. The disabled are becoming the forgotten people. I thought we cared in the UK. David Cameron used to have a disabled Son, how quickly he seems to have been forgotten now he’s no longer with us. Come on everyone, care about the forgotten people.

Alan Fortune

Well something i’ve been thinking about is the amount of air traffic going overhead,i live near Lands End in Cornwall,the far south west of England. These planes crisscross the sky leaving trails that stay in the air and instead of dispersing get wider and wider turning the whole sky a milky colour.I would be interested to know if anybody notices this phenomena or if any info is available about it.
thanks for your interest
chris

How about putting humans back in charge and stopping the mind numbing recorded messages all of us have to deal with. Make our shops open 7 days a week, 8 – 8 at least. More competition so that shops react and deliver good within 24 hours instead of asking us to wait a week for a washing machine, for example. Do we or do we not want more employment?  More cameras to trap lunatic white van man and his friends: we could include young scramblers screaming through quiet villages. Make pubs write their menus using words that we all understand; do I want a chicken that has been ’smothered’?

My personal hobby horse is the potentially disastrous chopping of youth work services across the country – an ‘easy’ cut, yet leaves teenagers to roam the streets, and not have the access to respected adults that aren’t seen as authority figures. This can only add to the disenfranchised, disenchanted youth, and is storing up problems for the future.

Prosecute Tony Balir for war crimes and crimes against humanity

Dear 38 degrees team, I think you should try and get the Disability Living Allowance for a fairer system for all people disabled and working and people not fit to work.. to keep the uk disability one.. I have a campaign for this as well!!!

Kind regards

Kirsty Lowe

Campaign for the immediate withdrawal of a person’s honour (Knighthood, peerage, OBE etc etc) if they are found guilty of a criminal offence. Recent examples are Lord Hanningfield and Lord Taylor of Warwick; both found guilty of fraudulently claiming expenses, Lord T of W sentenced to 1 year in prison, will serve 3 months and then is entitled to go straight back into the Lords on his release i.e. no real deterrent. It’s about time this country came into the 21st century and applied the same rules to all.

We should campaign to stop European students taking so many university places and preventing British students from getting a degree. It seems lots of european students (who are eligible for student loans) never repay them, either because they cant be prosecuted or because their earnings fall below the limit

What people just have to realise is campaigns, petitions and demonstrations have absolutely no effect on British politicians cosy in their expenses-claiming existence. None of these methods has had any effect. Tuition fees (in England) are still in place and rising and forest sell-offs (in England) are still happening.

The operative word is “England”. England is the milk cow for the United Kingdom and this is only allowed to happen because England is the only country in the Western democratic world without its own parliament (or assembly). The only reason British MPs oppose an English parliament is because it would put them out of a job.

Thus, any campaign, whatever it is, should use backing an English parliament as a politicial tool because this is the ONLY thing that challenges MPs’ cosy existence.

38 Degrees should do this too. However, many suspect that campaign groups care more about their own existence than the causes they purport to support. In other words they do not actually want causes to succeed because that would render campaign groups pointless. In this they mirror self-serving British MPs presently screwing England.

Get us out of the EU and dump the Human Rights Act in favour of our own

The most urgent and pressing campaign is for England to have her own Parliament. England is the home of modern democracy, yet in this world we are the least represented and unequal in the entire West and less than some 3rd world Countries. We have no say oif equality on anything. The British Gov does not in any way represent the people, culture values or heritage as we see regularly in the news, but is somrething the Welsh, Scots and NI enjoy.
A full Parlaiment for England and nothing less.

There’s been a terrible attack from right-wing Tories on the UK’s powerful stance on overseas development assistance, and the committment of 0.7% of GNI going into the development funds (aid). I’m proud of the UK’s policy on this – and I think 38 degrees could take opportunities to defend the aid budget and expose mis-truths in publications like the Daily Mail around it, otherwise they just get away with printing downright lies about aid and development.

Legal restraints on the commodities speculators, to stop them gambling with basic foodstuffs, so that the next engineered financial crash, rather than housing prices, will not be the necesities of life for the human population, resulting in global hunger and starvation due to artificialy induced soaring food prices.  All so that a few can become insanely rich(er).

I am British but I live in Canada at the moment. I am very concerned about Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s lobbying Britain and the EU to buy Canada’s filthy Alberta Tar Sands oil, which puts about 180 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year and has already destroyed an area of Alberta that is the size of England. It has also wrecked the McKenzie River and the aboriginal communities and wildlife that depend upon it. Many communities are reporting dramatic increases in cancers, but Harper’s government is ignoring them. Harper is about to approve about 148 new oil extraction projects which will double the area already destroyed. It really does look like Mordor! Four barrels of water are used to extract just two barrels of oil, and the contaminated “water” is then pumped into storage ponds. Birds on migration routes land and become oiled. One company was fined a relatively paltry amount when over 600 ducks died as a result of becoming oiled when they landed on the “water”. Now they are building pipelines to carry this filthy oil all the way down to the US. This may seem very far away from Europe, but the Alberta Tar Sands projects are the most polluting on Earth and there are no borders as far as climate change is concerned. This government has omitted the emissions from the Tar Sands in its reports to the UN because they are so bad. I would love this group to start a campaign against importing Canada’s dirty oil – and spreading it to Europe. By the way, a native leader from the Alberta tar Sands area went to Norway to beg them not to invest in the Tar sands. Unfortunately, the vote went the other way and now Norway is adding to the disastrous ecological mess. It would be fantastic if 38 Degrees could have a campaign on this issue!

I want to see emotional intelligence and awareness put on the agenda in this country. We have the NHS for physical health and mental health, but we do not have any recognition of emotional health … and yet I think our prisons are full of people who have sustained severe emotional damage. It costs hundreds of pounds to keep someone in prison (for example) and yet would only cost a small amount relatively to put emotional well-being such as anger management on school curriculi.

It is wrong to call the following things acceptable in our society: the genital mutilation of children, forced marriage; law courts other than the established law courts.
It is time to stand up for (particularly) the women and children who suffer under these things.
It would surely be within the realms of possibility to say: “these things are wrong – and tradition or not – we will not accept them any more.”
Peter Birkett

You had a mandate to explore one specific subject with the aim of changing a misguided Govt policy. This was achieved. You do not have a mandate to use the names of those persons who supported that cause for any other purpose unless you have specific agreement from them to do so. Before you start promoting any other cause or personal “hobby horse” you should obtain positive agreement from individuals to campaign on their behalf not assume lack of response is agreement.

Many of the problems put forward for a campaign would be solved if we had control over our own affairs. Therefor, to me, the most important single major issue is that of the EU and its overburdening, meddlesome legislation and directives. Our Government is too weak to just say NO to much that is damaging to us. (eg. The recent directives on alternative medicine, restrictions on comonly used medicinal herbs etc. The only beneficiary is Big Pharma!) AND we should stop paying our contribution to fund all this nonsense. SO LEAVE THE EU.

Say No To Fracking – call on the UK Government for a moratorium - hydraulic fracturing, used to access shale gas, involves pumping huge amounts of water and toxic substances into the ground with unknown risks to water pollution and human health, not to mention the ludicrous continued exploitation of fossil fuels when we should be moving to renewables. A lot of the UK is in the fracking firing line – check out the maps on the BGS. And most recently earthquakes in Blackpool! You only have to see the movie Gasland to see how problematic uncontrolled fracking can be. More at WWF http://www.wwf.org.uk/index.cfm?4832 The Co-operartive http://www.co-operative.coop/corporate/Press/Press-releases/Headline-news/The-Co-operative-calls-for-moratorium-on-shale-gas-extraction-in-the-UK/ No Fracking UK http://www.facebook.com/nofrackinguk The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/second-tremor-in-two-months-shakes-local-confidence-2291599.html Gasland http://gaslandmovie.co.uk/ and the British Geological Society http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/energy/shalegas.html

We should campaign for a right to referendum. The political houses have far too much power and some should be returned to the people.
Certain big issues are too important to be left to the mercies of political ideologies and should be publically discussed and voted upon. Things like the reform of the NHS and the Iraq war are two that would have been good candidates.

Campaign for Legal Aid – Green Paper is out next week! Please see http://www.justice-for-all.org.uk/ for details!

The only reason Libya is being bombed and not Syria (which has killed more of its citizens than Libya) is because Gaddafi refused to sign up to Mediterranean Union membership. This union includes all the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and its president was Egypt’s Mubarak, until ousted from power in that country. Gaddafi is being booted out of power so that his successor will sign up to membership.

In return for some control over oil, the EU will allow free movement of people from North Africa and the Middle East into the EU and provide technological knowhow. There is already a Mediterranean Union University in Slovenia and a police force.

http://eeas.europa.eu/euromed/index_en.htm Libya is listed but has not signed up to membership. All the rest have.

Hence Libya is bombed.

Reversing the ban of Herbs

Surely the next campaign should be against the hike in tuition fees – already being described as this government’s “poll tax”?  There’s widespread anger & opposition, which needs co-ordinating to bring it together for positive change.  Right up 38 Degrees’ street!

I would like to see some progress towards stopping light pollution. Poor street lighting and lax legislation is causing our night skies in city’s to be just a hazy orange. It’s so easy to stop this, just by using intelligent design, saving not only our enjoyment of the stars at night but also energy and money. See here for a better worded argument  http://www.britastro.org/dark-skies/

Campaign for an English parliament ?

stop Rupert Murdoch from
taking over British media

How about campaigning against supermarkets discriminating against the elderly who live alone? The ‘buy two’ is extremely unhelpful to the poor and elderly living alone and on a pension budget.
Example: single price £1.80 buy two for £3.00. The person not needing the double pkts or unable to eat and wastage occurring should be able to buy the product at £1.50 if that is what the supermarket can afford to sell it at. The elderly cannot keep this amount of fruit & veg etc before it rots.
Surely better offers are genuine half price offers.

End prohibition – decriminalise, regulate and tax drugs, for the reasons outlined here in the comments section and many other places. e.g.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2011/06/daily_view_why_does_the_war_on.html

Or at the very least, have  a grown up national debate on the subject.

I would like to see a campaign to help the millions of victims in this country who suffer from crime and anti-social behaviour.myself and family have been victims of crime/ASB for a decade now I am a wheelchair user and family members suffer from a genetic condition.The sad deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter who killed themselves after suffering years of ASB.and many other cases just highlight the need for more to be done to not only protect the most vulnerable in society but to help everyone who suffers from Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour.Human Rights Laws should be there for the Majority and not the Minority.Ron Carter-Bonsteel Middlesbrough.

Say No To Fracking

Having recently adopted we came across this anomoly, which seems unfair and discouraging for people wishing to adopt.
If you are employed and have a birth child you are entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay
If you are employed and adopt you are entitled to Statutory Adoption Pay
If you are unemployed and have a birth child you may be entitled to Maternity Allowance
IF YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED AND ADOPT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO NOTHING
Obviously the reason for adopting is not to get benefits but if all other families are entitled to it, why should those adoptive Mums who have not worked recently not be entitled to have the same benfits as birth mothers.
If 38 degrees could highlight this issue, it would make it a fairer system.

This attitude of “choose a subject for our next campaign” suggests that 38 Degrees is just a rent-a-mob who will always be complaining about something, no matter what.

Shouldn’t you decide that a given issue is beyond a joke and needs a campaign, rather than go looking for trouble?

Change the mak -up of the governments advisory committee on Sexual Health and Education so that the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and other pro-choice organisations are represented alongside Life and the Catholic Church.

Totally agree with Justin Woolward about stopping fracking, it will ruin our water supplies, it has done in America already. Everyone should watch Gasland to know what this involves if you don’t already know. Also Chemtrails have to be stopped, or ‘geo-engineering’ as they call it. The substance that planes are spraying are Alumninium, Barium and other deadly toxic metals. This ends up in our water supplies. They have done autopsies of people who died from Alzheimers disease, and the most prominent substance found in the brains of dead Alzheimers patients is Aluminium. And the government are spraying us all with it. Call me paranoid, but does that sound like a good thing to anyone? When you see a plane pass overhead, there should be a contrail behind the plane, these are typically about 10 times the length of the plane, and disappear, but chemtrails typically go the full length of the sky, so you can instantly tell which is a contrail, and which is a chemtrail. Watch ‘what in the world are they spraying’, on YouTube.

Make 20 MPH the normal maximum speed in resedential areas.

How about a campaign to update national planning policy to reflect the findings of the ‘National Ecosystems Assessment’, published yesterday? 

The report analyses the natural environment in terms of its benefits to society and continuing economic prosperity. It concludes that the natural environment is undervalued, and that allowing market-priced values to dominate to the exclusion of non-market values results in less benefits to society overall. 

We need to push decision makers to take on board the findings of the report to ensure the transition to a more sustainable use of ecosystems.

A State Bank, with clear, fair, ethical, no nonsense rules, penalties and rewards. Staffed by real people, re-establishing proper traditional bread and butter standards of good commercial commonsense against which we could then compare our privately run banks.

If enough major countries took this up, it would also undermine the constant and impertinent threat from bankers to take their ‘talents’ elsewhere ~ presumably those same talents that brought us all to our knees.

Who knows, it might even help to restore an element of respect for bankers and banking.

This could be a proposition not only for the UK, though clearly someone would have to make a start.

Chris they are called chemtrails. Watch ‘what in the world are they spraying’ on YouTube to find out more about this, you will be very suprised to find out just what we are all being sprayed with. AND it’s going in our water and food supplies. The ‘elite’ who run this planet want us all dead. Or as Prince Philip likes to call us, ‘useless eaters’.

It is about time that the immigration rules are toughened up and this worthless government made to do what it is supposed to do

Campaign for an English Parliament.  UK Parliament looks after the UK, Scots, Welsh and N Irish Assemblies look after their countries.  Where’s the representation for EnglanD?

I think we should campaign to reduce the power the big supermarkets have and the effect this has on small businesses.

How about a campaign about multinational nuclear disarmament ?  A new Trident will not be, as the PM thoughtlessly claimed recently, ‘the ultimate insurance policy’.

Several churches have already registered their concern over the government’s decision to order £3bn of parts for a new Trident system.  This is despite the PM’s assurances that no decision will be taken re Trident until the end of this Parliament.  And the government have made no real attempt to reach some international agreement on this issue, not had any real discussion in Parliament about this, not consulted the people of Scotland about having an WMD on their doorstep for the next few decades.  And this is all in the middle of massive cuts to valuable services, including the NHS.  I have written to my MP and the PM about this.  But it would be good to be part of a wider campaign about this.

Colin

Hi, I’d love to see you involved in a campaign for an English Parliament with the same powers as the existing Scottish, Welsh and N.Irish Assembly Governments.

Also, like Saddam before him, Gadaffi will not be a part of the federal reserve system, instead they print their own money, and as a result, are not in any debt like the rest of the world. That is what this is all about. From what i’ve been reading, Libya sounds like the best place in the world to live right now. He even gave every member of the country a dividend from the oil they produce there last year. Did we ever get that when we were getting our oil from the North sea? Will we get dividends from the money we lent the banks even? Instead, we’ve got the anti-christ as the leader of our defense in this country who is all out to start WWIII by invading Libya. HAGUE in case you didn’t know.

How many newspapers would you like? Just the one? Perhaps The Guardian? You don’t have to buy his newspapers and no-one is obliged to sign up to the Sky empire. How about stopping whinging and leaving the man alone? He will never take over the British Media.

There is a report in today’s (3rd June) FT that new schools and refurbishing existing schools is to be funded using the private finance initiative (PFI).  This is an expensive way of financing capital public sector projects.  The capital has to be borrowed by private companies.  This is more expensive than the government borrowing money.  The private companies manage the buildings and have a contract with the public sector that guarantees an income stream for 30 to 60 years.  Any adaptations to the buildings come with exorbitant price tags.  Adaptations include fitting an electrical socket or even supplying a Christmas tree, as in the treasury building last year.
 
This condemns the next generation to the financial burden of funding today’s expenditure.  Yet removing this burden from the next generation is the excuse for cutting public expenditure and reducing the public realm.  The government argument is disingenuous.

Not only that, but because we are turning vast areas of the rainforests into land to breed cattle on, the excess methane gas (from more animals), given off from these animals is also destroying the planet. So it’s a double whammy. Meat is ok in moderation, i’m not a veggie, but i am against deforestation of the rainforests. The cures for nearly all diseases known to man are in those rainforests, and we instead are destroying them. Madness. Well, it’s greed actually.

I think we need to raise awareness about how flawed the government’s
figures on the U.K’s carbon emissions are. We’re told that emissions have fallen
from 788 million tonnes in 1990 to 566mt in 2009 (1); however this figure hides
the rise in emissions in other countries supplying us with products we’ve
ceased to manufacture over the last 20 years. If this were included in our tab the U.K.’s
emissions would actually have gone up! This wouldn’t be a problem expect that
we’re importing the products from developing nations who are under no
obligations to reduce their emissions! (2 & 3). In effect we’re exporting
the blame to other countries but keeping all the benefits.

 Awareness desperately needs to be raised on this issue so as we can properly
deal with climate change, the government can’t be allowed to get away with peddling
false comforts on such a serious issue!

(1) http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/climate_change/gg_emissions/uk_emissions/2009_final/2009_final.aspx

(2) http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2011/04/19/1006388108.full.pdf+html

(3) http://www.monbiot.com/2011/05/23/pass-the-parcel/

I am a affid supporter of Hughes Fish Fight which takes up the issue of Discarding fish, but does not cover the plight of the British Fishing Industry who are struggling to survive. If our fishing industry is destroyed it will be destroyed forever, they need to push for a referendum on the goverment to come out of the CFP. Local communities will be destroyed lots already have been. Please 38% give them your support.

there is a need to reduce our carbon footprint, yet there are proposals to add more capacity into the road network, e.g. the Heysham – M6 link road.  This is effectively a road to nowhere, particularly as the traffic to Ireland has decreased.  There is talk of reducing the carbon footprint but building these roads will increase it.  We need a consistent approach.

Next campaign; stop all immigration from Non EU countries, and work at severely limiting it from EU countries. The money we pay them directly impacts on the money that can be used for our own people, and when/if the become nett contributors most of their money gets repatriated to their home countries. I believe this is the most serious issue facing our society today, the dilution of our culture and standards to appease foriegners that are using us as a milk cow and, many have no intention of assimilating into our way of life. Our lethargy and liberal procrastination will ensure a dominance by them in the media and politically within ten years!

Legalise cannabis. Another one everyone who hasn’t seen it yet should watch is ‘run from the cure’ on YouTube. Rick Simpson made this 58 minutes film. The cure to most cancers is cannabis, watch how it is made from cannabis. It is a tar like substance that you can rub on your gums or over areas where tumours are. The government again know all about this, that’s why they made it illegal. Can’t have us all surviving cancer, that’s just for these elite and the rich of course. Apparently people can smoke it too! I’ve never smoked, so i wouldn’t know.

Restore the UK’s democratic integrity through the creation of an English Parliament and a true federal system of Government.

Stop the “War on Drugs”. Help people with addictions to dangerous substances, especially alcohol and tobacco which are responsible for so many social and health problems. Remove the needless strain on the prison service. The crime rate will plummet. Fund research (as other countries are doing) into the healing potential of MDMA (street name ecstasy) for PTSD, and other substances which have been used as sacraments for millennia but which are illegal in our society.

In the light of the Westbourne House scandal the Goveernemtn’s proposed abolition of the General Social Care Council (which regulates social workers) needs to be preventeded and the original intention of the GSCC to ensure that all social care workers are compulsorily registered to practice, needs to be restored.

I would add to this that spot checks need to be carried out by a group of volunteers or people with no connection to the homes, which can be undertaken anywhere and at any time.

What about stopping HS2 and the proposed waste incineratior plant at Greatmoor Farm Calvert in Bucks. These two projects will have a devasting effect on the chiltern hills and Bernwood Forest and a Bbont reserve and the lives of those living on anywhere in the area. I’m not against generating power from waste incineration BUT the proposed incinerator is not efficient and doesnot produce clean reusable waste such as you would get from a PLasma gasification plant. The proposed incinerator is of a type that has been banned in some european countries and in Canada and the US. see http://www.besavi.co.uk

And as for HS2 do we really need another high speed route to Birmingham when one already exists and as I understand it operators of the existing line would be more than happy to accomodate a faster train on the current route.

We need to pursuade the Government not to reduce the concessionary (bus) pass reimbursement amount as this will further threaten the level of bus services which are already being reduced by local authority cuts.  This is particularly critical in rural areas where people without access to cars (particularly including older people) may become isolated and have difficulty in reaching local health services, shopping etc.  Bus services will also become more important to others as fuel costs rise.

Given my age (a good bit over 70) better social and humane, not medical, treatment of geriatrics confined to hospital!!

The scandal of seniors who because they retire to certain countries have their state pensions frozen, but those who retire to other countries get a full pension with increases, although all have paid the same must end now. Successive governments have been able to ignore their plight because they have no voice. Someone needs to take up the cause and defend our most vulnerable citizens, some are living below the poverty line. Please help to end this discrimination and remind David Cameron and Steve Webb that they promised to do so if they were elected. They should be ashamed that they have had a year now to put this injustice right and still have done nothing.

We need to have a English Parliament –

The UK government puts the UK not England first
The Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish have their own
governments that work in their interests – only England has neither
recognition or representation.
The English get less funding than the Scots, Welsh or
Northern Irish via the deeply unfair Barnett Formula

Stop the Healthcare Bills equally evil twin, the Welfare Reform Act! Its not about ‘stopping the scroungers’ as the government wants you to believe….its about hurting the most vulnerable in society AND depriving YOU of access to help & support when you need it, and like the NHS at some point you and yours WILL NEED IT. Lib Dem MP’s and Labour are calling for the same pause and listen on this Bill as with the Healthcare Bill, ALL charities and many local authorities and even private sector landlords are opposed to it and the government just steam rollers on with the details to be ‘sorted out later’ and that means without scrutiny….

I would like to see a campaign for an English parliament to govern in the interest of England just like similar establishments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Stop the Coalition – a campaign for a change of government.

I would like 38 degrees to provide the only effective opposition to the Tory coalition government. That is, above and beyond all or most of the current campaigns, I would like to see 38 degrees developing a coherent, overarching campaign to force a split within the coalition (which is already there to some extent) and to orchestrate specific attacks on the weaknesses in the coalition. This woud need at least three fronts. First, working on disatisfied LibDem MPs facing an uncertain future at the next general election. Second, working with the voting public to highlight the splits and dissention within tyhe coalition, the lack of a formal mandate for Coalition policies and programmes. Thirdly, forcing the Labour party to be explicit about which legislation, policy and programme areas it will repeal, revise or revoke making clear how it will put right the injustices and hardships delivered by the Tory coalition.This “super” campaign could provide a wonderful framework fr all of 38 degrees current and future campaigns.

STOP PATENTS ON LIFE!!!

Melons now a Monsanto “invention”US corporation awarded a European patent on conventionally bred melons.Munich, 17.5.2011Recent research conducted by the coalition No Patents on Seeds! shows that in May 2011, the US corporation Monsanto was awarded a European patent on conventionally bred melons (EP 1 962 578). Melons have a natural resistance to certain plant viruses. It is especially evident in melons grown in India. Using conventional breeding methods, this type of resistance was introduced to other melons and has now been patented as a Monsanto “invention”.http://www.no-patents-on-seeds.org/How can this be possible???I find it hard to believe that America would allow this to happen, but completely unthinkable that Europe is going to let our seeds and animals be patented by the company that bought us Agent Orange and other such wonders of chemistry. This should be campaigned against.

The Care Quality Commission is now utterly impotent. I suspect the government saw it as an easy way of saving money – just reduce the inspection of care homes to when someone complains about one. Well that worked really well didn’t it? Looks like they don’t even inspect when someones DOES complain. Never mind, it’s only the elderly and people with learning disabilities, eh?
If you want a private care home sector, then you need proper, un-announced inspection.

I was going to post something similar, so this gets my vote.  It will tackle most of the issues on this page, which are a result of this Tory ‘coalition’ government’s policies.  Kill the coalition and all of the policies die with it.

What I would really like to see more campaigns and action about is a global issue that involves every country on our planet but sadly it’s so covered up and hidden that the general public are either in disbelief or they don’t want to know. It’s about time the UN and our governments woke up, acknowledged the fact and did something about children having to wait to get into school because they are not old enough; AFTER they have been rescued from the brothels of many inner cities. I live and work in Asia. 

 have an outragious propossal for the next campaign.
Universal pension rights.
Many peopel see population growth as the worlds main problem.
People in poor countries, however, need to have at least 4 children reach adulthood to keep them in their old age.  due to infant mortality they must produce 6 or more babies in order to achieve this .
If population is ever to be controled poor people must be sure that they will have the basic neccesities in theri old age.
Final saliary pensions are not needed as much of the pensioncould be “in kind” a roof clothing and food are the requirements not megga bucks.

Local Government Accountability! 

I live in Winchester, Hampshire and my city council recently decided to upgrade it’s offices, including spending over 1 million on office furniture…just for the council executives! I have now paid for desks worth £3,500 and chairs for £1,400 a pop! How is it possible, that as a council tax payer, I have no say on if I feel this is appropriate? Winchester council also has a half million pound art collection, on display to the public? oh no, we have no art gallery, they are all hidden away in the council offices! If I want to see ‘my’ paintings I have to make an appointment to be shown them. Frickin ridiculous! 

I would like to see better deals for Pensioners.     Many are living below standard and in dire poverty.   The last bitter winter saw many, many pensioners die through cold and malnutrition.    It is a disgusting way to treat the elderly when so many have fought in the past for a better future.    I say POWER TO THE PENSIONERS.

Margaret Palmer

English Parliament for England

We had something like this last year. It’s called a General Election. It got rid of the most incompetent and worthless PM and Govt. this country has ever seen.

Want another one? Bring it on

English Parliament

Hi Michael
I share your concerns about what used to be  “stock markets” now effectively unregulated gambling organisations in the thrall of super-mathematicians. If you have time have a look at
http://tegenlicht.vpro.nl/backlight/quants.html
to see how close we remain to new financial catastrophes and how little they care about any commodity, foodstuff or otherwise, or people, or the enviroment, except when expressed as numbers in an equation driving automated rapid trading..

I would love to see you campaign on the proposed cuts to legal aid and how there will be no access to justice for many of they go ahead

I would like to see jail sentences for people caught carrying a knife. So many young people are needlessly killed each year by thugs carrying knives.

Pull this country out of the disastrous ECHR so that we can allow common sense to prevail again.

I’d really like you to campaign on an end to the war on drugs. I was running a drug rehabilitation community in the 1970s and it was recognised even back then that this “war” could not be won. It’s time we learnt to live with these substances responsibly, rather than waste vast anmounts of money fuelling violence and criminality.

for an english parliament. It is only england that has to pay tuition fees prescriptions , care in old age, parking in hospitals. It was english forests that were being considered to be sold off . It is the health service in ENGLAND that is being reformed . It is ENGLAND that have to pay tuititon fees and prescriptions.There is no one putting england first. the scots can vote on english business but the english mps cannot do it to the other so called uk countries The young are not haveing the opportunity to a university education. The fees discourage the poor and middle earners as they will be in debt by at least 30 to 40k  and then have to try to get on the housing market with this debt around theor neck . We have to have a educated workforce to stimulate the economy, create aspirations and reduce unemployment. Uneducated populations will have lower paid occupations and be reliant on government benefits. Engalnd needs to have its ownfvoice to shout this out 

Take better care of our pensioners, reduce the age of retirement, and not make them work longer.
Give younger people more of achance to get a job.

Stop messing around the edge of issues- 85% of meat sold in major chains of butchers and supermarkets is raised in  intensive unnatural systems which virtually condemn  animals to mutilations, boredom and suffering.
1.We should raise our meat properly(and yes it would cost more) and eat less meat (or no meat- well done veggies)more vegetables fruit and pulses.
2.we should campaign against all forms of factory / intensive farming – especially when the “influencers” start talking about how we need factory farming to feed the world. We do if we want to feed the world fried chicken and beefburgers

They were English Forests you campaigned to save because the British Govt has no responsibility for the forestry of the other Home Nations.

Try campaigning to end the disenfranchisement of the English who have NO Parliament NO Govt and NO voice

An English Parliament NOW

Right to roam, and river access. Not the extremely restriced version we currently have. Proper access, with the right to walk around fields. The current system restricts people to footpaths which do not always lend themselves to circular walks. There should be a right to walk around the perimeter of fields. I don’t want to walk through peoples gardens or trample through crops, but greater access to the land should be a basic human right. Just because someone’s ancestors were violent enough to grab a large parcel of land should not restrict it today.

Let’s campaign for an English Parliament.  England seems to be coming off worst in all the “cost cutting reforms” that the coalition seem hell bent on pushing through.  Why shouldn’t England be devolved as well?  We could have an assembly in Birmingham – nice and central to keep the rest of England feeling involved as opposed to dumped on by London, and leave Westminster to tackle pan-UK issues and foreign policy.

A couple of years ago someone sent me an email about dogs being skinned alive in somewhere like Korea and/or China, and it’s haunted me ever since. Would it be possible to find out enough about this to start a campaign? People who are this cruel to animals are generally equally cruel to their fellow human beings, and must have lost all normal human emotions.

Absolutely not. There are enough tiers of government in this country. It would be an unecessary waste of money, time and effort

I would like to see an ENGLISH PARLIAMENT consisting of only MPs with English seats. I would like to see an end to Scottish, Welsh & NI MPs voting on matters which only affects England and not their own constituents such as tuition fees. I would like to see the UK Government including it’s MPs with English seats stop putting England last. The Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish have their own governments that work in their interests and theirs alone. England has neither recognition or representation, only a Governement chosen for it by the rest of the UK even though they have their own parliament/assemblies. England is the only part of the UK to have no parliament and therefore no voice.

Also I would like to see an end to the unfair Barnett Formula which sees the English get less funding than the Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish.

I think you need to be careful that this site is not being targetted by organised campaigns.  I find the concentration of people wanting an English parliament highly suspicious!  I terms of the one suggestion I find most persuasive it is that put forward by one or two people to reform the banking sytem.

Jane:  Yes, we do need help!  One of the many invalid “explanations” given by our government for this cruel discrimination is that it cannot afford to meet its obligations to us – while the reserves in the National Insurance Fund are growing yearly and will reach £114 billion in 2012.   Re-indexing our pensions would cost one per cent of the fund.  Meanwhile billions are wasted by lack of control of fraudlent Social Security claims, lethargic action on dealing with luxury-housed illegal immigrants – the list of wasted billions is endless!   I have to be subsidized by Canadian taxpayers because my own Government is cheating me of my rights to a fair pension earned over a lifetime.  I feel shame, why doesn’t our UK Government? 

As an ex-south.eastener who has lived in NW Scotland for 40 odd years I would approve of an English parliament. BUT,BUT–
We as a population and as members of 38 degrees have far more important things to campaign for. Many experts say that our world is collapsing with the prospect of destroying our and some other species.  Let’s work to put the important things right first.

Campaign against nuclear power.
here is a thought: if humans just disapeared off the planet, everything could be assimilated into the ecosystems and carry on fine….excpt the nuclear installations which would no longer be cooled and would infect the whole earth.

Oh Jean!
We’re supposed to be a humane lot.  How can members of 38 degrees support removing ourselves from regulations that work to help all, not just the affluent in this country.  If you do not consider yourself affluent just think how much better off you are than the “world’s poor”.

You call yourself BOHPAL. Lets do something to help those poor people

End the ATOS testing, it’s killing people and it’s an obvious fraud.

I feel very strongly about TRIDENT. What a colossal waste of money!

Most of the recent reading I have done about incineration of all designs do indicate that this will not be as helpful as hoped.
HS2, this should be the first of other high speed rail links.  Not primarily for passengers but for freight.  Britain must move towards a transport system not reliant on oil.
It is interesting to note that the Chiltern area did opose the motorway but nothing like as vociferouisly as they are about this rail link. Maybe a little bit of vested interest?

leave the clocks as they are now throughout the year.It saves children’s live according to ROSPA. The government hides behind the health and safety rules to interfere with what we have been doing safely for years and yet they ignore the opportunity to actually save children from road accidents .

http://ukwin.org.uk/

http://www.burningissuegroupware.co.uk/news.asp?nID=26

Help us fight the Incinerator planned to go next to a special needs school in Hatfield Hertfordshire – The Tory led County Council seem adamant that Veolia should build a waste incinerator – we’re supposed to be in the 21st century

Bizarre… Its Ok for 38 degrees to organise folk to lobby/influence matters, but not for others to organise around influencing 38 degrees……I happen not to like the idea of an English parliament but if enough folk want 38 degrees to do something about it, it would be a tad elitist/fascist to deny them…?Would certainly destroy 38 degrees cred as a mass group and reorient it as a pseudo democratic organisation run by a mystery elite..bit like the masons.. or new labour..or even the tories

Please help to put right a real Injustice.  The English people are the only ones in the British Isles who do not have their own Parliament.  The Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Nations have their own Parliaments/Assemblies who have achieved great benefits for their own people.  The English are the only ones who have to pay prescription charges, university tuition fees of up to £9000 per year and are means tested on care homes in old age.  Only an English Parliament can right this wrong.  Please help.

Look UKIP said they would form an English Parilament by only English MPs to discuss matters on England the Conservatives copied this idea to an extent but as per usual especailly as they are in coalition with the Liberal Democrats have not done anything about it.

So may I suggest that everyone supports UKIP in elections even getting candidates to stand and get our own parliament plus get in touch with UKIP Head Office and arrange a meeting to get this sorted once and for all. 

The financier Donald Trump has been attempting to set up a golf course on a sight of Special Scientific Interest in the Aberdeen area. He has promised jobs and development and generally sprayed the promise of money around and the business people and some of the councillors have gone ape over the idea. Normally I wouldn’t bother about this but it seems to me that this is a case of a foreign billionaire using his vast wealth to corrupt the local political situation and it it has serious implications if he succeeds. Generally the whole thing has a bad smell about it. It is somewhat confused as there are some property owners who are under threat of compulsory puchase orders and there is some feeling that they are just holding out for more money, but I don’t think that this is so. I believe very strongly that this man should be stopped even if it means the loss of jobs etc

How much is Britain spending on war in the Middle East? The USA is spending $1 billion a day in Afghanistan alone. Why is money being spent on destruction away from home whilst austerity measures are being implemented at home? We need to put money into green technologies, green collar job creation, social programmes, ecological restoration, health care, and food security, and making ourselves more resilient to climate change and peak oil/oil shortages. Why are we wasting money on wars when there is so much societal, economic and environmental reconstruction to do? If we need a war at all, it must be a war on government and corporate waste of resources. I found an apt quote yesterday:

“Never in the course of human history have so few acted
in ways that are detrimental to so many.”

I’m sorry Daddat, but your comment show remarkably little understanding of the ecconomies involved.
It also shows a remarkable degree of self interest and lack of humanity.  I believed that 38 degree members were the kind of people who worked for all humanity.  I hope other members will condemn you and your supporters so that this proposal does not get accepted.

Aaron. Congratulations  -  This is the way 38 degrees should be going!

If we had an English Parliament we could get rid of the existing Westminster Parliament and save a fortune.  All that is needed is to declare the MPs representing Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales redundant and we have a ready made English Parliament.  They already have a parliament in their own country, why should they sit in ours?

Signed John B.

I think we should campaign on changes to the Housing Benefit system for 25-43 year olds and to the fact that single people are discriminated against in the housing market under the new government – no longer entitled to one bedroom accommodation. If anyone in the above age group who is currently living in a 1 bed flat (council/housing association or private) and they lose their job they will not be entitled to housing benefit as the government states they should live in a double room only. By the same token the government now considers a living room as equivalent to a bedroom so a family with kids is not rehoused if the kids can sleep in the living room – my neighbours live in a two bedroom flat and have 5 kids all girls as they can “share” the living room they won’t get rehoused – other neighbours have 2 bedrooms and 2 rooms – a girl and a boy – the boy sleeps in the living room; a friend of mine aged 40 has lived in his one bed flat for over 15 years; he’s unemployed; he’s begging on the streets to pay rent so he can keep his home. I think this issue is worth campaigning about. I am single in my 40s – not affected by the new system as I am over 43 but I really struggled with mental health problems when younger and the only thing that “saved’ me was finally getting my own place at 28. Please make this an issue. No one seems to care

Brian.  Please,Please… We have so much and they have so little.
We can, despite what some parts of the national press say, support them!

On the contrary, our governments should be asking us similar questions.
Remember them saying how they were prepared to listen to the public?
Electioneering i admit, but they DO work for us, not the other way around.
More of this kind of discussion IMO.

This is so daft its laughable. My 81 year old mother carries a knife (to cut apples with!); I often carry a knife for my lunch. Are we all to be imprisoned? It’s not the knife that’s the problem it’s what certain people choose to do with it.

Gwen – The important part of this report is that taking account of the “natural environment” is a way forward to a better future. Not back to the dark ages as the corporate world would like us to believe.
This proposal is important because it is political and public apathy that reigns at the moment. 38 Degrees can change that!

I agree, and to take this one step further, and to all those who said to abolish the central banking systems, just take your money out of your bank accounts. We should all do this en-masse, if only for a few weeks, they would then look at us all differently, we do hold the power, we just have to be prepared to use it, and do it together. One person emptying his bank account will not bother them at all. Jimmy Carr mentioned something like this on that Friday night news program. Apparently they did this in Holland and it worked. We need to be able to rely on people to do things like this en-masse or it is a waste of time.

I believe this is the most serious issue facing our society today?
Are you serious?
The sheer amount of money we spend on wars has to be the most serious issue.
We spend billions to blow up small nations like it grows on trees.
Stop all wars, and with that money, you could do whatever was needed, nothing would be out of the question, everything would be a possiblity. Billions are spent on wars annually without anyone’s consent, only the warmongering politicians, most of whom have never done a real days work in their lives. If they want wars so badly, send them to the front line.

Concerned – I have to support you with this.  Once again I will comment ” We have so much and they have so little”.  Despite what some portions of the press say – we can afford it!

Recently I counted 50 countries where Christians are under persecution and I doubt I found them all.  Yet we send aid and sometimes massive aid to several of these very countries  Many are concerned about the amount of aid we are sending anyway when we have serious cuts here.  Aid is good usually but it would  kill 2 birds with one stone if we greatly reduced aid, oir witheld it where this is taking place.  The rest of the world refer to this persecution as human rights violation but usually it is against Christians.

Can we stop the government borrowing money and live within our means?

Campaign against proposed cheque book cessation by the big banks-I am sure we could achieve success on this proposal-Derek Ashton Brighouse

Only English students face £9000 a year fees – Scots pay nothing, Welsh and Northern Irish pay far less. Comes back to the need for English home rule. Time to re-establish the English parliament.

I would like to see a campaign that highlights the reasons why people seek asylum in the UK to bring human rights back into the equation with this issue. Too often the human beings involved are reduced to numbers and made into political footballs- can we campaign for people seeking asylum to be seen as human and not statistics? There is a real human cost to the bullying way men, women and children are treated by the government and media and forced into destitution, poor mental health and deportation to renewed persecution and death.

 Press for referendum on staying in or leaving the EU

Here here on this one- let’s stop the bullying rich from taking away the rights that were fought for through generations

Michael – I support your proposal.  I understand that the world’s food is controlled by a few speculators and multinational corporations. It is not tho’ something most of us know much about. Do you know of any sources of information that can teach us in simple terms.

Emma  – I’m going to be I bit mean here.
I hope you mean that fuel prices are too low but I suspect not.
Far from lowering fuel prices we should be raising them.
This would discourage use, encourage the search for alternative energy sources and encourage conservsation.  It could, with a little imagination, ease unemployment by using the extra revenue to insulate and increase the energy efficiency of all our homes.

I would like to see an end to the long distance transportation of live animals – it is inhumane.

We are supposed to be answering the question  – What should we campaign on next? – Sorry, I have to vote on what I don’t want  38 degrees to camaign on.
“A separate English parliament”.
I have views on this but 38 degrees has more important things to use it’s resources on.  Remember that we in Scotland and Wales support 38 degrees too!

Let’s make it law that the top person in an organisation can only get 50% more in salary than the people at the bottom.  Some of the salaries top people get are insane. If they think they can get more abroad, good for them, let them go.  They are not all brilliant at the job look at Fred Goodwin at RBS.

We can’t afford it though. We’re borrowing the money then giving it away. That’s not moral that’s stupid.

Please stop the government spending £30 BILLION
of taxpayers money on HS2, no business case,
No environmental case.
Save the Chiltern AONB from this White elephant.
Please!

I don’t really think that this is a matter for 38 degrees, but I do agree with you.
Governments, Tourist Boards and Local Governments love grandious schemes.  They look good, they create an impression that good is coming to an area.  Not true. The money that has been spent tempting Trump to the area would have been far more usefully spent supporting local small businesses, tourist attractions, B & Bs, small hotels.
Ordinary visitors would spend their holiday cash locally, it would stay in the district.  Wealthy visitors  cash goes out of the district with only the small amount paid in wages staying in the district.

you should join the DailyExpress campaign for a referendum on our continued association with the unelected Dictat 

Make sure that Halal meat is clearly labelled and that people are aware that the slaughter method  does not meet established cruelty standards. In some schools and supermarkets Halal  meat has become the unlabelled default so as not to offend a minority of people. This is much worse than tolerating “intensive” meat farming methods.

stop the infiltration of wi-fi devices and increasing exposure to such fields through bt-open zone, smart meters, it is well known that some people are highly sensitive to such fields and the is a lot of evidence that phone masts have caused mild to severe symptons depending how near you are….

how about all money decisions by government being open to referendum, there is the power through computers to make this work now. We employ the people running the country and we decide their wage and where the tax money goes. If we dont wish so much to be spent on arms or whatever then it wont be with this system running…. its a vision I had many years ago and I think its possible now!! This movement could be the first step towards this!

