Because this type of discrimination is absolutely abhorrent. Three hundred teachers have been prevented from teaching because somebody else in their household has a criminal record of a proscribed nature. The household could include lodgers, children, people who are being cared for by the relatives within the household. A wayward family member, or worse any person living in the house such as a lodger could precipitate suspension and even removal from a job. The restrictions are independent of timescale, and so a single criminal act from many years ago could precipitate problems for all others within the household.

This anomaly means private delivery companies look cheaper, but are not. My hospital neurology dept "saves" £250k a year on VAT on beta interferon alone this way, but the private healthcare provider offers a lamentable service, not turning up, letting patients run out of meds, etc. There are few companies to compete, and the NHS cannot afford to take service back. Jeremy Hunt and HMRC know about the unfair advantage private companies have, but ignore it. This means the NHS is paying £200 million A YEAR on drugs to the Treasury in VAT. Why penalise the NHS? Let the NHS compete fairly!

Crime, accidents,injuries and a general feeling of not being safe on our streets after midnight is not something the people of Colchester should be having to suffer, especially when we still all pay council tax but it seems to give us less and less in return. The switching off of the lights at Midnight even has an effect on local businesses, as people going to pubs and clubs etc, are making plans to leave early so as not to be going home in the dark. The chief executive of Essex County Council earns £210,000 a year!

Over 80% of people in Britain now believe the gap between rich and poor is too big. The UK’s current tax system exacerbates this inequality. These are two of the findings in a report about the tax system in the UK by The Equality Trust entitled ‘Unfair and Unclear’ http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/attachments/resources/Unfair%20and%20Unclear_0.pdf The report concludes ‘The gap between perceptions, preferences and reality when it comes to the UK’s current tax system should be of deep concern to politicians. Building a system that is fit for a fair society must now be a priority.’ Major tax reform to tackle inequality does not seem to be in any party manifestos for the election in May 2015. (Just minor window dressing!) Do you want a tax system in Britain which favours the rich or do you want a tax system which delivers fairness and opportunity for all? The poorest 10% in our society pay a much higher proportion of their income overall in tax (because of taxes like VAT and Council Tax). This is not generally realised because the tax system is so complicated. Is it not time to rebalance this? Austerity has been borne by the poor, while the rich have prospered. Is this not an outrage which should be redressed? We are told time and time again we cannot afford basic living standards for the poor, and yet we can afford massive remuneration for the rich. The ability for everyone to own a home, once a flagship Tory policy, has become an impossible dream as house prices have been forced up because of irresponsible lending, second homes, ‘buy-to-let’ and building luxury accommodation for the super rich to have as an investment, often lying empty. The system is broken and major action is necessary. I, as a concerned voter who does not see anyone to vote for, wish to see specific measures like these being adopted: 1 A ‘Making Tax Fair’ Bill to be drawn up to change the tax distribution in line with the Equality Trust’s broad recommendation: o From poorest 43%; mid 36%; richest 36% (of income) o To poorest 15%; mid 22%; richest 39% (of income) as a contribution to all taxes (inc VAT, Council Tax, Fuel Tax, etc as well as Income Tax – see report for list of all taxes) 2 A wealth tax on the richest 1%, to help redistribute the vast wealth amassed over the last few decades, gained while the rest of us were in austerity, and while the system has been designed to make the rich richer. 3 Action from government to force corporations and rich individuals to pay the tax they owe. It has been government policy since the 1980s to allow large tax breaks because of the ‘trickle down’ effect. We have known for a long time this is a myth and in fact the flow goes up not down. But the tax breaks are still in place! (War On Want are leading a campaign on Tax Dodging specifically to address this – click here if you haven’t supported it already http://www.waronwant.org/news/latest-news/18270-tdbcampaign) 4 A tax on luxury property left empty. It is a scandal that parts of London are left uninhabited, property having been bought by members of the super-rich elite as an investment and then left vacant. Often local people are evicted to make way for these. 5 A tax on second homes left vacant more than half-time. It is a scandal that local people cannot buy homes because of inflated prices. 6 A review of ‘buy-to-let’ to make it prohibitive, so that the conditions are reversed that led to the prediction that by 2032 more people will have to rent (at inflated prices), than own their own homes Please lend your support by signing the online petition. If enough of us do, we can put pressure on the next Government to act responsibly to ‘rebuild a tax system fit for a fair society’, and significantly alter the nature of the debate during this election. When you sign the online petition, we will present it to all political parties and ask for a response to be published pre-election. I believe in ‘wealth-for-all capitalism’, where people in all walks of life can work hard to achieve individual rewards while contributing to the ‘common-wealth’. Together we create one nation which works for everyone. I despise the ‘greed-is-good capitalism’ experiment, begun in the 1980s. It has ended where many predicted it would – many greedy and selfish people have worked the system to their own advantage, with government acquiescence, at the expense of everyone else, having amassed vast personal fortunes, and having looted the infrastructure of the country. Two nations have been created – the very rich and the very poor. This will continue after the election unless the 99% of us, who do not benefit, put pressure on to stop it happening!’ Please add your voice to this online petition so that we can reverse this process and again create Britain as a fair society. PLEASE SHARE WITH AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN!

