The welfare benefits system has historically been riddled with problems, but more so over recent years. How many more people need to suffer before we realise that it is an unjust, complicated system which punishes the most vulnerable in society, and that the tough sanctions contribute to the escalation of mental and physical health problems, and ultimately to death in the most severe cases? A universal basic income would alleviate these issues, and could have the added bonus of providing a solid foundation on which more people might be financially able to start up their own creative industries. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/aug/10/our-generations-nhs-support-grows-for-universal-basic-income?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/03/universal-basic-income-coronavirus-shocks?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

We are petitioning Ms. Griffiths to request that she reinstate the BME Network that she inherited when she was appointed CEO of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) NHS Trust on 1 April 2017. As Ms. Griffiths is aware the BME Network was launched on 24 September 2004 and over the years the Network has challenged the institutional racism that exists at the Trust, which has adversely impacted the lives of BME staff and BME patients. In 2007 the then Chief Executive Mr Duncan Selbie publicly admitted that the Trust was institutionally racist after losing an Employment Tribunal claim for racial discrimination. As a result, the Trust agreed to work in partnership with the BME Network to address these issues and this gave rise to the joint development of a Race Equality Engagement Strategy which was being implemented at the time of Ms. Griffiths appointment. When the Network first met with Ms. Griffiths, she refused to accept that institutional racism was an issue at BSUH. She then preceded to unfairly dismiss three senior BME colleagues who were instrumental in providing leadership to the Network; we understand that their Employment Tribunal claims are still outstanding. Ms. Griffiths also made it very clear to us, as the remaining BME employees, that she would no longer recognise the BME Network that exists unless we were prepared to do exactly as she demanded. Given we were established as an independent Network and given Ms. Griffiths demands were unreasonable, we informed her that we were unable to agree to her demands and as such she severed all links with the BME Network that she inherited. That said, Ms. Griffiths will be aware of the Public Health England report published in June 2020 which accepts that institutional racism is a longstanding problem within the NHS and in fact was a contributing factor regarding the disproportionate death of BME staff and patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. It is against this backdrop that we the current BME employees of BSUH are now calling for Ms. Griffiths to immediately reinstate the BME Network she inherited on your appointment as CEO of BSUH in 2017. In addition, we are also asking for the following: (i) Reinstatement of the Memorandum of Understanding between the BME Network and the Trust. (ii) The Trust Board to honour the commitment of Ms. Griffiths predecessors to establish a BME Patient Association. (iii) The implementation of an agreed race equality strategy to address the discriminatory practices that exist. (iv) Support for the BME Network (for example funding, protected time etc)

The people who has also been through covid. Sre bring left out.

It goes to show that institutional racism is alive and well, yes these people have unfortunately been involved in criminal actions but they have already served their prison terms for their crimes there is no real reason to send these people back to countries they have never been to and that they have no actual connection other than their family origins which they unfortunately lost as they were orphaned whilst in the UK, they should have had British citizenship on birth tbh or at least sorted out by care system

This will be an annual reminder of those who suffered and died, who were cruelly exploited, to allow the British too grow. The impact of this reverberates still and we should make time to reflect on the impact of slavery and what can be done to stamp it out in the world today.

If Captain Tom was knighted for his family's effort to raise money for charity then Marcus Rashford should receive the same honour. He has been instrumental in 1.3 million school children receiving free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays. [1] This work should be recognised. [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53065806

We urge a huge expansion of the Housing First solution that has proved successful in Finland to house people. This is a once in a generation opportunity to tackle the shame of rough sleeping in the 6th richest country in the world. We call on the government to provide to additional resources for support needs and for additional affordable housing to achieve this and we call on the council to work creatively with government, business and community to use the resources available to ensure offers of long term accommodation to all the rough sleepers currently in hotel and student accommodation” We the undersigned welcome that councils have offered accommodation to all rough sleepers (without conditions) in the pandemic and further welcome the commitment of the Housing committees on preventing a return to the streets and to explore ways of continuing the unconditional offer of shelter for all rough sleepers that is currently available. Housing is a basic right

My 12 year old son mentioned this to me, where I thought it was a wonderful idea to put forward to replace a negative part of history, with a positive piece of history. He initially thought of Rosa Parks but we looked for British inspirational people.

Remove and take down the Statue of Nancy Astor in Plymouth. She was Anti-Catholic, Anti-Semitic and a Nazi sympathiser. Her statue remains to celebrate racism and slavery. It needs to be taken down and is featured on a 'Statue Hit-List' according to this post by the telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/06/09/protesters-draw-statues-hit-list-toppling-colston-memorial/ Nancy Astor was famous for being the first woman to take a seat in parliament, but she was not the first woman to have won a seat. Revolutionary suffragist, Constance Markievicz was elected to the House of Commons earlier in 1918, but the Irishwoman refused to take the oath to the crown. A further troubling aspect of Nancy's character was that her time was rife with bigotry, yet she stood out amongst bigots. Her are some of her quotes: Nancy Astor to MP Alan Graham in 1938: "Only a Jew like you would dare to be rude to me." To James McDonald in 1934 at a Jewish charity dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London: “Did I not after all believe there must be something in the Jews themselves that had bought them persecution throughout all the ages. Was it not therefore, in the final analysis, their responsibility?" Nancy also reportedly told an African-American church that they should be grateful for slavery because it had allowed them to be introduced to Christianity, while in Rhodesia she proudly told the white minority government leaders that she was the daughter of a slave owner." Please support this petition to support equality and promote the values we have today rather than the ignorance, bigotry and racism of the past. Thank you.

London is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. According to ‘Trust for London’, 41% of Londoners are from BAME backgrounds In 2020, London’s population is estimated at 9.3 million people. London is the most diverse area within the U.K. when it comes to religious beliefs with the highest percentage of people identifying as Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Jewish. LBC is a popular radio station with 2.78m listeners. This is their current presenter lineup: https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/

It would also be a useful in the education of school children throughout the country, as well as depicting Britains dark history within the slave trade and the factories and production of goods during the Industrial revolution and our colonial past. It can also educate the nation on how cultures have changed British food, tastes , music and fashion. It's about time there was a place that educated people about this.

The George Floyd case represents our silence to see, understand, and report historical forms of racial discrimination. It's important that after forty years of personally been physically violated in the prison, mental health, and sporting settings, and as a person diagnosed with schizophrenia, often kneed in the back, to empower others to speak out. The Government's Race Disparity Audit, (2017), and the BAME Covid-19 report, June (2020) shows institutional racism and health inequality with the increasing risk of death to black communities. The risk of either inappropriate constraint or through the current COVID-19 virus means BLACK LIVES MATTER. The period from the 1965 Race Relation Act to the Equality Act 2010 has not safeguarded against the new emergence of racism in British society. The lack of a lived experience of structural and interpersonal forms of racism has led to BAME children being three times more likely to be excluded from school, six times more likely to receive a custodian sentence, seventeen times more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness. Successive governments have failed to understand and have empathy with the real lived world of BAME communities. This call for change is motivated by the potential that the BAME community may not exist with the devastating impact of COVID-19 and the failure of the Government to act, respond and protect BAME communities over the last sixty years. A call for change through a Race Equality Minister will ensure that further generations of the BAME community will have the civil and human rights they deserve.