I think that we should oppose the privatisation of the Royal Mail. Although I have no problem with introducing reform into the organisation, we shouldn’t be handing over a natural monopoly to the private sector. It will simply lead to profiteering and a multi tiered service depending on ability to pay.

In a similar vein, I would also like to us to begin a campaign to renationalise the railways. That will obviously be a long one, and will never going to be implemented by current government. But if we work hard enough it could get picked up as a Labour manifesto commitment.

I think that the Government should be discouraged from building yet another Thames road crossing east of Dartford. Granted the present Dartford crossing gets congested, but as soon as another one is built, more traffic will be generated to use it and the new crossing will soon become equally congested. And if this argument is rejected, as it certainly will be, then any new crossing should double as a new flood barrier for London. Expensive? Wonder if there’s anybody in the City of London who could afford to shell out on protecting the whole of London

The English should have their own Parliament. Many reasons for this, including Scottish MPs can vote on English affairs, but not vice-versa. The out-of-date Barnett formula must be scrapped. The inequalities it causes, in favour of the Scots, produces much resentment. Let the English speak for themselves!

Having read, in a Sunday paper, a “special investigation” into children trafficked into the UK I think 38 Degrees should campaign to persuade the coalition government (and Damien Green, immigration minister, in particular) to:
Prioritise this issue and improve resourcesAdopt the guardian scheme (for trafficked children) being piloted in ScotlandEstablish a database to collate data on child trafficking casesEnable the Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre to reopen its child trafficking unitMake the UK a world leader in the battle against child trafficking

I would like to see a campaign to force the British Press, in particular the tabloids, to clean up their act and stop telling lies, sending out scare stories and disseminating distortions of the news.This might involve the replacement of the industry dominated Press Complaints Commission with a body with more teeth. The current state of the press leads to a high level of public ignorance and is a serious threat to democracy. 

how about a campaign to stop the spread of all the land based wind farms which will only add to the cost of energy,and probably contibute more co2 to the atmosphere than they will ever save! bearing in mind that global warming is a perfectly natural occurence,of course the only people who are going to score out of this will be the energy companies and those making  and installing them.

I also feel that the regulation of care of the elderly and disabled to prevent abuse is one of the most pressing issues facing this country today.

I’ve tried I really have, but the only explanation I can think of for someone thinking that something as trivial and costly as an English parliament is the most pressing issue is a seriously alarming personality disorder. No one can possibly be sane and this shallow.

Yes and you in Scotland & Wales have already got your own parliament/assembly so if it’s good enough for you, it’s good enough for England!  Either that or give up your parliament and have the UK parliament decide what’s best for you instead the same as we in England have to. No –  thought not!

I am strongly against the ANALOGUE RADIO FREQUENCY SWITCH-OFF. I think there is probably a specific existing campaign already but 38 Degrees should also support this.
It will mean the mass scrapping of pefectly good radios which is a double very environmentally unfriendly wammy: 1. the radios that will need to be disposed of anf 2. the number of new radios that will hav to be made. I believe the average households own about 6 radios.
Digital radios rewquire much more power to run them: another environmental bloomer.
Digital radios are dificult to make as small and portable. This is because they require the computing power similar to the old 386 personal computers of 20 years ago and they also require the batteries to run them.
They will be expensive, not only because of the above but because the system is unique to the UK so production volumes will be quite small.
There is also a problem with digital car radios.
This was a bad idea

The energy policy of the Scottish Government related to self sufficiency by 2020 through renewables, including providing 25% of Europes energy needs in renewables. This is madness when one looks at the numbers and costs involved, given the subsidy per Kw/Hour that we as taxpayers are already giving the power  companies. The whole concept is fatally flawed

Don
Paisley

A big campaign to stop the cuts to legal aid please along with Sound off for Justice.

I would like to see an introduciton of the right to recall our MPs if we have lost confidence in them. In any other sector, industry or job, if an individual does not perform or if he/she breaks promises and fails to deliver, h/she is held to account. Why is this not the case for MPs? I would like to see 38Degrees supporters push their MPs to sign up to Early Day Motion (EDM) 1253, which calls for the introduction of a proper Recall mechanism, allowing people to get rid of their representatives between elections if enough voters have lost confidence in them. On the back of the expenses scandal, both the Lib Dems and Conservatives promised to bring in Recall if they won the election, but their current proposals fall far short of true recall, and instead of handing power to voters, they will hand power to a small parliamentary committee which alone will decide if an MP merits recall.  True recall empowers people, not Parliamentary Committees, and although there must be safeguards, if a majority of the former have lost confidence or trust in their MP, for whatever reason, they should be able to recall them. Link to EDM: http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-11/1253

sorry but ukip are not in favour of an english parliament,they would scrap the devolved administrations and set up assemblies for each uk country

i find people who are afraid of an english parliament highly suspicious,especially people who are already represented by parliaments or assemblies

I would prioritise climate change because the looming catastrophe will be hugely destructive and affect the poorest people in the world most. The Tory-led government has astonishingly done one thing right by putting rigorous targets into law but that will be meaningless if not translated into action. The present method of measuring national carbon production is inadequate because it excludes importance. Carbon targets must apply to consumption.

Protected Species Status for brown hares

Campaign against privitisation in its various forms – of the NHS, education through academies, PFI, Royal Mail, ASOS assessing fitness for work
Against targeting the poorest in society through slashing disability benefits & general welfare reform

End light pollution. It is unnecessary and easily outlawed and avoided. The night sky is one of the few great natural wonders potentially available to people in th UK but most have never seen it. It offers a rare chance to connect with the numinous and there is evidence it has a good effect on the individual psyche and on social order.

Stop the badger culls in Wales and England

Campaign for a Boycott Disinvestment & Sanctions against the State of Israel for their inhumane, and in the long term counterproductive, treatment of the Palestinians.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3928017.stm

Stop Formula One race from taking place in Bahrain.

Campaing to stop the process of fracking. It’s a dangerous and harmful procedure and should be banned.

Encourage the switch to electric cars by supporting the creation of a network of charging stations.

Medicinal cannabis.  There is no greater injustice than those who need cannabis as medicine are threatened with prison.  See http://www.clear-uk.org

Stop waging war without a public mandate.  Build our economy on something else. Win hearts and minds with Christian based values, assertively not aggressively and with respect – and not by excessively PC measures which subsume our beliefs for fear of causing offence.  Spend the same amount of money a war would cost on life enhancing action for vulnerable people, stop abuse of children, protect the elderly and infirm, provide a decent education for all, etc, etc. 

what about the failed war on drugs can anything else be more important to protect future generations falling into that hell 

Announce the withdrawal of Family Allowance for all future babies born nine months after a specific date.We have an increasing population, which we do not need, yet we pay our residents to produce more children!
With the passage of time, our taxation would reduce, class sizes would diminish and our educational standards should improve.
Children are a luxury in a vastly overcrowded country. If potential parents want them, they should be prepared to pay the proper price for their upbringing, not expect to be paid for exacerbating an already desperate situation. 
 

Rape and murder of young women in a Mexican border town is commonplace, disregarded by the authorities and where investigators and campaigners are targeted, and even murdered themselves.  The situation is exacerbated, it seems, by sweatshops supplying brandname products which only employ cheap female labour, fuelling resentment among young males where unemployment is rife. We read of horrific tales where young women and girls are abused for days then murdered and dumped.  It seems there are hundreds of victims, widespread fear, but no protection for the victims, often blamed for putting themselves in harms way as they try to get home after very long hours of sweated labour.   Surely not too difficult to shame the authorities and companies involved. 

I would strongly suspect that the government is leaning strongly towards privatising the N.H.S through the back door. If we ignore it it will happen I am sure. It must be stopped. 

What about a Campaign for an English Parliament ? The  other countries in the UK have their own representation but not England. Why?

Poverty must be the next cause. Workers and Working Class people are living in poverty whilst produsing the wealth for the Greedy upper classes, who exploit the very people that are keeping them in vast fortunes i.e The Banks ect.

Given the recent report from the Global Commission on Drugs Policy, the deaths of more than 30,000 people in Mexico, the disproportionate criminalisation of young, poor and black people, 38 degrees should be aiming to campaign on the decriminalisation of drugs. The example from Portugual and other countries whose politicians are less inclined to ignore the facts, is that decriminalisation saves many lives and reduces misery. MPs should be challenged to explain why they and their colleagues have consitently rejected the advice they have received from those they employed as expert advisers (Profs David Nutt and Colin Blakemore amongst many others). Drugs policy is a prime example of political hypocrisy – politicians will not support a cause, whatever the evidence, if it is likely to lose them votes.

The Woodlands Trust is operating a project called The Jubilee Woods Project. They aim to plant 6 million trees. Following on from the Forests Sell Off Campaign. Could support be provided to The Jubilee Woods Project.

How about supporting the Chagossian islanders who were forcibly exiled from their homeland so that the US could have the biggest island, Diego garcia, for an airbase? Ten years after our government did this, we went to war to kepp the Falkland Islanders ON their homeland.
Celia Whittaker 

Climate change, the increasing world production of CO2, acidification of the worlds oceans. We really are living in The Age of Stupid. Unless we do something about this and soon, there won’t be any world left for us to campaign on any other issues in the near future. Overpopulation is a significant contributory issue.

Deforestation in both the Amazon and Indonesia must not only stop, but at the very least some of those areas must revert back to the forest that it was – not only for the animals that lived there, but for the Earth as a whole.

However.  There must be an alternative to outright legal and illegal use of drugs.
If those who use drugs are required to take treatment, counselling, and general backup until they are able to end the habit.   Only those who prove difficult should be considered committing an offence – especially if they are creating new addicts.

Tied in with the massive cow farm -what about picking up on factory farming dangers to health?as the current E Coli outbreak is being targeted at salads and fresh raw food as the  scapegoat whereas we need to have safe food from naturally reared livestock not overcrowded antibiotic and processed feedstuff fed animals. his is a major issue which is increasingly causing ill-health to people and unspeakable torment  and crueolty to cows pigs poultry and even sheep.we do need high standards here as per soil association.

Dont take your eyes off the forests!

The Government’s closing of CAB’s and it’s now very hard for anyone to obtain legal aid and find justice in the courts, due to the expense of bringing to trial any case.  There must be some reforms made so that the general public can have access to some form of legal redress  that is efficient and effective. Only the rich can afford to bring a case to courts these days, which means the less well off do not have access to proper justice. The Government must look at this and reform the current UK system so that most people can have some access to legal advice and help in obtaining some Justice.    

NHS issue here is an English only matter as was the Forrests issue and not relevant in Scotland.

A campaign for Scottish Independence would be great.

Because even with their own representation, the other countries are still basically vassal-states to England.

The biggest threat to the democracy of our nation is the European Union. Less and less of our law is now under the control of our elected parliament. It is not just major law either – we cannot merge our rail service provider with the network provider because it is against European law. What has this to do with Europe? The power of organisations such as 38 Degrees is lessened because there is only limited law you can influence; do you fancy operating in 36 languages?

Secondly, England must have a parliament. The democratic balance is way out of kilter in the UK with England being abused by the system. The British parliament works…except for England.

Keep up the good work team.

I believe that all public sector workers, i.e. those people being
paid to by the good old tax payer should not receive any amount over what the
prime minster makes. How can these councils chiefs claim that their job is more
involved than the person leading the country, shame on them and shame on us for
putting up with it.  

I would like to ask the 38 Degrees team to consider putting you weight behind the fight to gain proper treatment for Lyme Disease in the UK and Europe..
Please take the time to read this petition and the many comments.
Kind regards
Darren Smith

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/uklymepetition/     

To have an English (only) parliament is lunacy.  I can see no reason why there shouldn’t be just the one parliament to make decisions for the UK.  It is an extremely costly excercise to have an English only parliament, and if the only way for this not to happen is for the Scottish Parliament to disband, then so be it.  By the way, I live in Scotland.

I think 38 degrees should try to get the rules changed, so that if your MP is acting for their party and against the general wishes of the locals, cutting jobs etc, we should make them more accountable and be able to vote them out mid term.

Possibly they would be a little more honest, why shouldn’t we be able to vte them out as well as in?

How about campaigning for more government investment in non-nuclear renewable energy sources and a review of the current planning laws.

Nimbyism seems to have halted wind farm construction etc in the UK and this is pushing us towards Nuclear as the only other low carbon option. The recent Japanese nuclear disaster ought to make us all aware of the potential environmental and health perils of the nuclear option.

In the UK, as almost everywhere else, there is a very real threat that people will lose independence in sourcing food, as the growth of supermarket empires impose limitations upon choice. This isn’t specifically an anti-Tesco position as Sainsbury’s, Wall-Mart (Asda in UK), Morrisons, are all vying for exactly the same market, battling for supremacy and domination – it’s only natural in the capitalist model. But we must wake up to the danger of allowing one particular firm with political and economic power from becoming a car supplier, optician, primary source of employment, pharmacist, etc., AND a BANK (controlling the money we use in order to eat) regardless of the brand name. This link exposes an abuse of democratic principle in local retail planning by the most powerful companies, and it is present throughout the country:
http://www.tescopoly.org/images/stories/Planning%20a%20new%20world%20order%20Pages%2021-26%20(1).pdf

How about backing retaining the subsidies for solar panels? The climate minister, Greg Barker recognises their worth but is planning to cut the subsidy for them – clearly nonsense! We need to encourage the gov’t to be supporting these technologies more not less!

There is already a campaign to ensure that only qualified teachers are allowed to teach our children but this must be given more prominence.  There are far too many people with no teaching qualifications teaching our children for part of the time so that 60% of children in Primary schools do not have a qualified teacher to teach them for every session in the week.

I would like to raise awareness of hydraulic fracking, which has now begun in this country.  The fracking in Lancashire has now been put on hold because of earthquakes in the area, while they try to determine whether the earthquake activity is being caused by the fracking.  I’ve written to everyone I can think of and always get back “it’s safe and regulated”.  Thorough and independent research on the effects of fracking has only recently begun, and the Duke University study proves the existence of methane leakage into the surrounding ground, water and air–to a surprising degree.  The effects on the surrounding environment in the U.S. and Australia are very worrying, partly because of the number of wells.  I’ve received assurances that it would never reach the same scale in this countyr, but once the door has been opened to this industry, it seems very difficult to control the ensuing corruption.

I agree with Ericaflintuk that we need to have more emphasis on locally-produced food, but this requires local support.  People vote with every dollar that they spend, so if this matters to you, the best way to make this change is to STOP BUYING overly processed foods.  We now eat a bit less meat but spend our budget at the local farm butcher; it’s worth every penny!

The anomaly of free prescriptions in Scotland and Wales while those in England have to pay ever increasing prices should be an urgent case for campaign and while you’re at it,  dental fees, university fees, hospital car parking and the biggest anomaly of Scottish people not having  to give up their homes to fund  care home fees. 

We should campaign to help the BRITISH dairy farmers while we still have them, supermarkets have little interest in keeping home grown small suppliers, the situation in France is so different.

I second that comment, why should we be the poor relations in a so called United Kingdom?

30,000 people continue to die EVERY DAY – and it’s totally unnecessary. Do we care about this – and what more can we do to give political voice to those that have no voice. Buying Fairtrade is of course just one option – but our collective voice to bring about changes to unfair trade rules is equally important.

I would like to see your weight behind a campaign to allow Mountain Rescue teams to be able to claim back VAT. These teams and other search and resue teams are manned by volunteers and carry out all their own fundraising and if the RNLI can claim back VAT why not other rescue organisations??

Campaign for reform of the NHS to prevent abuse by non-residents. The NHS as currently structured is unaffordable in a globalised world, where free health care is only the cost of an airticket.

Hundreds of thousands of British ex pat’s in Australia with forzen uk pensions, please unfreez our pensions, it is our money

http://www.freshstartltd.co.uk/debt-help-blog/the-rich-get-richer/

One of the most important (possibly the most important) issue I want addressing (And this will take a VERY long time) is the vastly rising gap between the poorest and richest earners. We should be stopping the banks and the big corporations top men from allowing themselves (literally) such huge pay rises. Footballers on ridiclous amounts of money etc etc. And to top it all, they have their ways of not even paying TAX back into the system (Or certainly way less than they should be doing).  People actually believe this is the way of the world and theres nothing that can be done about it – its shocking. I point blank refuse to believe that.
Once the wealth is shared around more equally, it will be a lot easier to sort out the economies issues, and indeed fight these campaigns.
To sit back and do nothing is heading us down entirely the wrong path

STOP HMRC THREATENING LETTERS
The Government is putting pressure on HMRC to collect outstanding personal and corporate tax from individuals and companies in difficulties because of its actions – past and present.  The process is blunt and does not reflect the “we’in this together” proclamation from David Cameron.  HMRC should be made to deal more sensitively with each case, reviewing each set of circumstances and not seeking taxes by threaat and force.

Something which will change the lives of all humanity would be if there were a concerted and open campaign for the disclosure of the existence of other intelligent life in the universe and for the release of free energy technology, both of which are known to world governments but which have until now been kept from us in order to exploit oil, etc from which huge profit is made.

Commence a campaign calling for a limitation of the Immunity of the UN from international law. Numerous examples, from the failure to protect Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, to the unlawful killing in Kosovo of Albanian protesters  by Romanian UN riot police under the command of an English UN head of UN Police in 2007, to the inhumane treatment of 150 Roma families by placing them on highly toxic land, and abandoning them to sickness and death for years, are just three examples of where the UN’s immunity from prosecution has allowed those responsible for crimes from murder to child abuse to escape prosecution. This is something that must not be allowed to continue.

#1……..Like for like punishment for people who abuse their animals.
#2……..A total ban on puppy farming.
#3……..The setting up of a govenment funded body that will have huge powers
of enforcement (much like the Health and safety executive) and be able to do
spot checks on retirement homes.

It’s time government really tackled the issue of care, and specifically care workers. Care workers are a hidden army of poorly paid, under-supported, barely trained, neglected and unrepresented people, and society utterly relies on them and exploits them. They are largely self-employed on the minimum wage and below. Unscrupulous agencies pay them a fraction of the costs the customer has to pay the agency for care, and the training and support the agency is supposed to provide doesn’t materialise. I know. Carers have no voice. They are isolated workers with little chance to speak to each other, and they get treated abominably, often by the users of services as well as by some care agencies. People have been shocked by the Panorama revelations, but why are we surprised, when we treat our carers with such contempt? This is an issue that is long overdue for proper attention from us all. Please consider it.

STOP THE DESTRUCTION OF LIBRARIES
Library services across the country are being decimated. At a time when other local services are losing funding it’s vital that libraries continue to support the most vulnerable. Child literacy is a big issue  with many kids not owning any books, we need to keep the library service operating properly rather than allow this government to hand it all over to unskilled volunteers.

How about sorting out our justice system? here are far too many criminals let loose far too early onto an unsuspecting community & they WILL commit those crimes again. The judges are either liberal idiots who do not see the victim, but just see the rights of the criminal impinged for some reason? Make life life, make certain crimes like paedopilia, murder even treason a life sentence!

Repeal laws.    During the Labour goverment 2/3000 laws were passed many of them repressive political correctness and silly health and safety. Many sex laws are hundreds of years old and were made by the rich and powerful for their benefit only. We need an objective proffesional organisation to quantify what freedoms we dont have in practice.
We need more freedom not less

Join the campaign to follow the example of most other civilized countries in setting a cap on interest rates imposed by money-lenders on the helpless poor.

I have been informed by my MP that the fight over the forests sell-off is far from over. That in fact the govt are “still intending to sell off 15% of the publicly-owned forests regardless of the result of the consultation and the Forestry Commission have also just announced 240 job losses this week. That is a quarter of their staff”.
It is possible to contribute to the consultation, the details of which are at this link: http://archive.defra.gov.uk/rural/forestry/documents/forestry-panel-callforviews-110519.pdf
We at 38 degrees need to keep the pressure on the govt and send a message that we are not willing to tolerate their plans to sell our forests to the highest bidder.

New campaign – how about tax payer support of low wages. Take an example – Tesco or Sainsburys for instance. Both reaping huge profit – behind the scenes what kind of support by way of tax credit and similar means of supporting low income is the taxpayer making to their employees to support these profits?

A restriction on the amount of out sourcing an organisation is allowed to undertake, in the US, Bush of all people pasted a law doing just that, they recognised that allowing too much out sourcing undermined their economy and society.
China and now India are the fastest growing economies in the world, it is not a coincidence that we sold them most of our manufacturing base 20 years ago for a short term profit for the City of London.
Now Birmingham City Council wants to out source its services to India for a short term cost saving and a nice bonus for a few managers, when they have finished we will have no manufacturing and no service industries either, so what will we use to pay all the benefits to all the workers that have nothing left to do?

Why not set up a completely new government in the exact middle of the united kingdom,all existing other parliaments are then disbanded and we start from scratch.Why do we have to have all these stupid issues,we are after all human beings who speak English.

We have been campaigning for the frackers to “frack off” here in Northern NSW, Australia since reports of invasive activity in nearby rural Queensland. Everybody has been talking about the Gasland film from USA which I only recently saw for the first time. I recommend it to anyone who might be anywhere near a proposed drilling site!
http://echo.net.au/newsitem/message-thousands-voices-byron-shire

TUC CALL A 24 HOUR GENERAL STRIKE – BUILD AN ALTERNATIVE TO SAVAGE PUBLIC SECTOR CUTSOver 900,000 public sector jobs are under threat from government cuts and according to its own figures a further 1 million private sector jobs could be lost as a result. The tax dodger campaign highlighted that the rich in this country owe up to £120bn avoided, evaded and uncollected tax each year. Collecting this would negate the need to make these cuts in services ordinary people rely on but the millionaires in the cabinet do not need or want.Only mass people action can get the government to change course. Trade unions and their millions of members have a major role to play in this and therefore I suggest we build a campaign to get the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to co-ordinate a 24 hour general strike.

We need to campaign on the major issue of our time : reform of the banking system.

This should be along the lines of Positive Money.

Call for Jim Paice to resign, he has a terrible record for animal welfare and yet he is the minister for Animal Welfare!!! See http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/NEWS/news_wildlife/ALL/2492//

Stop incineration. It’s unnecessary, unhealthy, bad for climate change and incredibly uneconomic. Reduce, re-use and recycle. Let’s aim for zero waste instead.

 We need to be fighting to keep our health freedoms and personal choices. Codex Alimentarius is already putting a gigantic dent in what natural herbs and supplements are available to us in this country; and it’s only a matter of time before we are completely shut off from all natural healing substances. There is yet another attack on Raw Milk, one of the best natural foods around, and we need to be fighting for right to keep purchasing un-pasturised, un-messed about Milk if we wish! The world around us is being shut down around our ears as far as staying healthy is concerned. Of course, as always the reasons behind these moves to take away our freedom of choice, is money; a sickly population dependent on Big Pharma drugs is much more profitable than a healthy population with no need for doctors! 

It’s not life threatening, but how about forcing chewing gum manufacturers to make their products bio-degradable?  Then we wouldn’t have to suffer the awful site on our high streets of millions of pieces of flattened gum, not to mention the cost of clean-ups in the many towns who care.  (and who are these awful people who just spit it out in public?… do they do it on their carpets at home?). Let’s make Britain look better !

Definitely agree with that.

Fighting the corporate control and monopoly of four giants of the global food system. 1 in 7 people continue to starve even though there is more than enough food to feed everyone and more. A skilled job of farming by those that care about people, animals and the land and want to use husbandry, organic methods are trapped in a system that is heavy on energy, carbon production. Food should not be a big game of profit, it should be about sustainable methods of producing food.

Absolute rubbish. Children can benefit from the wide experience of adults who have not got some worthless piece of paper.  We should be relaxing controls on teacher qualifications.

There are many issues facing young people as they prepare for adulthood and good citizenship which will all come together in a huge cumulative negative effect over the coming years.These include loss of EMA for those attending FE,raises in tuiton fees for HE and the increase in the loss of family income to help support them from families,increasingly poor job opportunities and the driving down of expectation and aspiration and the demise of support services such as Connexions with the reneging of the manifesto committment to an All Age Careers Service which the Dept for Education no longer seem to want to develop for young people under 19.

The EU is run by a completely un-democratic, non-elected Inner Council. The European parliament has NO POWER to change any legislation issued from that ruling Council. We send troops out to fight and die for democracy yet, as part of Europe, do not have democracy ourselves.
The UK should be given the chance (as it has not been given before) to decide on whether to be part of this undemocratic system and a national referendum should decide the issue.

The most important issue facing our country today has to be the E.U. and petitioning the government to give us, the british people a referendum and choice to stay or leave the E.U. so please the next petition , E.U. Referendum !

Stop these horrendous windfarms being sited close to peoples houses and ruining their lives

An immediate end to criminal penalties for drug possession and a re-direction of resources into education and healthcare.  Cannabis should be propely regulated and freely available to adults with personal growing licences for a limited number of plants.  Research shows this would add £6 billion per annum to the UK economy after all costs are taken into account.  Doctors should be able to precsribe medicinal cananbis

1 – don’t let RUPERT MURDOCH control our media! He is only steps away from a almost total power over the media right now. I certainly don’t want a man like that to be able to make the decisions about what we hear and what we don’t!!

2 – TAX EVADERS – many many people are dodging billions of pounds in tax! If this money was to be collected from them, and banks were to pay back the money WE bailed them out with, things like the NHS wouldn’t need to be attack by harsh spending cuts! I say go for the big tax EVADERS who everyone knows about, let them know they can’t get away with it anymore. And where possible, don’t buy anything their companies produce / are associated with!

In September 2011, the government will help organise a massive arms fair, DSEi, in London. Thousands of arms sellers and buyers from across the globe will gather to deal in death. Clarion Events,the private company that owns the arms fair, says that the arms fair is supported by the government, so it must be OK. Send a strong message to the government and Clarion Events that this is not OK.

hopefully the next 38 degrees petition will be for that long overdue , E.U. referendum !

We should do something to fight drastic cuts imposed by the coalition government, and in particular those on the Higher Education sector. The combination of funding cuts and higher fees has put the whole system into chaos. We cannot prepare for tomorrow’s society and address the biggest challenges that we face by (almost) destroying our education system.

I believe a campaign against the Roman Catholic church but the Vatican in particular would be a great next move as they are responsible for so many deaths which in my mind is genocide. Not to mention the corruption & child abuse.
What are we waiting for?
Wakan Peace,
adz

Who are the 4 giants?
If we are allowed to name them, is Cargill one perhaps?
Agree stongly that we must not have profit in the food cycle, because, as one person gains another loses forcing the one who starves into debt and hunger.

Open up the housing Market for first time buyers stuck in overpriced rental accomodation! Support for those who can afford to pay a Mortgage but can’t get the money for a deposit.

There has been a lot about an environmentally devastating technology used for extracting huge amounts of gas held in rock shale underground.
It’s called Fracking and if anyone doubts how horrible it is; they only need to see the excellent barefoot documentary GASLAND.
I would suggest that campaigning against any attempt to conduct Fracking in the UK (or anywhere else for that matter) should be a very high priority.
Permanent contamination of the water table means it’s all over on pretty much every level.

What about raptor persecution – illegal poisoning of our birds or prey?  Hen Harriers are almost gone from England and on some Scottish estates no raptors are tolerated.  Despite condemnation and various initiatives nothing ever changes, latest stats show it continues at a high or increasing level*.  NB – there is a link here with the distasteful practices of the bigwigs in the banks, they think they are so powerful they can do what they like with impunity!  I don’t know how best to tackle it but many things can be done and a powerful lobby can only help.

* http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/wildbirdslaw/wildbirdcrime/

The immediate availability of medicinal cannabis on a doctor’s prescription, it is criminal that sick and disabled people are getting arrested and prosecuted for using cannabis to control their condition
Des (Clear) South Wales

Cheap Supermarket Booze – The UK is blighted with Binge Drinking, the main reason for this is below-cost alcohol sold in Supermarkets – and it is KILLING our children and making them a nation of alcoholics. I love a pint (or ten) but go to my local pub/club or other licenced premises to drink it, I then abide by their rules – because it’s their licence..

In January 2012 the government are introducing a change to the benfits system which few people know about, nor have picked up on. I work in the Benefits service which is how I know about it.
 
Currently, if you are under 25 and single you are only entitled to a ‘shared rate’ of Housing Benefit. This currently stands at Bedsit or merely a room rate. Where I live this is £70 per week. If you are OVER 25 or a couple, or single with children, you are entitled to a one bed contained flat rate, which is £120 per week. Shared rate therefore is £303 p/mth whilst a 1 bed self-contained rate is £520 per month)
 
In Jan 2012 the Govt are proposing to raise the OVER 25 rate to OVER 35.
 
This will mean that everyone aged between 25-35 will suddenly be unable to afford their rent as their entitlement will revert to a shared rate (£303 per month in my area-) instead of what they would currently be receiving (£520 per month).
 
This will result in mass homelessness applications, evictions and Landlord issues as people will become unable to meet their rent. These people are usually on JSA or ESA and only receive about £65 per week to live on.
 
The discrepency is plain to see. There seems to be no one who is aware of this and no one is dealing with it. There are literally thousands of people accross the country who will be directly affected by this cruel act.
 
Please help.
John
 

Firstly, definitely a referendum on EU membership. We were twice promised one by the Labour Government, first by Blair and then by Brown. Both reneged on that promise. We were then promised one by David Cameron in their election campaign, so we should make them keep that promise this time.
Secondly, a campaign on the extortionate gas & electricity prices, which are only so high because of obscene profiteering and NOT because of wholesale prices.

justice for one parent families –
how can one parent ignore custody arrangements imposed by  the courts with no comeback and another cannot?

fairness in maintenance payments – one parent pays nothing in maintenance while child in custody with opposite parent but when they get custody they demand payment from that parent ?

Cameron promised this government would be the ‘greenest government ever’, and there are many in the Lib Dems who would love that to happen.  Pressure needs to be put on the government to make it clear that there’s a popular mandate for environmentally progressive policies, as the Conservatives clearly believe it will lose them more votes than it will gain.  This is something 38 Degrees could take up.

I heard today that Hugh Heffner is to open the first ‘Playboy’ club in 30 years.  I think 38 degrees should take on the sex industry – not prostitution as such but lap-dancing and pole dancing clubs and especially ‘Playboy’ which makes the exploitation of women respectable

Unelected Bishops in the House of Lords, Nadine Dorries introducing laws with significant religious grounding, the forthcoming Bailey report prepared by the chief exec of a Christian charity calling for changes in censorship legislation, commissioned by Cameron himself.
A separation of Church and State should be the next campaign, the laws of our country should not be wrapped up in the hand wringing, finger wagging nonsense of a bunch of people unable to distinguish between fact and fiction.

Let’s campaign against NIMBYs instead

Hold the Government to their Green Commitments;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13398311

This is a vital move and it would save the NHS millions.

I agree, but the fact is that as the government will tell you 90% of people in England do not pay for prescriptions along with the people of Scotland,Wales,and Northern Ireland (probably soon to follow)

Therefore we have 10% of the English population facing increased prescription charges every April 1st, quite an apt date really! So this would be a just campaign, lets argue for a real minority group.

With regard to the other points, once again total agreement,are we prepared to abandon this issue as only 10% of the population are affected, or are we about fairness and doing the right thing.

I think it’s about time we brought cannabis back as a medicine, allowing users to grow their own supply, or obtaining through medical outlets, and social cannabis clubs for recreational users, and take it out of the hands of organised crime, contributing to our economy through the tax system.

The availability of medicinal herbal cannabis to all those who need it. It is grown successfully with great results as bedrocan in the Netherlands, and is just as effective as the prohibitively expensive sativex available currently. It is clear herbal cannabis is effective medicine, with remarkable results in sufferers of MS, Chron’s, and cancer all over the world. 16 US states and most of europe has access, why can’t patients here? 

The absolute necessity for banking reform should be something everyone’s aware of and talking about. the banks should not be allowed to create our money supply and profit from lending it! It’s a no-brainer once you think about it. Google Positive Money.

And the immediate availability of medicinal cannabis on a doctor’s prescription. It is obscene that sick people are being sent to jail for the medicine that they need.

population control

I have no suggestions to make for our next campaign. Mental health seems to require masses of help yet has been ignored by most governments please lets give that our support whilst not forgetting other areas.   I really don’t want to see the nationalistic ideas coming to the fore, that’s frightening, have we learned nothing from history?. We are semi involved in the EU, we should make our minds up and either be full members or leave the EU. We are part of Europe and need to be in there fighting our corner. The view taken by most people here in Europe is that they can’t take England seriously because we don’t commit ourselves fully. If the EU is so bad why is the pound always doing so badly against the Euro? Supposedly Spain Greece Portugal Ireland are in desperate trouble yet the pound is so low. People will say the pound being low helps exports to Europe. If we came out of the EU taxes would be raised to keep us out. Please resist going with campaigns that would make England an island again. We’ve done that, let’s be part of Europe.

Force this Government to give the electorate a referendum on the EU issue.They had the gall to have one on AV because it suited them,so another should be called and the matter of the the EU can be dealt with once and for all.

Certainly more free software in the public sector, especially educational institutions for fairly obvious reasons, starting with desktop operating systems not dependent on patented software. The maturity of an intellectually computer-literate population will depend on early opposition to software patents. See the documentary ‘Patent Absurdity’ and look up free software if you are feeling left behind. It’s well worth knowing a bit about the consequences of this monopolistic behaviour in particular. Google is taking the lead commercially with Android and Chrome OS and there is no reason to waste public money and be left behind!

http://www.oshi-uk.com/p/top-10-open-source-projects-for-nhs_18.html
http://en.windows7sins.org/

What about how Condem cuts affecting women and low paid families the most?

Sorry don’t agree, Our children don’t learn about how to survive in this country, or how to get a job or even what jobs are out there and what is need to get them.  Private schools learn self enterprise whilst our kids learn go and get a job and count your self lucky.  Having non qualified teachers is going to lead to more kids leaving school without the 3 R’s in FULL place.

University fees for me is still a big issue. After everything achieved for social mobility and cohesion, this move to higher contribution is based on exclusion. 

They’d be more than welcome to install the biggest wind turbine they have got in my back yard.
I think that what they represent and how they look is beautiful.

My worry is the younger generation’s lack of ability to communicate. Saturday morning and Sunday morning as well as full time children’s channels on tv are permitting parents and children to waste away their time, they’re not out playing and they’re not at home reading. There is a considerable part of education which takes place outside school. 

Please, please support the efforts to stop the raising of women’s pensionable age in such a quick, unjust manner. Women in the 55-58 age range may suddenly face having to wait several more years than expected to receive the state pension.  A longer change over period would give people time to plan for the extra years.

get behind Branson, Judi Dench and the rest of the gang… what are we, living in the dark ages?

How about a campaign to get Cameron to honour his promise about a referendum on whether we should stay members of the EU?  I bet the majority of the country would vote to leave this money grabbing set-up that wastes even more money than our own national govenrment.

decriminalize all drugs. the war is lost. use the tax to fund drug education and treatment for addicts.

most important of all – take on the banks. they are at the route of all the financial problems and are destroying the planet for their own benefit.

The opening of the family law courts to reporting.
The vast majority of the population have no idea of the institutionalised injustices which occur on a daily basis within the walls of these secret courts, and until they are open to public scrutiny and criticism, nothing will change.

Do you know that the Tanzanian government is determined to build a commercial highway across the irreplaceable Serengeti national park, a decision which will effectively destroy this World Heritage site? This is despite the fact that an alternative route, much less damaging, has been identified and will be paid for in full by the World Bank.

This is certainly a campaign worth waging – and I urge you to take it on.  Full details are at http://www.savetheserengeti.org/

Fair pensions to all – that is present and past. The current proposals will create a two system with future pensioners better off than the current pensioners.

I am horrified at the way Politicians of all colours disregard the disgaceful way the Doorstep & Payday Lenders have been encouraged to charge obsene rates of interest on loans,thus destroying the lives of the poorer people.  Even the OFT Report on this accepted it as acceptable.  This has to be controlled.
Credit Unions can help but need more support
Peter Watts

Fair to all pensioner present and future. Current proposals with create two tier system with the current pensioners made poorer and the future pensioners richer, i.e., two types of pensioners.

Changes in the housing benefit system are going to be devastating in my community. We may well see people living in very poor housing & a far more mobile, less stable community. It’s going to be awful. I would really appreciate a well articulated & researched campaign to challenge these proposals. Thanks.

1. stop the spraying of chemicals in our sky’s (barium, heavy metals etc). It’s destroying our air quality and our soil.
2. Stop pesticide spraying - our bees are dying, and our crops are so full of chemicals which we ingest!
3. Legalise ORGANIC RAW MILK only, in Scotland. (It’s already legal in England).
4. Save the Aberdeen Union Terrace Gardens from being concreted over – money it seems, can buy our politicians, and sell our common land to the highest bidder!
5. Say no to GM crops in BRITAIN, not just Scotland. Our politicians are being pressured into accepting GM crops in Scotland – they are already growing in England!

Campain to delete the Climate Change Act before the effects of it return this country to a pre-industrial peasant-based society. 

This type of selfish short sightedness makes my blood boil.

Imposing the requirement for paper qualifications is just academics creating a closed shop and shutting out those who don’t follow their path. Children need practical life skills as well, not to be forced into some blinkered view of what education means.

We need lots, lots more practical people in schools with real experience, not academics who have themselves gone from school to university and then back to school.  Is it any wonder so many of our children are so badly prepared for the real world?

Stop the destruction of our police forces

I feel that the housing benefit issue raised by John is part of one of the most important issues we need to raise.   Housing for first time buyers and renters is a chronic problem and needs addressing.   Being able to live independently is one of the most important first steps for young adults and the way that the 20 – 35 age group frequently have to live with their parents is a huge impediment for them compared to my generation’s experience of getting on the housing ladder in our early 20s.   The government should have a housing strategy at the top of its agenda and increased housing investment would also help the economy.   On a smaller note, can I put in a plea for a campaign for women like myself, recently pensioned, who will be denied access to the changes in pension qualifying periods being made for others.   Although this is a thorny issue in general, thousands of women who are currently 60+ are destined for extreme poverty because of the combination of 40 year qualifying periods, no maternity leave when we were young, (hence missed years of contribution) and the encouragement to us to pay ‘married woman’s stamp’ in our younger lives which now proves to have been a worthless payment.

“Windfarms ruining people’s lives”?  Please!  Go get a life and stop whining.  Count yourself lucky you don’t live next to a nuclear power station

How about getting us out of the European Union.  This will free up billions of pounds and we will then be able to make our own laws and deal with them ourselves instead of being told what to do by Brussels.

IIt saddens me when yet another Company announces “Due to the
economic climate we are going to out source work to India” since when did we have an abundance
of work in this country.  I strongly
agree I feel this country has been and still is being run by short sighted
politicians who have profited from the role they where elected to do lets ask
Mr Blair to help with the national debt.

So why do we get off so lightly?
Why don’t we have to replant our forests?
You know…”for the Earth as a whole”?

Concentrate on one simple issue like factory farming. Not complex ones like the NHS.  You lost me and my friends when you waded into that.   Fish farming may take off big time as our seas are overfished.  We should really be kicking up about that, and reclaiming our seas from the predatory EU. We used to have a much more fish-based diet as an island nation, and were healthier and brighter as a result. The Norwegians are still benefiting from their fish as they are outside the EU and have hung on to their fishing rights. But thanks to Edward Heath givng away our exclusion zone, our fish industry has been almost destroyed, and many British people can no longer afford fresh fish.

Fish farming is disgusting and not the answer to overfishing by the rest of the world.  Bring back the 200 mile exclusion zone.  Leave the EU.

As a former family court magistrate I take exception to your reference to family courts as institutionalised injustice. The courts are there to ensure the welfare of the children and they go to infinite and careful pains to get it as near right as they can. Unfortunateloy this can mean that a parent may not get what he or she wants; but that does not necessarily mean that the outcome or the procedure that lead to it was unjust. Opening these courts to the press would just encourage disgruntled parents to mount public campaigns to get their own way. don’t believe everything you read in the papers from campaigning journalists with an axe to grind.

We should campaign on care for the very old and infirm, whether in the NHS or in private provision. It’s not about money; we  need caring attitudes at the bedside not university degrees. And above all else we need the return of professional management which will ensure that care standards are met and failing staff disciplined.

Industry, government are PRETENDING to go green. Every so often you’ll see that so-and-so company has reduced its carbon footprint by using new “greener” technology. OK, agreed that these companies are reducing electricity consumption but there’s no consideration of the carbon used in maufacturing, transporting, packaging, etc of that technology. Why? Because its produced outside of UK (Europe, wherever its being measured). If anyone is serious about green savings, they have to look at the global picture for the effects of what they are doing. Stop cheating!

I suggest the immediate availability of medicinal cannabis on a doctor’s prescription as it will help a lot of people.

