A few weeks ago 38 Degrees members voted in their thousands for us to work together to push the government to do more to crack down on tax dodgers.

But in the Comprehensive Spending Review, George Osborne failed to do this. He announced lots of cuts but no real new plans to deal with tax dodging. In fact, the cuts included cuts to tax inspectors who should be tackling tax dodging.

Meanwhile it has been revealed in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary, also reported in the Daily Mail and The Telegraph, that three cabinet ministers including Osborne use loopholes to avoid paying tax. Many 38 Degrees members have asked: how we can trust our Chancellor to be doing all he can to close tax loopholes, when he’s profiting from the loopholes staying open?

Our campaign against tax dodging is likely to be a long one. We are going to have to keep the pressure on for some time to turn the tide on the government’s relaxed attitude to tax avoidance. Thousands of 38 Degrees Members emailed their MP to tell them that the Treasury should crackdown. Hundreds have suggested their ideas for our own tax cheats advert campaign spoofing the government’s own benefit cheats adverts. And our petition telling George Osborne it’s time he started paying his own tax is growing really fast.

Campaigning against tax dodging is not going to be an easy win, but we definitely can’t rely on the politicians to do it without us. People power is our best bet for winning this campaign.

38 Degrees volunteers Eleanor and Rob visited the Treasury today and handed in the Crack Down On Tax Cheats petition.

Over 13,000 members signed the petition and now your signatures and comments are sitting on George Osborne’s desk. We’re calling on him to protect the resources of the men and women who are trying to catch the super-rich bankers and billionaires that cost us £42 billion in lost tax.

Thousands of 38 Degrees members discussed and voted on what we should do about the cuts. Together we chose to campaign on super-rich tax dodgers who have avoided paying billions.

Now, when Osborne is finishing making his final decisions about the Comprehensive Spending Review, he and his team will know about our campaign and that we won’t stand for him making life easier for rich tax dodgers.

How can we influence George Osborne and the rest of the government?

In October, the government will be publishing plans to massively cut public spending. Many 38 Degrees members have been in touch expressing concern about the government’s plans and with ideas for ways in which we could work together to influence the debate.

38 Degrees has a huge impact because thousands of us work together. That includes deciding what we do together. What do you think we should do together as the new government prepares to slash spending? Please leave your suggestions and comments here.

Over the last few days, thousands of us have signed the petition asking George Osborne to stand firm on his commitment to raise Capital Gains Tax. At the same time, a huge number of us also emailed him asking directly for him to stick to his promises.

With just hours to go before the emergency budget, we’ve made sure that Osbourne knows how many people want him to stick to his promises. 38 Degrees volunteers went to the Treasury yesterday to drop off the petition, so that George Osborne knows just how many of us want Capital Gains Tax brought into line with income tax.

We’ll be keeping a watch to see what happens when the budget is annouced. In the meantime, click here to donate to our campaign against unfair spending cuts the government is planning: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/fight-unfair-cuts/

George Osborne

We’ve got just a few days to convince George Osborne not to go back on his plan to increase Capital Gains Tax, so that Britain’s wealthiest people don’t end up paying less tax than everyone else. Increasing the tax in line with income tax levels formed part of the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

But now it looks like the government is wavering under pressure from Conservative MPs and the right-wing media. Baroness Noakes, a Tory Peer, told the chancellor that a rise in Capital Gains Tax has “no popular support”. We’re working with One Society to build  petition with thousands of our names, to convince George Osborne that he’s wrong and give him the final push he needs to commit to the tax in his Emergency Budget. Sign the petition here http://www.38degrees.org.uk/capital-gains-tax

David Cameron has warned that Britain’s “whole way of life” will be disrupted for decades by “painful” cuts. Spending cuts are always worst for the poorest and most vulnerable people. But if the richest people continue to avoid paying a proper share of taxes, it’s a double injustice. Now is the right time to make sure that everyone shares the burden.

Click here to sign the petition, to help make our tax system fairer:  and ask George Osborne to stand firm on the promise to bring Capital Gains Tax in line with income tax.

The new government wants to make it easier for schools to become academies. Tell your MP to make sure that new rules don’t mean local communities have no voice when it comes to turning schools into academies

Academies work differently to other schools. They aren’t overseen by local councils and their sponsors can include big businesses, religious organisations, charities or universities, who get a say on which subjects are taught, and how. Sponsors also get everything the school owns, including its land and buildings. Academy governors aren’t elected and once a school becomes an Academy, there is no guaranteed way to go back.

These are big changes and the pupils, parents and teachers at a school should get a chance to have a say on whether their school decides to become an Academy. At the moment, the government is proposing new rules in the Academies Act, which would mean that governors at a school could make the decision without asking anyone else involved with the school. Current plans would mean the people whose lives will be most affected by their school changing into an academy wouldn’t have any way to make their voices heard.

Write to your MP in 2 minutes, telling them to support a better Academies Bill with proper consultation with the whole school community and ask them to sign the Early Day Motion.