The emergency legislation that allowed Councils to suspend holding meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic also enabled meetings to be held virtually to allow democracy to continue. Almost all councils are now holding virtual Full Council meetings. This enables all elected Councillors to represent the views of residents and for democracy to continue. South Tyneside Council is a notable exception. The last meeting of South Tyneside Borough Council was held in February 2020. There are currently no plans in place to hold a Borough Council meeting before February 2021 by which time the majority of those elected to represent the people of South Tyneside will have been silenced for a year. As Councillors for Beacon and Bents Ward we have repeatedly asked why we are the only Council that are not holding these meetings. Responses received to these requests have included we aren't able to organise a virtual meeting of this size, it would be too difficult for officers who wouldn't be able to see every Councillor on screen at the same time and some Councillors are not IT literate enough to participate in virtual meetings. These are not reasons they are excuses. Councils far larger than South Tyneside have been holding virtual meetings since six weeks after lockdown began; the government have held virtual meetings with hundreds of MPs taking part; and a trade union recently held a virtual conference in which over 700 delegates took part. We have also requested that all virtual meetings that are held and live streamed are recorded and published on YouTube so people can watch them when they finish work. We have been told this is too difficult to do but other Councils have done this for months. There is no legitimate reason why South Tyneside Council cannot hold Borough Council meetings and why they cannot record and publish all meetings. As Councillors for Beacon and Bents Ward we have been contacted by residents from our own Ward and from others who want to know why South Tyneside Council is trying to stifle democracy. We have been asked why we voted to introduce local restrictions. But the truth is that we, and the majority of Councillors across the Borough, have had no say in this decision. We are being asked about plans for the future, for reviving our town centre, and for rebuilding our economy. Again we have to say that we are being prevented from raising questions about these and other important issues because Borough Council is not meeting. The residents of South Tyneside deserve better. They deserve to be represented. They deserve to have their voices heard. And they deserve to see democracy return to our Borough. The Chief Executive has left and can only be replaced by Borough Council. Officers have been left without leadership and residents without a voice. This is not about Party politics. It's about doing the right thing, returning democracy to our Borough and working together to create a better future when the pandemic finally ends. Councillor Angela Hamilton (Labour Party) Councillor David Francis (Green Party)

The UK Internal Market Bill endangers the existence and viability of devolution. It would be a Westminster power grab, unacceptable to the Scottish and Welsh Governments. From a Scottish perspective, it directly contradicts promises of more powers that were promised in the event of a No vote in the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. What the Bill means is less powers. Much less. Clause 45 of the Bill states that certain provisions of the bill will have effect "notwithstanding inconsistency or incompatibility with international law." This is a position that should not be acceptable to those of us who treasure democracy and the rule of law, international or otherwise.

The government is due to make Tony Abbott a UK trade representative. But this man should not be representing the UK. He will go down in history as one of Australia's worst Prime Ministers. His only claim to fame will always be - now and forever - as the target of Australia's most unforgettable television moment of all time: Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech. As Kay Burley on Sky News pointed out today "he's a homophobe and a misogynist". And as she rightly asked, is he a "fit and proper person to represent us, as far as trade is concerned, given the views that he holds?" Abbott also renounced his British citizenship to serve in the Australian parliament - do we really want someone who has renounced his British citizenship? There are so many brilliant and diverse candidates that could do this job brilliantly. Why have you chosen a man who believes women should be at home doing the ironing?

Boris Johnson is forming his own panel that will work to curb the influence of judicial reviews. We have to stop him. Judicial reviews are an important feature of our democracy that ensure our leaders are following the rule of law. They have recently been used to stop Johnson from shutting down parliament during the Brexit debates, which was ruled unlawful. THE JUDICIARY STOPS POLITICIANS FROM BREAKING THE LAW. IT MUST BE SAVED. Judicial reviews have been used to hold this government to account once, which is why they want to destroy them. Sign this petition to stop Johnson and his cronies putting themselves above the law.

We need these staff members as they have expertise in support services to ensure that care can be delivered safely and effectively. Years of austerity and cuts have meant the NHS is now broken and needs to be rebuilt. In the NHS we need a massive recruitment drive that includes recruiting staff to work in support functions. We are demanding no cuts to NHS jobs.

The government stopped charging NHS staff parking fees during the height of the pandemic. Now they're saying ‘it can’t go on forever’. We need a firm commitment to make absolutely sure our NHS staff won’t be charged as much as £40 a day on parking fees. Our NHS staff - who have sacrificed so much over the last few months - deserve better. So, let's send a clear message to Boris Johnson: you cannot charge our NHS staff for parking.

