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Palace of Westminster Unsafe? Move Parliament!Parliament is currently considering spending at least two billion pounds on renovating the Houses of Parliament. The building is increasingly unsafe to use, with falling masonry, asbestos, fire hazards and many other dangers. Spending this amount of money to keep an out of date system hobbling on would be indefensible. This is the ideal opportunity to change not only the home of Parliament, but the way it works. The Government say they want to make the North of England an economic powerhouse: now is the opportunity to make a move in that direction. A new purpose built campus would be a start. A modern debating chamber - such as we have in Scotland, with a design to make it less confrontational - would be a start. Apart from the chamber, offices, committee rooms etc,. the campus should also include flatted apartments for MPs who have to travel. These would be furnished to a comfortable, but not luxurious, standard and would be free to use, so there would be less opportunity for the suspicion of fiddled expenses. This could be extended to including an on-campus dining system where a number of restaurants would be available. MPs would be given a daily allowance when staying on campus to attend committee meetings or plenary debates. These could be paid for by a customised debit card system. This would allow them to budget by dining in their apartments at times, or going out at others. The cost of security would be less, with all MPs under one roof whilst they were at "Northminster". The accommodation area of the campus would be secure and private for the safety and convenience of MPs and their staff: the debating chamber would be open to the public, as well as being visible on televsion as now. One big advantage for all of us, including MPs and their constituents, would be that the new system would be designed for video-conferencing and electronic communications generally. This would reduce the inconvenience and cost of MPs having to travel as frequently as they do now. Of course, there would be a need for occasional plenary sessions, but these could perhaps be reduced to one week in four or something similar. There would still be a need for a presence in London, for the meeting and greeting of foreign dignitaries etc., so Number Ten could continue to function as the Prime Minister's residence. There might also be a need for similar official residences for one or two senior figures in the Government, but apart from that MPs would live in their constituencies - at least we'd hope so - and use a mixture of new technology and visits to "Northminster" to carry out their duties. There are, of course, already plans afoot for a high speed rail link: this would enable MPs from the south of England to travel efficiently from their constituencies, as required, and would mean MPs from Midland, North of England or Scottish constituencies had shorter distances to travel. I firmly believe that this would a) help the general population to see they were getting value and relevance from their MPs, b) bring an outdated and much-lampooned mediaeval system of government into the twenty-first century and c) bring economic benefits to an area which apparently feels left behind in modern Britain.75 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Doug Morrison
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Give up on "every drop" of UK oilThe Chancellor has pledged to extract "every drop" of oil from the North Sea. If all countries in the world do this, we will head for runaway climate change of well over two degrees. Oil resources are tempting. But leadership at home and abroad means all countries - particularly rich ones that have built their economies on a century of fossil fuel use - have to start making big choices. The Chancellor has announced "radical" and "significant' cuts to the tax rate for North Sea oil and gas companies. But the rate of tax wasn't high enough in the first place: fossil fuels cause climate change and air pollution, yet companies don't pay anywhere near the full costs of the damage these cause. The Chancellor should increase, not decrease, taxes on oil and gas, alongside throwing all of his financial and economic levers at building a world-leading secure, sustainable and clean energy system as a matter of urgency.236 of 300 SignaturesCreated by David Powell
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TTIP - campaign for a FULL debate in Parliament of the entire agreementThe multinationals and the elites et al are determined that this deal be done in secret and away from the spotlight - and we all know why. Bringing things into the open and under the full glare of publicity makes them justify why it is such a good deal as they claim (we all know it isn't) and it is the one thing that will kill this thing for good. That is why doing something like this is the one thing they hate and fear more than anything else - and why it is the best tactic. a few hundred signatures to start should do it, then more if possible. PLEASE make this a major 38 degrees sponsored campaign - not just one from me - co-opt/steal this idea and use it! publicity like this will kill TTIP for good - ALL parts of it.153 of 200 SignaturesCreated by mark fitzgibbon
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Pension parity for British pensioners living abroadIn many countries including the USA and Spain British pensioners enjoy annual increments to their pensions just as their counterparts in the UK. But if you are unlucky enough to live in a number of countries including Australia, Canada or Indonesia, your pension is frozen for life. A recent example in the press highlighted the plight of two sisters. They both retired in 1982 on the then full pension of GBP 28.50 a week. One now lives in the UK and enjoys a fully indexed pension of GBP 113.10 per week. The other sister went to Canada and receives the same GBP 28.50 a week that she received in 1982. There are many war veterans living overseas who are similarly suffering. They paid their contributions in full during their working lives and they fought for their country. But who is getting the benefits they earned now? Many politicians have promised their support in the past but when it comes to the crunch the victims of this injustice are out of sight and out of mind. The pensioners are not asking for charity; they are simply asking to be treated fairly and given the pensions that they paid for. Had they paid the contributions to a commercial institution and been similarly treated that company would no doubt be in serious trouble. But the government is above the law and continues to be more concerned about winning votes than righting a wrong that has been perpetuated by successive governments. The wicked irony is that the cost of rectifying the wrong would be a fraction of the billions they are now collecting in fines from the crimes committed by banks. Another irony is that the people who are suffering constitute no burden to the state while they are living overseas. But should they be forced through sheer poverty to return to the UK not only would their pensions be restored in full but they would have access to all the state benefits and could become a much greater burden on the government. It all defies logic but unless the public recognizes the unfairness and shouts loudly enough for MP's to hear, the 550,000 pensioners will gradually grow weaker and fade away. Does anybody care?235 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Colin Bloodworth