Obsession with wind Turbines as a renewable energy resource. People forget require conventional back up only 20% effcient who knows when wind will or will not blow or even as last winter have to be switched off the coldest weeks no wind power. Companies paid to switch of.

If money paid to private companies was spread around other technolgy pound for pound would generate far more power.

Can’t be considered very green when realise each turbine requires 5 meter deep concrete base size of olympic swimming pool think of all the traffic movement required for that and the peat dug out.

My biggest concern right now is the use of Hydraulic fracturing or “Fracking” in this country for the extraction of natural gas from Shale rock formations. While the evidence on environmental and social damage remains extremely controversial and up for debate, our government seemed determined to plough ahead with it.
The biggest concerns I have relate to the cocktail of chemicals used in the “Fracking” process and the subsequent disposal of waste water from the process and the potential for contamination of drinking water supplies. Anyone who has seen the film GasLand could not help but be amazed by people’s inflammable water from their taps.
When questioned at a Parliamentary select committee Mark Miller chief executive of Cuadrilla Resources ,the US based company carrying out the first attempt to extract gas in the UK via fracking in the Bowland Shale near Blackpool, admitted that leakages similar to those that have led to inflammable tap water cannot be ruled out. Yet last week, a parliamentary committee concluded there was no need to ban shale gas exploration in Britain as there was no direct evidence to suggest it was harmful to the environment. Cuadrilla have an agreement to carryout a 4 year exploration and extraction at Bowland without having to publically disclose any results from their operation, which is obviously a concern!
Meanwhile France’s Senate has decided to permanently ban shale gas drilling and revoke granted permits and I believe we should be following suit.
This needs to be stopped now, further licences should not be issued until conclusive evidence can be produced that Fracking is not related to the environmental concerns surrounding it, rather than our government saying that there is no conclusive proof that it is!

Stop the proposed cull of badgers in England. The scientific evidence is that it will be ineffective unless the cull is total. It has been shown to lead to an increase in bovine TB in adjacent areas. In Ireland where badgers have been all but wiped out, Bovine TB is still aproblem. An oral vaccine that can be administered to badgers to prevent them from catching Bovine TB should be available for use in two to three years. A government decision on the cull is said to be imminent.

Absolutely agree with this. And it relates to my suggestion for tackling training and support for care workers, below.

I have an email from my friend in Spain which shows how the people in Costa Rica are stealing the seal turtle’s eggs from the beach in order to sell them.  They have no idea what destruction they are causing.  Please could we help and support the sea turtles before they become extinct.  If you want to see the email

I have an email from my friend in Spain which shows how the people in Costa Rica are stealing the seal turtle’s eggs from the beach in order to sell them.  They have no idea what destruction they are causing.  Please could we help and support the sea turtles before they become extinct.  If you want to see the email

stop the BSKYB deal going through~apparently JEREMY hUNT WILL OKAY THE DEAL THIS WEEK !!!!
Avaaz have a campaign going to get Vince Cable to try to derail the deal~we need to get involved!!!
Stop Pesticide spraying before wew lose all our bees!!

‘The Spirit Level’ makes it clear that just about
all social problems are exacerbated by economic inequality and Dan Dorling’s
book ‘Injustice shows that inequality continues becuse much
that is currently wrong is widely seen as either inevitable or
justifiable. Economic inequality is the issue that could unite everyone, bar the
unelected elite, who’s greed is causing wars, climatic chaos, escalating
poverty and environmental collapse, in a common cause – everything else would
flow from that.

stop drug companies overpowering alternative medicines along with the EU taking peoples rights away to choose the medicine that works for them.

K

We should campaign against  the withdrawl of legal aid for whole areas of welfare law particulalry debt and benefits. The govt are curently deciding on this. If it goes through it will remove help for some of the poorest people in our country in the most difficult of situations. It’s not obvious and it’s not cuddly but it will make huge difference to tens of thousands of our fellow citizens

Climate change and environmental protection.
A ban on food waste to landfill would be a good start.

Can we get halal and kosher ritual slaughter banned? There’s no “ritual” for the poor animals involved, just total shock at seeing their throats cut before their eyes and slowly bleeding to death twitching on the floor in a pile of similarly abused animals.

the war on drugs…in particular medical cannabis…Why don’t we try taking a completely new approach to this problem? At least six million people in Britain use cannabis regularly and whatever we do we’re not going to stop them. We waste billions every year on police, court and prison resources when a large proportion of society uses cannabis without any problem at all. In fact, the only real problem with cannabis is that it’s illegal. The risks to health are very small – much, much less than alcohol or tobacco. Why not introduce a tax and regulate system and realise the benefits?

Stop all Fossil Fuel Extraction…We could start with the Tar Sands in Northern Alberta Canada, it’s an abomination of our beautiful planet and a catastrophe for all the indigenous First Nation Tribal people who live there. we don’t need to be doing these awefull and suicidal things anymore…

get us out of the eec.  and get rid of human rights and revert to the Magna Carta

How about a campaign to force companies to favour UK jobs over foreign ones by keeping their call centres in the UK?

I think we should take on the global Bankster occupation. The people of Ireland and Greece were sold down the drain and this affects us all. I don’t think people in the UK fully understand what has happened in the 2008 Banking crisis and how unstable fiat currency is. A  financial war is currently going on between Europe and the US to see who breaks first.We have to suffer austerity measures in UK including the dismantling of our NHS while we bomb Libya into democracy leaving Bahrain a dictatorship!

Until we deal with the growing gap between rich and poor nothing will get better.  Please do something about tax dodging – up to now they have just ignored every attempt to put it across.  The income of the wealthy grew by 20% while the rest of us are struggling or like mine – never had a rise for six years but my job has got harder, I have less time for myself but I need to work to pay the increasing bills.  I am on low pay.  Lots of others will be the same.

Are you being serious???
Surely you are having a laugh.

Please Tell China to stop torture and killing of thousands of innocent peopleSince 1999, the Chinese government has been torturing and killing thousands of innocent people whose only crime is to believe in truth, compassion and tolerance. The Chinese government banned the spiritual practice called Falun Gong in 1999, although this peaceful practice of T’ai-Chi-like exercise, meditation and trying to be true, good and tolerant, is openly practiced in around 70 countries. The Chinese government’s reason for banning Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is purely political.Falun Gong followers in China have a choice – to stop following it (it is not even safe to practice in secret) or to practice openly, and lose your job, your home, healthcare, and then be sent to work 20-hour days in the work camps, making goods – without pay – for export. Refusal to be enslaved will mean the nastiest, most extreme torture, and then likely, death. I cannot believe that this genocide is being allowed to go on, as if these people’s deaths don’t matter, and I strongly feel that something should be done about it – if only to make people aware of what is happening. I only found out recently, but this has been going on since 1999! Please, please will you join me to protest this awful violation of people’s rights to free thought and to exercise together in a peaceful way?Lots of information about Falun Gong and the persecution is available on these sites: http://faluninfo.net/ and http://www.falundafa.org/eng/home.html

Improved services for male victims of sexual violence/abuse across the lifespan in the UK/EU .. see 

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/full-episode-200-adult-men-who-were-molested-come-forward-video

The research show one on six males will have experienced an unwanted sexual contact – usually by close family member or person well known to the family – see 

1in6.org

This issue needs a community response to ensure men are not just valuable as soldiers but also human beings etc 

1.  Housing (especially social housing) – the building of new and the renovation of old properties must be made easier but not allowed to damage the environment

2.  A related issue – residential landlords are now required to install central heating, but not to install double glazing and other energy-saving equipment.

3.  The education system in England and Wales (not sure about Scotland or N. Ireland) is failing our children and, consequently the future of our society.  It needs to be removed from constant political interference and given to the professionals to oversee,

4.  The daft legislation that effectively criminalises those who question the validity of same-sex relationships on perfectly legitimate academic and scientific grounds must be rolled back to allow freedom of debate on this important issue for society.

Wow, I had no idea there was a proposed cull on Badgers…i live in the heart of the South Downs where we have many badgers sets. In the past few weeks there have been local farmers setting snares for the badgers and then driving the hedgerows at night with shotguns trying to shoot them…If you have any more info on this matter i would really appreciate to hear it…This really needs to be brought to light…Thank you for sharing and yes I believe this should be 38 degrees next objective…ramsay 

Sack useless Tory hunting, shooting and fishing minister, Jim Paice. Animal welfare has never seen such set backs since he was strung into position by puppeteer Cameron. In just 12 months, Defra’s Jim Paice has:
Refused to ban wild animals in circuses… Overturned a ban on battery
cages for ‘game birds’… As Hunting and Shooting Minister, committed to a
repeal of the Hunting Act… Routinely voiced his support for a badger
cull… Ended badger vaccination trials… Dropped charges against
slaughterhouse offenders… Reduced the number of vets at markets…
Stated his intention to reduce on-farm inspections… Declared his
support for the offspring of cloned animals to be killed for their meat
and milk… Backed the ‘sustainable intensification’ of the ‘livestock’
industry.

HE’S GOT TO GO!

I think it would be good to extend your NHS campaign to a more general one on the commodification/outsourcing of public services. For instance, see the short piece  by Howard Hotson in the latest LRB (online at http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n11/howard-hotson/short-cuts) about how the coalition government is letting loose onto cash-strapped British would-be students BPP (a notorious private university owned by the US-based Apollo Group). there are many global companies making billions out running outsourced services for UK government bodies (see http://analytica.metapress.com/content/y865j96l54438251/fulltext.pdf).

regulation of international banking

Magna Carta (plus the foresters charter) conferred some human rights (like habeas corpus).

I would suggest not campaigning until something comes up that demands a campaign.  Otherwise there is a danger your campaigns will lose their pungency.

There are already campaigns for join this, leave that, and be kinder to them.

This is a good place for a rapid response campaign.

Protest against the proposed new mega-mosque in East London; this will be the largest in EUROPE! This is England, not the back end of Mecca. We wouldn’t be allowed to build a Christian church in any arab country so why on earth should we permit islamics to build mosques with their ranting calls five times a day here? These people are blatantly taking over our country by equally blatantly using our free speech and freedom of religion laws. It’s got to stop!

I’m sorry but your comment is completely wrong. This country is being dragged down by Europe. We contribute £billions, far more than we gain and it is the Euro that is failing as a currency and doing very badly, not the pound, as many financial experts predicted it would. Many European Governments are corrupt and the vast majority of EU legislation is determined by unelected committees, not the Euro MP’s as you would think. This country will only be great again if allowed to stand on its own with NO interference from mainland Europe!

Libraries. South Korea is top of the PISA reading rankings and is building 180 new libraries. UK is 25th and closing 450. A group of us are launching National Libraries Day which will take place every February and promote school and public libraries and School Library Services. After the NHS and schools, libraries are probably the next most popular publicly funded institution, but they are in mortal danger.

I suggest that all those who are taken to A & E as a direct result of binge drinking should be subject to a heavy fine.  Why should the rest of us moderate drinkers pay for their disgusting behaviour?

hi the next campaign should be tackling gang culture my project WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE teaches socialy disadvantaged children to paint with a palet knife showing them there are more positive ways to use a knife google henriettasophia and check my page who do you think you are i need funding to implement this project
thanks all
sophia

Halt further immigration. There are 6.5 million people living in Libya yet there are 65 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE TINY UK. As we cannot make ends meet and face an almost unstoppable slide into 3rd world status let’s SEND THEM ALL HOME.

My current concern is a trying to protect a local – to Ipswich Wildlife site see “Save Kiln Meadow”

http://www.greenlivingcentre.org.uk/iwg/skim.htm

We should be campaigning not just about cannabis but calling either for the decriminalisation of drug-taking OR the banning of nicotine! You can’t have a situation – as we did last week – of a Govt minister saying the UK would ‘never’ look at the lunacy of our present drug laws on the grounds that “illegal drugs are dangerous” while ignoring the fact that the ver same Govt happily allows people to buy nicotine products which the law demands carry warnings about the harm they cause both the smoker and those around them…. Yes, I know it’s all about the billions that the Govt takes in via cigarette duties but you can’t allow such hypocrisy to flourish. Decriminilasing drugs would – as every study has shown – reduce crime, improve health outcomes for the vast majority of addicts who could then easily seek help and save vast amounts of money on policing. It would also deprive organised crime of one of its major sources of finance. It is, in the common parlance, a no-brainer and yet we never even have a serious debate about it in our press just knee-jerk rubbish from politicians and self-appointed moral guardians (aka idiots).      

Campaign AGAINST Cameron’s completely unreasonable wish to increase overseas aid. India’s got a space programme, for heaven’s sake yet we are still handing over millions to them; pity it’s not their own people we’re giving them back!

There are too many foreigners living here so why not give it directly to them while they’re here – then they can do what they’ve wanted to do since the 12th century – MAKE THE UK AN ISLAMIC STATE.
WAKE UP BRITAIN!

Campaign for reinstatement of Sure Start Programmes – much better to help and support families and children as young as possible than trying to fiddle around entrance requirements at university. Campaign for monitoring gender equity of govt. programmes – women much more disadvantaged by the economic cuts.

After the disastrous referendum last month hi-jacked by the
misinformation of the NO campaign there needs to be a renewed effort to
get a FAIR voting system for our representatives.

How can Parliament represent the population if it is not proportional to the will of people ?

Everything else follows from a proportional parliament.

PLEASE VOTE FOR FAIR ELECTIONS

We should campaign to STOP THE EXPORT OF LIVE ANIMALS. It is barbaric that we send live animals to slaughterhouses in Europe and beyond.

The Magna Carta? 
The one that says a woman’s only recourse to criminal law is when it concerns the death of her husband? Or that a landlord is entitled to beat his tenant as long as he doesn’t actually kill him? 
I think we might have come quite a long way since 1215…

I don’t know if you’ve done any work on care for the elderly. I think this should be at the top of everyone’s list: abuse, ill-treatment and  neglect of old people in hospitals and care-homes, inadequate pension provision, underfunding of geriatric support, research and care, the terrible state of  ‘care in the community’ where too few paid social care workers are supporting far too many old people. We are all going to get old and our society’s willful disregard for our old people is a disgrace to us all. Even from a selfish standpoint, we can’t pretend this is never going to happen to us and ours in the future.

The government need to do much more to protect children.  This needs to include how they are treated and educated from birth to about 10, the time of their lives which is the foundation for what comes after. Having worked in prison I find that nearly all of the inmates had appalling childhoods. Children with difficult childhoods, including divorce, do less well at school, are more likely to be ill in later life and to make poor relationships.  All this makes them at a disadvantage, while they cost the state more. 

I would like a campaign to make teaching of interpersonal skills and child rearing skills compulsory in all schools.  These skills are the basis of so much we do in life, yet they are not taught.  It is fine if you have good parents, but if you do not where do you learn these skills?

When the Vickers report comes out, the Govt will need to be reminded that the public certainly don’t want to be in a position again where big banks must be bailed out. The recommendations of the Independent Banking Commission should be a minimum.

It was announced this morning that anyone living in a council house, earning more than £100,000 per year should be made to give it up. I would like to campaign for that amount to be lowered to at least £50,000. That way, the housing market would get a much needed boost and all those people who actually NEED a council house could be housed. 

Lets have a campaign for a referendum on continued EU membership so that the polititans can be forced to stop selling us down the river to a political empire. When we originally joined it was sold to us as a trading organisation.

Thats the first sensible thing you said today – your previous comments smack of BNP and have no place here – frankly.  You dont want to see animals treated horendously, I totally agree, so - why dont you apply that concern and sense of injustice to people, young and old, being subjected to indescribable torture and death, globally? 

Absolutely agree regarding those who truly care.  Most carers and nurses working in care homes / nursing homes do so because they DO care – certainly not for the money!  If nurse training were to be a mix of the old and the new so that student nurses were part of the the workforce on the wards it would reduce the need for so many Registered Nurses, give student nurses the “hands on” experience they should have and reduce the financial load on the NHS.  I also strongly believe that to have one person at the top of the tree – as with the old Matron – would maintain standards more effectively rather than a committee headed by a professional civil servant.

Teachers’ pensions – surely if the govt want to encourage more quality teachers to enter the profession they(the govt) should not be tampering with it. Thoughts please.

Please see my input re council housing. It would only be part of the answer but it would have some impact. 

URGENT. We only have a few days left in which to stop MURDOCH getting his hands on Sky News.

With his unprecedented power he will be able to continue to swing elections in his favour, to the disadvantage of the people

I’d suggest that 38 degrees could approach this from a less divisive (and more likely to succeed) angle. It could campaign for any of the following:
1) A broad, independent review of drugs policy. That’s probably the most this Govt will give.
2) Portuguese-style decriminalisation, where personal possession is rightly treated as a health rather than criminal matter.
3) Reform of the awful classification system.

We should campaign to protect the elderly.  No country can call itself civilised in which thousands of elderly people die from cold each winter, in which care homes abuse their residents, where local authorities shut homes in which people have lived for years and where people who are disabled are visited for only 15 minutes a day by an underpaid, overworked, exploited carer.  This  is a stain on our nation which is as bad as child abuse, yet it largely goes unreported.  If a fraction of the concern shown over children or animals, bird flu scares or potential asteroid collisions, was spent on the issue of our callous disregard for the elderly, we would be able to deal with this issue.  I call for a campaign to establish the rights of the elderly to be given equal weight with other groups in society and to protect the most vulnerable from the forces of commercialism in the provision of care.

But if stocks are over-fished for short-term gain, there will also be no long-term fishing industry (not to mention the future of those species).

Stop the fracking – fight shale gas exploration!

Campaign against the dangerous new practice of ‘fracking’ for shale gas which is underway in the UK (possibly causing a small earthquake) despite the water pollution problems in the US. Or do something about the even bigger, international issue of tar sands exploitation in Alberta, Canada and our Government’s keenness to fudge emissions standards to let the products of these incredibly destructive industrial projects be sold in Europe.

I would like to see a campaign  in support of homeopathy. This system of medicine has been successfully used for over 200 years and is widely used in many countries.
Unlike orthodox medicine it is very much based on treatment of the individual.
This takes TIME – the medicines themselves are not expensive.
This is the opposite of orthodox medicine.

Homeopathy is based on holistic principles.
An example would be: You are driving along in your car and the oil light starts flashing – do you therefore pull the oil light out and throw it out of the window? Naturally you would look inside the bonnet of the car to see what has gone wrong.  You might say that modern medicine sometimes tends to look at the flashing light (your symptom) as a problem and aims to suppress it. Holistic medicine sees your symptoms as a sign, or an indicator, that a problem has already occurred. Once you understand what has made your body “turn the flashing light on”, you would want to encourage the body to deal with the underlying problem and express it safely.
Our bodies use expression as a safe way of dealing with illness – if we get a splinter we make pus to push it out; if we eat something bad our body tries to find a way to get rid of it such as vomiting.

There has been a concerted and vitriolic campaign against homeopathy in the press for the past few years. Just because a system of medicine cannot be tested yet by  the methods scientists currently use does not inherently mean it is invalid. It may be that in the near future hoeopathy will be explained by using the principles of quantum physics as this seems to be the nearest description which can be understood by scietnists of what happens during the preparation of homeopathic remedies.

I wonder as well what vested interests there are against this form of medicine – after all it is cheap to produce and may well involve the patient not having to take drugs long term!

Homeopathic hospitals in Britain use a tiny drop of the overall NHS budget.
Homeopathy is fantastic in first aid situations and can be used for epidemics too. It used to be used in the A and E department of a London hospital.

There are studies which show homeopathy working, these are not the the ones widely quoted.
Here is one link: http://www.extraordinarymedicine.org
Let the money follow the patient and allow patient choice.

Howzabout backing off from Libya? So bankrupt are we that we can afford another war…and yes it is a war…they’re firing off missiles galore each of which costs the salary of a minimum wage!

Separate the UK civil and military nuclear programmes.

There is a need to consider the nuclear power operations as part of our total energy budget, but rational debate is difficult as long as there is no clear boundary separating working on nuclear power and contributing to nuclear weapons. People are reluctant to work in nuclear power because of this connection.

We may not be able to completely separate the two. However, it should be easy to classify most existing sites as white (wholly non-military), grey (civil but accepting waste from military sites), and black (producing military materials, or unwilling to be classified); without any significant security compromises.

My personal point of view (not part of this proposal) is that there are safer forms nuclear reactor, such as the wave reactors or thorium-based reactors that could generate power with much less processing of fuel outside the reactor. Our nuclear technologies remain stuck in the seventies, and part of this lack of development must be due to the coupling with the military.
   

How about campaigning for people to pay for their contraceptives, abortions and IVF treatments?   this would save the NHS a lot of money, and would also ensure that British tax-payers are not subsidising forced abortions and sterilisations in China through Marie Stopes International and other such organisations.   None of these are life-saving or therapeutic and the money saved could be used to help people who are suffering from life-threatening and other illnesses.

Ha ha ha ha ha

First aid? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGIbOGu8q0

While the Financial industry is working ‘business as usual” I feel strongly that we sould NOT allow  ourselves to sit back and ‘forget’ the fact this industry has bought the world too it’s knees. This is unfinished business in my book and unacceptable.

Obviously the care of the elderly, mentally ill and disabled people and the social care system all need a good kick up the butt. I’ll happily support campaigns for those things. 

I also would like to propose a campaign to help my charity organisation to get antifreeze preparations banned in the UK/EU unless they contain a bitterant. 10,000′s of pets die in the UK every year from this. I already have a petition with over 1000 signatures on but I need  a massive hit of people asking their MP’s to get this done in Parliament. If an 11 year old girl can do it in America, then we shouldn’t have too many issues. I have the company that has the non-toxic EG antifreeze behind me and the girl who did it in the States.  You don’t even have to like cats/dogs to want to do this. Some of my members have reported that their kids drinks were spiked in nightclubs with antifreeze. Ann Summers boss was poisoned with an antifreeze preparation by her nanny. Lee Knight is now blind, deaf and severely disabled after his wife used antifreeze to poison him for his life insurance.  I have over a 1000 members on my facebook group and the stories I read from people who have lost a beloved pet breaks my heart. Come the winter and people will be putting this stuff in their water features to stop them freezing. It’s not only cats that drink from this unfrozen source of water but birds and other wildlife too.  Such a simple thing to achieve… and I’m only a couple of steps up the ladder.  Blue Death Org UK.

How about Cumbria County Councils assault on valued teaching assistant salaries with up to a 30% pay cut. Teaching standards and child welfare will suffer, let alone the human rights issue of not having salaries cut without even any change of conditions.

Every political party over the last 20/25 yrs has paid financial lip service to the long term funding for the elderly in care homes ,be they public or private sector . Its time a government pledged two key things a charter of rights for the elderly & adequate funding for those in long term residential care . The latter comes down to political priorities do we as a country value the care we give our elderly ,above spending millions on replacing trident? ,do we  care for the elderly above sinking millions into new nuclear power stations ?. The government will recieve around 90million into the treasury from the sale of the tote to the bookmakers Betfred will they pledge any of that money to go into long term care for the elderly . ?

We are ALL potential clients so we have a duty both short term & long term to get our politicians to get there priorities right .its people before weapons ,its people before nuclear, its the peoples 90million invest it in the people .

Campaign to stop the industrialisation of the beautiful landscape of mid Wales by the erection of pylons to feed electricity into the national grid from an increasing number of wind farms.

I liked the suggestion on the Facebook page of “Free Social Care for the elderly and disabled.”
 If we can’t look after the vunerable in our society then what is the point of the social services and NHS, surely that is what they are designed for.

I did a search for the word “faith” on your facebook page and ws surprised that nothing came up. I know there are a lot of people concerned about the governments obsession with allowing religiouse groups take over our public services so I propose the following:

“Halt the spread of segregation and discrimination in our education system by removing funding for “faith schools”"

and

“Stop the takeover of our public services by “faith” organisations.”

How about a campaign for awareness, funding and research and development into the scientific literature and devices of Viktor Schauberger? A properly built suction turbine could literally provide free energy, I know from my own implementation that a repulsator heals sick and dying trees, and significantly raises the fertility and health of a land size proportional to the size of the repulsator.
If these eco-tech devices could be fully understood and mass produced, it would pretty much overnight render the whole global warming debacle redundant, as well as help move us away from unsustainable modern farming practices.

This has been taken from the Butterfly Conservation website. Long term there can be nothing more important than the health of our environment. If you need more information please contact Martin Warren at Butterfly Conservation27 APRIL 2011Join our campaign to keep vital wildlife legislationThe Government has recently launched a consultation on the proposed scrapping of a whole range of regulations, known as the ‘Red Tape Challenge’. This was launched by Vince Cable on 7 April 2011 in a bid to boost short-term economic growth. Amazingly this includes most of the wildlife legislation that we and our partners have worked so hard to get on the statute books in recent years.In short, it seems Government is considering getting rid of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, the Climate Change Act, and 278 environment laws (among thousands of laws and regulations). These Acts are essential for protecting key wildlife sites and species from development and have been developed after long campaigns by wildlife NGOs. Scrapping them would results in immeasurable damage to species and habitats, including butterflies and moths.Environmental regulations fall under “general regulations” on which the Government are inviting comments throughout the process. The Cabinet Office is ‘crowdsourcing’ proposals for which laws should be scrapped, with Ministers facing a basic presumption that laws and regulations listed in the Red Tape Challenge should be scrapped. Once the nation has had its say, Ministers will have three months to work out which regulations they want to keep and why.The Government’s website invites comments either as an individual or as an organisation, about the need to protect our environment. The website lists the 278 environmental regulations under scrutiny and your comments can be left under 7 broad headings.Please support our campaign to keep the laws that help us protect butterflies moths and the environment.If you have 30 seconds
Sign the online petition.If you have 2 minutes Register your views on the Government website.

Banning Fracking
a controversial mining method that can pollute all our drinking water
it will not matter which area you live in all water will be polluted
Fracking is unsustainable unsuitable and unlivable

Save the Royal Mail 

The NHS costs of dealing with smoking related illnesses should be borne by the tobacco industry – they make profit out of severe health risks.  The same can apply to junk food manufacturers, sugar producers and sugar containing commodities and the connection with  obesity.  and all and any other harmful substances currently used for consumption/manufacture.  This would produce an enormous additional income for the NHS.

Also a severe check should be carried out on the amount of free stuff issued to the more wealthy members of society and the effectiveness of the managers within the health service,

Give us an English Parliament so that we have a voice, and stop all of these billions of pounds of English tax payers money going to the Celtic countries, which enable them to afford free prescriptions, better cacer drugs, free care for the elderly, etc, etc which we English cannot affored.

Don’t you believe in freedom of belief then?  People in the UK should be free to choose whichever religion they like.
Just because certain other countries don’t allow freedom of belief, that doesn’t mean we should copy them!

There is a requirement for slaughter to be done in a reasonably humane manner, with animals stunned first. However, for some reason, there is an exemption for some religious slaughter. Unfortunately, halal/kosher is now extremely common, partly because it’s easier not to bother with the stunning. The RSPCA,
British Veterinary Association, Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) and others think the ritual slaughter exemption should be removed entirely.

A compromise solution is simply a labelling scheme to inform customers of whether their meat comes from unstunned animals. MEPs voted for this but Ministers – including our own – vetoed it.

The fact that I disagree with Pandorini’s other
suggestions – all massively xenophobic – but agree with this, suggests that this is an issue with
potentially broad support. All that’s needed is publicity to counter industry lobbying.

Stop force drugging in mental clinics. When a person cannot
metabolize a drug or a substance or a combination of exogenous substances, it
accumulates above therapy into toxicity and manifests as psychosis. This is
seized upon by doctors as looking like disease and is used as excuse for more
expensive drugging. But it is the doctors and their drugs that are causing the
disease iatrogenically, a disease caused by the drugs and the doctors and their
abusive treatments, placing one drug over another where one drug inhibits the
metabolism of the other inducing accumulation and toxicity; they in fact invite
adverse drug reactions rather than disease and knowingly induce akathisia a
precursor to suicide and or homicide. This is not healthcare but is
intentionally used as punishment and resulting in the clogging of the health
services to overflowing with patients who should not be there. After these ugly
drugs and drug combinations induce psychosis and tardive akathisia resulting in
violence, they are then sent to jail at even more expense. Genetic testing,
cytochrome 450 testing, a test for adequate liver and gut metabolism for drugs
both street drugs and pharmaceutical drugs must be made to be undertaken before
any coercive drugging and consequent criminal force drugging leading to induced
suicide because many patients are known to commit suicide because any drugging
makes them worse. Doctors are so used up by drug companies and are so self
deluded with their own importance and blinded by the easy money they make and
are so disrespectful toward their patients they cause patient resentment and
violence which is then criminalized by justice health and even more destructive
force drugging and abuse is introduced. Their arrogance is a sickness in itself
but to have it perpetrated upon others through force drugging is criminal
torture. 800000 people and 2 billion computers cannot be wrong. 38 degrees
should think about this now for in the very near future cytochrome P-450
pharmacogenetic testing will be the new personalized medicine paradigm… Justice
health is an oxymoron. Force drugging has nothing to do with health.

Millions of people use cannabis for medicinal purposes as the poisonous chemicals there are currently given either do not work or cause more harm. Unfortunately these people may be sent to prison due to an unjust law preventing them from being in possession of their medicine.

A countrywide campaign should go ahead to repeal this cruel and unnecessary law.

How about imigration control. This country is full up. and there are far too many failed asylum seekers waiting to be sent back. Some have been here for years, at our expense. Some disappear into our society, and end up claiming all sorts of benefits.

More and more houses are being built, swallowing up green field and greenbelt land. The roads are obviously over crowded. the NHS is struggling to cope because there are far too many people now using and abusing it. It could cope with the population when it came in to being, but not now.

I live in a village/small town in Bedfordshire called Flitwick. There are plans to build several hundred more houses in the area, and as many again in neighbouring Ampthill, without a thought about local peoples opinion. The local schools and doctors’ surgeries are struggling as it is. the infrastructure for this sort of expansion just isn’t there.

Better Road Surfaces
Campaign to bring the road system back to a proper state – not just poorly patching a few pot holes here and there. Use more of the £millions collected  from motorists through the ‘Road Fund License’ -brought in for exactly for this purpose!

Stop the psychiatrics controlling policy that dictates no biomedical reseach passes through the MRC and controls the NICE Guidelines. Enough is Enough.

“The UK Medical Research Council is in possession
of a secret file on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) that contains records and
correspondence since at least 1988; the file is held in the UK Government
Archive at Kew and cannot be opened until 2023.  This present document is
an overview of the misinformation and contradictions about Myalgic
Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) that have pervaded some UK
Departments of State and other agencies since 1988.  It also considers the
involvement of certain UK psychiatrists who have proven vested interests in the
propagation of this misinformation that is contrary to world-wide scientific
evidence and that for two decades has resulted in the medical abuse of UK
patients with ME/CFS.” (Hooper: Magical Medicine 2010)

The psychiatric
lobby are risking the lives
of these patients, yet Government policy dictates their beliefs. Our lives are
really in their hands. This
collective of psychiatrists, known as the ‘Wessely School’ have propagated
untruths and falsehoods about the M.E to the medical, legal, insurance and
media communities, as well as to Government Ministers and to Members of
Parliament.

Influenced
by the propaganda, Government bodies such as NICE, the Medical Research Council
and the Department of Work and Pensions have continued the existence of same
falsehoods with the result that patients are left with no treatment, being
sectioned against their will for “abnormal illness beliefs”, children are being
forced into psychiatric therapy at the Government’s expense and support and the
Government refuse to fund any biomedical research into the condition.

In continuous
correspondence with the previous Department of Health, they keep passing the
buck to NICE stating over and over that there is a “medical disagreement” over
M.E/CFS. The Government also state that they support the WHO ICD-10. Classification when clearly they do not all treatment protocols are
based around psychiatric treatment plans.

This is
not enough: they WILL NOT claim responsibility for the situation. People in
positions of power are misusing that power against sick people and are using it
to further their own vested interests, but no-one in authority is listening, at
least not until they themselves or their own family join the ranks of the
psychiatrically-persecuted, when they too come up against a wall of utter
indifference.

Ask any
medical professional and they will keep saying that blood results on M.E
patients come back as normal therefore there cannot be anything physically
wrong with them. Dig deeper and you’ll discover this is not the truth.

In 2001
the US Centres for Disease Control pointed out that basic laboratory tests are
insufficient for ME/CFS patients because it is known that routine screening is
normal in 90% of such patients, thus highlighting the need for sub-grouping and
for more complex investigations such as immunological assays, nuclear medicine
screening and gene expression profiling. [1]

In the
UK, existing policy commands the non-investigation of ME/CFS patients
other than by routine blood tests.  It commands that no specialist testing
or facilities other than psychiatric “fatigue centres” are needed for the care
of ME/CFS patients; it commands that specialist training for doctors about the
disease is necessary nor relevant; it commands the denial of appropriate
medical care

This is
the approach advocated by the Royal Colleges Report: “Perform the minimum
number of investigations” and”Provide appropriate and
unambiguous reassurance when there is no evidence of relevant physical
pathology” [which there isn’t going to be if you don’t run the tests!][2].

Most
shockingly, current policy approves the use of Court Orders for the compulsory
removal from their home of both children and adults with ME under the auspices
of the Mental Health Act if patients decline psychiatric intervention, such as the
tragic case of Sophia Mirza.[3]

[1] Co-Cure RES: NOT: 17th
July 2001

[2] Essential skills/tasks for a
multidisciplinary CFS unit Royal Colleges Report 1996

[3] http://www.sophiaandme.org

Dogs mess is again becoming a serious issue in my area.

Dogs mess arises all over the place and ‘owners’ often leave their dog off the lead in a park or on the beach and the dog messes .  The owner is either not watching or is aware but cannot be bothered to clear up.  I walked behind a man with his dog in the park, the man turned just as the dog was doing its business.  He quickly looked away and when I coughed he turned and found a bag.  He probably did what way to many disgusting dog owners do – throw the bag somewhere and it gets caught in a tree leaving a permanent scar .

I love all animals – but I do believe that we should get really tough with dog owners.

Compulsory Licensing  should be reintroduced (special consideration for the less well of elderly ) and all dogs should be chipped and DNA recorded.  In the event of mess being left then the offending substance can be tested and the ‘owner’ identified.  A heavy fine should then follow of at least £1000

What’s happened to the lighter nights campaign?

please campaign to help the severely mentally ill ,the most vulnerable in society,who are being pressured by multiple assessments for their care. which  is causing mental distress to the mentally ill ,and their carers who are often elderly .

You just blew any chance of being taken seriously by your overlong, poorly formatted rant.

Definitely a referendum on EU membership!

Of course.  The “war on drugs” perpetrated by corrupt politicians is responsible for more death and misery than all other wars put together.

Stop the abolish of DLA and the introduction of PIP until more studies and proper consultation has been completed.  Many vulnerable people are being target all because the Government prefers to cut the benefits of the poor rather than tax the rich.

Please campaign against HS2, the proposed new high speed railway. I am not against extending high speed railway, but we already have high speed railways in the form of the West Coast Line and the East Coast Line, which the government already proposes to use north of Manchester and Leeds. Rail Package 2 (RP2) has already been produced by the Department for Transport. By extending trains and platforms, and eliminating seven blockage points on the West Coast Line, RP2 gives twice the value for money of HS2, for just one sixth of the net cost. Improvements can be made incrementally to meet demand. We have only until July 29th to respond to the government’s ill thought out proposals!

Much stricter immigration control including from other EU countries. If EU rules don’t allow that then we have an excellent reason for a referendum on EU membership.

Please campaign for compulsary Relationships Education linked with Citizenship to be taught in all our schools, and not just as an option linked with sex education. Relationships Education is about getting along with each other and being tolerant to all other groups in society - eg based on gender, ethnicity, age and religious beliefs - in today’s world.

I urge you all to pay attention to the Care Home scandal uncovered by Panorama http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/5198250.stm

Anybody who is not in favour of the state funded torture of extremely vulnerable people by a private organisation making millions from “caring” should force themselves to watch this footage – and trust me however bad you thought it could be it is worst. I speak as someone who has worked in a East London  Mental health ward (the poorest borough in London) that has now closed down because the building was not fit for purpose.

The failure of management and of the Care Commision to act on solid information about the crimes and human rights abuses commonly occuring in this ward should be a focus of solid compaigning for change. It is a worrying indication of the potential consequences of less rigidly monitored private care but it is also a broader campaigning issues for better community based small care facilities for the mentally ill and people with learning disabilities. Why are we spending millions on services that are failing vulnerable people, families and the staff trying to do a very difficult job? Research shows that smaller community based facilities are effective and no more costly in the long run.

These issues may not be very glamorous campaigning areas but this represents one of the most shocking failures of this country, and it is an issue that no-one wants to see. Locking “ill” or different people away in unacceptable conditions and refusing them basic human rights……and paying millions for the privilige? Is this a situation that we can afford to let continue, you tell me?

At the very least I would greatly appreciate a email petition campaign to request a extensive investigation and review of private, and may be also state, run care home inspections and monitoring. I would also suggest a campaign for enforced minimal levels of qualification for staff caring for vulnerable people, right now there is no minimal standard or wage (other then the minimum wage) for people doing an extremely demanding and what should be an extremely skilled job. 

I wish for medical grade cannabis, as is available elsewhere in the EU,  to be prescribed by doctors, for those suffering with chronic illnesses.

I think there should be a national campaign to put the new National Grid pylons underground rather than despoling thousands of miles of our countryside with huge pylons.

END THE EXPORT CREDIT GUARANTEE FUND – When our arms manufacturers sign a contract with a foreign power (Saudi or Jordan for example) they have a commitment from the government that the British taxpayer will pay the bill if the foreign power reneges on the contract. So when Jordan received its Chieftain tanks and it decided it could only pay for half of them the British taxpayer was forced to pay for the rest. When the Saudis signed for a £50billion arms package they knew that it would be subsidised by the British taxpayer if they couldn’t pay. They ran out of money and left us with a bill reputedly in excess of £20billion. It has been said that golden handshakes occur at the signing of the contracts where millions of £’s are passed to the government rep who has blessed the deal. After all if the deal is blessed the foreign power will only end up paying a proportion of the cost. In one case a government rep, unusually not an MP, got £14million. All of this was exposed in the press but it was before the internet. Then we had no way of pressuring the government to relinquish fraudulent practice. Now we do.

The first round of the battle for our forests has been won, it’s true, but it’s not over yet.  I received a letter from my MP, Pamela Nash yesterday (credit where it’s due!) to tell me of the setting up of the independent panel and that they are currently inviting public opinion.  38 Degrees would do very well to publicise this fact as I have been informed by Ms Nash that the government have confirmed they still intend to sell off 15% of the forests regardless of the panel’s findings.

You can contact the panel online at http://archive.defra.gov.uk/rural/forestry/documents/forestry-panel-callforviews-110519.pdf (more info at http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/forestry/panel/ - the pdf link seems to work intermittently but definitely works if you link from the second one) or write to them atDefra Nobel House17 Smith SquareLondonSW1P 3JRSubmissions close on the 31st July.

Please, 38 Degrees, you have done so much in this fight – don’t become complacent now, the battle was won but the war is not yet over.

In Scotlannd the National parks have introduced a ban on WILD Camping where the only thing wild is the irrisponsible behaviour of too many.  As a result areas outside the National parks are now being targeted by these vandals leaving campsites full of human excreta other slightly less litter even full tents with all camping gear left pitched.  These idiots should not be confused with real wild campers, canoists climbers  or any other activities where the rule is leave no evidence of your presence.  The Police do not act against these vandals.  This is becoming a country where criminals have all the rights and law abiding citizens have none, Campaign could be no rights for convicted criminals and fight through the European courts to change the law in Brussels.

Colin Smith

We should have a campaign to tackle islamic extremism from groups such as M.A.C. who parade our streets with impunity abusing our soldiers and spewing other illegal racial outbursts without recourse. Our government ‘refuse’ to recognise this problem from the muslims but are quick to react to the far right EDL.
In fact recently on a radio show concerning this matter MP Richard Hewitt was discussing extremism from the EDL but refused to recognise or answer any questions concerning extremist muslims as if it didn’t exist. This is one of the reasons that extremist islam is growing in this country, because our corrupt ineffectual government ‘refuse’ to recognise or deal with the problem.

Decriminalization of cannabis………..!!!!!

For politicians to listen to experts who know what they’re talking about.
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/

I’m with Thomas…the HS2 has to be stopped, it is unnecessary and the enormous amount of money being spent on it would be put to better use in hospitals, schools etc.  When it has ruined the beautiful countryside of the West Midlands it will only reduce journey times by a maximum of 20 minutes! You can already get from Birmingham to London in just over an hour! 

You HAVE an English parliament.  It’s the one in Westminster.  The ‘Celtic countries’ do their best to shelter their residents from the worst of the government cuts.. the problem is not in the lack of an English voice, but in the fact that England’s elected representatives are not doing their jobs properly.

medicinal cannabis &a science evidence based drug legislation

Care  and respect for the elderly should be a huge campaigning issue now.  We will all get old one day and probably need care of some kind and we don’t want to spend the last years of our lives in a state of neglect or even abuse as is the case in a lot of places at the moment.  Respect for the elderly is a mark of a civilised society and there is a huge task ahead with the baby bulge generation coming up to retirement age.

Continue the fight for our woodlands, it is far from over yet.  It is still possible 15% may be sold.  As members clearly love forests, should we not fight to save Oaken Wood, Kent where loopholes in ancient woodland protection means another ancient wood is to be ripped out?

