My son has just lost a school friend in a tragic road accident this week whilst he was cycling to school Tuesday morning. A car and Tyler collided and he sadly sustained fatal injuries, sadly a helmet was not worn. This MUST stop. On spot fines or confiscate cycles if a helmet is not wore by the cyclist. Helmets should be the norm, to make it less trendy for these teenagers to go without one. Everyone will be in the same boat so it becomes less of a stigma.

With the current system, which allows the defecting MP to be disingenuous to the election system (leaving dishonourable people the opportunity to take advantage of the popularity of a political party to ‘ride the wave’ into a MP seat for the sole intention of gaining officer for themselves rather than delivering that parties representation as promised in the election contract, and go AGAINST the will of those who elected the MP by breaking manifesto promises in any way they chose without repercussion ) and a betrayal to the voters. There are many people who vote not for their local candidate (as there is a good chance that the local electorate will not even know their candidate), but vote instead as support for a political party that shares their values (the party which is clearly labelled on the ballot paper when they put their cross in the box to vote), or even the party leader, and these people's vote should not be dismissed at the whim of the MP after election!

The current design of Universal Credit is one of the evils of our age. The design of Universal Credit was supposed to make it easier for people on benefits to move into employment. A key feature is that it is paid monthly and wraps all benefits into one payment including rent. There is a huge problem with paying benefits monthly. Because of the often chaotic nature of the finances of people on benefits, most poor people run out of money long before the month end. The result is that children go hungry for days, even weeks at a time and food banks proliferate. Moreover paying claimants the money needed for their rent, which they are supposed to pass on is folly. 73% of Universal Credit claimants are now in arrears on their rent, this is causing real strain on housing associations. Basically housing associations and landlords have become the lender of last resort to those on Universal Credit. But there is a sensible quick fix that will make Universal Credit work. It is repackaging an old idea. Pass a law that anyone in employment paid under £20,000 pa has the right to be paid weekly. Admittedly that will cause a short term cash flow issue for many employers. But that could easily be overcome if the Government lent every employer the right amount of money to move people to weekly pay. They already know all this information due to the HMRC real time submissions that employers are obliged to make to HMRC any time any payment is made to any employee. It would be dead simple to work out exactly the cash flow shortfall an employer would face, this could be advanced as a Tax and NI Credit and it could be repaid over an agreed period again by an adjustment to the amount of Tax and NI an employer has to make. Then simply, pay Universal Credit weekly and pay any rent element direct to the housing association or landlord. Then insist that ATMs and point of sale equipment in the supermarkets use fingerprint recognition technology and give access to benefit accounts using the ID God has given us all. At a stoke of legislation this would reduce the problem of running out of money for too long. Basically claimants are likely to be able to budget better on a weekly basis and if they make a mistake like drinking too much it only impacts their family for a week and not a whole month. So join me in asking Parliament to pass legislation to achieve this. It is so simple and sensible that it is quite remarkable that it has never been suggested. Adrian Hill

The current litter policy used by LCC is not fit for purpose the only thing it is doing is assisting a private company in making lots of cash and fast. The very small amount of funds that are kept by Leeds Council is only 24% at its highest and this money does not go back to helping the community and even if it did it amounts to nothing. We want Leeds to be a clean City but we DO NOT want Leeds to be a City people DO NOT want to visit because of the way Authority's treat people.

HS2 is coming and whatever your views are on the actual project, it's clear that all of us want to mitigate the impact it will have on Toton during its construction. Our campaign doesn't seek to undermine or promote HS2. We simply want HS2 to listen to residents, councillors and community groups that are asking them to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.

Many of my clients have suffered at the hands of the Department of Worry and Persecution. Let's make them pay for their cruel treatment of those with both physical and mental health difficulties. People have commited suicide when their benfits have been stopped or cut and have to go through a long process to get redress. It is not fair and is not part of a society and government who should be looking after those in need, not harrasing them.

Because Universal Credit is driving up demand for foodbanks ---- This petition is being run by a Member of Parliament - 38 Degrees is independent of all political parties.

