• Reconsider the GCSE reforms
    We know that GCSEs are not working. We know that our education system is working solely due to the immense and highly admirable efforts of those who work tirelessly to improve the chances and opportunities of young people. We have the opportunity, as a people, to radically evolve this system. For a summary of why this government's proposals are likely to cause immense damage, see http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/sep/17/michael-gove-gcse-reforms?newsfeed=true. Some of the world's most foremost experts in education, who have all achieved spectacular results, have suggested a very different route. See for example http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html. Rather than ignoring them, the government could and should make use of their considerable expertise. By taking the small step of revising the proposals through a committee of learning experts, the government has the opportunity to make positive and informed reforms that will benefit each and every child in the UK for generations to come.
    104 of 200 Signatures
    Created by Samuel Morgan
  • Stop the under 16s curfew in Bangor
    The law is a discriminatory one which relies on an individual police officer's judgement and, as such, is open to abuse. The police officer is open to criticism for misuse of the order and under 16 year old's are vulnerable to overzealous application and miss-accusations. The discriminatory nature of the order encourages the hatred and fear of young people and allows some to feel justified in discriminatory attitudes toward them. It encourages those who have suffered at the hands of badly behaved youths to believe that they are all like that and to become more afraid. It will only serve to alienate young people and make them feel that the police are there simply to control them but not to protect them. Already young people in Bangor are avoiding going out to the cinema and to after school clubs for fear of being caught in the curfew or of being beaten up by the marauding gangs that this order implies are on the loose in the city center. Bangor is a lovely historic place with much to offer young and old alike. It suffers from very little anti-social behavior apart from a very few people in limited areas and the usual after pub and club problems present in all cities. It is suffering in the downturn from an empty high street (the longest in the country) but there was no rioting in Bangor last year, the out of town JJB sports, PC World etc were not ransacked as was seen in other towns and cities across the UK, so why Bangor? There was no consultation with the public or even their elected representatives on the City Council. This is despite the ACPO guidance that there should be consultation with the effected community and a Rowntree report, which concludes that these laws have only been effective where consultation and involvement had taken place. This law is badly worded, heavy handed, discriminatory and draconian and it should be stopped now!
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    Created by Christina Phillips
  • Save Sark from the Barclay brothers
    The Channel Island of Sark has just 600 inhabitants. They lead a peaceful and historic way of life that has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of years. The islanders get around on bikes or by horse and cart - there are no cars or tarmac roads on the island. It is a unique and beautiful place, a rare piece of tranquillity in a chaotic modern world. But now the billionaire owners of The Telegraph newspaper, the Barclay brothers, are threatening that way of life. Twenty years ago, they bought the tiny neighbouring island of Brecqhou and built a huge mock gothic castle that looms over Sark. Ever since, they have been buying up every hotel, small business and piece of land they can get their hands on. The islands status as a tax haven means the brothers have to pay no tax on their fortune back to the UK. The Sarkees have been doing everything they can to resist their power over the island. In 2008, the Barclays tried to flood the island's first democratically elected government with their allies. When the islanders emphatically rejected them in favour of their own representatives, the brothers retaliated by firing everyone who worked in any of the businesses they had bought out - that amounted to a sixth of Sark's population losing their jobs. It doesn't end there. Those who speak out against the brothers' stranglehold on the island are publicly dragged through the dirt in the Sark Newsletter - a weekly propaganda piece written by the Barclays' lieutenant, Kevin Delaney. The islanders recently told the Guardian and BBC that they live in fear in a "culture of bullying and intimidation." The Barclay brothers company Sark Estate Management (SEM) has turned much of their good quality agricultural land over to vineyards, land that was traditionally used by the islanders for centuries for growing crops and grazing livestock. In November 2012 a peaceful protest at the Sark Mill vineyards against the spread of vines resulted in 120 Sark residents signing a petition asking the Barclays to reconsider their vineyard project but this was ignored. SEM continue to spray the vineyards with chemicals and residents fear for the health of Sark's pristine ecosystem and their fresh water supplies which come from under the ground. Sark is a dependency of the Crown but, so far, our government has left the islanders to fend for themselves. The Department of Justice has admitted that it has an "ultimate responsibility to ensure good governance" of Sark. They are aware of what's going on - former Justice Minister Lord McNally has already been to visit the island. It's time Lord Faulks, the new Justice Minister and Chris Grayling, the Secretary of State for Justice, lived up to that responsibility. You can find out more about the situation in Sark in this recent Panorama show: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01px74c/Panorama_The_Tax_Haven_Twins/ Or this earlier Today programme piece: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9709000/9709518.stm