It would cost the taxpayer exponentially more to pay for the care and schooling of unplanned children than it does to pay for contraception.  That’s why contraception has been exempt from prescription charges for so many years.

Save youth work and youth services – Vital services that support young people are being pulled apart by the devastating cuts in public spending. At the centre of this new focused assault on young people’s services is the potential demolition of the youth service and youth work. The youth service was created 50 years ago when the national debt was much higher but when there was a political consensus that society needed quality public services and needed to treasure the voice of the young.

Now, with around a million young people officially unemployed and many more in need of support, the very projects and programmes that bring hope to our young people are being broken up.
Youth clubs, youth programmes, Connexions centres and youth counselling services – to name but a
few – find themselves on the frontline of cuts. In fact, 95 per cent of local authority youth services face disproportionate budget cuts this financial year, many are proposing to completely dispose of their youth services. 82 per cent of voluntary sector youth groups anticipate that they will have to close whole projects.

These services are vital to the future of the nation. They help to broaden young people’s horizons and help them negotiate the tricky path to adulthood. They do this  by meeting young people on their own ground, building trusting relationships with them and working informally with them on their own concerns and interests. They convey a universal right of young people to open access provision. Importantly, they can reach out to young people on the margins of society when other agencies have failed.

It is a scandal that people who need cannabis as medicine are persecuted by an irrational and unjust law

I don’t know if this is an area that Avaaz deals with but at the moment there is some noise being made about the sexualisation of children due to poor restrictions on the internet, advertising, television etc. I would like to put pressure on the government to take more responsibility to change this and give our children a chance to have a better childhood.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13641451

Don’t judge a book by its cover – read the content!

Legalisation of cannabis

Let’s keep the pressure on the government to change our barmy drugs laws…

No, there would still need to be a ‘federal’ parliament for national matters, so an English parliament would be an additional one.

whatever you say Peter, I’m sure you’d feel differently if it were your child who was carted off to a mental institution and then died. Or read the story of Lynne Gilderdale. We have proven abnormalities in our spinal fluid and are infected with numerous pathogens yet all we are offered is exercise therapy – the Government refuse to study severely affected patients, only patients with chronic fatigue/depression which is not the same thing.

I would like to see an end to our ridiculous prohibition laws, where the most toxic substances are legal, and the least toxic criminalised.  In particular the legalisation of medicinal cannabis with a medical prescription.

We shouldn’t be wasting this money at all, but support for a Nuclear Weapons Convention is the least they could do.

The FACT I’m afraid is that books are judged by their covers.  I don’t doubt that you may have a very powerful campaign message but you need to learn to write and present it effectively if you want to make progress.

I agree!! At risk of sounding petty, its NOT FAIR that we should bend over backwards to ass kiss to everyone when we have enough of our own identity problems here in the UK. What are they thinking??!

Hi, this is a big one.  There are few guaranteed legal rights available to poor people in this country.  Justice for the Rich is no justice at all.  Example: My partner and I lived in our own caravan on a caravan site.  The Owner was illegally extorting money through surcharging metered electricity.  Trading Standards and Community Legal Services confirmed he was acting unlawfully.  I complained to the Site Owner, he threw us off site and I was forced to sell my home for peanuts to a local dealer.  When I tried to report the guy I found that I had to prove the case by taking him to court and getting a Small Court Order against him. I then found that several court orders were outstanding against the Owner already and that he was just ignoring them, which meant the people he had ripped off had to go through the Small Court process again.  So that he could ignore them again. I lost around £1,000.00.  One Law for all please.

Care of the elderly is a key issue, and we could probably start by ensuring that the care home inspection facilities are fit for purpose. The Care Quality Commission seem out of their depth.

POTENTIAL SWITCH OFF of RADIOS 1,2,3,4 and 5  on FM and AM

The previous Labour government commissioned a report – The Digital Britain Report.In this was a proposal to switch off all BBC FM and AM broadcasts in five years and only broadcast Radios 1,2,3,4and 5 on the digital radio network. (Target date 2015)This policy was adopted by the Labour Government with the result that the estimated ( in excess of ) 100 million household radios , the majority of current car radios and the FM section of mobile phones would be rendered junk on switchover.The current government has somewhat backed away from this policy but the spectre of all our FM and AM radios being rendered little more than land fill still persists, with the digital radio chief Ford Ennals saying that he was” confidant” that digital switch over would happen in the “near future” and 2015 was still feasible .(see Guardian  5-4-11)This policy is total madness, why should members of the public have to pay to replace perfectly good pieces of kit  (I personally have six radios and clock radios scattered about the house) to hand over radio spectrum to the mobile phone companies.Even if we take away all the technical issues with the digital radio signal and the environmental issues, we currently have very good high quality FM radio broadcasts.                                IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT !!worrieddavid

How about parking on pavements – it’s an epidemic and the police look the other way…

I’d like to see far more guidance on actual action we can take against abusive, greedy and unfair  organisations. eg consumer boycotting.

Robin Hood Tax
Decriminalising and taxing drugs
Protecting overseas aid budget

NEW CAMPAIGNS:

PREVENT LIBRARY CLOSURES (Brent Council intend to close SIX out of their 12 libraries i.e. HALF the provision.)

There is a crisis in this country of children not learning to read and parents not reading to them.  This will affect the whole range of choice and opportunity they will have in their lives.  Libraries need to be maintained, promoted and easily accessible.

Library closures are threatened all over the country as being a SOFT OPTION for council cuts but they will deprive children and young adults of EASY ACCESS to a range of books not possible for less advantaged families to acquire.

Whatever you want to do in today’s technologically complex world, language and the ability to understand and use it are crucial.

The general level of literacy (and numeracy) of the country as a whole will affect us all.

The library is also for many elderly people a community hub.

The NHS

Looks like a lot of the suggestions so far would destroy the goodwill that you’ve garnered through the forrests campaign.  Saving forrests had unversal appeal – only a mad person would be against it (which, of course, means that we must have a bunch of mad people in government). Many other issues, however, are far more complex – and would lead to many people ignoring the appeal totally (probably most), and would probably anger a good 50% of the remainder. So – choose your cause with care…..

Do something for the disabled, complain about the government and there plans for disabled people, getting them back to work when the majority are incapable and mental health issues are not full addressed or understood, and the same goes for the way ATOS treats the disabled and sick with there stupid multi choice software programme, I am sick to death of the way the majority are treated because of the minority in this pathetic country, discriminating,degrading bias crap governments and country, no longer proud to be british

It would be great if 38degrees joined the Save the Free Beavers of the Tay campaign to prevent Scottish Natural Heritage attempting to capture and kill the free living Eurasian beavers that is living wild in the River Tay and its tributaries.

In itself this campaign is a small one, but it has huge implications for who calls the shots in environmental issues in Scotland. A public consultation in 1998 showed that more than 60% of those in the population sampled wished to see the return of the beavers. The NFUS, landowners’ organisation and salmon fishery interests came out strongly against the return of the beaver and have done everything to frustrate even the existence of the current official trial reintroduction of beavers to Argyll (as seen on ‘Springwatch’ last week.

I can’t believe that the government still wants to press ahead with the contraversial high speed rail link (HS2) between London and Birmingham. This would do untold damage to the areas it passes through with no benefit whatsoever to those living on the route as there would be no stops on the way. It would be the largest investment project by a British Government – ever. Every household throughout the UK would have to pay in excess of £1,000. The businees case is seriously flawed and is based on overly optimistic assumptions about future demand. At best it would only be carbon neutral and would only benefit a tiny proportion of the population. Other parts of the country desparately need improvements to their rail service but this would be denied because of so much investment on just one project. All this at a time when the country is broke!

There are over 4000 park home sites in this country which are operated by U.P.O.’s (unscruplous park owners) although the minority of the UPO’s are decent people who care about their residents and the maintenance and standards of their parks, the majority of the UPO’s are just greedy and ruthless people who threaten, intimidate,apply bully-boy tactics in which to get more money from the residents one way or another including setting fire and burning down of their mobile homes, damaging their mobile homes and gardens and fences with a JCB. Damaging the homeowners private cars with knives, paint remover. Breaking off of wing mirrors and windscreen wipers… The list is endless!

The examples on how these UPO’s treat these residents, (most of whom are senior citizens who puchased their Mobile home in which to enjoy their ‘twilight years’ in peace and serenity), are being harassed by these UPO’s continually, and you can discover to what degree they face continual pressures by their UPO by visiting various web sites like PHRAA etc and read for yourself their bitter experiences.
No road maintenance, inadequate street lighting, continual sewerage blockages,non-maintenace of rear footpaths etc, etc, etc.

Maybe you would like to accept this (new) challenge, which is not actually new as legitimate organisations have been fighting for justice for all Mobile home owners for over thirty years, without any real support from the MP’s or this government who just delay or totally ignore requests for help for these senior citizens against their UPO.

Leaving their mobile home and selling it is not an easy option as the UPO prevents sales, then offers the vendor less that a third of the price for their property, and then, in desperation to get off their park home site, agree to sell to the UPO who then further deducts a 10% from the agreed sale price.

There are so many corrupt implications which are carried out by these UPO’s, and when you read some of the homeowners personal accounts of their treatment, you will need many a kleenex tissue by your side.

This is my challenge to you.

Yours sincerely

Mr. Stuart Mills 

Dear 38 deg

first of all well done on making the power people listen. We all know some people have their own private forests… So why should they worry well they needed reminding well done.

Our problem in Putney London SW15 1LW, the part that hasn’t changed for 100′s of years and has a dark corridor along the tow path for wild animals is under threat along with the playing fields. The threat is Thames Water  who would like a 24/7 building site for 2 years which will have a service road and permanent buildings left on it and probably look like a landscaped superstore when they return it to nature. Something they will destroy for ever.

Thames Water are trying to build a sewerage tunnel in the beautiful green natural area of Putney. It’s easier to build on green space.
Once they have one building and a road to it it’s just a matter of time before the developers try to move in!

Thames Water’s engineering and knowledge of the river and Putney Bridge has proved to be very little. Information has been supplied by  local people during the spare time they should have to rest from the day job. Thames Water and associated government employees are well paid to receive this information FREE.  The problem is people have been made ill from the stress.
So far the price for this tunnel is estimated at £3.4 billion and rising

See   http://www.stoptheshaft.org/

The site would be the size of 4 to 5 football fields with a new service road working 24/7 for about 2 years. The site would move the Oxford and Cambridge boat race and a lot of rowing including schools rowing and the last sailing club. Once they are gone the developers will try to steriotype the river as they have done in Wandsworth to the east.

Thames Water  plan to use barges to move waste but they don’t know about the tides and the Putney bridge is not designed for heavy barge work one collision with the bridge and the traffic jams would be horrendous going to the A3 motorway in and out of London. It happened at the Battersea Bridge which had to close for 2 years!
Thames Water have a large work force they would like to put to another job. So they are trying to rush things without considering that our natural heritage is lost it is lost for ever.
After all they don’t live in Putney.

We are hoping Thames Water will see sense and use a brownfield site developers, Wandsworth Council and Our local MP Justine Greening did not respond initially for three months. Know they are trying to take the kudos for all our work.

The reason for all this is bad town planning where soak away areas have been concreted over so the sewer has to take excess rainwater.

The Thames was awarded  the cleanest river in Europe. Some people are saying the river is dirty this isw not true the test have been done to prove it

Yours faithfully

Ian Ayre

THERE ARE SO MANY ISSUES BUT THE MAIN ONE BY A COUNTRY MILE IS THE PROPOSAL TO ALLOW G.P’S THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALLOCATING TREATMENT TO ‘ANY WILLING PROVIDER’
THIS PROPOSAL IS ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS PROPOSAL’S EVER TO BE PUT FORWARD BY ANY GOVERNMENT OF ANY ‘COLOUR’ AND IF IMPLEMENTED WILL BRING INCREASES IN PAIN,MISERY AND PREMATURE DEATH TO THE WHOLE NATION AT SOME TIME IN THEIR LIFE.ONE OF THE KEY PROBLEMS AT THE MOMENT IS YOUNG PEOPLE APATHY AS THEY DON’T CONSIDER IT TO BE SOMETHING THAT WILL AFFECT THEM AND THEREFORE DON’T SEE IT AS A MAJOR ISSUE.THE POINT THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE IS THAT WE ALL DIE AND FOR MOST OF US THERE COMES A TIME IN ALL OUR LIVES AS WE MOVE INTO THE PERIOD BETWEEN OLD AGE AND DEATH WHEN WE WILL NEED GOOD ACCESSIBLE HEALTH AND CARE.IT WILL BE TO LATE IF THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE DO NOT ENGAGE INTO THIS ISSUE NOW AS WHEN THEIR TIME OF NEED COMES IT WILL NOT BE THERE FOR THE MAJORITY WHO CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY.
THE ‘ANY WILLING PROVIDER’ CONCEPT IS ALSO RISKY AND FLAWED’ AND FOR IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL WILL REQUIRE STRICT AUDITING ON AN ONGOING BASIS BY AN ARMY OF QUALIFIED LEAD ASSESSORS TO INSURE THAT SAFETY STANDARDS ARE NOT BEING COMPROMISED FOR COST BENEFITS.THE CURRENT EXAMPLE WITH PRIVATE CARE HOMES IS THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PROFIT BECOMES THE DRIVING MOTIVE AND THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT THAT THE QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE WILL GO THE SAME ROUTE IF PUT INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
THE CURRENT LABOUR PARTY RESPONSE TO THIS ISSUE IS UNBELIEVABLY STERILE AND THEY REALLY DO NEED TO BE ASKING QUESTIONS OF THEIR CURRENT LEADER AS TO WHY HE IS KEEPING SUCH A LOW PROFILE ON SUCH A FUNDAMENTALLY DANGEROUS PROPOSAL AS THIS ONE.IT REALLY NEEDS ELEVATING TO MAKE EVERYBODY REALIZE THAT THIS IS REALLY IS SOMETHING THAT WILL EFFECT NEARLY EVERYBODY AND NOT JUST THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY IN THE AGEING AND SICK ELEMENT OF OUR SOCIETY.THE ONLY THING DAVID CAMERON HAS SAID THAT IS TRUE IS” THAT WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER”WHICH WE ARE -BUT THIS ISSUE IS ONE OF THEIR  MAKING AND MUST BE CHALLENGED MORE THAN ANY OTHER AS IF IT IS IMPLEMENTED IT WILL KILL OFF ALL THAT BEVERIDGE DELIVERED TO THIS COUNTRY IN 1946 AND TAKE HEALTH CARE BACK TO WHAT IT WAS BEFORE THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
NO APOLOGIES TO ALL THOSE OTHER WORTHY ISSUES THAT NEED FIGHTING BUT THIS ONE NEEDS ALL THE TIME, MONEY AND ENERGY THAT CAN BE MUSTERED AND 38 DEGREES SHOULD GIVE THIS ISSUE 100% SUPPORT ALMOST TO THE EXCLUSION OF ALL ELSE.

what is going on in the parks is alas a reflection of the rest of the world !!!!!

Those terrible ASOS medical assessments that people on disability have to go through just to keep their benefit.There has already been suicides due to stress. People who are clearly disabled are being passed as fit to work. It is horrendous and it needs to stop. People with an “invisible illness” such as depression or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are also finding it difficult to persuade the assessors they are telling the truth. The government has even said that the assessment is “not fit for purpose” yet they continue to plough on making peoples lives an absolute nightmare all for the sake of saving a few pennies that we all know could have been saved elsewhere. Please help these people. If they cannot work then how can they possible get out and protest? These are the people that need the help of 38degrees the most.

YES !!!!!

i can’t agree more with Keith Hoffmeister! i believe we should try to stop the proposed High Speed 2 from happening! 

Oh, How I agree with Paul. The whole trade is one of horror, there should be law against the way they travel to their slaughter.

Got to be the Disability welfare reforms. The way this government is treating the most vunerable in society is sickening. Yes there may be a few cheating claimants – it works out that the fraudulent claims count for a whole £61 per person claiming. Compare that to the £1000′s fraudulently claimed by MPs…

I agree wholeheartedly that the contraversial high speed rail link (HS2) between London and Birmingham needs to be stopped. So many people have tried to stop this but it seems as if there are a lot of money in it for someone with a high posision who think he is untouchable. I have confidence that through 38 Degrees we can stop them.

I know this could be something already being addressed but the beagles in labs horror story still goes on. An American company wants to expand a huge beagle factory in Yorkshire “churning out thousands of puppies who will be doomed to suffer a painful and lingering death in poisoning tests”- Uncaged 31 May 2011.

Add the alcoholic ‘beverage’ producers to this too

I agree with those who are suggesting the next campaign should be the NHS. 
Many of our European colleagues have a better standard of health care than us, they don’t cripple their national budgets by trying to do it all and yet they appear to have an equitable sharing of the results (unlike USA). Surely we can look to them for guidance as to how we should move forward.
The current situation is not sustainable and nothing I have heard to date seems to rectify this problem. 
A half baked privatisation – which is what is going to happen if the GP’s undertake the commissioning – will leave us badly provided for. No one has managed to run a hospital profitably without the ‘cash’ crops such as hips, knees etc. Who will be in charge of the A&E and ICU departments? Can we really trust market forces to ensure that they are in place….I think not. 

The next campaign should be to stop the privatisation of public services. I am a very proud public servant working for a local authority and it sickens me to see the privatisation of care for the vulnerable, the old, the infirm, the elderly and all those services that people should expect from what is effectively often at the heart of the local community and that which serves the local community – your local council. How can you align meals on wheels for the elderly against ‘ the market ‘ for heaven’s sake ?

Campaign for greater understanding of and research for ’invisible diseases’ such as ME/CFS so that sufferers feel supported by the public and the medical profession and progress can be made to at least alleviate symptoms.

the celtic countries shelter their residents using the subsidies paid to them by the english tax payers, this ensures a larger capital expenditure per head, which ensures that they pay no university tutoring fees, no prescription charges, no eldely care fees, access to better drugs etc etc etc  

I don’t know exactly, but I think you’ve got it wrong. Those missiles cost much more than that! Perhaps more like David C’s monthly salary each, not even talking about the damage they do that we are most probably going to pay for in the end.

Brilliant Brilliant! Perhaps people should look into the Amazon rainforest situation. Can we buy enough area in order to allow the Indigenous population right to exist and keep CO2 levels down. I’ve just did through http://www.coolearth.org check it out. London should have a local food growers festival at the assembly.

Perhaps my words are not as eloquent and professionally formatted as some on here, but I am sick, very sick. Riddled with pain from head to toe so putting something together for me is an achievement, I only became aware of this campaign this morning. If 38 degrees wish to take up this campaign I have plenty of coherent information for them to use and our message is probably one of the strongest there is – people are dying at the hands of their own Government refusing to research and fund this disease – only funding the psychiatrists whose hands are in their pocket.

Protect those with disabilities against financial hardship.

We should campaign for the immediate availability of medicinal Cannabis on a doctor’s prescription. Denying a medicine, which for many is more effective and with less serious side effects than pharmaceuticals, is to deny them a basic human right and constitutes a crime against humanity.

how about plans for shale gas extraction?  this is where fluid is pumped at high pressure into bore holes to crack surrounding rock to release shale gas – a fossil fuel even dirtier than coal.  Where this is done in the US there is evidence of the gas getting into drinking water – to the point where tap water becomes flammable  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRZ4LQSonXA&feature=related and toxic and groundwater is contaminated killing wildlife.  There is a current license for Composit Energy to sink a 2000 meter borehole near Falkirk by the end of 2011 – supported by the Scottish Government.

Maybe a 38 degree petition could help stop this?

Marriage equality. It is so wrong that we live in a two-tier society where some couples are denied the right to marry because of their sexuality. It puts people at a disadvantage in many ways and sends a sinister message about how certain people are valued.

There is another manifestation of forest welfare that has somehow evaded everybodys attention.
This the misapproriation and subsequent destructuction of common lands the length and breadth of the country. Ilegal, and wrong.
 Please visit, hands off hartlebury common – Petitions24.com
, to see my petition page, read the facts and sign if you wish. Alternativeley vist Heathland Madness – the juggernaught of nature conservation

The forests may have been saved but worse carnage is going on right under our noses

What about the crippling shortage of social and reasonably priced private housing in many parts of the country?

Stronger action to prevent illegal immigrants, and more effort to remove those already here. Anyone who is without a passport cannot be sent back to their own country, as they won’t accept them without a passport, so they stay here!

Free schools, the public or even labour have not talked about it but free schools is very dangerous to the fabric of our society……any private school can now become a state payed school and with the same admissions plus good schools in poor areas can be taken over by the middle classes and the children in the catchment area will miss-out……..we need to look at the big con as the rich people only benefits from thr new free scholl. 

you should campaign for unilateral debt amnesty for every country for a specific day and time i mean where is the money going and who is it making rich?

Dear 38 Degrees,
Doesn’t it annoy you when the major utilities all decide to stop their ‘SPECIAL RATES’  on their product whether gas ,electric or oil? Or the banks threatening to charge us for taking our own money?
It has become apparent to me by the number of calls and letters I recieve that there is a very simple solution in which to bring these snout in the trough companies (which don’t forget WE once owned and were sold on our behalf without any recompense to the taxpayer) to heel.In fact I am convinced they will literally S**T themselves should such action come about.We have the power to call the shots on these people who care nothing for the welfare or needs of the old,the sick,the young trying to raise a family or the hard working parents trying to make ends meet while being paid the minimum wage.Their priority is and always will be to increase profits on the backs of the customer regardless of the vast amounts already being raked in.THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE AND WOULD BE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
It is true that a certain amount of inconvenience on our part must be borne,nothing can be achieved without a fight,but YOU,because you’re reading this on a computer,can use your fingertips as and when required to carry on functioning with little or no hassle.The big problem is convincing the general public that the action is wothwhile.
Over the years businesses like the Utility companies have ran campaigns offering discounts which vary in amount over the course of 12months.It is a trifling amount when considered over this time period,but during this time they are smugly reaping the benefits from accessing money directly from YOU!

STOP PAYING DIRECT DEBITS EVERY MONTH TO THESE COMPANIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CANCEL THEM.

Simple….They will tell us that costs will have to rise to cover the admin etc. etc.But you can bet one will breakaway from the bunch with deals far better than what’s on offer now in order to win back the gold mine which is DIRECT DEBIT.

A campaign to reinstate the TRUCK ACTS would also have the BANKS running for the Andrex.How often are they threatening to charge YOU for using cashpoints to access YOUR money which they are reaping millions with and giving back 0.05% in some cases and even 0% in most.Surely our elected MP’s cannot argue against their constituents wanting a fair deal.

PEACEFUL REBELLION IN ACTION.

Pay your  bills quarterly at your own leisure and convenience and let them give their service before you pay for it.Stop them accessing YOUR MONEY .YOU CALL THE SHOTS.

I would love to see a campaign related to YOUNG CARERS. How everyone could do to help them in every way of their life. 

Thank you.

Sandra Rodrigues 

 FIFA … after the recent scandal regarding corruption, and the farcical “elction” with only Sepp Blatter’s
name on the ballot papers, the international governing organization of football is in dire need of a
complete and total overhaul of the way it’s run, starting with the removal of Blatter himself.

The May 15th movement in Spain – currently occupying the main squares of all major cities - should be given international support .  From a non-party standpoint, they are demanding participatory, rather than nominally representative democracy.  If this can be achieved, it would break the hold of large business interests on policy decisions.  Clearly the more international the demand, the more chance it has of working.  It can be achieved because current technology (mobile phones, internet, etc.) make it very easy for EVERYONE to have a voice on any decision at any time, if they should want it.  There is thus no need for politicians to “represent” us: we can represent ourselves.  It just requires a certain level of coordination so that everyone can know when a certain piece of legislation, or a policy decision is coming up for discussion.  This is potentially the most important political revolution since female suffrage, and would make all of the other campaigns that you work on infinitely more attainable.

Some of the most successful campaigns are the ones it’s difficult to argue with. Your ‘no’ to selling off our forests was an easy one to get your head around. It would have been just a silly short term fix that made little economic sense too. Similarly this fish campaign by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Zac Goldsmith  to stop trawlermen throwing away tonnes of infant dead fish caught accidentally in their nets seems to make no sense either, it’s just a waste. Why are we still producing plastic bags? Why are bankers continuing to get paid such hefty bonuses? If tax dodges by the rich cost us more than benefit cheats, why aren’t we doing more to crack down on offshore accounts?

Issues like AV or NHS cuts and management changes are certainly worthy and very important but they usually have more pros and cons to navigate, more reasons to say, ‘I’m not sure what I think about that’.

The NHS is a good start. Pharmacogenetics is the issue.
Pharma is the relationship of drugs with human genetics; hence
PHARMACOGENETICS. It affects you and your son or your daughter or mother, your
father or the next door neighbor or your friends; it affects everyone. Everyone
is different. Everyone has unique genetics. Everyone has different liver
metabolism capabilities. Gone are the days when a Billion Dollar Drug was
dished out to everyone as a One Size Fits All prescription for profit, a criminal
blockbuster profit bomb! Pharmacogenetics and the Cytochrome P-450 test tells
you whether you will overdose or not. It tells you whether you have an area in
your liver that cannot metabolize particular drugs, street drugs perhaps or
psych drugs or pharmaceutical drugs. It tells you whether, if you take a second
drug that requires the same pathway in your liver and in your gut in order to
metabolize or in other words to make more soluble, more ready for excretion,
because the body recognizes drugs as the POISON they actually are,  synthetic chemical concoctions, this
Cytochrome P-450 test tells you whether that second drug will slow down or
inhibit or stop the metabolism of the first drug so that the first drug builds
up to toxic overdose because it has not been able to make soluble or to
metabolize that first drug, to make that first drug ready for excretion so it
accumulates in your system and you then suffer adverse drug effects, overdose
effects, iatrogenic drug effects, causing akathisia, potentially inducing
suicide or worse, drug induced effects that may damage you and require even
more medical attention. Does your doctor know about this new medical paradigm,
this new medical zeitgeist, this new personalized medicine approach to your health?
It is a drug safety issue. The more prescriptions your doctor writes the more
money he makes. The quicker he can write your prescription the sooner the next
patient can be seen, the more money he makes. 38 degrees must make these
doctors accountable for the deaths they are causing. These doctors need 38
degrees to educate them in how to safely treat their patients; if they indeed
need to be treated at all. Pharmacogenetics helps toward less patient deaths.

Don’t judge an author by the contents of his book.

End the War on Drugs.

Reschedule Cannabis Medicine.

Cannabis Saves Autistic Children’s Lives.

Please campaign against the proposed cuts to legal aid which will cause severe hardship to over half a million people.  Justice should be available to one and all, not just to those who have the means to pay.

medicinal cannabis prescribed by doctors for uk MS sufferers!

It’s got to be opposition to cuts, and specifically about the lack of a democratic mandate to push them through. Not one single member of the electorate voted for £83 billion of cuts. Those that voted for the Conservatives cuts agenda, voted for £6 billion cuts, and these voters were not in sufficient numbers to enable to the Conservatives to form a Government. Leading economists are divided on how to resolve the economic crisis caused by the banking sector. A great many say that not only are these cuts not necessary, but it is going to damage our economy as well as our society. Shouldn’t we all get to hear these arguements and decide? The Coalition Government has trumpeted about devolution of power to communities, a ‘big society’ where politicians are more accountable, and ordinary people have a greater say. It proposes, for example, that council’s must hold  referenda, if they seek to increase council tax above a certain level set by the Government. But on the cuts, that will have a devastating and lasting impact on the majority in the UK, that are on a scale far far higher than anyone voted for, the Government is acting as though it can ignore the democratic will of the people. So, I propose we campaign for the Coalition to organise a referendum on their public sector cuts policies for the next 5 years as detailed in the Spending Review in 2010. If a referendum showed a majority against the cuts, it would be a clear vote of no confidence, and hard for the Government to ignore. Even if we didn’t get the refendum the campaign would provide a national, overarching focus that would strengthen all the sector and area specific anti cuts campaigns, many of which have been mentioned here – the cuts to disability benefits, health care, libraries etc etc etc.

I’d focus on stopping the NHS reforms first and foremost.  Such a radical change to a major UK institution should be campaigned upon during a general election – enabling people to vote with a clear understanding of the consequences and Government to legislate on a clear mandate.

These changes were not in the manifestos (probably because they’d have got slated for it) and it wasn’t in the Coalition Agreement.  The Health and Social Care Bill should be withdrawn.

I would like to see the family courts and cvourt system reformed, its currently not fit for purpose and outdated, and certainly not intouch with society.

I would like to see a campaign concerning disabled people: how they are portrayed in the press (making them to be the ultimate scapegoats of this financial ‘crisis’), cuts to their benefits, the corruption and cruelty of Atos, the ‘not fit for purpose’ medical assessments that MANY disabled people are failing and most notably the disintegration of mental health thanks to all these factors, highlighting the despair and suicides that are taking place.

I’d like to see an end to the prohibition of cannabis, in particular, as a matter of urgency allow the use of medical cannabis, as they do in most other European countries and in 14 US states.

I would like a campaign to persuade the British government to support the Palestinian campaign for recognition and membership of the UN

Stop the demise of the cheque! Too many people and charities rely on them. The elderly dont often have access to online banking, people prefer to send cheques through the post, small one man businesses need the facility and although I dont write as many cheques as previously I would find life more difficult if in many cases keeping more cash on me or in the house were the alternative.

Let’s support the campaign to restore RE as one of the Humanities choices alongside History and Geography in the government’s proposed English-Baccalaureate GCSE scheme. RE has been excluded by Gove despite its popularity, academic rigour and the importance of teaching young people about other faiths and cultures. 

How about tackling the fat cat bankers who get rich on our money. In about four weeks time the Co-0P bank will move on to the High Street alongside Alliance. If everyone followed the simple procedure by filling in a form and presenting it to their bank their account would be simply and smoothly transferred. Given sufficient transfers banks would soon come into line.
David

A lot more stricter controls on immigration.

INSULATION INSULATION INSULATION

We could really reduce the need for oil, gas,coal, nuclear, etc. if only we could really get to grips with insulation.
I have insulated all the outside walls in a Victorian terraced house with 50mm of Kingspan bonded onto plasterboard. It’s expensive and it makes the walls a bit thicker and the room a bit smaller – but the heat savings are terrific.
I took up the floorboards and put cheap garden netting between the joists to hold 150mm of “fluffy” glass fibre insulation (really cheap as its subsidised) a layer of polythene over the top to stop vapour (and draughts) and floor boards back down and sanded. NO DRAUGHTS – no heat low and cosy feet.
Insulation can save REAL MONEY but the current half hearted approach isn’t good enough, building more power stations for some reason seems the preferred solution.
Let’s tackle proper insulation NOW to help with a brighter future.
Bruce

Stop housebuilding in our national parks – especially in the Cairngorm area, near Braemar, etc.

I think we should campain against shale gas. Pumping rock dissolving chemicals into rock, and the recent mini earthquakes in Blackpool are issues that need watching

38degrees takes on campaigns that are controversial but have enormous implications for the country’s residents. To this end I would like to suggest that another campaign should be addressing the disintergration of the Welfare Benefits System. Like the NHS, this is a British institution, created to lift people out of abstract poverty and assist in their return to work.
Over many years, there has been a concentrated ‘hype’ by all Government’s to “demonise” all benefit claimants as “scroungers”. This PR from all parties during the 2010 Election was the platform that this current coalition was elected.
Having worked within the Welfare Rights Networks for over 15 years, there are ‘exceptions’ that do abuse the system but the majority of claimants are desperate people attempting to join mainstream society as a contributor to the country’s economy, with increasing lack of success, in the continuing downward economic climate and drastic Government cut-backs.
Review, changes and improvements should be made to the Benefit System.Loopholes should be filled. Fraud should be investigated and offenders prosecuted.
Let those who need temporary support to find employment, those who are too ill to work to do so in dignity and make the “BIG SOCIETY” not just a PR spin but returned to former standards of decency for our UK residents.

I would like to see a campaign against fluoridation of water supplies.  Fluoridation of water supplies is forcible medication, takes no account of fluoride from other sources therefore is not correctly monitored on an individual basis.  Nazis and Stalin both used fluoride in water supplies for concentration camps because of the known effects of flouride on making people more docile and compliant.  In these austere times why should houseowners pay more for water and the medication of water supplies when the perceived/assumed benefits on dental health are at best negligible, and the science points to topical treatment only, not swallowing the stuff.

Fluoride is a waste product of both aluminium and potash industries, it is toxic and is used in rat poison.  It has no place in our drinking water.

Further information : http://www.thenhfireland.com/   and     http://www.npwa.org.uk/

I think we should name and shame any British companies and banks that do not follow the spirit of the law by paying their proper share of taxes. 
The government will not close down tax havens, meanwhile many ordinary people are losing their jobs and are being asked to do their bit. 
The only power we have is as consumers. Let’s create a black list of companies like Barclays and Arcadia that don’t do their bit by paying according to their earnings in the UK. Let’s embarrass them and attack their reputations. 

I would like to see the end of the sick and disabled taking the economic brunt of the mess caused by greedy bankers. You may not care, but you could be disabled in a crash or get some nasty illness any day. It could be you that is feeling the stress and worry caused by the governments new plans, stress and worry that is the last thing ill people need.

I have an idea for a major campaign – not your next, it needs some planning. If successful, it would reduce violence and child abuse in society, improve physical and mental health across the country, improve school performance and wealth generation, reduce taxes. See http://www.wavetrust.org for more information (the 70/30 campaign). It is already backed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Iain Duncan Smith, Baroness Hilary Armstrong, Lord Ramsbotham and some 20 charities. But we are weak on the grass roots. I’d love to discuss it with you – it really could transform the country.  George Hosking, CEO, WAVE Trust

I would like to see sellers of meat [supermarkets, shops, restaurants] being required to label it when the animal from which it has come is slaughtered without pre stunning.  I understand that a lot of the meat we buy from all kinds of sources comes from the halal and kosher sectors.  They would not survive financially if they were not able to off load surpluses into the regular trade.  I believe people opting for kosher diets only eat the forequarters of an animal, so the remainder would otherwise be wasted.  Without pre stunning, the animals die a lingering and painful death by being strung up and then having their throats cut.  We should at least know what we are buying, so we can opt to avoid avoid it if we wish.

To understand this – and more about our iniquitous money system – Google Positive Money. It concerns us all, but we aren’t encouraged to discuss it or imagine that it can be changed. It should be, and it can!

I agree!  My husband and I run a small business providing computer repair and support to mainly domestic clients.  Many of these are elderly people and many like to pay by cheque.  If cheques are abolished the alternatives are for customers to pay by cash, via online banking or for us to rent a portable terminal so people can pay by debit or credit card.  The latter would add significant expenses to our business and online banking is not something that many older people do.  Cheques should not be abolished until there is a suitable low cost alternative available.

Save London’s front gardens: I live in London and therefore it is in London where I see it happen, but of course the same would probably apply to most other cities in the UK, unfortunately. More and more people are cutting down trees, tearing out hedges and paving over the soil that once was their front gardens to turn them into sterile car parks, or to dig out and down to make some preposterous house extension. This is also happening more and more in the back gardens as well, which are being built upon to extend the houses they once gave life to. And this is happening with the consent of the local authorities?! The same authorities that are making big gestures now about creating green roofs in a desperate attempt to reduce run off after the rains?! And this is being doen by us, you and me, who then put a silly green roof onto the bike shed (the bikes are seldom used, by the way) and think that we are being so caring and so green… SAVE LONDON’s GARDENS NOW!!!! Thank you.

It has to be a
campaign for getting Britain out of the EU dictatorship before they
ruin us altogether. By all means have trade agreements and some
reciprocal agreements, but all this nonsense of being ruled by their
supreme court with their unelected judges making our laws, and their
police being able to arrest our citizens for me is a step too far.
It’s not healthy for any country to be submerged like that.

It has to be a
campaign for getting Britain out of the EU dictatorship before they
ruin us altogether. By all means have trade agreements and some
reciprocal agreements, but all this nonsense of being ruled by their
supreme court with their unelected judges making our laws, and their
police being able to arrest our citizens for me is a step too far.
It’s not healthy for any country to be submerged like that.

I think there should be a campaign to stop fisherman having to throw dead fish back into the sea.  If they are not part of their quota why were they caught in the first place?  And what possible benefit can there to maintaining declining fish stocks by throwing dead fish back into the sea?

I should like to see you campaign against the intended cull of badgers, and support the vaccination programme set up by the wildlife trusts.

Couldn’t agree more. It links with my comment earlier that it’s essential that carers are given proper training, support and pay, and that agencies are forced to fulfil their obligations in this respect. The army of poorly paid, unrepresented and under-valued care workers that society exploits, ignores and relies on is the crux of the problem. Why are we surprised by the Panorama revelations when we treat care workers like the lowest of the low? How can we expect them to do the job we require of them – and we will all have reason to hope they can do their job properly at some point – if we disrespect them so? And what does it say about our concern for those who need care?

SCRAP HS2 and SCRAP BADGER CULLING 

I want the HS2 project scrapped.  We can’t afford to waste £36BILLION on this, particularly at a time of recession and so many cuts in essential services.  It will NOT be “green, will trash the environment some of it AONB, makes no business sense (except for fat cat big business construction companies) – and worst of all, it’s totally undemocratic, all we the people get is a “consultation”, there will be no planning process.  Parliament will just vote it through without us the people having a proper say through the established channels.  Once it smashes through the AONB in this way, it will pose a threat to National Parks.

Secondly, I want the English Government to drop all plans to cull badgers.  I want other solutions to bTB.  As said in the ISG report “culling badgers can make no meaningful contribution to eradicating TB in cattle”.  Culling would just be an expensive yet futile gesture to placate farmers and the farming union.

S Hetherington
Bucks 

Absolutely. It’s bad enough that there should be an exemption to rules designed to minimise suffering (and it is opposed by The RSPCA, British Veterinary Association, Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) and others). The least the Govt could do is support a labelling scheme.

The only problem is that few consumers know about this issue while those in that part of the meat industry are busy lobbying against any labelling scheme.

Some links:
http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/12754/BVA_calls_for_non-stun_slaughter_labelling.html
http://www.secularism.org.uk/religious-slaughter-of-animals.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-religious-excuse-for-barbarity-2137927.html

How about reforming HMRC altogether?  It must be the most bureaucratic and inefficient organisation in this nation!  If I were to list all the problems and incompetencies that I and people I know have experienced with HMRC this post would be far too long.

16 US states now and Israel has a burgeoning medicinal cannabis system.

How about the right to camp in England and Wales. In scotland the law is different where wild camping is legal and well accepted. Why not rest of UK?

How about an English Parliament, as this is one of the most glaring injustices in Britain today, as by giving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland their own governing bodies, whilst allowing MPs from these regions to vote on English issues, they have essentially reduced over 50 million people to the status of second class citizens.  38 Degrees’ people powered approach could be just the kick the government needs to end one of the biggest acts of systematic discrimination in Britain since before the introduction of universal suffrage.

The biggest thing that destroys people’s life in my opinion are insurance combines, I believe insurance companies should be forced to tell people what a policy dose cover, but they should also be truthful about what it dose not cover.
When you take out an insurance policy the first thing you are confronted with are terms and conditions as long as your arm, we all know most people don’t read them, or start reading the terms and conditions and get so board, or just unable to understand a word of it.

I think that we should stand together and campaign against the horrific infiltration of pornography into our lives. I feel that it is intrusive and destructive to the lives of children, families and to the dignity of women. If people desire to obtain this material, then they must have places they can get it, but for this material to be constantly bombarding us through the media is unacceptable and a complete violation of many peoples human right not to view this stuff. It goes against constitutional rights to protect the dignity of women as well as to protect children. Please can this be something we as a nation stand together against. This immorality has gone beyond its limits and is spiralling out of control. We are responsible for the children of today and the future generations. We need to be creating values of commitment to one’s own spouse, loyalty, human dignity (where women are not just viewed and appreciated for being sex objects), family values and relational purity. The future lies in our decisions today.

The government has banged on for years about utalizing public transport, now my local authority is proposing to cut our bus service, as from September the buses are due to stop at 6.30 pm instead of running up to 11pm in the week days and Saturday and having none at all on Sundays…. this means that the 9 mile journey to our nearest city will mean people losing their jobs or having to pay a fortune in taxi fares …never in all my 48 years of living here has there ever been such a limited service…this will literally cut the town off. There is not enough jobs locally and people cannot afford to lose thier jobs in Chichester but having the last bus at 6.30 means many who rely on public transport will suffer. There is also the matter of a social life there are no social ammenites on Selsey ..just a couple of pubs.. it means no going to the cinema for those who cannot drive … the younsters will suffer as they will not be able to get out to the clubs without paying a fortune to get there and with nowhere for them to go in the town I fear some may be tempted to drink and drive with no bus alternative. Evening classes at college late lectures at university will cut off oppotunities for people… hospital visting times in the evening 6-8pm will not be possible with no public transport for some.  The buses run every 15mins (well suposed to ) in the day …they could cut these down to every 30 mins and still keep and evenig and Sunday service …I think this had been suggested but its all to do with council funding and it seems not posible for what ever reason,
I find the whole situation very worrying that many communties, because its not just our town there are others that will be effected, will be cut off and isolated.

