Writers who are not white men have contributed hugely to our understanding and appreciation of poetry, and it is unforgivable and unrepresentative to exclude them from a national celebration of poetry. Women and people of colour have been consistently ignored, sidelined and poorly treated in academic and arts circles, often not being taken as seriously as white men doing the same things as us to a similar or even lower standard. As TV licence fee payers, we have a right to be fairly represented and to see ourselves - and a true reflection of the arts world - in the programming we pay for.

We're going to see Iain Duncan Smith next month and we want to take this petition with us with as many names as possible. You may not get why we're so wound up about it. Let me share a few stories (all real, local people). Before I do, lets just remember what tax credits are for. They are contributions from the government towards the cost of ofsted registered childcare so that work is possible. Many users of tax credits are single parents but many are also in couples. They are for people for whom work would not be possible without assistance towards childcare (which by the way has to be paid one month in arrears and is subject to fines for late payment). One woman was told that her tax credits would stop because her daughter doesn't exist. The fact that said daughter was crying in the background whilst her stressed and bewildered mother was trying to sort it out whilst wondering how she was going to pay for childcare was irrelevant. Another woman was told that her tax credits would be cut to £85 a month (a contribution towards an £800 childcare bill for 2 children representing well over half of the whole family's take home pay.)This was because concentrix concluded that a previous childcare provider had not been ofsted registered and therefore this lady was in debt to them for falsely claiming help towards childcare that year. Of course the provider had been ofsted registered, we may never know what information concentrix used to reach their conclusion but our member had to shoulder the full responsibility of proving her case, all the while on reduced tax credits and even had to arrange a meeting with her employer to explain that work would not be feasible if she couldn't prove her case. The member is now vindicated but the stress she was wrongly put under was extremely serious and unnecessary. Another member was subject to a thorough investigation of her circumstances after which concentrix reached the bizarre conclusion that her total childcare costs for 2 children were £4 a week....totally validates any claim that the government and their agencies are out of touch with real life...if such a cheap provider exists I want their details! I could go on....case after case, story after story - already vulnerable people being made to feel desperate, hopeless and quite frankly criminalised. Please, if you agree with us, sign and share to say this is not OK. Perhaps there's a case to be made for people to be investigated as benefit fraud happens - but the way it is being done is unnecessarily negatively impacting people who could do without it!

Many elderly and disabled people are struggling to exist on the money they receive in pensions or allowances, they can ill afford the astronomical cost of their medication. Young people should be aware of the fact that British pensions are the third lowest in the EEU. Educating our young people is essential for the future of mankind and we should encourage them, not hang a millstone round their necks in the form of student loans. Lastly, we have an ever increasing number of elderly, sick and disabled people who require medical care. Many of these people come from a generation who suffered through the horrors of the second world war and then worked hard to rebuild this. great country of ours and who saved and invested for their retirement. Their reward for this is to be forced to spend those savings to pay for care, which they thought would be payed for by the National Insurance contributions they made during their working lives. It,s important that people are aware of what is happening, the government should be stopped from stealing their money and made to give these people some decent Quality of Life.

The Welsh city of Cardiff plays host to several rounds of the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and the city has chosen to steal from fans that have travelled across the globe to enjoy the best of sports in it's country of origin by increasing the price of hotel rooms on those dates by over 1000%. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/hotels/11854221/Hotel-rates-up-to-1095-per-cent-higher-for-Rugby-World-Cup.html http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/rugby-world-cup-2015-hotel-10024469 http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/cardiff-hotels-cost-average-of-1-400-for-rwc-quarters-1.2347141 This is price gouging at it's worse and should not go unpunished, fans unable to pay could see their match day ruined by this scurrilous behaviour and the Welsh forever tarnished by this crime against supporters. We say Wales Cardiff should never again play host to a fixture that it has no reason to, let them thieve form their own!!! Signed, Rugby Supporters of the World

http://www.itv.com/news/2015-09-08/badly-burned-toddler-exposes-horror-refugees-are-fleeing/

Because we are fellow human beings, that's all. This is something we can really help with. We have a moral duty, and its time we did something human for our fellow humans. Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

Aylan, the toddler who drowned fleeing Syria, was just three years old. His town was under attack by Isis. His five year old brother and his mum also died trying to reach safety. Yet our prime minister said ‘we won't take any more refugees’. He thinks that most of us don't care. But 38 Degrees members do care. We don't want Britain to be the kind of country that turns its back as people drown in their desperation to flee places like Syria. So let's stand up for Britain's long tradition of helping refugees fleeing war. Let's show the Prime Minister that we, the people of the UK, are proud to do our part and provide refuge to people in their hour of need. Please sign and share, or start your own petition for your town or city here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/refugees-welcome

The people of Dundee are deeply disturbed by the images of huge numbers of refugees fleeing conflicts and want to do everything we can to help these people. Scotland has a history of offering shelter to people displaced by war and persecution: in the past Dundee welcomed refugees after WWII as well as Basques, Ugandan Asians, Chileans and Syrian Kurds. These people and their families became part of our city and have made a great contribution to Dundee: socially, culturally and economically. We the people of Dundee want to keep this tradition of offering safety and shelter to those in desperate need. The scale of the humanitarian crisis at the moment is vast yet the response from many has been negative or even hostile. As Dundonians, we want to tell the people who have lost so much that they are welcome in our homes, in our streets and our communities – as we would undoubtedly be welcomed by them if we ever need their help. Dundee has been in the news recently for being the “coolest little city”. But we want Dundee to be known as the kindest little city.

Fair business practice

As it stands, only the father's name and 'rank or profession' is needed on a marriage certificate. We believe this is archaic; a father's name and profession was important when marriage was seen as the passing of a possession (the woman) from one man (the father) to another (the husband). This is no longer the case. If the information is necessary for public record, then the mother's name and profession should be included too. Mothers play as vital a part in their children's upbringing as men do (and sometimes more...) and this should be reflected in modern marriage certificates. Ideally a person would be able to include information for only one parent if they so wish. Having to include a parent with whom one does not have a good relationship on something as significant as a marriage certificate can be unnecessarily upsetting.

It is important because the existing practice is unfair, dishonest and discriminatory all of which are un-British. It often results in pensioners who have gone to live with their families in countries like Canada or Australia having to sponge on their children or return to a lonely life in the UK where, of course, they become a burden on the NHS. The exclusion of British pensioners in most countries from receiving their rightful pension is irrational. Pension freezing means that after twenty years a pensioner is getting less than half of his or her entitlement. Our Government claims to be fair and honest but it seems to be unfair and dishonest. If we all pay the same compulsory contributions we should all get the same pension.

Disabled customers should not have to justify their disability to bored customer care staff in a supermarket. Having to produce proof of a disability (as the blue badge will have been left on display in their vehicle) is undignified and demeaning. Having to divulge sensitive and personal information in a public area of a supermarket is unfair and unjust. Forcing customers to struggle back through a shop to the customer care desk in order to avoid being fined when they are wheelchair bound, struggle to walk or are in pain is a disgraceful way to treat a customer. Refusing to accept the validity of a blue badge becuase they are not on a supermarkets database is highly unfair and quite possibly illegal.