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    Created by Alex Lloyd
  • Raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to at least 12 years old
    The age of criminal responsibility in England is one the lowest in Europe, and the statistics show that we are in danger of criminalising too many children and young people. The age of criminal responsibility needs to be reviewed in light of the standards set by the UN Convention and these international comparisons. Young children are simply not capable of the sophisticated mental reasoning required to be held fully responsible for criminal actions, and we need to take a far more "welfare based" approach in dealing with young people who commit serious crimes. Furthermore, there is concern among neuroscientists in this field that the age of criminal responsibility in the UK is unreasonably low given the emerging understanding of how slowly the brains of children mature, and the evidence of individual differences suggests that an arbitrary cut-off age may not be justifiable.
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    Created by Hannah Couchman
  • Proportional Representation not first past the post
    The U.K. is a two party country, which consists of the Conservatives and Labour (some would argue Labour is a lighter shade of blue). The time has come for the system to change so everyone’s views has a voice. For example the Green Party would have 10 people (as of 2nd May 2024) as MPs and not 1. Our voices aren’t heard and with the changes in boundaries by the Conservatives, it is likely that parties with lower votes are less Likely to get an MP.
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    Created by Mat MacEley-Young
  • Request Julian Knight Stand Down Immediately, As MP For Solihull
    The Constituents of Solihull have the right to be represented by someone who is fully committed to represent them and bring their questions and concerns to Parliament, but this cannot be the case while issue with Julian Knight is ongoing. A By-Election should be called as soon as possible Solihull the people are able to choose who they want to be their next MP. I urge my fellow Constituents to sign this petition, so that this current situation is resolved as soon as possible.
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    Created by John James Doherty
  • Liz Truss should refuse the Prime Minister pension
    This is one issue, among many in recent years, where we have seen our leaders appear to be in Politics for their own benefit as opposed to Public Service, and to refuse to take responsibility for their errors. If Liz Truss were to decline the Prime Minister's Pension it would begin to redress the balance and we do need to restore faith in our elected officials for democracy to begin return to a meaningful level in the UK.
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    Created by jackie hurman
  • Wages is not in line with inflation say no to taxes rising
    The living cost is already costing everyone from food prices to energy bills already people are going to food banks and adding taxes is not the way government to do at this time
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    Created by Andrew Auld
  • Rejoin single market
    Open up opportunities for free movement settle anywhere in Europe study anywhere in Europe trade freely in Europe.
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    Created by Gary Davies
  • Liz truss should not be entitled to £115,000 for life for being a pm for 44 days
    Until this goverment is held account for all of their dealings and stop taking us for fools and being paid ridiculous amounts. It all should be stopped now and show the people of this country they are behind them
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    Created by Petitions Girvan
  • Stop Lizz truss getting 115 thousand pounds a year pdca payment for life after leaving office
    The country is in financial turmoil, poverty is on the rise and cost of living is through the roof. Liz truss should not be taking this money out of the pot as she did nothing in her very short time as PM. The money could be better spent getting this country out of the mess we are in.
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    Created by jason lang
  • General election now
    There have been so many changes while the Conservative party have been in charge. Do the Great British public trust that the Conservative party are competent to continue to lead the country? It is now time to let the public have a say.
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    Created by Lucy M