My suggestion would be to campaign with the Stop HS2 organisation.   As a country we cannot afford this at the moment – nor do i feel that we can afford to continue to wreck our countryside.  Take a look at the report by the National Ecosystem Assessment  - see BBC video & link at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13631270  this highlights the health benefits of countryside.  The Chiltern Society have produced a very good video about the reasons why HS2 should not go ahead.  Take a look at  http://www.chilternsociety.org.uk/hs2/
One of the reasons given as to why HS2 should happen is that “We need to keep up with Europe”! Well France & Germany have a lot more land then we do.  Instead of spending millions on the consultation, followed by the planned billions on the construction, couldn’t some of this be used to research a real green transport system for the whole country – that also interlinked with the european system?

STOP SHALE MINING there is loads of evidence to attest to this doggie practice is States. STOP IT B4 it STARTS. 

Just get us out of the awful EU.

I would like to see action against the continuing exploration for oil and gas in the Moray Firth which is home to a pod of bottlenose dolphins and has visiting whales.  There seems to be ever more activitiy in this beautiful part of Scotland in spite of it supposedly being “protected”.  Oil is going to run out soon anyway so why not put resources into renewable instead of exploiting Nature reserves.

It has to be fracking – a potential environmental disaster in so many ways.  Won’t reduce greenhouse gases and may increase them, and risks contaminating farmland and water supplies, will add to road traffic and uses millions of gallons on water at a time of shortage.  Oh and it and won’t create jobs, and all the expertise and equipment will have to come from abroad, so guess where the profits will go?

We are vandalising some of our best landscapes by building inefficient and expensive wind farms. Let’s push for clean, abundant energy that has much less impact e.g. carbon capture and Thorium energy.

Second thoughts: don’t think I’m against multi-culture in the UK!!!
On the contrary, I think its great that different races can mix, share cultures etc. However, I don’t think its fair that we bow down to everything- maybe a get little backbone here?

I absolutely agree. While Scottish, Welsh and N.Irish MPs can vote on legislation that only affects England, the English MPs can’t do likewise on issues not affecting England. So we really are second-class citizens in our own country. Another consequence of this constitutional imbalance is that while Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland have a government who can argue their countries’ corner on issues such as funding allocation, we in England have no such rights which means we always get the worst deal. It is right that Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland have devolution and in fact they should’ve had it a long time before they did but now they do have it its even more important that England has the same right to devolved government so I would like 38 degrees to take up the cause for an English parliament.

I would also like to point out to 38 degrees and anyone else reading this that while I congratulate 38 degrees for their successful campaign against the forestry sell-off and for their on-going campaign against the NHS reforms, Im reliably informed that they failed to mention that in both cases they affected/affect only England so a lot of people may’ve got the impression both were/are UK wide issues when neither are. The forest sell-off was ONLY for English forests and the coalition’s NHS reforms ONLY will only impact on the NHS in England if the reforms happen at all.
The next time 38 degrees campaigns against a government policy which only affects England, I plead with them to point that out next time so more people are aware of how disadvantaged we are compared to the rest of the UK.

Sorry for the long post but thanks for reading it. I’ll stop now!

Please, please do something about the abysmal and cruel treatment handed out to old people in hospital and care homes. Everybody who has an elderly relative has witnessed it yet the authorities continue to insist reports are only ‘anecdotal’ therefore do not count. Let’s see how many ‘anecdotal’ statments add up to make a damning record. Remember, it will come to us all unless something is done.

Most of the things that we find absurd and illogical, from wind farms to uncontrolled immigration and the distortion of natural justice are driven by the fact that we are governed by the EU and our MP’s who are taking money to represent us are in fact just cyphers and rubber stampers of EU legislation.
NOTHING can change until we can regain our Sovereinty.

As for the carbon rubbish, one good volcanic eruption produces more Co2 than mankind has since we evolved. Most of that actually escapes into space, but as most of our climate scientists are employed by governments, if they told the truth they would be without a job 

Tackle the shooting lobby and ongoing persecution of native wildlife/predators-particularly birds of prey.
Even when caught-gamekeepers are only fined a small amount and allowed to continue as before: organisations like the BASC cover their tracks and are fond of rhetoric but do little to prevent any underhand acitivity.

Elizabeth

I think that one of the best, most globaly beificial campaigns is to de-toxify our environment. aka, stop the frivolous and wasteful abundant usage of pesticides and other ‘good’ chemicals. I know that CFCs have had a ban, but there are so many others that have disasterous side-effects too.
The problem with these chemicals is that it damages ecosystems. We are the top of the food chain and so will be the last ones to suffer the effects of these polutants. But suffer we will. Put a STOP to it now, for the good of all, before its too late.

I would like this and successive governments forced to count immigrants and emmigrants in and out of the country, and to provide this information openly and honestly on a regular, say quarterly basis.  I would also like to make sure that all possible categories are counted, such as entry by marriage, as a student, people on all types of passport other than UK here on holiday etc etc, and that the various categories are kept separate so that a true picture can be seen each time. In addition, all figures for illegal immigrants when they are discovered, overstayers, and their current  status should be displayed. Only then can the true picture be clearly seen by all, whatever their political view.

Many of us who have worked in the NHS all our working lives, and watched, with pride, the huge improvements to health care,from diagnosis,through treatment, to a satisfactory prognosis, feel extremely conncerned by the minister of health’s determination to put out part or all of the sevice as we now know it, to private tender. Almost certainly this will result in the sort of fiasco which has unfolded on our screens during the past few days. American owned massive companies whose bosses will be beholden to the share holders, and not to the patients/clients in their care. One day every one of us will be old, this is certain and many of us will be mentally impaired. Do we really want our care to be in the hands of these sharks, or would we prefer our own nursing homes, staffed by suitably qualified nurses, and run by our own administrators, who, whilst making every effort to remain solvent, will not be looking for vast profits to satisfy greedy share holders. I know which I would prefer. APY.

Tackle the increasing practise of Halal methods of slaughtering animals for meat – it is against UK animal welfare guidelines, but a loophole was added to the laws from what I have read.  

Why do we accept the horrendously high price of fuel in the UK, I am sure the Green Party thinks it’s great, but in the real world it is having too big an impact on all of us. The cost of everything is rocketing up and we do nothing about it, if this happened in France there would be riots until the prices fell again, but not us, I don’t condone riots but there has to be something we can do collectively to let the Government and the ‘Fat Cat’ Petroleum bosses that we are no longer going to be ripped off and become poorer, whilst they all get richer off our backs.
Anyone got any ideas?

Up and down the country highly qualified younger staff in local Councils are being made redundant by older unqualified managers who got their jobs by longevity.

There seem to be very few reviews of staffing needs taking place and many of our services are being put in jeopardy because the remaining staff are not suitable to carry them forward. We have a local example where the only fully qualified and experienced curator in the local museum is being made redundant by a totally unqualified manager. Because of this HLF funding may have to be repaid, the museum may loose its Museum Association accreditation and therefore any chance of attraction heritage funding in the future. The problem is that if the Curator does not leave then the manager (who got the job by accident) would be the one to go. This is hardly in the public interest and not in the spirit of maintaining front line services as promised by David Cameron.

I know this is not an isolated incident – I do not know how widespread it is but it would be worth asking as we need skilled and qualified people to look after our public services. I think we should ask Eric Pickles the Secretary of State how many people in Local Govt are unqualified for their managerial posts and how many fully qualified staff they have made redundant or are making redundant in the near future.

The basis for my view is that people who have had the dedication to be fully qualified for their jobs are more capable and more commited to the success of a service than those who have merely served their time.

This is really not an issue. Slaughter is slaughter and country people in this country have used methods similar to helal since time immemorial. 

Most birds of prey are killed by pesticides and environmental changes – all the gamekeepers I know are very environmentally aware and give birds of prey every chance. 

I think it would be good to take action to protect bowling greens from development, one of my local ones (in Bexhill) is under threat from more blocks of flats, and I read something in the papers recently that many are threatened. I do not play bowls but I believe in keeping open spaces, especially in the town as ours is.   Carrie in Bexhill-on-Sea.

Tax plastic carrier bags, like they are already doing in Ireland.  Charge VAT on retail and food packaging, cut VAT on all charity goods, and fairly traded and sustainable goods.  Double Council Tax on second homes.  Set a limit on student rents, subsidise or give grants for anything in excess, and allow students to only pay for the nine months they are in residence, not yearly contracts, which include the summer when they are not there.  Allow the council to manage and charge rent for any properties left empty for over a year, no longer in the control of the owner, create more shared ownership, not just 75% , but 50% as well, even 25%, with the option of upgrading if circumstances change.  Ensure that cycle lanes are included in any new roads, any  roads recently widened or improved, all A roads, and make railways allow space for more than 2 bicycles on all trains, include a cycle van/carriage, at present it is a lottery on trains , you just hope there will be some space, first come, first served.  Make all new houses use renewable energy.  Rent-free guardianship of listed or heritage buildings, with the responsibilty to protect and maintain.  Plant community vegetable areas on roundabouts and roadsides in towns, fruit trees instead of more traditional planting.  Just a few suggestions!

I live in the Chilterns and the proposed High Speed railway (HS2) would scar the beautiful countryside for  future generations, threatening many forms of plants and wildlife. Many people would be forced to leave their homes and businesses and it represents complete environmental and economic madness.

Banks, banks, banks!

You have some good points but I must inform you that while the Forestry sell-off was for England (and I voted against that happening on this site), English MPs do still make decisions about Welsh affairs. Welsh upland forestry and peat bogs may well be given to large energy companies along with very large subsidies to construct 600 -800 (450 to 500ft.high) turbines. Each turbine has a foot print of the dimensions of an Olympic Swimming Pool (all concrete). Westminster will decide if these developments will go ahead. This is phase one of an even bigger plan for the whole of Britain. Hope England is prepared for the floods from the run off which would otherwise be held in the peat and forests. No one seems to care in England – so goodbye forest and goodbye peat.

Pleas stop gas and electric firms from raising prices again.

Fluoridation of water supplies is an excellent public health exercise and has improved the nations dental health – long may it do so.

I have been in correspondence with the Payments Council who are the people who oversee changes to payment systems. The Banks wish to get rid of the Clearing System. Make your views known to the Payment Council and your MP

I would like 100% occupancy of the empty homes that we have in the UK
Either help the owner to get the house fit for rent or sell to the affordable homes scheme.
If the owner does not communicate then assume crown ownership and then it becomes a council house fit for rent or sell on the affordable homes scheme or shared ownership

Yes, I would agree, gamekeepers are the best friends of the countryside, not the townies who think bunny rabbits are fluffy toys

Apart from the NHS Education should be a priority of concern.
The words Education, Education, Education were used because after the previous Tory government left office the education system was in dire straits. School buildings not fit for purpose, pupils having to share books and parents being asked to pay for books.
Education has historically never fared well in the hands of the Tory party.Not much more than 100 years ago a sound education was the priority for the elite only. Children only have a short opportunity of education please do not let the gains made over many years be erroded by the present government. We have already seen what has been done to students aspiring to go to university but we should be concerned at Mr Gove’s plans for the National Curriculum.
There was an outcry recently relating to sports in schools but plans are afoot to minimilise arts and music in our schools. The UK has reaped benefits from our talented people in fields such as design, technology, drama and music. Do not allow these subjects to be downgraded. The education system can always improve by “nipping and tucking” but the planned ”reforms” of the education system need to be questioned and addressed. Ask any further education lecturer. Already there are plans for strikes.
Please address the issue and use your voices before it is too late.
For the sake of the children of this country please raise your voices.

An effective complaints system about MPs.  They are untouchable at the moment and can just tell you to go to hell if they want to.  We ought to be able to call them to account when they tell lies and distribute false information.  Cameron tells lies. Nadine Dorries tells lies.  Many of them do from all parties.  We can complain about the press, the TV, the judges. What about making MPs shape up and start telling the truth and behaving decently?

I would like to suggest pressure on national governments to accept the Ecuador government’s offer to accept $3.5bn to keep their  rainforest standing instead of extracting the oil under it. The British government should be asked to take the lead internationally perhaps by pressing for a decision to do so by the EU as a whole & the british public be asked to contribute along the lines of “Band Aid” campaign. There areplenty of people who would donate in this country & internationally.  

Ban the use of animals in circus’s – it’s still widespread, 95% of people don’t want it and it’s cruel unnecessary form of torture for the animals. the government backed down on its proposal to outlaw it last month despite the number of people who want it banned. With the case of Anne the elephant, if it doesn’t happen this year, I fear it may be discussed again until another horrible video is leaked out.

Andrerw – This is another chance for the British Government to forgo self interest and take a lead in helping the world towards a fossile fuel free future.
To leave the oil in the ground will protect some of the flora and fauna that we are forcing into extinction.  Forests such as Equdor’s hold species that we have not even discovered yet, species that may have uses that will be far more beneficial to is than oil.

Lynda – As I have said elsewhere, HS2 is essential for the movement of freight as well as passengers. If we want Britain to remain a beautiful place we must reduce our dependency on fossile fuels.
I regret that the Chilterns will suffer some small damage as will many other scenic areas of Britain as we move to a fossile fuel free future but it is necessary.

Don’t allow any more vandalism of our geenbelt.If new housing is needed ,it should be after all empty properties,including flats have been used up and new builds should be on brown field sites.

Please support the Campaign for the Book in its efforts to persuade government to make school libraries, with properly qualified staff, statutory. Surveys show that parents really value a good school library, and that students in schools with good librarians achieve better. And yet successive goverments, while acknowledging the contribution made, have repeatedly decided to leave it in the hands of heads and governors. Without the force of law, we are seeing school librarians made redundant and school libraries closed. Some academies have even been built without one. Students need support for their development of reading (both the skills and th eenjoyment) and they also need skilled people to guide them in the development of information literacy skills to enable them to find and use information effectively, vital skills in our information-rich world.

Thisissobeyondfunny – Halal methods of slaughter are not quite as bad as is popularly believed.Far more serious is the stress caused to animals when they are transported to distant slaughter houses instead of being killed on the farms.Far better if we all ate less meat.

Exactly right.We can never be in charge of our own country as long as we are governed by non-elected bureaucrats in Brussels.We should be allowed a say in our country’s future by being allowed a referendum on our membership of the EU.Furthermore,there should be an end to the ridiculous Human Rights Act which prevents us from returning illegal immigrants whence they came and allows criminals’ rights to take precedence over those of the law -abiding majority.

I would like the national government to do something about litter. I know and accept there are bigger priorities for councils at the moment given their budget limitations but that is the problem. Litter management is one of the services to suffer. Setting aside the look and the fact litter can very quickly turn a community into something that looks more like a slum it attracts vermin and has a detrimental effect on the environment and wildlife. I think the state could help. Fund volunteer groups. Make litter collection a priority for community service for say 12 months and then review. Give each council 1 million pounds each ( the cost of every missile we launch at Libya) to put exclusivly towards improving or funding litter collection services. Keep Britain tidy has died a death and I think we should now be instrumental in cleaning the country up!

Ken – With reference to your “…carbon rubbish…” I’m sorry you are wrong please refer to this link http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11638-climate-myths-human-co2-emissions-are-too-tiny-to-matter.html
As for your other points, please read more widely than certain parts of the popular press.  They just want to sell papers not to tell the full truth.

Definitely.Get Britain out of the EU now.It costs us millions every day we are in it and all we get in return is a gang of unelected Euro bureaucrats meddling in our affairs.Time to reclaim our sovreignty.

Cuts to benefits for disabled people – DLA, ESA, Independent Living Fund…

Hi,

I think we need to look at stopping Fracking which is a really dangerous way of getting natural gas from the groubd. It has already caused two earthquakes in Blackpool. The practice is already banned in France, and has caused untold problems for folks in the US. The whole industry stinks of corporate cover up, and could cause irreversible environmental problems, not least contaminating our water supplies.

The UK hospitality industry is over priced and in terminal decline. We should back the campaign to get VAT reduced to 5% across accommodation, restaurants, cafes and pubs etc. This is estimated to produce at least 300,000 new jobs.

Gsum- I don’t like windfarms either but they will help in the short term.
Carbon Capture has still not worked on a commercial scale.  Thorium should have been investigated long ago but remember that it is still a nuclear technology,  although far safer than that proposed for us now.
If we would all cut our consumption of energy by 20% there would be no need for wind farms!

It would be good to do something on freedom of Religion: the Copts in Egypt are suffering particularly (gone are the heady days of the Arab Spring), and Algeria, Iran and Pakistan seem to be becoming more intolerant of Christians.

A Parliament for England!

Danny – I support this, it is well within the abilities of 38 degrees to have an effect.  Meanwhile can I point you in the direction of Ethical Consumer magazine who do a lot of work on this. http://www.ethiscore.org

Bruce – This is the way forward.  If we could cut our energy consumption by 20% we wouldn’t need th windfarms so many people find objectionable.  And just think of the low to medium skill employment that could be created.

Karen – We can help these people, most 38 degree members are humane and would accept that we have so much and they have so little.

Why don’t we get the basics right during the early years? 40+ pupils per class are a thing of the past, thank goodness, but most children educated in the ’50s & ’60s learnt to read, write, compose and compute perfectly well despite being part of large classes. Leave the fancy subjects until they can read and reason!

stop the war worldwide  it seems to me that everbody wants either to start one or increase the aggresion it must be stopped now

Taffy – It’s a myth that the country is over run with illegal immegrants, We are so rich that we can help these people.  If you doubt this compare your standard of living with a person from the developing world.

Why not offer incentives to builders to buy and convert empty commercial property for cheap housing, with a scheme which offers homeless people the chance to learn a trade and create a home for themselves?

I wish to reiterate what Doug says.  Make sure that everyone knows that this is not a vote but an excersise to find out where feeling lie.

plastic bags, adopt the irish model that has been in operation several years, all stores charge for a plastic _bag.
heartening to see how quickly the irishpopulation¨”got it”- depressing in the u.k to see the inertia that continues to exist during the big weekly shop, everything supermarket plastic bagged in the trolley.

Fear!    Don’t be frightened of “they forrens”.  We have so much more than they have, we can afford to help the developing nations.
Our aid budget is tiny compared with some countries.  It is interesting that the richer the country the lower their aid budget.
Yes, The USA’s budjet is lower than ours.

I agree that there are a lot of people struggling to get work and feed their family who are valid claimants. But many of them will be entitled to help.
Do we have any idea of what it costs this country to feed, clothe, house, educate and cure all the people who arrive on our shores each year with no real entitlement to benefits?

The Welfare State was originally intended to help British people – those in extreme circumstances, young families and pensioners. Whilst I accept that we have moved on from those early and simple aims, I do not accept the idea that anyone from a country other than Commonwealth or EU can simply walk into the UK and claim benefits without having contributed to our system first. (This is also happening with EU citizens who come here with no intention of working because they know they can play the system.) 
Why not make it a rule that immigrants have to work and pay taxes and NI for two years before they can claim anything? That might discourage a lot of people from entering the country to start with. Much tougher criteria for entry to the UK would also help.

Good thinking Bill!

I would really like to see an end to the barbaric way the animals are treated in Chinese markets or China as a whole. I am informed the dogs are in cages or hung upside down to await being picked and then killed in a barbaric fashion for the dinner plate. Also stronger enforcement to find out the probably minority of… racing greyhound owners that dispose of their dogs butchering and killing, maybe an adoption and awareness campaign for retiring greyhounds with better publicity of what their predicament is. Not pointing the finger as there are genuine people that care in the greyhound industry probably as well as China but there are a lot that don’t.

It would be really good if young children were taught about respecting the enviroment too at an early age,  If schools grew plants for roundabout they would feel part of the community and perhaps grow up with respect for their towns etc.  I think they also need to be more disciplined even with standing up for teachers and lining up, keeping their classrooms and cloakrooms tidy, picking up litter etc.

What’s so wrong with a pre-industrial age society.  Let’s move towards a co-operatve, or at least a non-competitive society.  Let’s forget about constant expansion and use our employment force and our scientific expertise to create a society less dependent on fossile fuels.

I would like to see minor rural roads, the ones without white lines down the middle, prioritised for non motorised users.  We wouldn’t need more cycle paths if these were made safe and motorists restricted with a low speed limit.  If they want us to get on our bikes then give us some safe space.  Much greener too and better for the countryside and the wildlife which inhabits it.
Maudie Mo

We need to concentrate on our own “home grown ” issues. We keep on hearing about how we, the public, own majority shares in a number of banks. So that being the case, where is my share dividend??? The government stole my Northern Rock shares and now claim to make me a share holder in other banks, what an utter joke. The other pressing issue is that of fuel duty and it’s effect on pump prices!!! 

Biomass Power Plants.    Preventing the development of massive biomass power plants at several of our major ports, eg Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth or near Dundee on the Firth of Tay.  These sound very green at first glance because wood is renewable.  Then you find out the volumes of wood are so massive they’ll need to be imported by ship from North and South America, with all the fossil fuel consumption that entails. Worse, it could lead to legal or illegal felling of native forests or destruction of existing farmland, in order to plant fast-growing non-native Eucalyptus to keep feeding the furnaces.  Expect indigenous people and peasant farmers in some South American countries to be driven out illegally by armed thugs, as the felling of the Amazon Rainforest contiues to accelerate.

And guess what? The entire thing will be subsidised heavily by you, the UK tax payer though Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs). 

regarding high impact decisions currently being undertaken worldwide, opening up of the Canadian Bituminous Oil fields will have more of a negative effect on human health, livelihood and environmental stability than any other issue currently under consideration. The effects will not only be felt in the current day, but will project and magnify onto future generations. if these actions go ahead, we loose all hope of maintaining a stable global climate.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/03/barack-obama-carbon-president?INTCMP=SRCH

As Thatcher sold the state utilities off to foreign conglomerates, this is impossible. Why not switch to Cooperative energy? British and owned by customers, not shareholders. The more that join, the lower the ‘Big Six’ will have to take their prices to avoid losing a massive market share. Only apathy will keep them coining it in

i love wind power, and have a veg garden under my neighbour’s turbine so spend a lot of time right under it.  Great to see how much energy it creates.
vickymoller

I’d like to see the end to the portrayal of people in the public sector as having “gilt-edged” pensions, or some other derogatory terms. As most private sector workers have either become de-unionised (and hence, powerless to stop the rape of their pension funds by the unscrupulous capitalist) or apathetic (by buying into the right-wing’s Thatcherite nonsense as espoused by the press) they seem to have adopted the attitude of “well WE don’t have a decent pension – why should you?”. What a garbage attittude; I’d say this : just because YOU let your future be destroyed by these scum, don’t expect us to roll over and do the same.
We should be backing the public sector TO THE HILT. 

destruction of fish is one of most important issues after the need to stop fossil fuel extraction.
Fishing: get rid of the quota system which doesnt work and leads to dead fish thrown back, and copy systems that do work, eg closing fishing grounds where the fish are too small in size to allow recovery. We need the navy back to do something useful;protect fish. When our fishing fleets are law abiding they have to watch foreign registered fleets hoover up the fish they refrain from taking.

I would like to see campaigning on issues around disability such as DLA cuts, changes in assessment to DLA, the recent scandal around treatment of disabled people in Bristol. I think this is an issue where government is out of step with public opinion as most people belive the state should protect the most vulnerable in society.

protect the freedom of the internet, it seems world governments are discussing taking it away. It allows democracy, eg 350 degrees. It could provide a glimmer of hope for the human species. It could work like the nerves in a human body, helping humans act like a coordinated species.

I am concerned about the environmental damage that could be caused by the shale gas drilling off the British Coast. Shale gas mining has become a big industry in North America, but has led to many environmental issues, one of which being the contamination of ground water. Many people have experienced gas escaping through their water taps. Mining was stopped off the coast of Britain due to a number of earthquakes. Also shale gas emission are potential as bad as the burning of coal. Are we not supposed to be moving away from the reliance on fossil fuels and moving to greener energy.

There’s very little evidence to show that fluoridation of the water supply has any benefit for dental health; but plenty to show that excess fluoride intake can be harmful to thyroid function (inducing a general sluggishness and the ‘docility’ cited above). The initial trials with fluoride used pharmaceutical-grade compounds but the sources now used in our drinking water are indeed from industrial waste and not the same compounds as were originally trialled. The evidence against fluoridation far outweighs that in support of its benefits!

Baldpagan – Other than the United States we have the highest proportion of our population in prison.Are we really such evil people?

Save Legal Aid for 650,000 people. Do the right thing, fear no-one.

It’s a big problem but there’s no easy solution one can campaign for. A lot of thought already goes into trying to balance the short-term and long-term prospects of fishermen, marine life and consumers.

See:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/2011/03/everybody_wants_to_do_it.html
http://chrisdaviesmep.org.uk/?p=296

Your mention of “the spirit of the law” reminds me of this article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/lawyers-back-uk-uncut-on-taxes-2280762.html

The suggestion is that really precise tax law leads to loopholes for the richest. Might more ambiguous laws bring in more money? “The hallowed principle of legal certainty – the basis of all tax law –
should give way to a more fuzzy concept of fairness.”

The next campaign should be to ban all hunting for good. It is not a sport it is animal cruelty for the fun of it. I seriously wonder about the mental state of people who participate. The conservative government are determined to bring it back. The stories since the conservatives have been in government have deliberately made the foxes a scapegoat. The gullible ignorant people who read these stories would have no problem with huntng coming back as foxes are seen to be dangerous etc which is rubbish.

It’s time we took a serious look at education.  It is foolish that mature students who are genuinely trying to better themselves by studying for university degrees and teacher training conversion courses should be faced with the prospect of having to repay fees whilst still earning a relatively low salary.  These are people who very often are trying to remove themselves from the benefit system and they should be given every possible encouragement to make a career for themselves and support their own future.  We do seem to get the wrong end of the stick in this country.  Let’s try to make a difference for those people who embrace adult education with a view to getting themselves out of the benefits trap!!

Stop £10 million a month being wasted now on HS2 – there are so many much more useful things that money could be spent on

What the heck is the “Inner Council”? There’s the directly-elected European Parliament. There’s the Council of Ministers made up of directly-elected Ministers, including the UK’s. I assume you are referring to the Commission, whose members are nominated by elected governments such as our own, and approved by the elected parliament. Any legislation proposed by this Commission needs to be approved by the two directly-elected bodies.

We don’t even elect the majority of our parliament (let alone the monarchy or powerful civil servants). Try reforming the Lords before calling the EU undemocratic.

Kathleen – Many of the comments on this site prove the distorting effect some portions of the press can have on public opinion.  Fear of immigration, fear that we can not afford to give more aid, fear of the EU.,  our streets are overrun with criminals, etc., etc.

I didn’t realise that. Thanks for pointing it out to me. I assumed now they have an assembly that English MPs had no right to decide on anything happening on Welsh soil. Your devolved government needs to further increase it’s autonomy to the level Scotland has by the sounds of it. In the meantime, I hope 38 degrees also take up your cause to stop the turbines in Wales.

Very good idea!
I see the same thing every day in my company (private sector, financial services). Almost all managers dropped out of school with just GCSEs and they discriminate between junior employees who dropped out of school at 15 or 18, and graduates or experienced professionals.
The 18 or 20-year olds with no work experience (and a bad work ethic) will get interesting tasks & be involved in new projects, go on business trips to London, attend meetings with clients (despite not wearing suits and being ‘chavs’).
The graduates or experienced hires will do all the post-sorting, photocopy-making, data entry, complaint solving (i.e. calling a client and grovelling on behalf of the company).
I am not a graduate yet, but after working for 10 years (including 6 years in admin roles) I decided to start studying for a degree online (OU open degree: Maths, Stats, Biology, Chemistry and Computing modules). I have studied up to 32 hours after work (for about 3 months) and 24 hours after work for a whole 6 months. I do overtime at work too. My manager resents my preparing this degree and told me it was a proof of laziness: she would prefer me to work in a supermarket at the weekend! That wouldn’t even be a formative experience: I’ve already worked in a supermarket (and in shops, and in warehouses), years ago!
Since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008, my company has been employing loads of graduates as temps in the call centre. They spend up to 3 months answering phone calls (which are recorded and then listened by the managers who will find fault with everything) and getting shouted at by the team leaders (who  left school with GCSEs). They also get called names such as ‘morons’, ‘nitwits’, ‘monkeys’, ‘cheapskates’, etc. even though they are generally much brighter than the people who call them these names.
Some of the managers in the business achieve precious little in a workweek, but because they’ve been with the business for 20+ years, they are too expensive to fire, even when there is a wave of redundancies. Often, they don’t even understand the work their subordinates are doing. They also boast skills that they don’t possess, especially foreign languages and IT skills: having got drunk and slept with prostitutes (probably Romanian) in Paris does not make you fluent in French!

HS2 will not move ANY freight, it is designed for passengers only.  As it will increase energy consumption it is not in any way ecological.  As the vast majority of transport (passengers or freight) in this country is made by road and will always continue to be so (can you imagine a trainline to every Tesco?) if you want to improve anything you have to improve road transport – invest in green road solutions such as charging points (or even to ‘electrify’ the motorway network), and most importantly try and reduce the need to travel.

I agree that the hunting ban should not be repealed. I wrote to my MP informing him that he would not be acting on my behalf in supporting lifting the hunting ban. He replied saying that foxes need to be culled and that this can cause more suffering to the foxes. WHAT could cause more suffering than to be ripped apart by hounds. Suggest you write to your MP.

  1 Ask for a national scale food production system, so lets say 80 percent of food is home produced, …against macro economic style  imports.
(supermarket and other giants)

  2 No second income for politicians….against corrupted decisions that favor corporate lobbyists over the common public
Force politicians to make decisions on OUR behalf that actually SERVE OUR INTERESTS FIRST- regardless of macroprofiteers

Ann – thank you for raising this.  How many people know that the British Government and other EU countries are negotiating with Canada about the import of Tar Sands Oil.  Or that the Canadian Government is looking for compensation from the EU if the EU it puts a restriction on what the Canadian Government considers Free Trade
If we don’t buy their poison they’ll fine us!

I agree. I worked in primary education for some years and was alarmed at the number of subjects
5 year olds had to cover. The first 2/3 years of schooling should concentrate on the three R’s through play. Until there is a grasp of these basics children cannot move forward. I have voiced this to
Mr Gove and others but they are not listenining.

There have recently been many publicised instances of financial abuse by local authority executives and Councillors who appear to be virtually uncontrolled, other by themselves.
It is quite obvious that regulation by Councillors is quite ineffective if it exists at all.
I would like to see a campaign to regulate local authority expenditure that is not directly part of day to day running, all expenses properly regulated and a leading Councillor being made personally financially responsible for unrecovered improper expenditure.

Can’t agree – one can make this sort of excuse for numerous such projects.  I don’t live near the Chilterns but I still abhor the idea, it will devastate the area – as usual there is a lot of mis-information on the project, its benefits are very questionable.  We cannot keep decimating our county side.

Currently the EU is trying ban the use of oil sourced from Canadian Tar Sands in Europe.  The UK and Norway are blocking this move.  It is no coincidence that these countries have long standing links to oil firms.  Canadian Tar Sands are incredibly damaging to the local environment and people but also the process of extracting oil form the ground results in even more climate change damage than regular fossil fuel production.

This proposal is for a specific point so it may be effective.  It has already been publicised recently in the Independent and possibly other papers.  Also it may bring general attention to issues around peak oil which people seem willfully ignorant of.  

Please consider this, Thanks,

Fight the deep sea extraction of oil in the Arctic.  The Leiv Eiriksson platform is already drilling and yet can supply no details of its emergency spill plans.  If a spill happens in the Arctic,it will make the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico seem like a drop in the ocean!

I entirely agree with Hallelujah man on the seriousness and urgency of this topic.  Perhaps a specific campaign message such as removing (or freezing) the obligation to use agrofuels in transport fuels or preferably to remove their renewable status especially in line with recent studies including one by the EU that when we include the results of indirect land use agrofuels do not reduce climate change emissions and likely increase them. 

Andrew Gibbs is right.  HS2 will increase energy consumption, for example because wind resistance increases disproportionately with speed.  For the same reason, energy could be saved by reducing the speed of fast road traffic – e.g. motorways from 70 to 50 mph, with the bonus of reducing road casualties.
HS2 will also generate more travel, for example more ludicrously long commuter journeys.HS2′s only useful green role is to reduce internal air travel.  But this could be reduced equally well by taxing internal flights – and perhaps use the proceeds of the tax to fund the far more necessary improvements to low-speed urban rail travel, to attract commuters from their cars.

We should be focusing on OFFSHORE wind and wave, whose capacity far exceeds that of inland wind.  We have an enormous coast line and the potential to generate enough electricity there to export it via international grids that we need to be building in parallel.  See the Public Interest Research Centre’s study: The offshore valuation – a valuation of the UK’s offshore renewable energy resource, PIRC, 2010.

Medicinal cannabis on a doctor’s prescription.  It’s straightforward, everybody agrees with it, it’s just disgraceful government inertia that stops it.  It will transform thousands of people’s lives, free them from pain and suffering.  It will provide immediate and dramatic results and be seen as as a radical but essential overturning of bureaucracy

The UK needs to invest heavily in renewable fuels (no agrofuels) possibly this could be a move in support of the one million climate jobs campain (http://www.climate-change-jobs.org/) to tackle issues around climate change and peak oil.

I think we should press for a change in emphasis in public spending.

Currently, the focus is on cost, and the focus should be on value: let me give you an example.

Some time ago, a private firm submitted a tender to repair potholes on UK roads. Their price was double other prices, but they offered a difference: They guaranteed their repairs for 10 years.

To my mind, this offered infinitely better value than a cheap repair which would require more spending within a couple of years. The premise is simple: Do a job 3 times (at half the price each time!) and you have not saved anything at all – you have cost yourself (and the tax payers) 50% MORE TO BE EXACT.

The UK governments of the last 30 (or so) years have said that the public sector ought to operate on a more business-like basis. Private firms have come in and milked the system. The private sector service providers have been the ones who have benefited from the change.

Time has come to put the emphasis on getting value.

Cheapest is not always best: Let’s strive to be the BEST!

Ask the government why (with the progress in computerised finances) it still takes 3 “working days” to transfer funds from one organisation to another.

If you visit an ATM to withdraw cash, the funds are deducted almost instantly – no matter who’s cash machine you use. The technology works when it suits the banks!

Why does an internet banking transfer take so much longer?

WHY?

Rights for pre 24 week babies just because we COULD have aborted them does not mean we would have they are fully developed tiny babies some breathe unaided all be it not for long without help these babies DESERVE the treatment they require and the families need the closure a funeral brings currently it is a hospital lottery as to how your baby is treated at birth and after death ….. Had my son been born at a hospital 15 mins the other way he would be here now instead I have a bill for the disposal of medical waste he was born breathing at a hospital that terminatesup to 24 weeks so babies born prior to that are not treated if born alive

Save the
supertug Anglian Monarch!

This tug patrols the Dover Strait. It comes to the rescue of
any ships which are in difficulty (engines not working, bad weather etc.). It
is a supertug, hence it is very expensive to run, but supertankers and the like
require supertugs.

Until now, the running costs of the Anglian Monarch were
paid concurrently by the French and the British governments. David Cameron
wants to pull the plug on the British funding. The French can’t meet the
difference, which means Anglian Monarch will stop service on 30 September. The
French do have plans to send another tug to replace it but that tug is
currently patrolling the Golfe de Gascogne: this means the Spanish will have to
patrol the Golfe de Gascogne on their own, which will make it less safe.

The Dover Strait is both extremely busy and narrow, and in
bad weather, can become very dangerous. Many tankers sail through it, en route
to Rotterdam. If tankers who get into difficulty can’t get rescued (for example
because the tugs which are sent out to meet them can’t make it in time, or are
not powerful enough), this can mean an oil spill. Obviously, given the
direction of the winds and the currents, any oil spill would head towards the
French coastline, not the British one. However, on that French coast are
numerous nuclear power stations… which use seawaters to cool their reactors.

Until the 1970’s, tugs were operated by private companies:
when a ship got into difficulty, these companies would contact the master, and
the company who owned the ship, haggle about the price of the rescue, and
rescue the ship once an agreement had been reached. If the rescue was
unsuccessful, the company would not be charged anything: this was called the
‘no cure no pay’ clause. This resulted into environmental disasters like that
of the Amoco Cadiz in 1978: 220,000 tons of oil spilled over 400 km of
coastline (hence the title of the song by Breton group ‘Les Goristes’:
‘Bretagne is beauty fuel’). A similar event took place in Wales, at Milford
Haven.

Even with the best of care, some ships will inevitably have
engine issues. Many ships are also operated by rogue companies: not enough time
or money is devoted to maintenance, and the crew are very, very overworked and
sleep-deprived. And we don’t control the weather. Therefore accidents will
occur, and the only way to avoid environmental disasters is to have tugs and
supertugs patrolling busy ship lanes.

Donald Trump- Scotland… Stop him!

Agree with the “Trump” one, but also stop building on flood plains, and on productive arable farm land.  Flooding will be an increasing issue as will food production – we can’t eat money!!

What about keeping British power plants secure from leakage and up to date? That would help every bodies environment wouldn’t it ? Perhaps the Government could spare a few spondulas for this cause.

We want our railways back!
That thug Beeching ripped the tracks up because the americanos wanted us all in cars and trucks to burn our North Sea oil.
The transport system is now wide open for any old dodgy Company Director to fleece our pockets with ridiculously high ticket fares.
The only bright guy with an idea in the Houses of stupid Parliament was my mate Guy Fawkes.

God help us all!

and these people are running our country (shakes head)

And how do you propose thats done?

Anyone for a campaign for real equality? Or even better, the requirement for newspapers, politicians and campaigners to use facts in their literature (printed, digital, audio or otherwise)?

I would like to see action taken against chemtrails; the spraying of biological chemical testing on the people. I would like to see sample tests carried out in Britain as they have done else where, that way at least people would be aware of what is happening so that the masses can take action rather than continue to live unaware that this is happening to us all on a regular basis!

We need to stop the waste that is HS2 and the Y route.  It’s costing us £10m a month right now.
 
At first glance the idea of a new high speed train line sounds great.  But at a cost of at least £32bn, it will actually not be carbon neutral – because 18 trains per hour will travel at 250mph needing lots of energy; eats up lots of carbon in the construction of a new line which will destroy thousands of acres of farm land which are needed to produce food; destroy countless woods, SSSIs and other fragile wildlife sites.
The Government admits that 70% of any jobs created will be in London, not in the north.  Any jobs created will be close to the few stations, but rural jobs will be lost as the new train line flattens their business premises and destroys tranquil countryside locations.
 
And there is an alternative, we CAN upgrade our existing rail lines, which will bring improvements much quicker.
 
The worst thing is that a large part of the country is disenfranchised by these plans for which the consultation finishes on 29th July.  The Government has published the route from London to Lichfield and stated it will then continue to Manchester and Leeds, but that route only gets published in December by when the people affected will be powerless to stop it.  So much for democracy!

medical cannabis.

As the father of a nearly 48 year old daughter with learning difficulties, and a man rechaing my 69thyear in less than 3 months I have a bias. The next camapign for me is a no brainer, the privatisation of care is not working and vulnerable people are being made to suffer in the face of greed and bigger profits.

My local authority Barnet have forced through a privatisation plociy for care of the disabled with no meaningful consultation. Services that have been asssumed a right over the past 40 years for my daughter and her peers are now based on the ability to pay. I have been advised that my daughter has been consulted on a ” New Barnet Fairer Contributions Policy” along with her peers, Yet my daughter does not have the capacity to undestand such things. I have repeteadly asked Barnet to advise me when, where and with whom did this consultation take place, and who was in attendance to independently represent the human rights of my daughter. Local press letters prove many have not been consulted in a meaningful way. It seems Barnet thinks explaining such a complicated issue to a group of mentally handicapped people who dont undertsand a word they are saying constitutes meaningful consultation.

The failure of a major care homes company that enjoyed big profits and are now looking for a handout,along with the horror movie we saw on Panorama about what is happening in care homes for people with learning difficulties, Along with a march in London by thousands of disabled people, and suppoted by millions left at home who could not get there for obvious reasons. For me makes the next campaign a no brainer ” The Cuts are Destroying the lives of disabled people in Britain”, whilst the bankers take massive bonuses.

So if you want a campaign, make it a campaign that makes it clear it was not the disabled or the nurses or the public sector workers wages and conditions that created the deficit. It was the crooked and dishonest bankers that are now bankrolling  the curent government, so why should the disabled and the elderly suffer for the greed and the dishonesty of bankers. The big question is, ” why are none of the bankers in prison “.

The deffict should not be the” judge & jury “of all we survey, cuts should be tempered with common sense and fairness to all. So my suggestion for the next campaign is an exposure of the abuse of the human rights of disabled and elderly people, and the underhanded quite erosion of the local authorities  “ duty of care for them ” . By the formation of private companies so they can opt out of their ” duty of care stealthily and over the long term “and leave the vulnerable to their own devices. Which is exactly the long term aim that Barnet are heading for.

The ” New Barnet Fairer Payment Policy ” has been pushed ahead with on the basis that meaningful consultation has taken place and this is happening all over the country, and it is my contention that no meaningful consultation has taken plaace a consultation that the law of the land requires. If it has taken place ,why are Barnet refusing to answer my specific question ” when where and with whom did the consultation take place with my daughter, and who was present to independently protect my daughters human rights ” what I ask is unreasonable about that question. A question that has now been forwarde to the BarnetComplaints department, my question is. How does a reasonable request for a specific answer to a specific and reasonable questio,n become a complaint.?

