Are Opinion Polls now harming the democratic process? The reporting of opinion polls has become increasingly central to the work of broadcast and print media, but they are proving to be increasingly flawed and inaccurate in their predictions. In the British context they also skew reporting by focusing attention on the ratings of party leaders; we are not voting for a president and it is worth underlining that none of those leading the Conservative Party, Labour Party or the Liberal Democrats at the 2015 election are any longer in post. The biggest problem with opinion polls is that they are presented as a predictor of what the result will be, despite all recent evidence to the contrary. By being reported in this way they can be an influence on turnout and how the voter casts their vote because the election or referendum is often being portrayed as a foregone conclusion. Polls rather than policy often become the story. I am asking concerned individuals to call on responsible sections of the media to suspend reporting opinion poll results for a period of five days before election day. This would be a shot in the arm for the democratic process by allowing the discussion to be about policy and principles and not about polls. The media needs to be about more than partisanship and entertainment if it is to contribute to a healthy and representative democracy.

Current planning law states that if a developer will make less than 20% profit on a new development, they can ignore a council's regulations about building affordable and social housing. Leaked documents from several developers have shown that the maths they use to work out their profit margins are purposefully misleading, allowing them to claim they will make less than 20% profit on a development by undervaluing the prices of the houses they will sell and over-costing the labour. To combat this Islington, Greenwich, Lambeth and Bristol councils have introduced a policy that forces developers "viability assessments" to be made public. By bringing these dodgy maths into the public domain, Councils, campaigning groups and individuals will be able to hold developers to account and force them to use more honest maths. ___________ As a recent graduate taking my first steps in my career, I'm considering long term housing rather than long term renting. Many like me are doing the same in Birmingham, but sadly we may be being cheated of feasible means of settling in our nation's second city. Bottom lines left unchecked don't add up to fair societies. Let's hold companies accountable to their legal responsibilities in required affordable housing. -Sam, Campaigner

It's important to allow easy acces for UK voters to vote in a way that fits around modern life. It's also important that if we open up this access that we get a clear understanding of the pledges each party are making so that voters can make a truly informed decision that aligns with people's values and principles for the UK should be run.

2015 saw 1.5 million 16 and 17 year olds were denied their democratic right to vote in a referendum which impacts this generation the most. June the 8th of 2017 the U.K. will see a general election and a repeat of young people being denied a voice. Lowering the voting age will help the UKs voter turnout deficit. Giving 16-17 year olds the opportunity to cast their vote will help create manifestos which are targeted not only to the older generation but also to the younger generation.

An escalation of hostilities could result in a nuclear war that would kill thousands of innocent people with no tangible outcome.

We as the British public must be able to make an informed choice of who we want to lead the country into the Brexit negotiations.

The best way to put a case to the British electorate is through broadcast debate, with evidence showing huge ratings for previous broadcasts. Politicians should work to maximise the political engagement of the electorate and so should put in place a process to ensure that televised debates become a standard practice in the British general election cycle.

The people of the UK are becoming more and more disenfranchised with the democracy of our country. Less and less people are voting and more and more people are complaining about the Government we have. From statistics from the last two General Elections, more people have not used their vote than have voted for the winning party. Things need to change. Nobody believes politicians anymore, because manifesto promises are regularly not being kept to and are being used simply as a gateway to get into power. This petition is to call for this to be rectified, no longer should manifesto's be interesting reading that can be simply discarded by the people that wrote it once the election is over. It is time to give these documents defined and concrete meaning. A break of a manifesto promise by the Government should mean that a General Election is called immediately. The breaking of a manifesto promise is a default on an agreement and the basis upon which the Government is put into power. Additionally to this, all manifesto's should have to be fact checked under meticulous scrutiny by a independent organisation to ensure that that promises made within manifestos are based on accurate and valid information. Only with this change to law, can we have a true democracy again, with people that believe in their power to vote and believe in the vote they make.

It is the media's role to hold politicians to account without bias. Open debates are the best way to achieve this. (image: By Diliff - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1634181)

The previous two sets of leader debates on TV were interesting, informative and positive for the democratic process. We want everyone to have the option of potentially benefiting from such debates at this election and prior to all future general election polling days. Not only would we like Theresa May to change her mind and participate in 3 live TV debates, we would also like her to help enshrine the process so all future general elections involve these televised debates. We hear lots about media bias, 'fake news', 'out of touch' politicians and disengagement from the political process. The precedent has been set and Theresa May should endorse and support the process.

TV debates have become an important aspect of the lead up to general elections and are incredibly helpful for people who are unsure on what party they would like to represent them over the next 5 years. The debates allow key issues to be discussed and for real people to pose questions they feel need to be addressed, while giving a platform for all major political parties to fairly represent their policies. If the broadcasters decide not to air debates because Theresa May will not participate it would allow one political party (the Conservatives) to dictate whether (or not) such debates happen. The only unbiased option available to broadcasters is to hold the debates regardless of whether she will (or will not) participate, 'empty chairing' her by featuring an empty podium for the Conservative Party if she refuses to take part.

The people of this country need to be furnished with the truth before being asked to vote in a general election.