• Give the Chagos islanders the right to return home!
    The Chagos archipelago is situated in the Indian Ocean, mid-way between India and Africa. Some 2,000 people lived on the archipelago, the majority on the largest island of Diego Garcia. Their ancestry on the islands went back to the 18th century. During the 1960s and 1970s British governments, both Labour and Tory, tricked and expelled the entire population of the Chagos, a British colonial dependency, so that Diego Garcia, the main island of their homeland, could be given to the United States as the site for a military base. This act of mass kidnapping by the British government was carried out in high secrecy, along with the conspiracy that preceded it. The last islander was deported in 1973. The 'deportation or forcible transfer of a population...a crime against humanity', is according to the words of Article 7 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. These displaced people still in Mauritius and the Seychelles continue to suffer in poverty to this day and continue to exist in sadness, longing to return to their homeland. Many have died in misery, living in the hope of going home. In 2002, travelling with their new British passports, many of the Chagossians began to arrive in Britain, to bring their campaign to London and to escape the poverty of Mauritius. All of them wanted to return to the Chagos Islands rather than be in England. It is estimated that more than 2,000 Chagossians now live on the margins of UK society mainly in the town of Crawley, with a smaller community in Manchester. In both places they struggle to reconstruct their lives. Meanwhile dozens of jobs on Diego Garcia are being advertised in the Philippines, including posts for electricians, cashiers, mechanics, stock clerks, janitors, welders, firefighters, engineers and massage therapists. There have been no reports of these jobs being advertised in Mauritius, the Seychelles or the UK, where most of the Chagossian community live. We can’t help but wonder why.they have not been given priority for these positions in their own land. Since being illegally evicted, very few Chagossians have been able to get jobs at the foreign base in their homeland despite many trying. The hope is that the islanders be allowed to return to their islands as soon as possible before more of them die in a British imposed exile, never to see their homeland again.
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    Created by Clency Lebrasse Picture
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    Created by Sarah Louise
  • Gender neutral toilets
    Why are they needed? Gender is more complex than a simple male/female binary. For trans or androgynous people the simple everyday activity of using the toilet may be stressful. If their physical appearance doesn’t fit gender norms they may be challenged when using gendered toilet facilities, which can be very distressing. Obliging someone to use a designated accessible toilet isn’t acceptable, since it is sends the message that they are not a ‘Genuine’ male or female. It is also best to leave accessible toilets available for use by people with disabilities, some of whom may have an unpredictable and urgent need to use the toilet. .
    67 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Alyson Malach
  • Stop the sale of dead sea products at St Enochs centre, Glasgow
    - The Scottish Government has joined in the world-wide condemnation of the “deep inhumanity” of the Israeli massacres and is calling for a ban on arms sales to Israel. - It’s a scandal that St Enoch Centre is hosting Israeli Dead Sea cosmetics outfit Obey Your Body to sell their goods, the proceeds of war crimes and the dispossession of Palestinians from their lands for exclusively Jewish settlement. - These goods are made from materials taken illegally from the occupied Palestinian Dead Sea area, a crime under international law. - Help us to stop these crimes. Let the Israeli stall people know that you oppose their activities and want them removed from Glasgow City Centre as they have been removed from Braehead and Silverburn centres and Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh
    263 of 300 Signatures
    Created by SPSC Glasgow
  • justice for chris spivey
    Freedom of speech! Chris Spivey is an independent journalist, with a website where he publishes articles based on his own research. Chrisspivey.org Since the summer of 2014, he has been a victim of ongoing police harassment, such as an illegal entry without a warrant and personal belongings being taken and is currently still on bail for dubious charges. There is also what appears to be a coordinated attempt by social services to intimidate Chris, by questioning his grandson's health and well being .