The answer is they have no answer because my daughter like all of her peers and many other disabbled people in Barnet ( and probaly around the country ) have simply not been consulted in any meaningful way as if disabled people have no right human rights, or the right to voice an opinion.We take money from the disabled to spend on the human rights of people in Lybia, whilst denying human rights to our disabled people .

Sorry for the diatribe but I am a lone man standing in Barnet fighting for the rights of people with learning difficulties, unlike my daughter many of her peers have nobody to fight for them because their parents are deceased which sadly and cynically is what Barnet is relying on.

It is heartbreaking that so many disabled people and their very hard-pressed carers are facing cuts to their vital services while the Government is wasting £10m per month on a new train set that isn’t needed.   

We should stop the govt squandering billions of pounds on a vanity high speed rail project and improve our existing rail infrastucture to benefit all.

Agree totally, these giant and often non-British energy companies run under the flag of trying to be ‘green’ but lets be honest, if the enormous subsidies the government pays them to build these windfarms (which comes from OUR energy bills now!) was removed, I wonder how many of them would still carry on because they wanted to ‘protect the environment’.   My guess – NONE OF THEM because they are in it for one thing. Money.  Our money.  Many other countries are already taking down their turbines because they know they don’t work,  OfGem itself has stated that wind energy at its BEST is NEUTRAL to current forms of energy because it is intermittent.  And many people don’t appreciate that when the wind doesn’t blow, you still want your telly on so huge Deisel powerplants have to be built (carbin cost there) and run (again more carbon cost) as a back up.  And they can’t just be turned off all the time unless the day is a bit windles either.  And if its too windy, we have to dump the power from the grid.    Also, the cost to other countries like china where some parts of these turbines used here are made, creating mile long toxin lakes that are again destroying the environment.  But then thats over there isn’t it Not over here and so the problem is, all a lot of people in the UK see or hear is that wind energy is clean and green.  Look at that turbine quietly doing its thing. How efficient. How environmentally friendly. Not.   They don’t realise the infrastructure that has to go with it, the giant substations, the hundreds of miles of pylon lines.  The wrecking of our countryside where they take the cheapest route instead of the most appropriate, and the ruining of peoples lives in the process.   Heres an example, anyone who lives close (1-2km) away from one of these giant substations or windfarms has a very high risk of hearing low frequency noise emitted.   This noise travels through buildings unlike medium and high freq noise. So you will hear it in your home 24hrs a day.  Ed Milliband when he was secretary for DECC was advised of the issues of sound with these things in an official report his dept comissioned.   What did Ed do?  His dept deleted that bit in the report statig ‘do we understand the impact this will have?’ before they published it which is why councils cannot reject a windfarm based on noise.   Disgusting.

In this period of austerity, PLEASE can we stop giving these companies billions, and plough that money back into services we need here or into researching a steady reliable source of green energy instead of just making do with turbines now.    We seem to be rushing something that is MASSIVE just to hit some target. Why not delay  a few years and get it right.    

My campaign – stop subsidising wind farms with £Billions of our money!       

Public sector waste is usually accident or the effect of one idiot minister. Private sector waste is called ‘profit’ and it’s the main aim of the business. Why on earth should we allow public taxes to become private profits? This issue, broadly defined, gets my vote.

Because while it’s “in transfer” they’re making interest on it and you’re not. Easy.

Regulation of cannabis would give us £6 billion per annum

Get a life and focus your energy on something of importance

I have a close family member with a long-term illness who cannot work and who does not get the support he needs. Another close family member is a dedicated support worker who receives totally inadequate support, or training. I see the appalling inadequacies of our care system from both sides, and absolutely agree with you, John, that it should be the subject of the next campaign. I’m glad to see that lots of people here are saying the same from their different perspectives. Please take note, 38 degrees!  

Perhaps it’s too late – but a campaign to bring to wider public attention the fact that the UK Census contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin UK, part of the world’s largest arms manufacturer: cluster bombs and trident nuclear missiles. A gross lapse of moral and political responsibility.

Yes, put an end to fractional reserve banking.

DEBT is the greatest Evil of our time.

Under the current system, BANKS are allowed to CREATE money [debt] out of nothing.Up
until 1844 all Banks were allowed to print their own money, which led
to the inevitable boom and bust, because they printed too much for their
own profit, and destabilised the entire economy.The
Government then outlawed this practice, by creating the Bank Charter
Act. Which stated that Banks are not allowed to print their own money.
Only the BOE would be allowed to print bank notes.But there was a major loophole, because the bank charter act only outlaws ‘printing bank notes’The
law that made it illegal for banks to create paper money has never been
updated to include the creation of digital money. So Banks extend
credit, or make a loan, by simply increasing the numbers on your current
account!Yes its that simple. The woman on the phone, simply types
into her computer a few more figures, adding it to your
account…….INSANEThe banks have Carte Blanche. They just do not
want the public to get wind of this. All of this is well understood
amongst politicians. Thats why most go into politics. They know the
people at the top can wet their beaks.The UK is a plutocracy.Now,
all the actual CASH in the UK amounts to very little. About £57
billion. But if you include the ‘Made up’ digital money’ The amount
rises to something like £2,200 Billion. [This called the M4 Money
Supply]If that’s not theft, then what is it? [It would be theft if any other business did it]The
banks are at the root of most of the worlds Evil. Poverty, DEBT, War.
For those who believe that Capital Punishment is acceptable. They could
not find a more suitable group to be hung.The average man on the
street in this country, does not understand how the banking system
works. That Banks simply ‘create money [debt] out of thin air’
“Give me Control of a Nations Money and I care not who makes its laws.” Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild
The Banks are the mortal enemy of the people of the UK
The Banks should be likened to being an occupying force.
The
UK is under occupation, from an enemy which attacks our liberty,
democracy, and human rights, and our elected officials, are like those
officials in Vichy France who tried turning a blind eye to the Nazi’s.
Why bother invading a country with arms, when you can enslave the population using stealth, without the bloodshed?
The
banks own us from cradle to grave. They know it and engineer it to be
that way. The last thing they want is people being self sufficient and
not having to borrow from them.

The banks started lending more and more money into the housing market in
the sure and certain knowledge that the price of houses is set by the
availability of credit.

[House Prices rose by over 300% in a decade. 1996 to 2006. Pricing out millions of people, and destroyed the dreams and aspirations of generations, who only wanted to work for a house.

And post bank bailouts, the people who do not own

Until they went bust.

*****There are 2-3 million people priced out of housing. 

Without the the money and future forced pledges from those taxpayers

who do not own property, and the recapitalisation of certain banks,
property prices would have plummeted back to their long term average
affordability. As a proportion of income. Which would mean over 50%
falls. So by stealing our Taxes, QE, our own banks buying our own gilts,
keeping Interest Rates at the lowest they have ever been, etc etc etc
we are in effect being forced to pay to keep everyone else's property,
or the banks assets, massively overinflated, against all historic
measures of affordability.

Keeping millions who are not on the
housing ladder yet, from being able to afford their own property. [That
is complicated thievery. Implemented by Labour Party policies.]

The housing ‘Market’ is a fallacy. It is not a ‘market’ in any real sense of the definition.

If my money was not being STOLEN, we would have returned to a free market, where I could buy my own home, for circa 3x salary.

If
Brown had not inflated the housing bubble, we would likely have gotten
onto the ladder over a decade ago, and paid off a substantial sum.

Do you understand the justifiable anger and frustration this results in? The social damage?

Labour should have cared about what drove rising prices, instead of just that prices were rising.

We are in our thirties, and have been forced to waste tens of thousands in rent, as
house
prices were purposefully manipulated to rise year after year. Via
Fraudulent Practices which have been rewarded.
Whilst we have worked for
nothing. No capital.
orced to pay off ‘liar loan’ landlords mortgages
and retirements.

Keep up the pressure on tax cheats; add other welfare cheats (both individual and corporate) to the campaign.

New campaigns: 
1. Start a campaign FOR something (as opposed to against something). E.G. volunteer run libraries.
2. Campaign for the prosecution for banksters who defrauded their customers.

Its not just interest they make on this. It encompasses all credit/debit card transactions worldwide.  I used to work in IT and I have seen the secret high security dealing rooms on the top floors on banks in the city were they shift money around by the £100m that is actually your money but is flagged as “in transit”.  I sat and watched one of the operators one day as they shifted Visa payments destined for the likes of Sainsburys or Tesco, into various places to make a few fractions of a percent profit, sometimes in minutes.  Its all a big rip off and ordinary folk using banks know nothing of it.  The customers should profit from it not the banks as its our money!

I have used some unfamiliar terms in my post, so am posting this, to explain my meaning:

The more people understand what is actually happening, the better.

NEO CORPORATISM AND THE PLANNED ECONOMY:

In the Planned economy. The government controls and regulates production,
distribution, prices, etc. They Compel. The Planned economy, is a direct
contrast to the democratic model, of the ‘Market Economy’

Neo-corporatism
[or New Fascism] is a modern version of state corporatism which emerged
in the late 19th century in authoritarian systems and had several
manifestations in the first half of the 20th century. In Adolf Hitler’s
Germany and Francisco Franco’s Spain. Neo-corporatism is the opposing
tendency (even polemically) to neo-liberalism.

Early concepts of corporatism have been traced back to ideas found in Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany.

The essence of the theory is that major industrial institutions, and
especially corporations, have now entered into a very close alliance
with the state, especially with the civil service. Instead of the state
controlling and organizing industry as though the corporations were
passive, they are seen as being necessary partners.

One of the most prominent forms of corporatism is a tripartite system,
involving negotiations between business, labour, and state interest
groups to set economic policy. A method preferred by italian fascist
groups. [and new Labour funnily enough]

The
implication for those who use the idea as a criticism of modern
political systems is that the spirit of Italian fascism, where industry
was directly represented in a
legislative chamber, is rising again, or has occured, with the state
becoming no more than a servant to sectional industrial interests.

i.e. THE BANKING INDUSTRY

“Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of
state and corporate power.” Benito Mussolini

This is a very sad fact and my heart goes out to you. Unfortunately certain people who have fought and won the rights of their premature baby have totally messed it up for everyone else when they rejected their own child after winning the right to keep their baby alive! However we shouldn’t all be tarred with the same brush and perhaps they should of made the ungrateful parents partly financially responsible for their baby when they decided they didn’t want her anymore! This definitely needs looking at!

Help us finish off the HS2 proposal. If built it will be the biggest white elephant in history, costing over £1000 per household, and destoys an AONB, SSSI, ancient woodlands and tranquil countryside. There is a better, cheaper alternative and meets all our capacity needs for many decades and deals with the overcrowding from Milton Keynes which cannot wait until 2026. HS1 in Kent is running at one third of forecast demand, cost taxpayer billions and leaft commuters up in arms at cutbacks elsewhere. There are better ways to spend £33bn than subsidising a rich man’s train.

With so many worthy causes to support it really will be a difficult decision to choose. 

I would like to see the building of any further energy from waste facilities (incinerators!) stopped. These monstrosities are already blighting towns and cities across the UK by belching out pollution 24/7 and despoiling the landscape. And 11 more are currently planned. We are all paying for them through our taxes as many of them are financed through government grants (PFI). If your council has or is proposing to build one you will also pay for it, for the next 25-30 years, through council tax. I would rather my taxes went to social care and education than up in smoke.

The arguments against incinerators are well documented on websites such as Friends of the Earth, UKWIN and those of the many groups currently campaigning against incinerators being built in their localities.

Many incinerator companies and the councils who propose to use them are not bothered where the incinerator is sited. They just want them built. The company makes huge profits and incineration is cheaper than landfill for the council.

For example, Hertfordshire County Council is planning to build an incinerator and they have chosen to do this in South Hatfield on land right next door to a special school for children who have a wide range of learning difficulties. Ofsted said, “Pupils achieve well and the progress of those pupils who are about to leave
school has been outstanding”.  There is a local campaign group in Hatfield http://www.hatfield-anti-incineration.co.uk/ if anyone wants further information.

Ask the Americans, they get petrol half the price. we should get the same deal.

The most serious threat facing us in the short-medium term (next year or five) is likely to be food security.  We need to increas awareness of or food supply, its dependence on energy and the threats of to our food security from the crazy GM proponents.  Despite heavy lobbying by the vested interests and financial bullying, countries such as Kenya are rejecting GM as they realise it does nothing to improve food security and puts them in hock to multinationals.

38 degrees should devise a multi pronged strategy to tackle

international problems such as GM
trading rules and
local problems such as the lack of allotments,
the rules forbiding food waste being fed to pigs (how wasteful can we be???!)
the lack of research/development of re-using the fertilisers (Phosphates/Nitrates/Potasium) that each of us produce each day, instead of importing them from across the world at great expense.

Well – that is my twopenneth!
David Lyons

A sensible evidence based approach to drug laws?  

This is being phased out by most banks.  Between me and my partner we bank with 3 different banks and all do instant transfers.  Customer’s can vote with their feet…if you’re doesn’t, leave!

More anti-cuts action please. And let’s fight for much tighter regulation of the banks. Or the nationalisation of banking, if we could get the support

Stop foreign-owned utility companies building rubbish incinerators – they are not needed.  They are good for thier own shareholders, but bad for our environment!

http://www.hatfield-anti-incineration.co.uk

Take politics out of education. Allow all schools to be free by giving parents education vouchers which they spend on the education of their choice. Nothing seems to have improved for our young people in the last thirty years. We need RADICAL change. Perhaps this is not for 38 degrees, but I wish someone would start a ball rolling on behalf of all age groups within, and participators of, our education system!

NO to Hs2!

I am with Jerry Marshall’s proposal to put an end to the proposed HS2.  It is unwanted, unnessessary and the money could be better spent on improving our existing railways.

Rosemary Rose

yes I am against the High Speed 2 train which will involve desruction of people communities and landscape on a huge scale . Would like you too to take up the problem of world wide  tax evasion which includes members of our own political parties. Thank you 38 degrees

I support the comments on incinerators.  There is a massive one proposed for Loganswell eight miles south of Glasgow, near the expanding suburb of Newton Mearns.  It is strongly opposed by local people and by organisations such as Friends of the Earth, but there are real fears that commercial interests will carry more weight with government.  If local pressure groups could combine under the collective voice of 38 Degrees, highlighting the health, transport and environmental issues, that would make it harder for the operators to deal with each proposed development as if it were an isolated case, of interest only to the immediate locality.

High Speed Two.  Business case is a ‘basket case’ and can’t be afforded anyway.  To help whom?  HS2 Alliance has masses of information, all soundly researched.  AONB Board, Chiltern Society AND Wildlife Trusts and Woodland Trust and RSPB etc etc are all banding together to fight this ‘White elephant’.

It waould save us billions and massively reduce all health and social harms so why won’t our politicians even consider it?  What is their real agenda?

38 degrees say they are looking for a new campaign what better than the one to fight DLA which had a lot of supporters until 38 degrees lost the initial campaign and even now has a respectable number of people voting for it.  Why are the people in charge of 38 degrees ignoring their membership on this matter

Support the campaign for Zero Carbon Britain 2030 – there is a day (July 16th) promoting Zero Carbon Britain and more information on http://www.zerocarbonbritain.com/index.php/the-news/120-zcbday
So many of think we should be actively planning how to reach zero carbon, and there is an excellent report from the Centre for Alternative Technology giving a route map for how it can be done, yet current climate work in public does not show the necessary urgency. Recent figures showing emissions going up, and still-rising CO2 concentrations mean the urgency is growing. We should be on a kind of war footing, and it is essential that countries like the UK start to do it – it is too easy to say it all depends on China and India. It starts at home in the UK where fossil fuels were first used in industry.

According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies 300,000 more children will join the 20% already living in poverty in this country next year becuase of the current govt policies. this is a scandal.
38 degrees could help keep the pressure on the End Child Poverty ( in the UK and of course the world!)

Sorry about the typos below
…because of current government cuts and policies
We should work  to End Child Poverty

Proper care of the elderly has to be the winner – everyone will be affected.  Also scrap the two tier pension scheme.  We need one pension for all.  we contribute according to our salary so some have given more than others but at the end of day the same pension should be applied to all including existing pensioners.Stick a 1p on tax if needs be – we will all benefit if we live long enough.

What’s happened in the lighter nights campaign?

The British Government is going to be bringing a Resolution to the UN, that if history is anything to judge by, all 193 member states will sign, but no one will implement.  The Resolution is that All Member States will pursue initiatives for peace and reconciliation in keeping with the spirit of the ancient Olympic Games.  Surely peace making is something that we should be holding our Government to, especially as we are going to be the ones proposing the Resolution this year.  If we make enough noise about this, the Government will be forced to do what they have already said that they will do.  Let’s make this resolution a reality.  See http://www.walkfortruce.org for more details.

Ken, go to EUCAMPAIGN.COM and sign the pledge for a referendum on EU membership.

Carry on with the tax dodging theme but have a go at the system that has targetted Plumbers IE “Plumbers tax safe plan” starting with easy pickings rather than the billions salted away by those who run our lives.
Ray
York  

Who is going to stop Tesco taking over the world? Why has no action been taken against the aggressive growth strategy being employed? How much UK land and property does Tesco own that has been bought primarily as part of it’s long term monopolisation plan? Tesco are quite simply the ‘bankers’ of the future….

Support inclusive education for disabled children.  The government is planning on ending the supposed ‘bias’ towards inclusive education and push back 30 years of fighting to get our disabled kids educated to the same level and give them the same opportunities as our non-disabled kids.  This move will severely disadvantage disabled children.  There is a demo : http://www.dpac.uk.net/2011/06/reverse-the-bias-towards-segregation-campaign-demo-on-june-29th-westminster/ timed for the end of the so-called consultation period.  You can join in the consultation  here:  http://www.education.gov.uk/consultations/index.cfm?action=Respond&consultationId=1748&menu=1

This is a really important issue for disabled people who are already suffering the brunt of government cuts.  

Ray go to EUCAMPAIGN.COM and sign the pledge.

How long will it be until politicians realise that England is full.End immigration now.

The Forgotten Pensioner

I think 38 degrees should support the issue that has been Number 1 on its website for over one month.  That is fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners no matter where they live.  Pensioners living in certain countries around the owrld have their pensions uprated each year just as if they lived in the UK.  These countries include the USA, Israel, the Philippines, Turkey, Croatia, the countries of the former Yugoslavia, US Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Bermuda, Barbados and all the EU countries.

If you happen to live in British Commonwealth countries your state pension is frozen at the rate at which it is first paid or as at the date of migration.  These include past allies like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, and many more.  To treat every pensioner equally would cost less than one percent of the total pensions budget.

Everyone has contributed towards the National Insurance Scheme to qualify for their pension under exactly the same rules but when it comes time to pay the pension, different rules are applied depending on where you happen to live.

It is about time we can be proud of Rule Britannia and not Cruel Britannia.

And what about immigrants that have fabulous skills such as the kind you probably don’t possess. Don’t we need them? If we re full as you say, personally I’d rather an ignorant t**t like you left

We should campaign against the new HS2 line. As someone who grew up very close to where the line will wreck beautiful landscapes I have heard a lot about it, but many who do not live near that area have no idea about how it will ruin a lovely area of natural beauty, waste money and all for an eventual shortening of a train journey by about 10 minuites. Money they are wasting on this project could be put to good use on the NHS or another worthy cause.

Obviously, 38 degrees has to concertrate on the profligate and obscene pay packages for company directors – particularly the companies/banks which are partly owned by the taxpayer.  There is no need for these ridiculous amounts and, if those concerned threaten to go overseas – let them!  This situation has been caused to a great extent by the fact that almost all private investors/shareholders do not receive details of compay meetings etc as their shares are held centrally in CREST or nominee companies and they do not get a chance to vote.  Therefore only institutional investors vote on these issues and they have usually been “softened up” by the companies PR departments and directors concerned and agree to every proposal.  This is a case of Greed overtaking Need without any restraint despite public anger and despair.  It’s a “me too” position where everyone looks at everyone else and demands more, often rewarding total failure, or, in the case of say Southern Cross, owners trousering massive amounts from share sales in the knowledge that their company is likely to go into administration – and the old folks in their care homes can go hang.

I think we should campaign to reduce the cost of public transport/make it free as a way of reducing carbon emmissions, congestion, obesity and social isolation issues all in one.

Please campaign for banning animals in circuses and aquariums and other such facilities – the UK was going to be the first country to legalise such a ban and now Cameron has backtracked.  We need to pressurize them to act on this!  Please do this!

The NHS is not secure yet.We should keep the pressure up til it is.

The NHS campaign is far from over. We should finish something properly rather than be so fickle and move around from one campaign to another.

Force Multi-National Mega-Corporations to give a VERY large percentage
of their obscene profits to help redress the balance in our environment
and society. (Banking, Petroleum, Pharmaceutical, Arms, Nuclear and more)
There is absolutely no need for any of these cuts if the mega-corps would just develop a sense of responsibility and understand that we are all in this TOGETHER. 
While a small percentage of the population keep hording a huge percentage of the wealth and resources we cannot hope to put things right before it’s too late.
Redistribute the wealth to the people who truly need it.  It is absolutely sickening that these companies keep posting obscene profits with a big greedy grin on their faces while the rest of society can’t even manage to look after the sick, young, old or needy because “there isn’t enough money”. 
It’s complete and utter B***S***! (pardon the self-censored expletive but there really is no other word for it.) 
There is enough money in the world for every single person alive to be a millionaire, probably more.  It’s frightening how many people live in dumb ignorance of how capitalism is detroying our world and that rampant commercialism will continue to suck the very marrow from the people until they realise how very, very wrong this situation is and that they really do have the power to change everything. 
A full-on campaign like this would solve alot of the problems that others have suggested campaigns for and it’s quite simple.

I am really unsure about this. I have just retired from teaching in the secondary sector and was there before and after the legislation regarding inclusion.  Broadly speaking I am not sure the disabled child benefited other than that they were mixing more openly.  I did not find that their education was improved to any extent and sometimes rather the opposite.  We did not have the money, means or staffing to support some disabled children even though we had the will.  Sadly other children lost out too.  It is a difficult issue and I am not sure what the perfect solution would be .  My experience suggest that parents were keen for their children to have as normal a childhood as possible and that is quite understandable and laudable but I am not convinced they received the best education.

Even when it looks “instant” there is still a delay whilst they “play” with your money!  There are billions transferred every day, every second they keep hold of it they will use it.  Its our money and WE should keep any profits made from transfers.

I agree with some of the other posts. Our public transport is shockingly expensive, it’s over £5 a day for my husband to work 10 miles away. It costs me £4 a day to go 6 miles up the road. Outrageous!! How can we, as a nation, stop using our cars we’re pushed and pushed to do when it costs (in my case) £45 per week to get to work and back. On top of this, the bus companies are useless and put single decker busses on at peak times leading to overcrowding. My husband regularly has to stand all the way to work (1hr 15mins) and has even been refused entry to the bus due to high numbers and forced to catch the later one making him late for work. 

I also agree with the need to make government ban animals from the circus. It is cruel by default as the animals have to be kept in unnatural surroundings and is totally unnecessary as a form of entertainment.

However, one area I also think needs to be addressed without delay is the state of care homes for the elderly. With the government talking of the ‘unnecessary bureaucracy’ and wanting to cut the number of checks performed on people who work with the vulnerable, I think there must be a complete investigation into all aspects of care work. What happened in Bristol recently cannot be an isolated incident and the low pay of the care industry appears to attract the least competent in many cases in a role requiring intelligence, compassion and high skill levels. I know there are a lot of good care workers too but I have worked in industries linked to care before have been shocked at some of the poor quality workers in this industry.

Re-Establish an ENGLISH parliament. Don’t forget ENGLAND was the only country at the last commonwealth games without it’s own parliamet. No parliament – no voice. From this injustice all others flow

  As far as the EU goes,I feel it’s of paramount importance that we leave it.
  Many of the problems facing this country would be ameliorated if we got out.

 As far as the much bigger picture goes;I would agree with Sir David Attenborough
 when he said that  the many serious problems facing the planet would be easier to
 solve if there weren’t so many of us,four times as many as when my father was born
 and I’m only just turned 60. 

What about fat cat council leaders?

Hi. How about campaigning on the governement’s threat to sell off allotment space?

Kara McArdle

StopHS2 this will destroy countryside and communities cost every household money better spent on  NHS the trains will not be built in britain so more imports .The electricity from France.You saved forests this would go through ancient woodlands just to get people from London to use free air space to fly long haul .this makes no sense when the gvmt is supposed to be redjucing CO2.

If the leftwing traitors (lets hope they leave) had not stopped educating and training our own people, we wouldn’t need millions coming to this small speck of land.

Living Wage, Tax Evasion, Robin Hood Tax and Supermarket Watchdog

Maybe all financial products should be licensed as they are just as potentially dangerous to our economy as our lives are to medicines
Maybe people with 40% tax relief on their pensions should get the same tax relief as most of the rest of the population
Maybe we should have a proper integrated transport system that allows us to leave the car at home – a transport lottery for example could help pay for it and tax relief for the wealthy who could help too
Maybe we need to campaign for cycle tracks/routes to be properly signposted and investigated instead of the piecemeal organisation which is left to local authorities who cant afford it
Maybe we need to regulate solicitors who are outside the scope of all regulatory bodies except their own - WHY? We need a voice not a pass off
Maybe we need an accountable accessible single HMGov website that gives us all the statistics we need about our economy with historic data to compare with
Maybe we need a cross party concensus on how we look after our older generation
Maybe we should not accept rent rises as inevitable when our Government allows landlord buying two or more properties, some relief on stampduty( as in the last budget )
Just a thought!
  

Discrimination
is a dirty word in today’s society but there is no other way to describe the
practice of paying full UK State pensions to people living in some places but
not in others.  If you should ever decide
to live in one of the ‘frozen’ countries, for whatever reason, your UK State
pension will be paid to you at a rate established on the first day of
entitlement in that country and will NEVER increase.  Half a million UK pensioners are already in
this financially disastrous position and, in many cases,  are being supported by supplements paid to
them by taxpayers in their chosen country of residence many of which are, historically,
Britain’s best and most loyal friends.  As these pensioners have all paid their compulsory
contributions into the UK national insurance scheme over their working lives,
this is unfair to them, to their new country of residence and to you, as this
policy, upheld by your government, reflects badly on every UK citizen as
representing an attitude that many of you know to be unfair, unjust and
discriminatory.

During the 70′s, excessive wage demands by Trade Unions were crippling the country.  The new Thatcher Government did the right thing at the time by curbing the demands.  They then went too far and successive governments have continued to destroy workers protection and rights.  However we now have the same issue in Boardrooms up and down the country.  CEO’s and directors are awarding themselves 30% pay rises year on year, 300% bonuses etc etc.  All this at a time of austerity and decreasing salaries on the shop floor (in real terms).  The government takes no action and is silent!  We need action by the government to limit the boardroom excesses.

Agreed.  Tesco is trying to take over a piece of inaccessible land in the middle of the small town where I live.  We already have 2 supermarkets, neither of which are ever crowded out.  We have an increasing number of empty shops and a market that used to be twice weekly, filling the high street and bustling but is now down to a couple of stalls once a week.  We obviously do not have the capacity for another supermarket, people are being bullied to sell their shares of the plot land and being fairly inaccessible it would cause yet more traffic problems on the high street.  As far as I know the town’s inhabitants have not been asked if they want a Tesco although I did have a chat about it with one of the prospective local council members just before the election this year.

Having read the comments I also strongly support the cancelling of HS2.  Far better we spend 33 Billion on improving the current railway system and open up some of the closed lines and stations.  We should be able to reduce the cost of rail travel with that sort of money.  The money spent would move people off the roads and onto the trains helping us to move away from oil dependency.

How effective is CRB?  As a supply teacher I have to have CRB to get a job.  I cannot get a CRB without having a job. A vicious circle.  I have used agencies, very long time ago and they are a rip off.  I prefer to choose my own set of schools, which I had done, with one providing exactly what I wanted until, due to major financial cut backs, all supply teachers were stopped. Whilst at the same time government minister claimed expenses that were more than my earnings for a year.  When the CRB first came in and I did not have one I promised to leave the door open and not beat up any children until the paperwork came through!  Does the CRB actually have any effect other than keeping people out of work?

I agree with the many worthy campaigns that people have suggested but worry that we may forget what made so many people angry and voice their opinion on your website
That being the banking system and politicians dishonesty I know our politicians have talked the talked but until we rid ourselves of the farce of self regulation the banking system enjoys the british public will be disadvantaged and carry the burden for generations to come.
PPI being the latest scandel and can we honestly trust our politicians to introduce a  common sense policy to protect us.
going off recent history I think not
I am so pleased that 38 has given so many people a platform to voice their concerns and remind the politicians that we can make a difference

Lets all do something useful and achievable, that we will be able to start seeing the results of in our lifetime.
How about heritage and/ environment protection? Down here in the south of England estates, ring-roads, car-parks and supermarkets are popping up like mole hills everywhere. If only they were molehills. I’m sure its similar elsewhere. Lets get somone in authority to stop this.
Thanks:)

If England actually had its own parliament, all these issues could be fairly represented and debated. Its highly discriminatory and undemocratic that the English should have no national forum to represent their interests. Its quite obvious to see the benefits of self representation in Scotland and Wales (no NHS reforms, free prescriptions and university education, higher per capita funding); how can it be fair that Engalnd remains the only European country without a national parliament? Without it, we have no voice.  

Fair Fish Quotas

What about a ban on hunting humans?  What about a ban oh killing humans?  This is what we are doing when sending fighters over to Libya etc.  As a 5 year old, not known for best behaviour, once said in a class discussion on war, then in Nepal, ‘Why do they have to fight, why don’t they talk about the problems?’  And yes 5 year old children can have in depth discussions especially when they can relate to a place by knowing people who have gone there.

I don’t disgree with many things that have been entered before, some may be winnable and some may not.

I have a pet hate that irritates me intensely and I’m sure many other people. Presentation is almost everything these days and one of the first things seen every day and when people arrive from abroad by plane, boat or train is LITTER on motorway and roadside verges. Some areas are a disgrace and the presence of it encourages others to add to it. Serious prosecutions and pressure on (already stretched) local authorities and Highways Agencys should be a priority…… and why not use offenders to clear them up if local authorities can’t afford it.

I think you have provided immediate evidence of this aggressive long term strategy. As you have clearly identified there appears to be no NEED for a Tesco store near you and the actual REAL NEEDS of the inhabitants seem to be being ignored. I imagine what the inhabitants really want is to sustain the community feeling that your Market created…

What exactly is Tesco’s vision for their presence in this country?

The HS2  project has to be stopped. Its estimated cost is £££ 34 billions and rising, the most gigantic govt project in British history.  The HS2 “Consultation” document is inadequately researched and fraudulent. (SEE HS2 ACTION ALLIANCE WEBSITE). Estimated cost is also £1000 payable by every household in the U.K.  There are no visible benefits except to the shareholders of Ove Arup and the other construction companies. WE STOPPED THE THIRD RUNWAY. WE STOPPED PRIVATISATION OF OUR FORESTS. WERE STOPPING PRIVATISATION OF OUR HHS. NEXT STOP HS2.
Julius Hogben, Stop the Tunnels – North Westminster residents and businesses against HS2.

 It is absolutely essential that mass fluoridaion of the water supply in the uk should be stopped.
If you are in any doubt at all about how toxic it is go to Youtube “fluoride poisoned horses excerpts”.
YP.

The litter is just a symptom of ignorance, i hate it too.  You could tidy up forever but until the littering stops then resources will just be wasted chasing around after people who don’t have any sense of social responsibilty.  It not really anyone’s fault that they were forced to receive their education from a system that teaches nothing of social responsibilty or about the effect our actions, even the smallest one’s, have on our environment.
The educational system is designed, essentially, to create slaves to feed the money machine which in turn ensures a massive imbalance in the distribution of wealth which means a huge section of society has to make do with a mediocre standard of education which doesn’t even teach them how to use a bin.
Answer: redistribute the wealth and bannish ignorance.

“Ban Smoking in Cars with Children” – children of any age should not have to suffer the effects of passive smoking which can lead to serious health issues as they are growing up as well as later on in their adult life. Children deserve a healthy start in life.
DC

The Dangerous Dogs Act desperatly needs to be reformed. We need law to protect the public from irresponsible owners and to protect responsible owners whos dogs just happen to look a certain way but are of good temprement, so much heartache is caused by these draconion laws, so much public money is WASTED and bites and attacks are now just as  if not more common than when this law was introduced! Not to mention the innocent animals who are caught up in this web through no fault of thier own.

I support the proposals to fight the construction of wasteful incinerators in the UK. 

Checkout http://www.ukwin.org.uk for more general information.

I am specifically focused on the Allerton Park incinerator in North Yorkshire which coming up for planning so action is needed soon.  I would love to see the power of 38degrees focused on fighting these incinerators which are environmentally damaging and extremely expensive for the taxpayer.

I feel strongly about addictions to things and find your comment unimportant, as it is a negative stance that you are taking, rather than a preserving life comment. Don’t take it too seriously, as it is just my view and I am new to blogging !

We need to begin reforming agriculture practice and move away from a system that is totally reliant upon using fossil fuel resources to make fertilizers from and having a monoculture growing system. 

How about tackling the Ltd Company laws, which allow unscrupulus traders to walk away with thousands of pounds of customers hard earn cash when their business look like folding. I would like to see the law changed to hold them accountable for fraudulant activity such as continuing to trade after it is clear that they are in trouble. Hiding money in their spouses name should be illegal.

I would like them to contribute from the outset to a customer insurance scheme, which would ensure victims would get their money back separate from their business creditors.

There should also be a scheme where the customers deposit/payment is held in escrow until the goods are delivered to the satisfaction of the customer and in the event of a dispute there is arbitration system to make the final decision prior to payment being made.

We can’t go on with the system as it is to many people are being ripped of, you’ve only got to look at watchdog to see what is going on.

They should also be stopped from setting up a business again until they have paid customers who lost out frim the activities of their earlier failed business, its too easy for them to go into administration and set up again later owing thousands to customers.

I’m sure this would be very popular with cudtomers, many of whom have fallen foul of dodgy dealers.

Regards

Trev 

have a look on the landshare website,no rent no hassle.

Work is needed to get the long term unemployed off the dole and into  to work, they should be made to take whatever work there is, if they dont, then there benifits should be stoped. i know there are certain ares of the country where work is not there, but a lot of theese people in the south of the country could find employment, we could save enough money to put the NHS back on its feet,Give the OAP a decent pension, the welfare system was set up to help people in there hour of need, not for scroungers to make a career out off.

Get rid of processed foods and fast food outlets and give investment and tax breaks to producing unprocessed food and healthy eating outlets.  The health of all would improve and reduce NHS costs.

Teach Vipassana meditation in schools – this allows individuals to tune in to themselves and process their physical feelings and emotions.  This reduces self medication with drugs and alcohol and gives greater control over their health on every level – also saving substantial costs within NHS.Illegalize commodities trading involving any food products.

Totally agree, it is only rampant commercialism that forces farmers to use artificial means to fertilize crops, it’s cheaper and means higher yield but means the chemicals themselves are ingested by the consumer.  Mass farming of hemp could produce biofuels to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels while at the same time removing poisons from the soil and introducing new beneficial nutrient.  Hemp seed is a very valuable food source and an incredible number of products can be made from the fibres of the plant itself, including plastics, paper, cloth and much more.  Incidentally, it’s low-THC hemp, not the stuff that gets you high!

Once Lansley’s plans to destroy the NHS have been scuppered perhaps we could turn our attention to the Coalition’s attempt to restrict the availability of further education to only those who can afford it. It will be a disaster for this country’s future if the vast number of talented young people currently at school are denied further education simply because they cannot afford the swingeing university fees this government has chosen to put in place.   

How about transparency with respect to the provision of biofuels? With our government chasing EU targets to reduce carbon emissions and using it as a tick on their green credentials, I don’t think the public are aware of the land grabs & change of use from food crops that are further affecting the world’s poorest communities.  One size does not fit all in terms of saving the environment, but I think many people believe biofuels to be green & I think that knowledge of their production is as important as food production in terms of sustainability of habitats and communities.

We can either burn our waste or bury it in the ground, i feel we will be able, in the long-term, to remove pollutants from the air much more easily than from the ground where it will also contaminate ground-water and poison the local area.  Nobody wants these things on their doorstep but with the amount of waste we produce there is little choice other than shipping the waste abroad at high cost where we leave some developing country to take care of our garbage.  With modern technology the actual polution given out by these incinerators could be practically zero and the heat generated could drive steam turbines to produce electricity.  (hear about the crematorium that’s being used to heat a nearby swimming pool?)
How about stopping the creation of so much waste in the first place, educating people about recycling (some folk really are fantastically stupid about this) and holding to account commercial companies that produce unneccessary waste and stuff that can’t be recycled (i’m thinking those that still use polystyrene for packaging materials which take 1000 years to biograde and produce poisons when burnt. )
We need to do away with companies that are surplus to requirements and exist only because of the commercial system and the way this consumer society is driven purely to feed the money machine.

The ConLib government constantly presents the need for Public Expenditure cuts in the context of ‘the mess the previous Government left us in’.  The mess that the banking crisis left the previous Government in is never mentioned.  Those banks that are sitting on public money but refusing to lend it should be nationalised without compensation, and our money should be returned to the public coffers, thereby massively reducing the need for public expenditure cuts.  Retail banking services could continue, while those divisions that created the losses could go to the wall.  And if the bankers that created the mess carry out their threat and emigrate, what exactly is the problem?

Industrial hemp farming would produce a much higher yield than the current biofuel crops and would remove toxins from the soil and introduce vital nutrients.  We could be free of our reliance on fossil fuels in a matter of years if restrictions on growing Low THC hemp were reduced and farmers and landowners were given incentives to grow hemp, arguably the most useful, versatile and beneficial plant on the planet.

Is anyone aware of the existence of Electronic Harassment and it’s implications.  This technology has been used for many years and is now becoming more prevalent in this country and Europe although it is well documented in the USA.   On January 29th 1999  a Resolution was passed banning the use of weapons that can manipulate a person. (Parliament Resolution A4-005/99)  This is being flouted in countries worldwide as non consensual experimentation/exploitation on human beings continues.

The New Scientist has just published an article (2nd June Issue 2814) called Mind Readers: Eavesdropping on Your Inner Voice.   Few people are currently aware that this technology has advanced
much farther than this article reveals.

Identical symptoms are being experienced and reported by otherwise normal, intelligent people.
They are being tortured 24/7 by this technology which comes under the heading ‘Non Lethal Weaponary’.    It has advanced to the point of having your innermost thoughts read remotely, your past hypnotically induced, involuntary muscle movements created and much more.
Thousands of people worldwide are suffering this invasion of privacy, emotional torment and even physical pain.

The Mental Health System further abuses anyone who reports what is happening to them and in their ignorance/denial forces them to take anti psychotic drugs that cause terrible side effects for an illness
they do not have.

Please help to expose the perpetrators of these crimes.   There are huge risks to the vulnerable and disabled in the way this technology is currently being misused.   The potential for blackmail and political manipulation is obvious.

A full investigation is needed now into these complaints.  

put the unemployed to work growing food locally and turn flat roof-space in urban areas into gardens for growing food.  Provide free training to get people started in forming local cooperatives and free-up empty buildings for storage, packing and preserving.

There is an assumption that the Government’s economic policy, including privatisations, is just bad economics. It is also possible that they wish to return Britain to some bygone, possibly Victorian, golden age. While they do not intend to bring back the workhouse, they certainly intend to alter the socio/economic dynamic of the country by moving the poor away from the affluent South East. This is being done by the reduction in Housing Benefit, yet many people on Housing and other benefits are in work. The truth is that the taxpayer is subsiding employers who pay low wages!! We urgently need to stop  this and the only practical way is to have a higher minimum wage. Let employers pay for their workers to live not the taxpayer. 

Many people would be prepared to pay more tax to properly take care of our Elderly. Could we lobby for them ?

Please support the campaign to STOP HS2 – see  http://www.hs2actionalliance.org/ for more details.  The government is already spending millions and is determined to plough billions more into this project which will be disastrous for the environment, will cost every household thousands of pounds and has no valid business case.  More info: http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/2011/02/taxpayers-alliance-highlights-incredible-cost-hs2-project.html

Absolutely agree – it’s nothing other than another cash cow !

I have put this forward as a possible motion for the Friends of the Earth conference in September….but would be happy if 38 degrees campaigned on it…

Campaign for Short Public
information Films on Television (About Climate Change).

This conference calls on the Board
of Friends of the Earth Ltd to consider running a campaign to persuade the
Government to delegate to the Advisory Committee on Climate Change the
task of commissioning frequent short (3 minutes?) films on all aspects of the
issue, to be shown on all UK based channels at least once or twice a week at
peak viewing times. The channels should be required by law, if necessary, to
show these films.

What about the excess charge we have to pay vets for prescriptions? It was banned by trading standards as unfair and they set a period where they were not allowed to charge, time ran out and no one stood up to ensure this was maintained. I wrote to my MP but he did not see it as a vote winner so did not do anything about it.
Terina

Many ‘experts’ tell us it will be possible, through various scientific and/or technological means, to tweak food production so that we will be able to feed the exponentially increasing global population, so no-one need worry about human over-breeding.  Many of the predominantly male ‘experts’ on this subject have more than two children – I name no names but some people will know of whom I speak;  are they likely to tell us that over-breeding is one of the greatest causes of human misery and likely to be the greatest cause of starvation over the next couple of centuries?  No, they are not. 