"Over 30,000 people are locked up in prison-like conditions every year, with no time limit on how long they can be held. This is not for having committed a crime. It is purely because they do not (yet) have the correct immigration papers. The majority of people detained are eventually released, but many never really recover from the trauma. It’s a terrible waste of money (£125 million a year), and a waste of lives. Immigration detention is a wholly unnecessary, unjustifiable practice, one of the most harmful aspects of the UK’s “hostile environment” for migrants and a shameful civil rights abuse that cannot be ignored." Quoted from the 'These Walls Must Fall' Campaign Website (http://detention.org.uk/)

It seems that while businesses need to licence to place chairs and tables on public footpaths, advertising boards are not regulated at all. They pose a serious problem for blind and partially sighted people in particular but also inconvenience other pedestrians. I have become aware of this more as I am starting to lose my eyesight through macular degeneration. It's important that town centres remain safe for all people.

Essex County Council have announced plans to close 25 libraries and to turn a further 19 over to be run by local communities to save money. My local library, in West Mersea, employs 2 people for 21 hours a week. Not only will they lose their jobs if these closures go ahead, but so will all the staff at the threatened 44 libraries. My library is thriving. It is always busy with people of all ages reading newspapers and periodicals, borrowing books, DVDs and CDs, accessing the internet, researching their family ancestry and speaking to others. Libraries are fantastic assets to the community and need to be saved. No libraries in Essex should be closed or downgraded to being run by volunteers The elderly population of Essex need these libraries. Many do not have computers and some of them may not speak to anyone else in their day. We need local libraries in local communities which can be accessed on foot or bike, by all sections of society. Please think again before implementing these closures.

At the Chepstow Town Council meeting on 12 September 2018, a discussion was had about the possible removal of the gun tribute to Able Seaman Williams. Two town councillors openly questioned the connection of the memorial gun to Chepstow Town and a third called for a vote, on removing the gun there and then. Fortunately, a vote was not taken on the night. The discussion point was not on the formal Agenda nor captured in the Minutes with the Town Council dismissing the discussion as conversation. The memorial gun was gifted to the town by King George V to mark the outstanding bravery and in memory of William Charles Williams who was also awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. Relatives of Able Seaman Williams still reside in the Chepstow area today. Chepstow Town Council lists that one of its roles on behalf of the community is to undertake 'the regular cleaning of the Town's War Memorial' presumably the Cenotaph and memorial gun. Given the current state of disrepair to both, it is clear the Town Council have failed in this regard. In minutes dated September 2016, Action 88 - a resolution was made to accept two quotations which had been sought for the specialist repairs and cleaning, Action 89 provided a full report to be tabled at the meeting on the memorial - requests for this report (89) have been made but not yet provided. Further action has happened since, and after enquiries were made this week, it was confirmed that specialist cleaning will not take place until March 2019. There has been no confirmation however on when the repair work will be undertaken on the gun which gives residents cause for concern. We the undersigned, are outraged that the Town Council is even considering, without any public consultation, removing such an important, historical structure and vehemently oppose any attempt to remove or move the gun. And we are outraged that the Town Council has not undertaken its duties in respect to the war memorial particularly given that this year sees the 100 year anniversary of the end of WW1. The plight of the gun and it's dire state was highlighted in the Chepstow Beacon on 2 November.

Five IUCN member conservationists, including members of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), have been charged with ‘corruption on earth’, the highest penalty for which is execution. The five environmentalists from IUCN Member organisation Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF) are Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, Sepideh Kashani, Houman Jowkar and Morad Tahbaz. Taher Ghadirian and Houman Jowkar are members of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group; Taher Ghadirian is also a member of the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group. They undertake vital conservation work including efforts to conserve the Critically Endangered Asiatic cheetah. "Monitoring and researching species that live in remote landscapes, such as the Asiatic Cheetah, is a challenging task,” said Jon Paul Rodriguez, IUCN Species Survival Commission Chair. “As their numbers have dwindled, Asiatic cheetahs have become elusive, making it difficult for researchers to observe them directly. Novel techniques such as camera traps have proven indispensable in helping researchers gain valuable insights into the status and biology of threatened species worldwide.” The five conservationists had been detained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in January along with four others and charged with espionage. Human rights campaigners and Iran’s government have said the charges against them are unfounded, according to media reports. The four others detained in January are Amir Hossein Khaleqi, member of the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group, of the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication and of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, Sam Rajabi, AbdolReza Koupayeh, and Kavous Seyed-Emami. Kavous Seyed-Emami died in prison for unknown reasons following his detention. IUCN has called for an independent inquiry into his death. Iran is facing environmental challenges including drought, water scarcity and dust storms, which have led to nationwide protests this year.