38 Degrees on UserVoice

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-16T15:08:46-04:00

All people contribute towards the National Insurance scheme under exactly the same rules. All people qualify for their state pension under exactly the same rules, based on years of NI contributions. When it comes time to pay the state pension different rules are applied depending on where you happen to live. If you live in the UK and in 40 overseas countries, your state pension is uprated for inflation each year. If you live in mainly Commonwealth countries your state pension is frozen at the rate at which it is first paid, or as at the date of migration. This means that over time the real purchasing power of the state pension in Commonwealth countries declines over the years, so that after, say, 25 years, it may be about a quarter of the current pension level. To rectify this problem it would cost less than 1% of the total state pension bill. Apparently there is an unwritten cross political party agreement not to fix this problem. Pensioners who have chosen to go overseas to be with their children and grand children in retirement in Commonwealth countries are penalised for doing so, or disouraged from seeing their children and grand children again. Overseas pensioners have been fighting this discrimination, based on country of residence, for over 25 years. They could really do with a hand from people living in the UK to help them, to lobby on their behalf and to try to over turn this unfair, injust and inequal practice, which is based on historical accident and which even government ministers have admitted, has no logic to it.

Morgeo said:

Yes Peter,Thankyou for enlightening us about the BME and I meant the members of those organisarions that make up the ICBP which I thought would be understood as I am fully aware of the set up. Looking back at the notes , it would seem that time was wasted talking about reciprocal agreements as they are not required. Just the will of parliament, ie the MP's. Straight talking at the CHOGM would have been a good start. There is every reason to criticise this and previous governments and any adverse comments would be due to their own misguided policy.
These MP's are there to represent the people , they are not Gods handing out goodies to those who say nice things about them.
Let's get real and ask if they would be willing to change places and accept anything less than equality with all other pensioners. Does the fact that for years they have been robbing these pensioners and we are asking for nothing more than the same as the majority are getting now. Maybe we should be asking for compensation for the years that we have been deprived.and trade that against immediate uprating. It is all very well for these faceless MP's to say that they agree that it is wrong and then do nothing about it and how many times do they have to be asked ? I mean Steve Webb is a typical example of what is wrong with them and he is the kind of person that you have to deal with. Bloody hypocrites.

Changing the profile of age and ageing in the UK [updated]

2012-05-16T14:06:11-04:00

We need a Minister for Older People within Whitehall - and an Older Peoples Commission (as in Wales and soon to be in Northern Ireland). Whilst there are many differences between us as human beings we all share ageing, and whether we age well or poorly is a lot to do with the attitude of media, public and private sector services, and, maybe more than anything else, within ourselves. We need to reprofile and politicise the aging debate and strive to end age discrimination and achieve age equality.

Kevin Forbes said:

Excellent point, well put, you may like to review my campaign
Age Discrimination in the UK. It is amazing how so much of society feel they do not need to worry or concider older age and all that it means.

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-16T13:41:15-04:00

Peter Morris said:

BME means Black and Minority Ethnic people living in the UK.

There are no individual members of the ICBP - only the 5 now 4 organisations in Canada and Australia - South Africa folded recently. You should direct your comments / suggestions / criticisms to the organisation of which you are a member - CABP, BPAWC, BAPA or BPiA. If you are not a member of any of these organisations then I would be prepared to represent you if you joined BAPA - AUD $25.00 one off membership fee.

I think there is a need for confidentiality because any change would require a budget allocation and that needs to be carefully handled.

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-16T13:28:34-04:00

Morgeo said:

I would like to add something here Peter. I do not doubt your commitment to trying to resolve this impass that seems to be ongoing but surely if the ICBP were more open wjth the membership then there would be a better understanding all round. Why should you expect the government to be more open with you if you are not are not doing the same with them ? And the logic behind the government argument about affordablilty does not stand up , so why
accept it ? Or is that a secret ? And this Minister, whose name is secret, is supportive - really ? But not enough to do anything about it Eh ? No surprise there then. Now if you said that he was initiating a debate in the house which is more than overdue................