Last month we had a report of Chinese farmers standing beside their fields full of manipulated watermelons bursting the instant they were ‘market-ready’ but before it was possible to get them to market – that didn’t feed many people.  This month we have the report of a new E.coli strain coming from who knows where but affecting produce that is not normally heated to a high temperature before being eaten – cucumbers.    How is that kind of thing likely to affect human diet and our ability to feed what could soon – soon always being a relative term – be as many as 56 billion people.  ”Exponential” is the term that should be causing alarm.  Seven billion today – 112 billion in who can guess how long? 

Most normally intelligent people could be satisfied with two pleasant, well-behaved, intelligent, well-fed children so why are so many people still only satisfied with a house full?  Two children per couple means one person per person, et voilà, no population increase!  It’s so simple.  My own family has done it now for three generations and we are at an impressive -3 overall population decrease.  If we can do it, so could everyone else.

How about it?  Let’s save the world by finding something else to occupy our leisure hours.

Quite agree with your points, especially the last. But I’d add that the way care workers are treated and paid, often given no training or support in the difficult and essential job they do, it’s hardly surprising if you get ‘poor quality workers’.  

I agree with most of David Lyons comments but was brought up short by his suggestion that feeding food waste to pigs was a no-no.  The only alternative I can think of is to stop eating pork which I suppose, if one is a vegan as maybe Mr. Lyons is, would seem to be a better one but for the rest of us, food waste is used in a very sensible manner by passing it through a pig.  What other use does Mr. Lyons suggest for food waste? 

This is one option. The position of Carers for the elderly and infirm is ever more desperate. Councils now are making cuts which disgracefully include the most vulnerable. It’s presumably a postcode lottery; depending on personal circumstances, Carers are being presented with huge increases in day care and home care charges, which for many will be unaffordable,these costs are purely to secure some relief from care of loved one(s) at home which never stops (24/7). The position of care for the elderly is a national disgrace and needs a concerted effort for change after years of lip-service.

What about beautifying nearly completed landfil sites with trees and plants? That sounds good, doesn’t it?

How about getting the BBC to clean up their image we have read in the papers that they think it OK to use the most despised swear word. We try to be a country that other nations look up to. The BBC let us down time after time

RonW

Stick with the NHS for a while, it’s the most important issue. We don’t want a National Health Insurance scheme, we want a National Health SERVICE, just as it was intended. Keep the private profiteers out or the care homes scandal will be repeated with the hospitals.
Sheila Daniels S.R.N.

If you want to help end child poverty, if you want to empower young people socially, culturally and economically, if you want to raise literacy levels in this country then campaign to make school libraries with qualified librarians statutory.

Changing drug laws to make drug use more acceptable, strikes me as a step backwards in human evolution.  Instead of having societies where people feel so miserable that they want to be either drunk on booze or stoned on drugs a lot of the time, wouldn’t it make more sense to try to create societies where not quite to many people are living lives of ‘quiet desperation’ if not outright misery.  

Of course that would involve improving the education system beyond our wildest dreams, ensuring comprehensive health care from cradle to grave and the elimination of greed.  Impossible?  I don’t see why.  If we persist in managing our societies so badly that large swathes of the population are miserable enough to want to be deliberately out of touch with reality a great deal of the time, it would make more sense to me to change the way we live, not regress by introducing laws that enable more and more people to become less and less responsible to themselves and everyone else. Making drug use easier and less punishable won’t – trust me – make people happier.  The unhappy will be just as unhappy and those of us who are not that miserable will pay the price, as we do now, for their misery by having our children killed by drunk/stoned drivers and by having to read endless reports of various offences committed while under the influence of something or other. 
I have yet to see any report that deems even the least harmful drugs, totally safe.  It I ever see a report that drug users are at no risk of any kind to themselves or anyone else, then I’ll agree that we should turn drug use into a free-for-all similar to the way we view alcohol.  Drunk drivers + stoned drivers is not an equation I view as helpful or progressive.  

I think the Govt needs to tackle global Banking regulations. The current recession  and imposed austerity measures in Europe and USA are caused by these corrupt and immoral Banking Systems.If they are too big to fail – make them smaller or provide an alternative.The Banks have got away with daylight robbery and no one has been held accountable!

The comments about vets charging higher prices for animal medicines is way off the mark.
In October 2005 the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) introduced
the Veterinary  Medicines Regulations (VMRs), which implemented the EU
Veterinary Medicines Directive  2007/82/EC into the UK.
Don’t blame the vets,blame the morons who control the EU commissions.
The other comment about libraries for children has some validity but it is the parents responsibility to encourage a child to read not the responsibilty of the LA or government.
’38 Degrees’ looks and sounds like an affiliate of the Labour party,was that the original intention of the founders?

Back on topic:
Add your weight to the campaign to finally outlaw the scammers who run private car parks and issue unenforceable invoices and/or illegally clamp private vehicles. These cowboys already contravene the
Administration of Justice Act Section 40. CPUTR. Consumer Act 2008. and in some cases the Harrassment Act 1997. By demanding cash only payments there is also a clear intent to defraud HMRC.
However Mr Plod will always claim these are ‘civil matters’ This is a result of lazy policing and not enough training in criminal law.
PPC’s are an unregulated and unlawful menace and the time has come for them to disappear.

I am concerned at the raising of the state pension age as a woman who was promised a state pension at 60 and with failing health at 54 I fear I will be forced to work until 66 and beyond how can they be allowed to steal this money from us while thowing our money away as they do.

I have just read in the current issue of National Geographic magazine that in Yemen girls of as young as 5 are being married off by their fathers as part of some hideous economic strategy. A girl of 10 was married to a man of 50; a girl of 14 has 2 children; a girl of 26 has 10 children. This ghastly practise has to stop – NOW. The treatment of women as chattles in Arab countries belongs nowhere in a world which has any pretensions to civilisation.

I think something should be done about the housing problem. So many people are being prevented from establishing themselves by stupidly high house prices and finding themselves at the mercy of an expensive rental market with no security of tenure. I feel we should campaign for a fair rental system like in Germany with regulated rents and secure tenancies. I realise that there’s no quick way to bring house prices down to affordable levels but working on a fairer rent system is a step towards addressing this problem.

Tow tier pension system, pay for 40 years get £95.00 per week, pay for £30 years and get £140

Following the successful cow factory farm being stopped how about doing the same for dogs? An American company want to expand a beagle breeding centre in Yorkshire to breed beagles for experimentation purposes. What an abomination – if you have ever owned a dog and know how loyal and trusting  they are then email your MP and the planning dept and object to this. See also http://www.uncaged.co.uk for details of who to email. If you love dogs please do this. Thank you Barbara Finch

Please start a campaign against the cruel mutilation of millions of lambs, every year, the so called mulesing, in Australia. Urge the Australian government to stop this horrific practice, that goes on in
wool production. There are already companies and brands, that boykot mulesing wool, but no ban on the practise yet. And  the public is not aware of it on a wide enough scale.  

Just how many of the issues people raise have a root cause of us being involved with the E.U. ,  how about a petition for a referendum on staying in or leaving the E.U.  , They certainly didn’t waste any time in organising the pointless referendum for the A.V. voting system , wake up out there and take a close look at why ! …… unelected brussels bureaucrats regulating and controling our lives , time to get out or carry on letting our country sink ? , it’s up to you all ………

Why, I wonder, does your knee jerk reaction prevent you from reading what I wrote?

It’s got absolutely nothing to do with ” having societies where people feel so miserable that they want to be either drunk on booze or stoned on drugs”.  That is entirely your own fantasy.

As all the research proves (and this what I said in the first place), responsible regulation with different levels of control based on scientific evidence WOULD SAVE US BILLIONS AND MASSIVELY REDUCE ALL HEALTH AND SOCIAL HARMS.

The save our forest campain is not yet over. The Forestery Commission have annouced 240 job losses this week. At this rate by the time that the panel report back next April, will we have a Forestery Commission left to look after the Forests?

Save our fishing industry! A staggering 90% is imported to Grimsby from Iceland and Norway. From 500 trawlers in the port 50 years ago they are down to just eight. Apparently some government ministers have been to Grimsby recently but would only discuss helath & safety issues, not the real lifeblood issues.

My suggested campaign would be to stop the National Grid building pylonsacross beautiful parts of Shropshire, especially the Rea Valley, intended to connect the planned increase in the number of wind farms to the national grid.

Send Tony Blair to the Hague to be charged for war crimes.

Yes – “Public transport”, a classic British political Myth.

All that has resulted from the privatisation of transport has been higher prices for passengers, poorer quality services and a load of fat-cats creaming off the profits.

What happened to the “investment” and “improvement” that privatisation was supposed to produce?

Take back our public transport!

Save our dairy industry! We’re on track for more than 50% of our dairy products being imported by 2030. Milk costs 27.9 pence per litre to produce. Farmers are paid less than that per litre from all the supermarkets. Is it a surprise then that two dairy farmers are going out of business every day?

if the country was smotherd in windmills how many powerstations would we need?…we need water power not windmills

Exactly!

People who get into debt through gambling are deemed to have a problem. Why are the banks deemed to be working in the economy’s interest when hey do the same…..?

Regulate the banks….. WORLDWIDE!

We need to recognise that so many of the problems facing us today – climate change, food and fuel price rises, deforestation and so on have just one fundamental cause – overpopulation.  It’s a taboo subject for politicians, religious organisations and most charities but is nevertheless an issue that has to be faced.  The earth’s population is now heading towards 10 billion and  cannot be sustained.  Does 38 Degrees have the courage to pick up this highly complex and difficult challenge?

Responsibility for children’s education is always and essentially that of the parents. However we still feel the state should offer a way for that to happen and be responsible for making that way efficient and effective. Making sure that all schools have school libraries and librarians is a very important way to ensure this is the case.

I was absolutely gobsmacked when I heard that the David Cameron had spent over £500K decorating No 11 Downing Street. Anyone interested in knowing how much of this bill fell to the taxpayer and insisting he repay it when so many of the taxpayers can just about pay their mortgages?

How about Government actually collecting taxes due efficiently? Depending on who you listen to the deficit on collection is between £17 and £123 Billion p.a.  Probably between £40 and £70 Bn.  Collecting the due amount would: significantly reduce the deficit, reduce crime (tax evasion is still a crime isn’t it?) and allow the government to reduce tax rates, benefitting those of us who always have paid.  They might even start to pay back taxes that they have overcollected (sore point).

A Government that can’t even collect the taxes it sets is a failure at the most fundamental level/

A potential new camapign that really ought to be considered is the need to safeguard open spaces from potential residential development. How many playing fields and other green open spaces have been lost to development because of inadequate protection through Local Plan policies and national planning policies that do not recognise their importance to local communities? Moreover, which bring people of all ages together, regardless of their age, level of physical mobility or social status? The only people who benefit from the ability to challenge local planning authorities who are more focused on the revenue benefits that new housing brings rather than the social and recreational benefits of existing open spaces, are the developers themselves. Even then with Section 106 monies being offered as compensation for the loss of land, there is no obligation for new open space to be provided in that parish and no requirement for that money to be spent in the parish.

Moreover, developers often buy up open spaces, fence them off to deter the public from using them, and then make a convincing case that because they will never release the land for public use, it has no benefit other than to be built on. I have direct knowledge and experience of this, having fought a very wealthy Torquay-based development company for ten years over a former school playing field they fenced off by stealth. We have sadly lost it to development, despite lots of objections by members of the public at the planning application stage and during the Local Plan. However, the Local Planning Authority’s response was: “There were no valid planning grounds on which to object to this planning application”. Moreover, no new land will be made available in the town to compensate the residents for a site that they had used without hindrance or secrecy for over sixty years.

There really is a need to give greater protection to open spaces such as former school playing fields and to overhaul the planning system whereby guidelines and regulations give them greater consideration over their recreational and amenity importance to local communities.

As the newspapers have shown this week, levels of literacy in this country are shockingly low. I have been active in protests against the closure of libraries and, given their programs that promote literacy, such as Bookstart (as well as simply encouraging children to read by providing free access to books!) I feel that our libraries must be preserved. In Lewisham five libraries have been closed and countrywide budgets for books (and necessary staff) have been either frozen or actually reduced. This is an issue that goes to the heart of almost every demographic, particularly affecting those who need the services most. I believe everyone has been stirred by what’s happening in our libraries and as the next campaign for 38 degrees it would receive a great deal of attention and support.

When working as a government scientist, I witnessed how pressure was brought to bear on scientists to come up with the result that politicians wanted (as Dr David Kelly so sadly discovered). Similarly, when consultants are called in to any organisation (public or private), too much pressure is brought to bear on them (just to confirm what the boss wants!). I strongly feel that a truly independent study is needed into how best our energy requirements can be satisfied long into the future. I suspect that the safest and most sutainable solution will be the use of thorium-based nuclear power-plants (as again mentioned in a letter printed in the Business section of The Sunday Times on 5 June). That would require huge research and investment, involving co-operation between many countries. But the study must be independent, without political intrusion, and 38 Degrees could usefully press for such a study.

Psybernism – There was a time when it was considered advantagous to use waste incineration as a form of energy production..Regretably it has turned out that these incinerators do pollute the atmosphere mainly with dioxines apparently.The biggest problem tho’, big commercial, ecconomic, incinerators can’t get enough waste locally.

I really think that the government should consider the welfare of the nurses and other medical staff they employ. A growing body of research suggests that many nurses suffer from stress, experience broken relationships and are more likely to smoke and drink because of their job. Yet, no politician has realised that these are the penalties for working in the NHS because of the unrealistic targets placed on healthcare workers, the unfair shift pattern and the lack of motiviational and compassionate support given to staff. Many nurses have spent three years or more working towards obtaining a recognised health qualification, only to become scivvies and dictated to by bean-counting managers who have no direct experience of working on a ward or dealing with patients. These managers are merely glorified accountants.

Without managers the NHS will stumble along. Without qualified and motivated clinical staff, the NHS will grind to a halt. No MP has ever recognised this, only the figures on a balance sheet.
 

All these “cuts” and general social inequality have one root cause- the uncontrolled consumer-commercial capitalist system.  It is unequal, unfair, selfish and wasteful and only came into existence to develop technology and global infrastructure.  Now we are reaching the apex of how far we can progress while 5% of the population “own” 95% of the wealth. Some people in “developing” countries earn less than $1 A DAY, yet celebrities can earn millions of pounds a year but do absolutely zero to contribute to human progress other than keeping the masses distracted from the mega-corps and banksters as they destroy the very fabric of our society.
All these ideas for campaigns will only deal with the symptoms of the larger problem, the hording of wealth by the priviledged selfish few.  We need to address the root cause, capitalism.
Money was a means to an end.  We can smash atoms together at near light-speed yet we can’t look after our poor and needy?

(p.s. is there any reason you’ve chosen a username so similar to mine?)
.

My top two . . . of the seven point plan included at http://www.sustainabilitynotcapitalism.blogspot.com and in the May 2010 Readings on Co-operative Socialism from the Cnadian Centre for Policy Alternatives http://www.policyalternatives.ca . . .are:
 
a) a Guaranteed, personal livable Citizen’s Income – the process for acheiving this is in a draft parlaimentary Motion in that CCPA Reader;
 
b)
The conversion of the banking system into an interest-free,
not-for-profit, co-operative community finace system – that way the
conversion of all human activities into sustainable, appropriate
co-operatives becomes feasible.
 
I know these seem ‘policy wonkery’ but they are born of income-equality creating (see the ‘Spirit level’ book and http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk) and sustainable wealth-creating analysis of the options.
 
Best = for all!
 
john
 
John Courtneidge

All local and county councillors take on immediate pay cut of 90%. These councils waste so much money, it really beggers belief.. It would be a step in the right direction

 how do you arrive at your conclusion that over-population is the problem?  If you are a doctor you must have some degree of intelligence so really should be able to understand that the problem is the unequal distribution of wealth?
The only reason that we can’t cope with the growing population is that capitalist society forces the poorer people to live wherever the work is, hence we have huge sprawling cities and all the problems that come with them.
The entire world’s population could fit into Alaska with space for a 4 bedroom house for EACH PERSON.
http://www.overpopulationmyth.com/

BC – I too object to Tesco’s proliferation. A not widely known “fiddle” of Tesco is to lease all their shops from an offshore company owned by Tesco!  So their tax returns show no assets in their shops and they can offset against profit the rent they pay for shops they already own, clever eh!
But I condemn most of the cheap supermarkets – Asda (Walmart), Lidle, etc. who all ruthlessly exploit the farmers, processors and sweat-shop workers in the developing world.

the solutions are already here!
http://www.desertec.org/
“within 6 hours deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind consumes in a year.”

I would love to see 38 degrees start a campaign for the rights of individuals who are diagnosed with  cancer and are not permitted to try alternative treatment options despite having failed all conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A few people will be offered the chance to go trials, however the majority are excluded for one reason or another and this fact makes it a bit of joke when they are told their only option is to enter one of these trials.
There are treatments that may or may not be effective that are not permitted because they have never gone through phase III trials. They are never likely to be for the simple reason phase III trials cost millions of pounds and the only people who can afford this are big pharmaceuticals.. As the majority of these unproven therapies are not patentable the pharmaceutical companies are not interested in seeing whether they work or not as there is no profit in them.
However, I feel it is totally wrong that you should not be allowed to try unconventional treatments in this situation. The reasons given by the medical profession is we lack understanding of these unconventional therapies and therefore they are not safe and may lead to side effects that could result in death.
They forget that these people are already going to die and the medical profession has nothing to offer them. We don’t worry about healthy people taking risks that are avoidable and could easily lead to death and do so such as motor racing, hang gliding, horse riding, scuba diving etc etc but people who are dying are prevented from searching out other therapies which may or may not help them.
I am a practising part time doctor who specialises in oncology and run Star Throwers a cancer charity which is there to help all cancer patients. I see the pain and desperation of so many people whose hope has been extinguished by conventional oncology and the frustration of being told that they should go on a trial but none is available to them. Some of these desperate people travel to Germany or Mexico and spend their life savings or sell their house in a last chance bid to give them a little bit longer on this earth. There is absolutely no reason why these same therapies could not be given in this country at a minimal cost. Patients have described our present system with one simple word -CRUEL.
Dr. Henry Mannings

I absolutely agree. Particularly in London, employers pay the lowest wage possible, as well as using every loophole they can find to circumvent employees’ rights to sick pay, holidays, and most of all, overtime. A retail company (a well known high street brand) I worked for compelled employees to work an extra two or three hours unpaid per shift. They were made to sign papers in which they ‘volunteered’ to work the extra time. One employee who refused was systematically chased down for every irrelevant action or lack thereof until he was able to be fired. I was a manager, working over 12 hours a day, and I earned £12000 yearly. Perhaps minimum wage should be raised? Certainly we need to look at the reality of a living wage for reasonable hours worked and compel employers to deliver the benefits to which their employees are legally entitled.

try solar power, make use of the largest fusion reactor in the solar-system.
http://www.desertec.org/
“in 6 hours the deserts receive more energy from the sun than humankind uses in a year.”

Insulating houses to prevent fuel poverty & reduce carbon emmissions & create employment i.e the Green New Deal which was supported to by Conservatives & Lib Dems. Time for action now & prove that their promises were not just words.

Ann – Yes, a War Footing is the stance that we should be taking.  There really is not a moment to spare if we are going to stop the climate situation getting worse.
We must remember that China and India are increasing their emmissions because they are supplying the rich world with the commodities and “toys” we so desire.

why not turn some of those dairy farms into hemp farms and then just have completely organic farms producing milk for consumption? Hemp has 50,000 Uses and Benefits
http://www.voteindustrialhemp.com/

Rochdale’s healthcare needs your help, these cutbacks in services closing down our A&E department in January already 4 lives have been lost one being a 6 year old little boy! plans to  move our Maternity/Children’s Inpatient services and Special Care Baby Unit on the 25th June to  temporary wards at Oldham 12 months ahead of the reconfiguration plans are already causing major problems. 
Ambulances are queuing at Oldham /Fairfield and North Manchester they simply can’t cope with the extra workload and people in this borough are suffering for being ill, transport is a major issue as is the lack of beds for our most vulnerable
Jean Ashworth
Rochdale

How about changing the priorities on our road system?  At present the de facto hierarchy of road users places motor vehicles ahead of everyone else.  While many people are motorists, some for essential work purposes, everyone is a pedestrian for at least part of the time.
 
Other than motorways and other roads which are clearly strategic highways, the rule should be that pedestrians have priority over cyclists who should have priority over public transport over commercial vehicles over motorcycles over, finally, the private car.
 
Roads should make proper provision for pedestrians and cyclists to move around in safety and comfort – proper off-road paths everywhere, if necessary taking away a little of the road width.
 
Nationally, over 2/3rds of all car journeys are less than 5 miles, half less than 3 miles, a quarter less than 2 miles.  In big cities, substitute mile with kilometre and the fractions still apply.  How many of these journeys are unneccessary, or could be made by foot or bike?  How much could our environment be improved, and our health enhanced by the exercise?  It is time we made our streets and roads more attractive to leg-powered traffic, and less attractive to motorised traffic.

 so perhaps the problem is to build more much smaller ones and invest money and resources into making them much cleaner?  Industry pumps out nasty stuff into the air energy day yet nobody is protesting that.  Remember Acid Rain that was the “global warming” of the eighties?

As an addition, I’m actually surprised at how few people here are flagging this as an issue. I think there’s a general feeling of ‘the libraries can’t die out, it won’t happen’. The current lack of political will to save libraries combined with the view of them as an easy target for budget cuts means that, yes, we are looking at a future in which there will be no way for people to have access to free books. And the passion for reading will certainly decline, along with literacy levels. This is a reality.

I think you should first of all vote against the huge injustice of the millionaires/billionaires and companies who are avoiding paying their taxes whilst us lesser mortals cannot avoid this, they are allowed to get away with murder by not paying their dues, and the longer it goes on the more interest they should have to pay. At the end of the day it is a crime and the kinds of people that do this are glorified/rich criminals. If this was done it may ease the burden on the common people.

Just so you know I’ve had this as my online name for many years I originally designed it as a combination of pseudonym and cyber – I was just as surprised to see your username!

I would like to see 38 degrees pushing the government to act on the “zero waste” strategy they claim to have adopted. This would include a total moratorium on incinerators and a massive expansion of reusables, with efforts made to significantly limit non-recyclable materials.

Wattg – I’m sorry, but the abolishion of supermarket plastic bags was a move to get the public to accept that there really was a climate problem.  The amount of energy and resources saved by their restriction is negligable,  we have to look for an energy saving of 20% per person before any good will be done.

you mean other than turning our kids into walking Tesco Adverts with their Sports-Kit for Schools nonsense? If they want to help kids that much why don’t they just give them the money to buy kit themselves instead of that thinly-veiled marketing plan.    Banksy said it best…http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/banksy/banksy_tesco_pledge_your_allegiance.htm

disabillity living alllowance

Nanacuckoo – I too would like to see a major overhall of company law.  The Limited Liability of company directors and share holders needs to be removed.  They must be held responsible for their companies action and themselves pay any fines, compensation, etc incured by the company.They may then take responsibility for the damage they cause instead of just taking the profits.

I can see a horrendous calamity on the horizon if this isn’t remedied, good work on making the idea easy to grasp. Maybe it would be worth sending a FOI request  to whoever operates the tug to find out how many times it has rescued a stricken tanker, or cargo ship over the last 10 years.

I think 38 degrees should act on stopping the ‘oil rush’ in the arctic at the moment that could be devastating for the local environment. At a time when we can’t actually afford to burn all the oil we already know about it and should be cutting back on our oil use anyway, is sheer madness to look for more, especially in such a fragile and treacherous environment. Also we shouldn’t be deep water drilling by the Shetlands either. I think these could be good campaigns.  

I don’t think we should push towards recycling.It should be towards reusable s and returnables in all areas, especially packaging. Emphasis needs to be placed on the producers,they produce the packaging and use the energy. They should take responsibility for the waste and produce a percentage of the energy that they want to use to produce the products. Give them a choice, carry on and pay more or make a contribution to the energy that they require to make the products and eliminate waste from their products and procedures. Make packaging returnable and products at the end of their use returnable.make positive contributions.
make it that all packaging must be at minimum recyclable and if it is there must be a use for the recycled material. whats the point of somthing that can be recycled but there’s no one to use it so it’s still going to landfill.

It would be great to campaign in support of bio-diesel -  lets rally for, not always against! Over the last few years alot of small companies making 100% biodiesel sprung up all over the country, recycling vegetable oil- and they were in huge demand. Recently it seems they have nearly all disappeared, partly because of governmental taxes making the businesses no longer viable to run.
Lets lobby the government to support biodiesel, not crush it! If they would subsidise these small businesses, we could at least make sure that all our used chip fat in the country is making fuel.

you should campaign for Osborne to accept the views of the economists in todays press that he is damaging the economic recovery by massive cuts and that he needs a plan b before much of the fabric of our society is ruined by ill-considered cuts

Not sure if anyone has suggested this but there are big plans afoot for large wind farms across Wales, not a bad thing on the face of it but they want to plant over 600 pylons all across the Welsh countryside, instead of burying the cables under ground.
 This seems to have been brushed under the carpet anywhere outside of Wales, I believe that EDF are behind the plans   

i would think that some of that 50% is comprised of specialist foreign cheeses so the percentage of what we import that could be made here is a bit smaller.  Needless to say, a lot of milk is poured away before it reaches the shelves and even more is thrown away by supermarkets that over stock with fresh milk.  Too much waste because of rampant commercialism and the dogma of the capitalist system.

Re your request for new campaign ideas : you have proved that this is a powerful tool – and it is clear that your campaigns so far have had very wide support. I would suggest that if nothing clearly has a groundswell of concern – don’t just do a campaign for the sake of it. A campaign that isn’t widely supported could serve to put people off, and might weaken your (our) voice. Campaigns so far seem to me to have had a clear focus that the people targeted can respond to. There’s no point in us all voting just to make the world a better place. I suspect there will be quite a few people like me who won’t mind at all if we don’t hear from you for a bit, but might get fed up of being asked to support things we might not see as priorities. Sometimes, less is more. Good luck,   Bob Denmark

There are plans for another mega dairy in Buckinghamshire!  And an incinerator plant. 

Steve, one particular foreign-owned incinerator-building company has already been dumped by Swansea City Council. See Item 19 on the Council Minutes of 17th June 2010.

i would like to see the TV license abolished

The proposed mega pig farm at Foston in Derbyshire may be worse than the Nocton dairy farm, and a big petition now in the few weeks before the planning meeting would immensely help the case of Compassion in World Farming and The Soil Association to keep the worst excesses of factory farming off our shores. See a brief description here: http://www.ciwf.org.uk/news/pig_farming/pig_mega_farm_proposal.aspx My understanding is that the planning meeting is due in July.

Good uniform and equipment for our soldiers etc

What about free prescriptions for England

It is typical that people who espouse changing laws to suit criminals are also likely to be those who will use, as a first line of defence, insult and abuse.  Historically, laws have been changed under pressure from the general populace, to make life more liveable for the majority;  today we propose changing laws to make life more pleasant for people who have already proven themselves to be irresponsible citizens by breaking the law in the first place.
How can having more irresponsible people behind the wheel be an improvement?  How can having people doing stupid things under the influence, endangering themselves and everyone else, lead to lower costs for the health care system?  When you are able to prove absolutely that no-one under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs ever turns up, injured or DOA, in an emergency waiting room, I might begin to believe you know what you are talking about.  When no child turns up in the emergency waiting room, injured or DOA, as the result of the stupidity and selfishness of a drunk or stoned driver, I might begin to believe you know what you are talking about.I have to assume you are an habitual user of illegal substances or you wouldn’t be on the pro side of making ‘recreational’ drugs more easily available.  I happen to have found it possible to live my life without ever resorting to law breaking and have been happier, probably, than you have.  If you need the crutch of booze or drugs, you are not happy.  When did sweeping something under the carpet ever solve anything?  When did drinking/stoning and driving ever seem like a really, really good idea?   The problem with people like you is that you want your own petty, little life to carry on as usual – smoking your pot and chillin’ out – but are incapable (probably from doing illegal substances for so long) of looking at the future in the long term.  

It is typical that people who espouse changing laws to suit criminals are also likely to be those who will use, as a first line of defence, insult and abuse.  Historically, laws have been changed under pressure from the general populace, to make life more liveable for the majority;  today we propose changing laws to make life more pleasant for people who have already proven themselves to be irresponsible citizens by breaking the law in the first place.How can having more irresponsible people behind the wheel be an improvement?  How can having people doing stupid things under the influence, endangering themselves and everyone else, lead to lower costs for the health care system?  When you are able to prove absolutely that no-one under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs ever turns up, injured or DOA, in an emergency waiting room, I might begin to believe you know what you are talking about.  When no child turns up in the emergency waiting room, injured or DOA, as the result of the stupidity and selfishness of a drunk or stoned driver, I might begin to believe you know what you are talking about.I have to assume you are an habitual user of illegal substances or you wouldn’t be on the pro side of making ‘recreational’ drugs more easily available.  I happen to have found it possible to live my life without ever resorting to law breaking and have been happier, probably, than you have.  If you need the crutch of booze or drugs, you are not happy.  When did sweeping something under the carpet ever solve anything?  When did drinking/stoning and driving ever seem like a really, really good idea?   The problem with people like you is that you want your own petty, little life to carry on as usual – smoking your pot and chillin’ out – but are incapable (probably from doing illegal substances for so long) of looking at the future in the long term.Flag

I must be missing something,
Why do we have unelected do-gooders who can’t come up with a good idea, being paid a fortune, reside in Brussels and then commute to Strasbourg, France every month. Wait until they start taxing you direct from your wage packet, giving your hard earned cash to some Somalian pirate so that he can put petrol in his engine whilst robbing tourists or prop up another dictator whilst they stuffed their bank accounts, whilst their people starve. The European Common Market is the back door to another layer of government we can ill afford and is completely overlooked by our elected baffons. It is something I would be most interested in and try to get this country out of the shot gun wedding we have found ourselves in.

I would like you to help stamp out any forms of animal cruelty, i.e.  putting ctv cameras in slaughter houses.  improve intensive farming, etc.  Roma Robb

suggest that higher rate tax payers should not live in council houses when others are living in condemable private properties due to the lack of council housing.

I agree we do not want these huge farm. Pork from pigs that run about outside tastes much better.

This is a general comment to all of the people who are espousing a relaxation of the drug laws.

We
are such a long way from becoming even remotely civilized, it’s not surprising
so many people think human society will be elevated above its present sorry
state by allowing the criminals to decide how laws should be written.  It’s a more or less safe assumption that the
movement to ease drug laws is driven, primarily, by people already using banned
substances; ergo, we are to let the future of our society rest in the extremely
dubious hands (and dreadfully unreliable minds) of people who must be among the
least responsible of all.

These
are just a few of the things we wouldn’t need to put up with if excess boozing and
illegal drugs were voluntarily given up by everyone:

Spouses
– of either sex – being beaten and abused as a result of drunkenness/drug
taking

Children
being beaten and abused as a result of drunkenness/drug taking

People
being killed by drunk/stoned drivers

Women
and girls being pawed and/or assaulted by drunks and drug users

The
elderly being attacked in their own homes as drunks/druggies attempt to find
funds for the next drink/fix

Hold-ups
of convenience stores may just be reduced if there weren’t so many desperate drunks/druggies
anxious for their next drink/fix

The
singularly vile spectacle of drunks and druggies pissing, vomiting and performing
other filthy acts in public places

Night-time
drunks and druggies pissing on private property

The
list goes on and on……..is that really the direction we think best to be
heading?  Or……might a curtailment of
that kind of thing be better for us all in the long run – except possibly those
who actually think that kind of society is the best we can ever achieve.

Please campaign to stop chemtrails being sprayed everywhere and blocking out the sun. The sun is crucial for growth and natural vitamin D. People all over the world are complaining about it and it’s damaging effects! With all the pollution from depleted uranium bombs being dropped, radiation from Japan etc this is the worst thing they could be doing and it’s interfering with Mother Nature. The chemicals being sprayed are highly toxic, causing dementia, chronic respiratory problems, fatigue etc. If we really care about survival on our planet this must stop. It’s ridiculous to suggest it’s stopping climate change, it’s harming us all. Thankyou.

I feel we should have more energy from renewable sources and I have no worrys about wind turbines! BUT wouldnt it be better to have smaller local projects that the community can feel involved in and with. That way there would not be a need for more pylons. After all the winter power cuts seam to be caused mostly by power lines being down in the bad weather, Wales gets a lot of that bad weather!  

We need to take back our pavements from car parking and cyclists.

I would like to see the banks being forced to retain the cheque/chequebook. Their desire to abolish cheques is totally self-serving and simply designed to boost profits. Jerry.

I am not a millionaire but why do people have a go as if the millionaires get all their money and sit on it. A lot of the richest people do huge amounts of ‘Good Works’ with their money. They also create a lot of jobs for others, giving people jobs gives them self respect and pride.  If they have been able to grow a fortune, often from nothing then, I think that they are probabley able to use their money wisely and better than any government this country has had for a long time.

Dont forget the Horse Riders and Carriage Drivers!

Go to the Energy Saving Trust’s website. there is quite a bit happening! 

Well Said.

RAGWORT  a flowering plant that is on the dangerous weeds register. This non native plant is poisonous, having a cumilitive effect on the liver of any animal that eats it ( or children that pick the pretty flowers and anyone that handles the plant with bare hands). There is legislation about not allowing it to seed or grow on and near grazing land or fields used to grow hay. Unfortunately neither DEFRA or the County Councils seam willing to enforce the law. (perhaps because the councils and highways agency are among the worst offenders.
If the poison builds up in the livers of the animals that we eat are we in danger of becoming poisoned ourselves!!    

These pylons will also be extending over Shropshire, altogether affecting some beautiful areas. This is set to be a big project. Do we want our countryside to be changed for ever?
I believe smaller projects would be less intrusive.
In Holland and Denmark many farms and businesses have there  own wind turbine +/- P.V. panels,
likewise towns and communities, these can be attractive or at least not as intrusive.

Cameron is determined to push through the idea of elected police chiefs, an American system that we have no need for here. Nobody wants it but a few Tories who want to force the police into being fiscally accountable in order to save themselves the embarrassment of cost-cutting. Let’s kick it out! We need these police officers.

Absolutely agree, costs me a small fortune to keep me and my husband well, even with prepayment certificates. I have a friend who’s on 20 odd tablets a day just to keep him upright, without the prepayment scheme he’d have to choose which medication not to take, very dangerous, if he didnt actually work he’d get them all free anyway, its almost laughable that a man prepared to work even though he’s not well pays for his medication ..
If we lived just 50 miles away he wouldnt have to

Absolutely agree, Dr Mannings, my parents have both battled and are survivng cancer at the moment and my much loved Uncle will shortly loose his battle, God bless people like you who try to help the poor souls with this terrible disease

We’ve just been turned down for  grant towards solar pnels cos 25% of our roof will be in shadow for 8 hours a day, makes no sense at all to me when 75 % will be in direct sun more often than not, Ah well…..we tried

This makes a lot of sense.  A 38 Degrees campaign has to have broad support and it has to have a good chance of making a difference.  So – contentious things like drug policy, no.  But saving libraries, saving the cheque, better monitoring of care homes, could all be a yes.  In fact, we’re not short of good choices!

Our next campaign should be for a living wage. 

a strange coincidence then! but a happy similarity, have used “psybernism” all over, as my email and on a few forums (namely TPUC). It’s a combination of “psychic/psychological” and “organism”, something conceived and powered by the mind (or more metaphysical occurences.)  Pleased to meet ya! Peace!

 Blair was just a puppet, the people who pulled the strings were the arms companies and oil companies and the banking cartels who handled their money.

No doubt the beagles will be used to test yet more cosmetics to perpetuate yet another industry that exists simply to make money from people’s vanity via relentless advertising and the fallacy that getting old or looking natural is somehow wrong.  In any case, with natural time-tested substances such as jojoba, olive oil, hemp seed oil and more we already have pretty much all we need to stay looking and feeling young……http://www.dermaxime.com/hemp-seed.htm (not posted as an advert for the company, simply for info on hemp. God, i love hemp….)

Here’s a wild one for ya, it takes a bit of reading and perhaps some thinking outside the box to fully comprehend but it will change your life…..
“Change the current Gregorian Calendar measure of 12 months of 28/29/30/31 days to better reflect the lunar cycle of 13 moons of 28 days.”
pretty wayward, i know, but consider that society is operating to a program and that program could be said to be the calendar, the rhythm by which we live.  The current system of measuring the passing of the solar year is irregular and flawed and follows no natural cycle. Even the word “calendar” has it’s roots in the latin for “monies owed” and was essentially introduced by the Romans to keep track of the money they were owed.  The “calendar” is the guiding instrument of the capitalist society that is corrupting everything.
If you have a society that follows an irregular and flawed measure then that society will also become irregular and flawed. It’s like trying to build a house with a ruler that sometimes has 11 inches to the foot and sometimes 13 or 12 or something else entirely every 4 years.
The reason that human kind has become so separated from nature is because we do not follow the natural rhythm of 13 moons of 28 days. (although every woman follows this cycle, more or less, and no doubt many will say if our civilisation had been built by women we wouldn’t be in this mess to start with.)
Every indigenous culture follows a 13 moon measure (until western consumerism gets a foothold, that is.)  This is why 13 has been programmed into us as being unlucky.
Don’t take my word for it, find out more:
http://www.lawoftime.org/thirteenmoon.html

and also see what is already being planned for London:
http://www.alunatime.org/

In Lak’ech
Seryn

 plant hemp to control weeds- “”Very few of the common weeds troublesome on the farm can survive the dense shade of a good crop of hemp”http://www.gametec.com/hemp/WEED.CTRL.htm

SPITTING

The unpleasant,unhealthy and repulsive habit of spitting in the streets is escalating, due in part to others seeking to emulate their role models from the football pitch. The Government and local councils (other than Enfield) have refused to do anything about it.  Meanwhile the rise in TB is of great concern and will be creating undue pressures on the NHS. Where is the advertising campaign warning people against the risk of airborne diseases? Where are the fines?

Energy price increases

This is something which hits the pocket of every single person in our country and hits it hard.
It’s clear that the big energy players are making absurd profits at the expense of the consumer – this has to stop. We need to get government to take a long hard look at our energy providers, the industry needs to be investigated. 

Next Major Campaign Suggestion

Get Out of the EU

In 1973, my parents generation was invited to vote in a referendum to join a European Economic Community. What they and my generation got is a Political Union and a staggering recurring bill.

Some of the finer moments:
The Common Agricultural Policy
The Death of our fishing fleet and Overfishing
Collapse of our Manafacturing base
Qualified Accounts for over a decade
We were the only country in the EU not to be allowed to vote on the Treaty of Lisbon.
Hugh’s Fish Fight – Quota system that encourages waste

In this age of austerity, we simply cannot afford to be a member of this club any more!

I suggest we cut the UK plc “family” budget and go without.

It would also have the effect of making our Government more accountable to us for the first time in c40 years by not giving them a scapegoat, making them responsible. It’s time we looked after our own interests properly for a change!

Many thanks for your response. Unfortunately, access to that site is appallingly slow, but your suggestion sounds very reasonable. I would just like a truly independent study to come up with the long-term solution, then have a team of engineers go ahead and plan the details and governments implement it. At the moment, there is too much fragmentation of discussion, and too much polarisation of views (many of which may be ill-informed).

HS2 Rail Link

I haven’t got a problem with this IF they use existing rail lines.  What I do have a problem with is churning up our beautiful countryside and all the wild life that goes with it.  What is the point? Just to get to London a bit quicker, I don’t get it – either get up earlier, move nearer or change jobs (sorry, I know this probably isn’t practical in this day and age, but it really makes me angry).  I live in Birmingham and it looks to me as if they have already started the ground work for the new station and some people are talking about HS2 as if it has already been passed through government.

Fracking is the most important thing to stop.  The continued use of this will destroy our planet.  In all places that it has been allowed to happen, there have been earthquakes, this means it moves the earths plates and we have seen the consequence of quakes recently.  Who’s to say that the small pockets of fracking across the world have not contributed to this. Lets have a go at the government and the oil companies. they both have equal responsibility in this rape of our planet.

A license to own aggressive dog breeds. A potential dog owner should be of sound mind, have no criminal record for viloence, and have a dog training qualification in order to own a dog belonging to an aggressive breed ( like a staffordshire bull terrier or similar)

I think we should campaign on the ridiculous cost of motor insurance, particularly for younger drivers.  It is outrageous that young people should be quoted £17,500 to insure a car worth £400 (Bolton Evening News, 25 May 2011).  Whilst I accept that younger drivers may be a higher risk, by making the insurance so high, it will lead to more people taking the risk and driving without insurance.  Motorcyclists are also being hit now, with some insurance companies refusing to insure people who take pillion passengers.  These big insurance companies are profit-driven and are ripping off the motorists.  We need to take a stand.

There are too many people in this country, and the numbers are increasing all the time. This is a microcosm of there being too many people in the world, consuming the earths resources and propelling us all to disaster. The UK should now take a lead on dealing with this problem through education and through policies that discourage the production of more children, rather than encouraging it as now..  