    2,560 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by d marshall
  • Get Facebook to review their inconsistent Community Standards
    In the light of recent events many ethnic minorities and religions are being targeted with vitriolic hate. People with differing sexual preferences are targets and there are more and more calls for violence against people who stand up for common decency standards. Comments such as "let them die because they will only grow up to be future terrorists" after the recent massacre of children in Pakistan are not seen to violate the current standards yet someone who has posted a photo breastfeeding their child is removed. Pages that posts, often incorrect, photographs targeting religions that then incite a whole raft of comments such as "drag the lorries over razor blades" in relation to a photo about illegal immigrants (which was actually refugees in a totally different part of the world), "maybe a sniper aimed at Downing Street/The White House will do the job" and "put them on a boat, tow them out to sea and let the Navy have target practise" are all acceptable according to Facebook's Community Standards yet a brave lady who tattooed her body to try and remove the taboo about a mastectomy isn't. A page that suggested that anyone who is gay should be ostracised, allowing boys to play with dolls will "turn them gay" and is "psychological abuse" is allowed to continue spreading hate. There are many more examples such as these but they don't violate the Community Standards! One photograph (whilst innocent enough) had the names of people opposed to the page in the comments with the suggestion that the page's likers "fight fire with fire - go get them" didn't initially break Facebook standards (until they were pushed to look beyond the photograph. Even then it had taken a week and the people listed had received hate mail and threatening, abusive comments from followers of these pages). I am asking Facebook to reconsider their community standards because I believe there will be more and more violence towards innocent people simply because they are part of a religion or their sexual preferences are different or they have a different point of view. To me this is totally unacceptable and needs to be looked into however a big company such as Faebook won't do anything about it unless enough people tell them it is unacceptable.
    1,277 of 2,000 Signatures
    Created by G Budding
  • Cymraeg ar ddeisebau Gymreig / Cymraeg on Welsh petitions
    Mae'r Gymraeg yn iaith swyddogol yma yng Nghymru, ac o bwysigrwydd mawr i'r rhai sy'n ei siarad. Pan mae'r pwnc trafod yn benodol i Gymru, mae'n gywilyddus i'n hiaith ni cael ei heithrio. Cymraeg is an official language here in Wales, and of great importance to those of us who speak it. When the topic is specifically about Wales, it's humiliating for our own language to be excluded.
    169 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Steve Blundell
  • A fairer UK visa system for spouses of British citizens
    Many British citizens are being separated from their foreign spouses because they can not get their partner a visa unless they meet a very strict financial criteria and their partner passes an English exam. Meanwhile partners of European citizens automatically qualify for a U.K. spouse visa regardless as to income or English ability. Where British citizens have contributed to the economy of the UK through the tax system and other means, European citizens who haven't contributed the UK are given preferential treatment when applying for visa for their spouses. This isn't a fair system.
    2,444 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by Mathew B
  • Help the family of Luciana Maurer get her home to Romania
    Luciana came to Scotland to work and left a young daughter behind with her parents. She sent 300-400 euros a month to her family. Luciana was murdered and her family cannot afford to get her body home to Romania. It must be horrific for her family to lose a daughter and her daughter to lose her mum. They should be able to get her back home to lay her to rest and I am hoping the Scottish government can pay the costs to fly her body home.
    2,074 of 3,000 Signatures
    Created by shiona macarthur
  • Make the vacation of wheelchair spaces on public transport a legal requirement.
    The recent case of Doug Paulley vs First Group ended with the judges ruling that the wheelchair spaces on buses do not need to be vacated by persons refusing to do so. Effectively they have ruled that persons using wheelchairs may be discriminated against by those who feel it is too much trouble to fold away a pushchair, or simply move to another seat. This throws the whole situation into confusion. The majority of persons using wheelchairs are doing so because they are not able to stand for long periods, if at all, and do not have the luxury of being able to fold their wheelchair away while on public transport. Able bodied persons can stand, pushchairs can be folded, and infants carried. Refusing to vacate the more easily accessible areas on buses and trains is discriminating against those who are physically unable to reach the other areas, and must be made an offence. There is no excuse for a wheelchair user to be denied transport in a situation where it is physically possible to accommodate them should other users show consideration. The current regulations are too woolly, and the manner in which they can be interpreted leaves them open to rulings such as the above, which renders them effectively null and void.