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Rail Fares That Make SenseWe have a bewildering number of train tickets available, which can sometimes mean that for a long journey it is cheaper to buy 2 single fare tickets rather than one single fare ticket. Also, a return ticket can be cheaper than a single. It can even be cheaper to buy a ticket from one train company's ticket machine than from another train company's machine. Travelling to London Victoria can be cheaper than travelling to Clapham Junction (a shorter distance for me). Looking at a ticket machine screen can make your head spin, when all you want to do is get from A to B and be charged for the distance travelled. Legislation is needed to impose logic and fairness.79 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Edward Anderson
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Devolve Benefits To ScotlandThe current direction of welfare spending and procedures is not in-line with the will of the Scottish people and the direction in which we want to take. With 100,000 disabled persons standing to lose their lifeline in coming months it is imperative that the Scottish Parliament is able to make decisions on their welfare made based on the needs of the people of Scotland.318 of 400 SignaturesCreated by Martin Keatings
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Save The St Agnes Bank / Cash MachineThe St Agnes post office has recently closed, our bus service is being significantly reduced and now Barclays (the only bank and cash machine in the village) is closing. This is a vital resource for the community and its closing will have devastating social and economic impacts on the village. We have a large elderly population in the village, many of whom don’t use credit / visa cards. We are blessed to have some great independent shops in the village - a baker, news agent, small cafes, two green grocers and two butchers. Some of whom accept cards, some don't. With no cash machine in the village how will people use these great independent shops. Where will the young people get their bus fare each morning to get to college? Yes, there are shops that offers cash back, but you have to spend £ 5 to get cash back . It's hardly fair that you have to spend your money, to get your money. Like many Cornish villages, tourism is our biggest business now the tourists won’t be able to get any cash to spend when they are here. Great. Less services for residents and tourists - a social and economic disaster for us.2,330 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Sasha Dobrota
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Jail the Fraudulent BankersBecause these people affect our every day life and by their cheating and gambling256 of 300 SignaturesCreated by John Hockaday
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Free Prescriptions for Cystic FibrosisCystic Fibrosis is a condition that affects over 10,000 people in the UK, patients consume a large amount of Antibiotics over their shortened lifespans. Cystic Fibrosis is only missing from the "exempt from prescription charges" list because when the list was written, no one over the age of 18 was alive with the condition. A shocking justification for harvesting cash of patients who have no control over the prescriptions they are issued. It is unfair that a lot of less serious conditions get all prescriptions for free, while CF sufferers cannot get vital drugs without a cost.37,931 of 40,000 SignaturesCreated by Thomas Bull
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Establish a Scottish Wealth Fund for ScotlandSuch a fund ensures that any accrued money would not be frittered away on day to day expenditure. It would be built up over time, as in Norway. Any interest would be used as a resource to bolster schools, road infrastructure, poverty initiatives, social projects, etc.105 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Alan Dapre
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A Fair Deal for the Rural Communities of the UK1. Rural areas are liable to decline if their infrastructure and services – public transport, education, GP practices, cottage hospitals, street lighting, etc – are not effectively funded and supported. Unless these are of a good standard and accessibility, businesses will not be established in rural areas, those already there will be unable to attract workers, and this will run counter to the government’s own policy (see Truss, E., 2014, “Stimulating Economic Growth in Rural Areas”, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). 2. Those who live in rural areas are entitled to a reasonable standard of services and national infrastructure. The cuts in grant to local authorities have made it impossible for rural counties to maintain services and infrastructure at a level anywhere near comparable to that provided in metropolitan areas. 3. Some government policies have been implemented without consideration for the impact on rural areas – e.g. the raising of the school/training leaving age to 18, requiring all young people to reach centres of population on a daily basis, while councils are forced to remove subsidy for buses that could get them there and no government provision has been made for this. Thanks to LM and AB281 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Alix Martin
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ONS to start showing the correct number of people unemployedWe need to know the correct statistics for unemployment, so that the people of the UK know the correct amount of people who truly are unemployed!16 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Simon Ball
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