There is only one issue: The rights of Unions. 

Campaign suggestion –

Lower cost TV licenses for the deaf.

I think it is disgusting that people with hearing problems are forced to pay the full tv license when they only get half the enjoyment. The state of subtitling is a joke across all the channels including the main five. The HD channels are terrible as well in terms of delays which means my deaf parents have bought a HD box which is useless to them as they cannot follow any of the programmes being shown on them.

Subtitling campaigns have made some difference in the past but not enough and until a deaf person can put on any programme and have good quality subtitles they should not be charged the full tv license.

The right to swim in lakes and reservoirs in the UK! Why do they all always have “no swimming” signs? To protect themselves in case someone is injured? No wonder everyone stays indoors and watches TV!

we shoud be campaigning for an english parliament as its unfair england are the only country without one.

I agree but It’s not just the cost of propping up bankrupt countries it’s also the extra layer of UK politicians on an extended gravy train. By having this extra layer of overpaid unrepresentative twats their salaries are used to justify another set of overpaid do nothings. 
When was the last time you saw a European member of parliament on any form of UK news explaining what they were doing. With what it costs us you would expect to see them all the time.
Let’s chop the lot and then we can decide where to spend our own money

Is there a suggestion for a campaign hidden in this somewhere? Lucky old you that you don’t need any crutches. Yet. A bit of compassion for those who do wouldn’t go amiss. Many people living in their own personal hell have litte option but to self-medicate. The blunt instrument of anti-drugs legislation won’t stop that. That fact is what is being swept under the carpet.

TV licences should not be allowed.
We are one of the few countries that actually charge for a license.
Americans that visit here actually ask, “TV license, what is that?”
The deaf are not the only ones that are affected, what about the blind, people that are totally blind shouldn’t even be charged a reduced fee!

I think we should do something about the plans to cut benefits to people with disabilities and ‘test’ everyone to try to ‘help them into work’.  The companies that are likely to be involved in this have a terrible track record for ruthless and incompetent target-hunting.

People with disabilities have been gaining civil rights over the last decade which have made it much easier for them to participate properly in education and employment, but Cameron seems set on making them scapegoats (eg the latest list of ‘excuses’ released to the right-wing press.  All very hilarious but helps to put about the idea that disabled people are frauds and parasites and whip up hatred.)

Stop the corrupt FIFA officials/partners and friends getting free Olympic Tickets and having their hotel accomodation subsidised at UK tax payers expense

I think the single biggest issue in the UK is still the tax system and companies / very rich individuals trading in the UK but actually syphoning off tens of billions of out of the country and the wider tax system which in tun makes everyone poorer.  This is a single issue which affects everyone in the UK.   This is not specific to one group, this affects everyone from cradle to grave and as such I think it’s still a massive issue to tackle.

What about taking a stand on immigration, most of our NHS resources have been abused by people from other countries, coming here to get treatment when they can’t get it in their own countries.
When people that have lived here from birth and paid into the system and can’t get treatment because the treatment is “too expensive”, and someone from a different country, can, I find that insulting.

YEAH! I think spot on. It’s a single issue that affects EVERYONE in the UK. No other single issue has such a big effect on the UK balance sheet.  Government chooses to go soft on these crooks whilst at the same time berating the poor or disabled on benefits, who’s the real criminals?

Bring on the Naughty List and the Nice List.

“The right to die”
The inability of the terminally ill to end their own suffering in the UK is cruel and an infringement of an individual’s right to self-determination. Our current laws prohibit it, mainly for historical, religious reasons despite it appearing the majority of the population support a change in the laws. There are some valid objections to the policy (advances in medicine, abuse ) and it needs to be discussed fully so that these can be addressed. There is a wider issue here that we need to debate about why society has the right to keep someone in pain alive against their wishes. I’d like this topic looked as part of a cross party government review.

I really worry about what the government is doing to the benefits system.  Yes, we all know that there are people out there who don’t want to work, and are not really ill.  But for the rest of us, it is a real struggle!  I know that the government have to try and save money, but by targetting the people who need the help most seems to me to be sneaky, at best, and downright immoral.  There must be another way than taking away the benefits that some people genuinely need, rather than changing the whole system (costing the taxpayers millions).  If you have chronic health problems, they do not just go away, they get worse, and by making the ability tests almost impossible to pass, then making an incapacitated person work in an unsuitable job or take their income, surely must be against human rights?!

Maybe the oil that is being utilised from our planet was acting as a lubricant for the tectonic plates.
By our constant drilling and extraction of oil it is finally running dry (you wouldn’t run your car engine with no oil), and this is leading to more earthquakes, and fracking isn’t fracking helping.

I live in Wale where we have free prescriptions.
Although I understand your views completely it seems we are all guilty of fall into the “free” trap.
Of course we pay for prescriptions in Wales its just via the other many taxes.
Why do people think anything is free. We sit back and vote for politicians who promise to spend more money to help us as if it comes out of their pocket.
The other side of the coin with regard prescriptions is the increasing costs of self-inflicted health problems like alcohol, drugs, overweight, perhaps even dangerous sports. Why should someone who is struggling to bring up their children have to pay extra tax to pay for someone who has just fallen off a mountain. Should we be looking at a national insurance scheme? We all like the feel of every one paying a little to help those less well off. But when the less well off numbers start to climb then what do we do.
 

Don’t forget the programme on TV recently where they mentioned the people that spit out the tobacco stuff that stains pavements and walls a horrible brownish colour.
Something that is very hard and expensive to remove, and that never used to happen until the (I believe it was an Asian persuasion) people came to live here.

When did a rule become a ruler?
When I was at school we were told off for calling it a ruler, and quickly told that a ruler is a King or Queen, I believe that my parents used to get their knuckles rapped with a rule to press the point.

Not only will it churn up the countryside it will cost over £1,000 for every family in the country. There are better and cheaper alternatives to deliver the additional capacity needed earlier.
Vote against it

I believe you will find that it is against the law anyway, and you can be fined for it.
I don’t know how that works out at a football match as it is on private property, so to speak.

I think 38 Degrees should campaign for a new approach to drugs. Finally we are approaching a tipping point where 38 degrees could make the difference by forcing UK political party leaders to stop using the issue as a way to score cheap points against each other, and instead come to a cross-party agreement to review the UK’s Misuse of Drugs Act for the first time ever, comparing it with other approaches – including decriminalisation and legal regulation. In other words, allow future policy to based on evidence of what works. No country has done this kind of modelling and it would set a powerful international precedent.

As the recent Global Commission on Drugs has said the global ‘war on drugs’ has been fought for 50 years, without preventing the long-term trend of increasing drug supply and use. As the website countthecosts.org explains in detail, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has also identified the drug war’s many serious ‘unintended negative consequences’, resulting not from drug use itself, but from choosing a punitive enforcement-led approach that, by its nature places control of the trade in the hands of organised crime, and criminalises many users. 

In the process this:
• undermines international development and security, and fuels conflict
• threatens public health, spreads disease and causes death
• undermines human rights
• promotes stigma and discrimination
• creates crime and enriches criminals
• causes deforestation and pollution
• wastes billions on ineffective law enforcement

The war on drugs is a policy choice. There are other options.

Ergo, over 1/3rd of all car journeys are over 5 miles, half more than than 3 miles, 3 quarters more than 2 miles.
You’ve lost the plot!!! Stats can prove anything. If you then said that the number of car journey last year was 3, would I be worried. Is the number of car journeys going up or down might be more important.
Let’s go the whole hog and double the price of petrol and diesel.Then all you city types can walk to the shops which will be empty because the gas guzzling country types won’t be able to afford to send you any food. You will be able of course to watch all this on your wind powered TV ( turbine built in the countryside NIMBY)
 
Give us more facts

Apparently they are using the excuse that cheques are not able to be read by computers, so why are they “swiped” by bank clerks for the codes that are on each of them?
From what I heard on the radio the other week, they want to introduce another paper system to “upgrade” the cheque, as many companies will lose trade.
I know many market traders that are against it as they will lose out because of the credit /debit card charges, which means that they will have to raise prices or charge extra to cover what they are losing out.
This in itself is also self defeating as when they raise any of the costs, the bank will get extra because they take a percentage of the total cost!

An american company wants to build a facility in Yorkshire to breed dogs (mostly beagles) for use in laboratory experiments.   This must not be allowed.   6000 painful and lethal experiments were conducted on dogs (not counting the millions of other animals) last year.   They have chemicals dripped in their eyes, or force fed by tubes in their stomachs to test ingestion of various products (often toxic).  They are forced to inhale noxious gases.  These chemicals could be drugs – but also they could be cleaning chemicals, refrigerants, pesticides or industrial chemicals.    The Government seems disinterested.   Pressue should be put on them to halt this – and definitely to stop factory-farmed laboratory dogs in this country.   Full details at http://www.uncaged.co.uk.    Barbara C (Somerset)

I seem to recall that when this type of thing was put into practice it ended up mostly
Crap = for most.
Luxury= for a few.

What about swearing in public? No-body wants their kids to here vulgar words like that, thank you!! Maybe a little fine on people who are yelling obscenities at each other in town etc.

How about lobbying against the FRACKING FOR GAS in the UK, which anyone who has seen GASLAND would be highly disturbed about.
Also keep going with lobbying against the huge dairy farms planned?

And what about all the people who still do all those things without the help of drink/drugs.
Criminals didn’t use to dabble with drugs until they realised that they could get more money and without having to hold up a bank etc.
Unfortunately, because the control was just to make them illegal, it is not completely controlled, whereas the government could actually make money by taxing something that is completely controlled.

There are lots of people that are extremely rich and don’t use these substances, that cause accidents by speeding excessively, and manage to pay their way out of these situations, it is not always someone that is drunk or stoned.

There are also people that drive on “legal” drugs, that are probably more “stoned than the people you are talking about.

A lot of criminals, cut drugs with substances that you’d never think of putting into your body, there are also criminals that make “fake” alcohol which is also something that is a lot more dangerous than the real thing.

The tax on these proper products is set by the government and remember that on their wages they can afford the real thing (and probably get it back in expenses), whereas the poorer people can’t, so in effect, one rule for the rich and one for the poor.

Basically it all boils down to self control!

I am not a doctor – my tag is a pseudonym based on an anagram.

I completely agree with what you say about the uneven distribution of wealth but that is a secondary issue.  Even if wealth was evenly distributed we would still be consuming more than the planet can sustain.  And I’m not talking about the physical space available to the population, it’s the resources they consume that matters.

This should only be to people that are native to this country, it is the illegal immigrants and refugees that have pushed up the prices, and seem to be able to get the drugs that are “too expensive” to give to us!

Please take up the campaign to stop the abolition of DLA which has already got thousands of supporters in your campaign ideas – and which you promised to get involved in last time we had a poll about what to do next!!

I have grave concerns about
Welfare reform – in particular, the abolition of Disability Living Allowance – this is an Allowance given to disabled people to help with the extra costs of being disabled – eg. a wheelchair, a carer, an adapted car, special equipment for visually impaired people etc.  It is given to people who are IN WORK as well as those who are unable to work.  Without it millions of people in this country will not be able to survive.

How is it fair that sick and disabled people will be bearing the brunt
of the governments cuts?  The total cuts come to around £89 billion,
cuts to disability benefits and support make up around £9 billion of
that. 
Yes – a full 10% of the total cuts coming from the most vulnerable
people in society. 
Just how is that “protecting the most vulnerable” as they claim to be doing?!!

Please don’t believe what they are writing in the papers – it is continually being proven that false statistics and wrong comment are being given.  There is not a huge outbreak of fraud as they would have you believe – government fraud figure for DLA is just 0.5%!!

see here if you want more info –

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/02/10/ids-finally-admits-to-exaggerating-rhetoric-on-benefit-fraud/

http://fullfact.org/blog/welfare_reform_DLA_blind_drugs_alcohol_DWP_Maria_Miller-2743

And see the statement right at the bottom of one of these awful articles – which had to be printed by the Daily Mail because of an unprecedented number of complaints to the Press Complaints Commission -

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1353111/Disability-benefits-Half-claimants-asked-prove-eligibility.html

Please start this campaign now, before it is too late.  The repurcussions if this is not stopped will be horrific.

The only problem with these wind turbines is that we are told that energy will be cheaper, but it seems that these turbines are going up, and so are the energy prices.
Where I live some turbines have “popped up” but from what I can make out the owners of the turbines get there energy basically free, and what isn’t consumed by them is sold back to the national grid, I haven’t seen our electricity prices drop since these turbines have been in place, and not long ago, we received a letter to say that the prices will rise.If these turbines are to be used the government must press the energy companies to reduce the prices.

Many years ago we were told that nuclear energy would be so cheap that it wouldn’t be worth billing people, yeah, that never happened either.

Diesel fumes are more irritating to asthmatics than petrol fumes, by all accounts the new improved diesel emits much finer particles, which are even worse for them.
The other trouble with bio-diesel is that crops that have to be grown, check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel#Environmental_effects which means less land for growing food crops.

The government should press for packaging to be either recyclable or bio-degradable.
Recycling plants would make new jobs and help employment.The government should also press councils to collect all plastics as they are all recyclable, I’m fed up with councils that only collect plastic bottle but not other plastic.My friend from Scotland told me that they collect all plastic and have done for years, I live in Cornwall where they only collect plastic bottles, not the tops (even though they are made from the exactly the same plastic), or any other plastic, but I believe that in Devon, again all plastic is collected.All the plastic that is not collected goes into landfill that is becoming less as we speak.

If you read the highway code this is supposed to be the order of priority anyway.

I agree that there are a lot of areas that don’t have footpaths, and in some areas it is totally impossible to do anything about it.

I live in Cornwall and some roads can just about get a tractor to fit so a pathway is out of the question.

The “hedging” (the walls each side of the lanes) is for the wild life as well as a guide to where a field ends.

Please take up the campaign agianst the government  attack on workers health and safety  protection at work.  This takes the form of attacking the laws and also cutting enforcement – slashing the HSE by 35%, Local Authorities by 28% minimm cutting unannounced inspections by one third and making almost all workplaces except in nuclear, construction, foundries, waste and recycling sectors, places where inspectors will never be seen until something goes wrong – someone is killed injured or made ill. And these cuts are on top of the cuts in enforcement that happened under the last government. The basis for these attacks are the business lobby’s false claims, eagerly taken up by deregulatory minded government ministers, that health and safety is a ‘burden on business’, mere strangling ‘red tape’, costs too much, and regulations stop jobs being created while enforcement officers are ‘enemies of enterprise’. The Hazards Campaign launched the ‘We didn’t vote to die at work’ campaign at the annual Hazards Conference last July and this is steadily gaining support amongst workers and trade unions. But we need a boost and need to make the wider public aware of what the cuts will mean and the evidence against the lies: good health and safety saves lives and money, lack of it kills, injures and makes ill on massive scale,  costs the economy a minimum of £30 billion per year and of that the employers pay only 25%, the rest falling on those harmed and the state in health and benefit costs- an enormous subsidy we can’t afford. The truth is that health and safety regulations don’t kill jobs but lack of regulations kill workers.
Join us on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=123746101003963;  For more info see http://www.hazards.org/votetodie/; contact Hazards Campaign mail@gmhazards.org.uk, order the Families Against  Corporate Killers DVD ‘Face the FACKS; the human cost of workplace killing’ http://www.hazardscampaign.org.uk/fack/resources/facethefacks.pdf
Hilda Palmer

Protecting our oceans is so important right now as the fishing industry seems determined to destroy them without a thought towards the future.
How about a campaign to help start up no fishing zones – New Zealand have one and it has worked really well, helping to increase the fish stocks around their waters which evens means the fishermen catch more! If we could encourage our country and maybe other countries to indroduce protected areas it would really help to save our oceans
thanks
danny

I live in the country and we have no bus service, so car journeys are essential in most cases.

Until public transport improves in my area we have no alternative to get to and from work, let alone shopping or visiting people!

Greenpeace and CND demonstrated that the most successful campaigns focus on a limited number of topics. If we go for a lot of campaigns at the same time, then we need clearly defined sections and subsections with precise goals and a real measure of autonomy.
There’s not much point in asking what we should do next until we’ve made real progress with what we’re doing now.

There are two concerns that I would like this forum to drive:
1. Middle east peace – and I don’t mean going after Israel (it is very unfair the way the UK treats Israel). We need to force the parties to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. We need to find a way to work with all relevant parties to bring them to table (in a POSITIVE way).

2. Environment – what we going to do to ensure that our children have a world to enjoy.  

That’s a bit harsh, their are some councillors that are on a wage that isn’t as high as the fat cat wages at the top.

I think you meant the ones that are earning far in excess of a living wage.

This then would also apply to MP’s, bankers etc.

In other words, introduce a law on maximum wages! 

The NHS – and making access to alternative therapies (non-drug treatment) available to everyone.

Equal rights through gender equity in the boardroom: by Sept 2011, all FTSE 350 companies have to announce
the percentage of women they aim to have on their boards. The suggested minimum for FTSE 100 companies is 25%.

At the moment we’re at a paltry 12%. The lofty aim is 25% – 1 in 4!  This is not about quotas, it’s about creating an equal society where all of us have equal opportunities to succeed and lead. A baby born today in the UK STILL has fewer chances in life if she’s female – can we all live with that? Norway and Spain have done it, it’s time for the UK to take a lead too.

A campaign to persuade these companies – from within and without – that the best companies are equal companies. For more please see: http://www.europeanpwn.net/index.php?article_id=8

Alex

Put the 38 Degrees weight behind the World Horse Welfare campaign for more humane travelling conditions across Europe for animals usually going to slaughter.  They need some muscle to help them reach those European (and UK) politicians that are not taking action in improving the legislation and policing what the transporters are doing.  Take a look at their website http://www.worldhorsewelfare.com  – in this day and age there should be no truck with such unnecessary cruelty.

To have a Referendum on coming out of the EU, AND clarifying the British governments reasoning on the benefits and disbenefits of staying in/coming out.

How about pressing the government to do something about potholes.

Motorists by law have to pay road tax, but recently potholes in a single lane I was driving along were on both sides of the road, it resulted in my vehicle dropping down them, and this pushed the exhaust up into the sub-frame, bending it and cutting a hole in it.

Being the catalytic converter end it cost over £300 to get put right.

Even after submitting photo’s, repair bills, etc. as required to the council they refused to compensate me in any way.

They fob people off with section 58 of the highways act 1980, basically saying that they inspect the road every 16 weeks, and that a temporary road surface sign was placed in situ.

So a get out clause for the council for not paying out, despite the fact that we pay road tax, and if we don’t we get fined.

Road tax is also split into different sections, of which a third goes into schools and education, and only seventeen and a half percent actually goes back into roads, I can’t remember where the remainder goes, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that a percentage goes to MP’s expenses.

I recently found out that this had also put my tracking out and whilst talking to the mechanic, that a guy had damaged his wheel on his Jaguar, he did the same with regard to the council, got the same response, he then wrote to his MP, who wrote to the council and told them to pay up, and they did.

Is this another rule for the rich and poor, maybe I should by a Jaguar!

I’d like to see a massive campaign get behind the fight against the sexualisation of children and therefore the exploitation of children. Cameron will be doing this simply to look popular but it actually is a crucial issue in sustaining the mental health of our children and future adults. 
I say this as a children’s therapist and parent
Anna

Inevitably the site is becoming a talking shop. It will achieve nothing except satisfaction of letting off steam.

Support for UK communities fighting against Waste Incineration.

http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/78585-campaign-suggestions/suggestions/1592755-support-for-uk-communities-fighting-against-waste-?ref=title

Many communities across the UK are fighting
their local councils about decisions to build waste incinerators in
towns, near homes, on farm land and in areas of natural beauty and
interest. There are many more planned for the UK. The USA has not
commissioned an Incinerator since the mid 1990′s however they are still
being built in the UK by American companies.

There are better, greener
and healthier alternatives to waste management. Typically councils are
locked into 25 year contracts and agree to provide the privately owned
incinerator companies with a certain quota of waste or else face hefty
fines. This undermines recycling and is bad news for the whole of the UK
as in areas with incinerators rubbish set aside for recycling is
diverted to these incinerators.

Vote on it now! Lets all combine forces – don’t just fight the one near you …

http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/78585-campaign-suggestions/suggestions/1592755-support-for-uk-communities-fighting-against-waste-?ref=title

I’d like to see a campaign to force David Cameron to release the information on exactly what refurbishments he has spent over £680, 000 on in downing Street since moving in. He has so far ignored Freedom of information requests to disclose the information. In these days of austerity and supposed transparency in public spending I’d like him to make a full disclosure in Parliament and to repay the money into the public purse for everything but none essential repairs to Downing St.

As 38 Degrees were so pivotal in gathering support against the Nocton dairy farm would you also do the same for a proposed pig farm being planned in Derbyshire?

The proposed farm will be massive. Midland Pig Producers are submitting its plan for an indoor pig
factory for 2,500 mother pigs (sows) and around 20,000 piglets, with
1,000 pigs going for slaughter each week. The Environment Agency have already objected and there are real concerns over the use of antibiotics in this type of system that has grave potential impacts on human health. Sadly there seems to be little public awareness of this planned intensive farm. I think 38 Degress could play a pivotal role in halting the advance of factory farms in the UK and should consider this as a campaign to support. 

Further info can be seen here: http://www.soilassociation.org/Takeaction/Notinmybanger/Supportourappeal/tabid/1272/Default.aspx

Best wishes, Jay

A campaign against the massive cuts in public services provided by local authorities – eg outsourcing to India of IT services (Birmingham), proposed ‘privatisation’ of all services (Suffolk), cuts in services for children and the elederly, closing of or running of libraries by volunteers – who do they think purchases the stock? (various authorities)- and cuts in policing and fire services.  The list just goes on and on ….

Please campaign against USE OF CONFLICT MINERALS FROM CONGO IN LAPTOPS, CONSOLES & MOBILES. This is a very serious issue which the governemnt has hidden from western society. The WAR in Congo is fuelled by our lust for more & more technology. Renowned British Journalist Johhan harri has written some interesting work on this subject, yet it is not well spread. Please consider that children are dying in a war so, British children can play war games.

Please campaign on SAVE THE EQUADORIAN RAINFOREST SAVE OURSELVES! Johhan Har has written a wonderful piece as to how people can actively lobby the goverment to save the rainforest which sits on tons of oil. The president of equador is trying to feed his people & save the rainforest our goverment can help! This is a chance to change the way the goverment see’s our the people’s choice Oil for our greedy oil loving lifestyles or rainforest stabilsing our biodiversity & our planet.

Say no to nuclear power.

It’s a short term solution that is incredibly expensive to set up, decomission and to deal with the waste. The world’s stores of high grade nuclear fuel have been predicted to last just 20 years. The risks last 1000s of years and place an unnecessary and cruel burden on future generations who will see none of the benefits of us having used this fuel.

Once we run out of nuclear fuel, we’ll have no choice but to invest in renewables – fossil fuels being too carbon intensive and also beginning to run short. We should ditch nuclear and invest in renewables now!

hmm, yes, nuclear power is incredibly expensive to set up and you have to keep buying and processing the fuel and then dealing with the waste. Never going to be cheap!

The reason our fuel bills are going up is that oil is running out and so is getting much more expensive. Lots of our power stations run on gas and the price of gas is linked to the price of oil, so gas prices are also going through the roof.

Wind power is comparatively cheap as it obviously doesn’t need us to buy fuel or deal with the waste. Offshore wind or even wave power is definitely a nicer option than onshore wind. But having said that, I’d much rather have a wind farm next door than a nuclear power plant or coal fired power station!

We should discover who is responsible for banning the use of herbal remedies in Europe, who is taking money from the drug companies to put the health of millions at risk from dangerous drugs and campaign against the ban

‎”[...]alarmed by proposals to disconnect users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights. [...] such as [...] the Digital Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom.”
“[...]the report argues that [it] is a disproportionate response, violates international law and such measures should be repealed in countries that have adopted them:”
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5834/125/

agree totally, the oil is certainly there for a reason and we have the means to ditch our reliance on oil as an energy source.  The alternatives need to be more widely understood-
http://www.desertec.org/
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/1869783/scientists-hemp-biofuel
http://www.zpenergy.com/

if more resources were injected into alternitives we could stop drilling for oil and other fossil fuels within a matter of years.
 

pointless comment, use of language changes over time, i’m obviously from a different era to you Maurice.
Any comment on the actual subject of the post?

.Maurice – what did you think I was suggesting by – “might a curtailment of that kind of thing be better for us all in the long run? ” – exactly what you are suggesting – self control.  There certainly isn’t enough of that around these days.  But it’s precisely the people who lack it who are demanding that we all bend to their way of thinking.  Of course there are always people who are out of control for any number of other reasons than drink or drugs but to have included examples of each would have required a novelette.

I would like 38 degrees to put it’s weight behind pushing for a review of the care of the elderly in this country.  There have been some appalling reports in the media recently of instituitional abuse and deaths of our elderly through neglect, which can only can get worse due to cuts in public service budgets.  The disturbing reports that a major supplier of care in the private sector is having severe financial problems brings things into focus and we all need to think how we can finance the long term care of our elderly.  Remember one day it will be us, or our relatives that need these services.
Something radical needs to be done about financing these services.  How about a weeekly non-profit lottery draw with all the money going into elderly care.  Now that is a lottery ticket I would buy!

…and the worst of it is that most of the steam being let off is, grammatically, poorly constructed, badly spelled and virtually unpunctuated which makes the writers appear severely under-educated. I strongly recommend everyone install Google Chrome which has an ‘always on’ spell checker as that might, at least, correct some of the worst spelling errors.  What to do about the rest I can’t begin to guess.  Start teaching English in school, maybe?
You might have meant to write “…nothing except the satisfaction of…..”

Absolutely…….the sight of a hundred pound girl at the end of a lead supposedly restraining a Presa Canario is anything but funny.  But let’s not forget it’s not always the ‘dangerous’ breeds that attack. West Highland White terriers (my own personal favourite dog) have been known to bite the faces of children with horrendous scarring resulting and even a Chihuahua is recorded as having bitten the finger off a baby..  Any dog will bite given the right (or wrong) circumstances and in North America statistics prove that half of all children have been bitten to a greater or lesser degree by the time they reach age 12.  I imagine the case in the UK is not much different.  Is that a statistic with which we should be content?

Say NO to animal tested cosmetics in Europe. After years of campaigning, a full ban on the sale of animal tested cosmetics is due to come into force in 2013 (the majority of products currently on sale in Europe are not free from animal testing). The European Commission looks likely to delay this promised ban by up to ten more years. This issue has been dragged out for so long that it has fallen off the radar – most people assume that animal testing for cosmetics and personal care products is a thing of the past. It isn’t. The European Coalition to End Animal Experiments has been running this campaign to drum up support for ensuring the 2013 ban is not delayed http://nocruelcosmetics.org but it really needs a helping hand to get its message out to as many people as possible and to show the European Commission that there is no public support for continued cruel and unnecessary testing on animals.

Hiya,

I would like 38 Degrees to campaign to get councils to fulfill their obligations regarding the provision of allotments. If more people were enabled to grow at least a proportion of their own fresh produce, it would not only create more food resilience, but it would cut carbon emissions as well. Local food = less food miles + less refrigeration + less CO2. Thanks and good luck!

I agree entirely but with the proviso that the living wage be applied to everyone not just to the needy.  Just think of all the spare money we would have for really useful things like decent education, good roads, real health care, decent housing for everyone, if the living wage was applied right across the board.  Of course that would mean the living wage would have to be pretty hefty to satisfy all those greedy sods who are already taking out of the pot far, far more than their fair share. How does £50,000 a year for each adult sound – not quite enough – a bit too much?  I think I could manage on that………and if I could why couldn’t everyone?  Greed…….that’s really the only thing we need to campaign against. If we ever manage to rid ourselves of the greedy, everything else would pretty much fall neatly into place.

The influence of lobbyists (from Tesco to the banking sector to privatising the NHS) is the singular most undemocratic aspect of politics in the UK. We vote in a government they then do exactly what the private sector tell them to do. I suggest much stronger controls on companies such as Innisfree, Serco and Capita and the banning of PFI which, as you can see below, is an outright con.

David Metter Head of Innisfree, “…employs just 14 people – but he owns or co-owns 28 NHS hospitals, 269
schools, the Whitehall HQ of the Ministry of Defence, a Scottish motorway
and a Welsh jail. Under the PFI, Innisfree and other private investors build and operate such
facilities, then effectively rent them to the state – at a substantial
premium. The Daily Telegraph disclosed this week (Jan 2011) that for an NHS hospital in
Bromley which cost £118 million to build, taxpayers will end up paying 10
times as much – £1.2 billion – to the PFI owners.”
From the Times
Jan 2011
And his salary, £8.6 million. Let’s put a massive spanner in the works and insist no more PFI contracts.

The next target has to be controlling the power of wealth.  Robber barons were brought into line 1000 years ago, the wealth of the church 500 years ago, and now we have to face down big corporations including banks.

How about putting pressure on the UK government to lead the international movement to save the Amazon rainforest. The Ecuadorian government have offered to leave the oil that lies in the Ecuadorian rainforest in the ground for a one-off payment of $36 billion (less than they would make from oil exploration but enough to justify leaving the oil where it is). So far international governments have been slow to come forward but time is running out and the world needs to act now. Follow this link for more information:

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/555831/ecuador_offers_to_leave_rainforest_oil_in_the_ground_for_36_billion.html

What do you mean – will decline?  It already has…….while the libraries are still open.  Do you imagine lads and ladettes read?  What you need to worry about is the level of education being offered to today’s children and the fact that most of them go home to empty houses after school ends for the day.  

Hi, great work – so relieved that together everyone stopped
the cow factories. Please could you do a campaign to get everyone to purchase
organic dairy products as organic dairy produce is made from milk from cows
that graze freely on grass as nature intended. Non-organic dairy produce is
from cows who are fed meat and hormones, who are overmilked leaving them in
pain and who are mercilessly separated from their newborn calves and kept in
small spaces. By making everyone aware of the cruelty of non-organic milk,
there will be greater demand for the organic dairy produce and this is turn
will make future proposals on cow factories less attractive for greedy
businessmen. Organic milk has huge health benefits also for us and our children
in contrast to non-organic dairy.

Thank you for considering this.

Mrs Sejal Patel

There is a solution to this problem that is so simple, it’s a wonder it hasn’t dawned on everyone long ago.  To put it bluntly but I hope not too cheekily – keep your peckers in your pants! 
 My family has practised one child per person for over half a century (that’s two children per couple) and we are currently at a -3 level of population increase……in other words we haven’t added to the exponential growth of the human population in the last sixty years; we have in actual fact reduced it.  What this means is that, given the number of houses presently in existence, we will not require any new ones to be built and neither would any of the rest of you if you’d had the sense to do what we have done – voluntarily.  
Some problems the human race faces are self-inflicted. The self-styled ecological experts who keep telling us the population increase should not be a concern have, almost to a man, more than two children.  No wonder they want you to believe we will be able to feed 56 billion people in the foreseeable future – with what exploding watermelons and E.coli infected salad stuffs?
  Keeping population numbers going in reverse is likely to be the only thing that will save us from eventual self-destruction.

England needs its own parliament. It is grossly unfair that it remains the only home nation without democratic representation

Something which is increasing annoying me (and i imagine many others)- the increased use of non geographical phone numbers (0870 etc) and the various phone companies charging excessive amounts for using these. Its about time offcom or whoever forced phone companies to either charge these at local rate or include them as part of monthly tariff minutes like 01 ans 02 prefix numbers.

Wouldn’t it be a good idea if, whenever anyone was proposing to spend taxpayers’ money like that, a half a dozen taxpayers from various levels of society, at random, were invited to do a tour of the property and reach a consensus on what really needed to be done.  It’s a pretty fair bet the rich would find cosmetic things that ‘needed’ doing and the less well off would see nothing wrong with the place at all.  
But we won’t hold our breath waiting for that to be implemented…..welcome to the New Dark Ages.

I totally agree with Mrs Patel, organic milk is so much heathly for both us and the cows. I buy Yeo Valley milk because they treat their cows with homeopathy and not drugs. The increase in antibiotics given to cows has sent alarm bells ringing about non organic milk possibly having MRSA in it. 

Dear 38 Degrees,
 
Leaders of the 9 nuclear states are putting the survival of our species at risk in order to boost their egos and gain (as they see it) status on the world stage.
This is the greatest threat to our species since, with nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert at all times, Armageddon can be initiated at any juncture.
 
We must use every means at our disposal to inform the public about what is going on.
This is a taboo topic for politicians, the establishment and the media.
We need to be aware that the topics which most worry citizens are not necessarily the most threatening since information is repressed.
 
With best wishes,
 
Jim McCluskey Bsc, MICE. MIStructE, MIHT, ALI
.(Author of ‘The Nuclear Threat),
3 St Margarets Road,
Twickenham,
Middx. TW1 2LN.
Tel:  020 8892 5704

Dear 38 Degrees,
 
Leaders of the 9 nuclear states are putting the survival of our species at risk in order to boost their egos and gain (as they see it) status on the world stage.
This is the greatest threat to our species since, with nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert at all times, Armageddon can be initiated at any juncture.
 
We must use every means at our disposal to inform the public about what is going on.
This is a taboo topic for politicians, the establishment and the media.
We need to be aware that the topics which most worry citizens are not necessarily the most threatening since information is repressed.
 
With best wishes,
 
Jim McCluskey Bsc, MICE. MIStructE, MIHT, ALI
.(Author of ‘The Nuclear Threat),
3 St Margarets Road,
Twickenham,
Middx. TW1 2LN.
Tel:  020 8892 5704

I completely agree with Rebecca, we should start a campaign to support either this (if its possible) or something similar.  We are on a crash and burn pathway to irreversible damage and many, many problems due to global warming, pollution etc.  I think very few people actually do anything about Environmental issues, partly through ignorance and partly through ‘what can I do as just one person/ why should I do anything now when it isn’t affecting me’ type attitudes.  Please start a campaign to support something to do with reducing carbon footprints or helping conserve our habitats.  Thank you!

We have been told that using modern technology and science we will be able to feed the exponentially increasing global population no matter how vast it becomes yet last month we had the interesting spectacle of Chinese farmers standing by their fields watching their scientifically tweaked market-ready watermelons bursting while still on the vines (not a lot of people fed from that lot) and this month we have a new strain of E.coli poisoning salad stuffs….which, the most interesting point, wouldn’t be cooked in the normal course of dietary use. 

I don’t think we’re half as clever as we pretend to be but zero population growth would definitely be a step in the right direction for any number of sensible reasons.
Do please remember that some of the self-styled ‘experts’ on this subject have more than two children – David Suzuki has five, Al Gore has four and Chris Patten has three.  It is not in their interest to admit they are part of the problem and lose the credulity of their followers and the substantial incomes generated by personal appearances and books so they are obliged to pretend that 14 billion, 28 billion, 56 billion or 112 billion people will not be a problem. What surprises me is that they seem unconcerned about what life will be like for their hordes of grand-children and great-grand-children.  I worry about what it will be like for my one grand-daughter. 

I recently heard that land owners are paid £5000 per unit per annum for wind turbines sited on their land.  One such person was unable to have “his” electricity fed into the National Grid because on that occasion the Grid was already oversupplied.  Apparently he was compensated to the tune of about £900,000 pounds.  If we count all the industrial processes and techniques of acquiring the materials to make the turbines, the forming of roads to access and create the bases required and all the pollution involved, then add the expense of ”rents” for each turbine with potential compensatory costs, to say nothing of the blighting of the landscapes these monstrosities occupy around our small and beautiful country, is it not time these intermittently operating machines were scaled down and phased out?  If they are seen to be indispensable should they not be placed out at sea where they will enjoy more consistent wind direction and strength and perhaps become more efficient?

Perhaps we should be campaigning for more efficient power generation – maybe tidal power.

Dave M.

I sincerely hope this is taken up as a major campaign.  My son has cerebral palsy and I am his full-time carer and have developed a serious heart condition.  Like so many others my son and I want to demonstrate to make our voices heard but we are unable to afford to travel to demonstrations.  We are also frightened of coming to harm at the hands of the police.   The cuts to services and benefits are terrifying, please help us to have a voice.  Please help to protect the most vulnerable in society, we are desperate, thank you. 

…and if you want to be looked up to, first you produce a literate-seeming population or, at the very least, produce a population that cares whether or not it appears literate.

 The BBC is a single entity so you should write…”….the BBC to clean up its image……it thinks it is OK to use………The BBC lets us down……..”  

Welcome to the New Dark Ages.

In any truly civilized country, all post-secondary education would be free – but based entirely, and with no exceptions, on ability and merit only.  Universities are crammed to the rafters with people who should  be at technical colleges or out to work doing something useful instead of occupying seats that should be available for the brightest and best.  Every time a bright student misses out on a university place, society as a whole loses.  

Here’s the rest of my NHS email vote. (I hit enter in error and the form was submitted half finished, sorry about that.)

IDEAS
1. Use a slogan, e.g. ‘Don’t let the coalition kill the NHS’ or ‘Competition will tear the NHS apart’.

2. Have a mascot such as a doll (representing an NHS patient) being pulled limb from limb by competing parts of the NHS. That would work with the second slogan above.

3. Get more tv coverage by devising a more visual campaign. e.g. a person on a stretcher delivering the petition. (That might backfire by looking too staged but you get the idea.)

TO DO NEXT
Focus solely on the NHS until it’s saved then move on to cleaning up politics. The other issues you’re campaigning on are important but the NHS is vital to everyone and it needs all our energy right now.

Do as many of the suggested ideas as you can. Most important is to keep the issue in the public eye so the more tv-friendly you can make everything the better.

The only area NOT to focus on is ‘cherry-picking’ as it risks the coalition reassuring the public that that won’t happen and then proceeding pretty much as planned.

Do focus on ‘competition’ and how dangerous it is.

Happy to help with:
Marketing, ideas, leaflet production, writing, analysing MPs’ stances.
Go to candlelit vigil. Help organise 64th birthday party. Donate.

You’re doing a fantastic job BTW!

Please can you run a campaign to stop the drilling of a third platform at Sakhalin Island which will adversely affect gray whales.  Or a  campagn encouraging Russia to stop the illegal logging of mixed pine forests which is decimating the animal population.Only 38 amur leopards now exist in the wild and two thirds of the forest has been chopped down in the last 50 years      

Little children used to be told – several thousand times before they started school – not to do this or that thing or to do this or that thing.  When children are being raised largely by people who have no vested interest in their future, those ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ aren’t done, so you now have generations of people who just chuck their rubbish on the ground because no-one’s told them, over and over and over again, not to. If children aren’t raised by responsible adults who have a real interest in how they turn out, what you end up with is yahoos, vandals and litter-bugs.  
You either change the way you do things which is make sure men earn enough money to have their wives stay at home to raise decent citizens, or you learn to live with the rubbish.  Simple choice…..

It would be nice to support you on this but, as a Canadian of British origin, I have no idea what a CRB is. I’m fairly certain it’s not any of these…..California Research Bureau, Columbia River Basin, Centrale Raad voor het Bedrifjsleven or Country Radio Broadcasters.  Might it be Contract Review Board of Community Resource Board? Either of those seems possible.

The first thing a good teacher should assume is that ‘assuming’ knowledge in everyone else just because one has it oneself is a mistake and the second thing she should learn is that the foolish proliferation of acronym use in today’s world is akin to the Tower of Babel.  Unless we all spend our time learning all of the acronyms currently in use, in which case nothing will ever get done, it is necessary for everyone to return to spelling things out in full…….or have we all become so chronically lazy that a few extra keystrokes are beyond us?   

It is important to avoid acronyms when one is speaking to a wide audience and, especially, if one wants help from that audience. 

As someone who lives in the USA, where we have no NHS, it amazes (and, honestly, repulses) me to watch a handful of loud politicians dismantle your health service.  By this I most especially mean the recent attempts to control the public’s right to choose when it comes to medical treatments.  How is it that a very few people arguing under the banner of Bad Science can decide for themselves whether or not individuals should be allowed to choose homeopathic and other forms of “alternative” treatments?  

It seems to me that, in each of our lives, we have three huge areas of choice:  politics, religion and healthcare.  No one in any free government should be able to dictate choice when it comes to any of those three.

Changes in health care laws in the UK concern me.  Changes in the EU concerning herbal treatments and medical supplements concern me.  Changes in Canadian health laws concern me.  And proposed changes here in the USA concern me most of all.

How I would like to see an international campaign to preserve freedom of choice when it comes to medical modalities.  And how I would like to see politicians take their hands of my medical care!

Your organization’s great.  Whatever project you choose next, I know you will go into it full throttle.

Regards,

Vinton McCabe

Sir David has two children;  David Suzuki on the other hand has five, Al Gore has four and Chris Patten has three.  Sir David believes over-population is a serious problem – he has demonstrated, by his restrained breeding, how to curtail it.  Two children per couple results in zero population growth.   The other three so-called ‘experts’ on global problems prefer not to believe that over-population is a problem…..well, they wouldn’t would they?  Who do you think I trust?  
We’re presently expanding exponentially – how does 112 billion sound to you?  Not funny! 

UK bank run to address banker’s bonuses for banks bailed out/owned by us. As Mervyn King says, the banks have gotten away pretty much scot-free and area already going back to old attitudes

Surely Formula One deserves attention!  Stunned by the Bahrain decision, and by the fact that so few people have any idea about what is happening there.