Adverts for cigarettes were banned on British television in 1965, because it was deemed that smoking was not only bad for the individual, but also other non-smokers who inhaled their smoke passively. It strikes me that cars are no different. A report in 2013 by the UK government indicated that 21% of UK greenhouse emissions were caused by petrol and diesel cars. However, we are constantly bombarded with adverts on television for new cars, a very small fraction of which are hybrid or electric. If Ofcom were to only allow hybrid and electric car adverts on television, it would send a signal to car manufacturers that if they want airtime on British TV, they need to invest in more sustainable technology. It would increase sales of hybrid and electric cars in the UK, which would drive demand for more public electric car chargers. It would would help to change the zeitgeist of the nation towards more sustainable ways of commuting.

Too often, passengers have to wait in all sorts of weather because a bus is late or cancelled. Then, two or more appear together, why?. There is a scheme by City Council, if the bus is more than 15 minutes late the bus company will pay you. This does not work because the bus company decide. If you have a concessionary card it says 'funded by HM Government with your Local authority' and there are no two trips which means more profit for the bus company. That means our tax money. Finally, Castle Meadow, which is supposed to be a pedestrian zone, has so many buses that often even the buses cannot move.

By allowing the painting of the subway ceilings, people of all ages can come together to discuss the project and eventually work with professional Street Artists who can share their time and talents to help transform Hertford's excellent system of town centre subways. With permission, a crowd-funding project can get under way to pay for the Artists and materials. Once completed, a beautiful project like this will be unique in the county, possibly the rest of the country. Approx. 5 pedestrian subways serve the people of Hertford, providing easy access to and from the town centre. These subways are clean and well lit and in constant use. Schoolchildren, in fact all ages, make use of the pedestrian accesses. I use them every day. I often see elderly people and women with babies, likewise people with disabilities and travellers to and from work in the centre of Hertford. I have overheard young people say to their friends that they find using the subways a frightening or unpleasant experience. Why? I believe that subways can be a scary place. I would like the Council to agree to a project to allow the local youth groups and schools to work with professional Artists, to bring the ceilings of the subways to life, in an ambitious project that could put Hertford in the national spotlight. We want to make the walk to or from town a pleasurable experience, with Art inspired and created by Hertford - the place, the people - itself.

We can't stop violence in films, TV shows and video games but we can stop the glorification of that violence using guns and knives in adverts in media streams and posters. Knife and gun crime is on the increase and the message from these adverts is that it is OK to use them. If you choose to watch a film, TV show or play a video game then fine, but advertising is usually seen by all ages indiscriminately. Please help ban the use of guns and knives in all forms of adverting.

The number of 18-25 year olds who are homeless is ever increasing and looking for a roof over their head is made difficult by barriers put there by Medway Council. This is completely unacceptable and we call for change regarding this is issue, especially in the winter months.

Mental Health services are stretched to breaking point there is a severe lack of units for both children and adults, sometimes resulting in people being held in police cells which is both ethically and morally wrong! People in crisis and their families have little to no help whilst awaiting a bed and often have to travel hundreds of miles away from home due to lack of suitable units close to home, breaking families apart for weeks and even months at a time. Community services, crisis teams and social service departments are not fit for purpose due to a lack of funding and staff shortages, the increasing demand of community care not being supplied is causing bed blocking in many units and is causing many to not receive the help they need to prevent admission in the first place. The whole system is in need of change and it needs to be made a high priority because the numbers of people in need and in crisis is rising fast!

Because the worlds few wildernesses need protecting for our children and our children's children.

It’s been a while coming but it has been revealed that TerraQuest has been chosen by DCLG to partner with them in a joint venture to provide the ongoing delivery and commercialisation of the Planning Portal service. This has been quietly processed to avoid the public having their say. The joint venture has claimed it will not charge applicants or LPAs for using the Portal’s 1App planning application service [yet] and that a new and improved 1App and website will be delivered by TerraQuest’s prime subcontractor Civica, later in 2015. They say existing service will remain in place until the new website is launched – they promise there will be no disruption to the public, but how can privatisation of a core planning service be in the public interest? It is the intention to transfer staff to the new business before the end of the financial year however the JV is subject to final negotiation and therefore any questions regarding the process of commercialisation should be urgently directed to the Minister to question how the government can justify this conflict and prevent this public service being privatised. Why privatise something that is not intended to make money and that is presently free to everyone?