Right now, MPs who can’t safely return to Parliament are not getting the same treatment as those who can. For constituents and people across the country, knowing that our MPs have the same access to voting and scrutinising the government is important. Until this week, all MPs were taking part in parliamentary activity remotely because of the coronavirus crisis. The system was not without its flaws, but this week MPs have been asked to return to Westminster. However, only 50 MPs can be present in the House of Commons at a time, and there is confusion about who is eligible for proxy votes. This isn’t doing justice to our democracy, and forces MPs to make difficult decisions about representing constituents or keeping themselves and their communities safe. The government’s own guidelines say work from home if you can. Add your name to the petition if you think MPs should be able to keep participating virtually so they can represent us properly, and fully hold the government to account during the COVID-19 crisis, add your name.

The Speaker of the House of Commons has announced that Government has decided to shut down the online Parliament and that a maximum of 50 MPs will be allowed to be present and participate in person. At the last election, we elected 650 MPs. If they are not able to be in the Chamber, they cannot represent us properly. This also means that if your MP has to shield, or is still in lockdown, they cannot attend and they cannot represent you, which would not be the case if the online Parliament were to continue. Ministers could oppose this by refusing to table the necessary Standing Orders, and MPs should not support the move to stop any virtual parliament. Sign the petition if you agree.

GMB Grassroots Left* is launching this petition to demand an investigation into the allegations and events surrounding the General Secretary’s recent resignation. The inept handling and reporting of the allegations testify that the GMB is not capable of conducting an investigation into its own organisation. In order to guarantee the probity of such an investigation, it must be conducted by an independent external agency to ensure no vested interest can influence the necessary action with the central objective of establishing the facts of the allegations, the events surrounding the former General Secretary’s decision and the subsequent actions of the union Executive. The terms of reference of such an investigation must include providing investigating agency with the authority to follow whatever direction it deems necessary to meet the above objectives. Central to the success of the investigation will be to provide staff affected by or privy to knowledge of the events a safe space to come forward and provide input to the investigation without fear of reprisal or victimisation. In order to guarantee transparency and the independence of the investigation, we also demand that any agency or committee to which the investigation reports includes lay membership representation. As an association of lay members, GMB Grassroots Left requests membership of such an agency or committee. The events of this issue call into question credibility and integrity of the GMB. The patent and suspicious mishandling undermines the standing of the whole trade union movement and affects all those activists ad members who adhere to and value the union movement. Therefore, we call on all GMB and trade union members and activists to sign, support and share this petition and support the call for a robust and transparent investigation to : • deliver practical recommendations • identify any wrongdoing that has occurred • acknowledge failures in managing allegations • attribute responsibility • deliver workplace justice and • provide recommendations to mitigate against future undermining of trade union ethics and principles. * GMB Grassroots Left is a rank and file organisation committed to transform the union from being a top-down institution, run like a business, into a member led bottom-up organisation, where members decide and the union apparatus provides the service it is employed to provide.

All other members are scientists, chosen for their relevant scientific expertise. We believe that Cummings and Warner have no legitimate place on this committee or at its meetings. Cummings in particular is a controversial, divisive figure with no scientific background. Their presence can only undermine the committee’s authority, and dangerously reduce public confidence in its advice.

Countries such as Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina are refusing to allow Brits to disembark the ship to catch flights back to the UK, including my mum who is travelling on her own. There is no illness onboard and they haven't been off the ship for the last 12 days. The plan now is to sail to Fort Lauderdale in Florida (due to arrive 4th April) but we need the government to step in and send repatriation flights to ensure that they can get home. The reason being is that they have twice been promised that they can disembark (in Buenos Aires and Rio) to catch flights but have then had this revoked at the very last minute. This is causing so much distress to the 400+ Brits on board. Make Dominic Raab take some proper action here and get them all home!

In light of Government advice to minimise the scale and spread of coronavirus many people, especially freelancers, self-employed people and people on lower incomes will be left with little to no money for the foreseeable future. The Government must adopt emergency measures right now to support people across the country, by providing temporary universal basic income so we all have enough money to survive. Universal basic income is a sum of money given to everyone to help pay for essentials like food and bills. Already Labour and Conservative MPs are calling on the Government to do it, and politicians in the USA and other countries are also calling on their Governments to do the same. There is a lot more that needs to be done to mitigate the impact of coronavirus - from helping people get support from their workplace when they are sick, to making sure tenants don’t face eviction. But ensuring everyone across the country has a set sum to get by could save lives. If you think everyone should be guaranteed enough money to pay for basic essentials at a time like this, will you add your name to the petition now? Notes here: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/mar/17/boris-johnson-coronavirus-press-conference-rishi-sunak-cabinet-as-rishi-sunak-set-to-announcing-coronavirus-financial-rescue-package-politics-live?page=with:block-5e70afeb8f085e564ad859ba#block-5e70afeb8f085e564ad859ba