    4,535 of 5,000 Signatures
    Created by Nick Beck
  • OVERTURN BAN ON SAFE TRADITIONAL BULBS & REVIEW POTENTIALLY HARMFUL MODERN ENERGY SAVING BULBS
    Most types of modern lighting emit Ultraviolet rays and Blue light which can be harmful to people who suffer from Light Sensitivity. https://www.anses.fr/en/content/lighting-systems-using-light-emitting-diodes-leds-health-issues-be-considered LED/CFL/Halogen Lighting can cause serious health consequences including the following: 1. Extreme eye pain for people who suffer from photo-sensitivity as these lights generate large spikes in the blue wavelengths. 2. Skin Cancer and other less threatening skin conditions such as burning sensation, rash, blisters. 3. Severe headaches (which aren’t migraines), nausea, inability to concentrate, unexplained exhaustion and other symptoms. According to French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) the intense wavelengths in the blue part of the spectrum of light emitted by LEDs, and the associated radiation intensity, raise the question of new health risks related to these sources of lighting. In this context, ANSES published a report on the health effects of LED-based lighting systems in October 2010, along with recommendations intended in particular to improve controls on marketing of these products. https://www.anses.fr/en/content/led-%E2%80%93-light-emitting-diodes The expert appraisal carried out by ANSES showed that the risks of greatest concern, both in terms of the associated hazards and the probability of occurrence in a context of generalised use of LEDs, are related to the photochemical effects of blue light and glare. They are caused by: spectral imbalance (significant proportion of blue light in white LEDs); high levels of radiance5 (high brightness density per surface unit emitted by these very small sources). The photochemical risk is associated with blue light and the level of risk depends on the cumulative dose of blue light to which an individual is exposed. It is generally the result of low-intensity, repeated exposure over long periods of time. There is significant evidence of this risk. Populations that are particularly sensitive to this risk or that are highly exposed to blue light have been identified and include children, people with certain eye diseases and certain professional groups exposed to high-intensity light. On the basis of these findings, ANSES considered it necessary to restrict sales of LED light systems to the general public to those systems that do not involve higher risks associated with blue light than conventional lighting. Furthermore, ANSES recommends revision of Standard NF EN 62 471 on the photobiological safety of lamps to adapt it to the specific characteristics of LEDs, to take into account sensitive populations and high exposure groups including certain professions such as lighting installers, entertainment industry workers. Letters of support from UK based medical experts are available here:- http://www.spectrumalliance.co.uk/support-from-medical-professionals A consortium of charities represented through the Spectrum Alliance believe that around 2 million people in the United Kingdom are negatively affected by modern lighting. http://www.spectrumalliance.co.uk/faq Whilst energy saving modern bulbs may help in the campaign to reduce CO2 emissions, there are other negative environmental consequences to consider. A study (Environmental Science and Technology, January 2011) has found that LEDs contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially hazardous substances. http://eclipse.lupusuk.org.uk/guidetoartificiallighting.htm http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/122-a81/ LED Lighting and Retinal Damage in Rats There are numerous cases of people suffering from a range of medical problems related to exposure to all new light bulbs. Increasingly people are exposed to these bulbs in most homes and businesses. Due to increased exposure, the problem will persist unless steps are taken to reverse the widespread installation of modern lights across the UK. As there are serious health consequences for a number of people right throughout the UK and the rest of Europe, it is imperative that action is taken to scrap the ban on traditional lights and reverse the EU wide installation of dangerous modern lighting. If modern lighting is installed in all public buildings and street lights, many people risk suffering serious, long-term symptoms which may mean having to give up their place of work unless adjustments are made. Please sign this petition to request that the EU Commission and UK Department for Energy and Climate Change agree to the following:- 1. Overturn the absolute ban of all traditional incandescent light bulbs. 2. Order a review and research into the health/environmental impact arising from the use of modern lighting including LED, CFL & Halogen. 3. Suspend the mandated requirement to use modern lighting throughout the UK and EU.
    694 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Andy C
  • Asylum for Afghan Interpreters and thier Failies
    People are under threat and we owe our thanks and should give them safety. I am and was against this war but these people are being let down by our country - they are not at fault, the UK is.
    21 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Simon Manchip