Make the public aware of the truth about our water shortages.

2012-05-16T10:01:17-04:00

Steve Spiller suggested:
The truth has been uncovered about why we have had the recent water shortages. Please follow my link to the Telegraph, this should make National TV News. It's disgraceful that the Government have kept this quiet. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/9261122/Keeping-the-country-short-of-water-is-now-government-and-EU-policy.html

A National Grid for Water

2012-05-16T09:56:55-04:00

Grahame Leon-Smith suggested:
Our next task should be to sort out the greedy, inefficient water companies. They make obscene profits and pay their directors ludicrous salaries and bonuses despite the fact that they are losing billions of litres of valuable water and, of course, they have no competition ! A National Grid for Water was suggested as long ago as 1975, but successive Governments and, needless to say, Ofcom, whose undoubtedly overpaid boss should be sacked, have not even tried to sort out this mess. We do not need to build a National Grid for Water from scratch, as we virtually had to do for North Sea gas. All that is necessary is to join up the various companies and allow all the customers to chose whichever company gives the best value for money. The Government should halve all directors' salaries and cancel all bonuses until the job is done !!! Grahame Leon-Smith, Founder Senior Citizens Network ( www.seniorcitizensnetwork.org.uk )

Fight against Fixed Rates

2012-05-16T07:27:56-04:00

Martin McLaughlin suggested:
We are necouraged to "fix & save" but fixed rates for electricty & gas (and other commodities) are effectively asking the public to speculate on the future of energy costs. These things are entirely beyond the control of users, who are not generally in a position to predict the future of these markets. Any fixed rate will include in an element of risk determined by the provider and paid by the user without any explanation. Give us a variable rate which is linked to a common base (akin to the BoE Base Rate for interest rates) and allows users to compare providers in a simple manner to identify real savings.

Stop the CSA penalising fathers who have made a career, make them go after the non payers (what it was set up for) [updated]

2012-05-16T05:47:11-04:00

The CSA currently targets Fathers who are on the voters role, pay tax and generally try to do right by their kids. They do not chase / get money from true absent fathers which is why it was set up. Now those that are paying are threatened with paying extra fees to fund the department. This needs to stop now. The system needs to be made fairer for all.

Ian said:

The CSA throughly abuse the extensive powers they have, they are not interested in making any respresentative assessment of a father obligations, it is all about clearing as much paper debt off their books as quickly as possible with a little effort as possible to meet goverment targets. Fathers with a steady job, pay their taxes and do the right thing are a soft target so its who they go for regardless of if they are paying child support. Do not believe that if you pay child support direct to your ex that the CSA will consider those payments as forefilling your obligations because they do not, if its not paid via the CSA "it does not count as payment in support of your child" words from the horse's mouth. Time to stop these crooks persecuting fathers who do pay becuase its easier than putting effort in to getting payments from those who dont

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-16T05:36:51-04:00

DLA is by the DWP's own admission at least 20% under claimed and maybe as much as 40%. It is subject to a misinformation campaign by the Condems and their allies in the gutter press. Its abolition and replacement is nothing but a cost cutting exercise by the Condems and will cause huge suffering to disabled people and their carers. The abolition for DLA for those in care homes is positively cruel and should be opposed by everyone with a social conscience.

Rose said:

Judging by todays article in the telegraph David Cameron wants to cut another 25 billion from welfare. Where it may make people who are ill or disabled sit up and take notice is that they also talked about pension reductions for those that are not yet of pensionable age.

This is exactly what I said would happen a few comments down - that the Government want to get rid of welfare altogether, or make it so low it is worthless.

Government plans to introduce a minimum salary of £35,000 for non-EU migrants to obtain permanent leave to remain in the UK. [updated]

2012-05-16T05:07:25-04:00

The government plans to introduce a minimum salary of £35,000 for migrants to settle in Britain from 2016. This is unfairly high compared with the national average salary of £26,000 and in view of the current economic crisis. It will damage Britain's economy as many highly skilled people, eg nurses, teachers, IT workers, will be forced to leave the country and others will be deterred from coming here.

Titilati said:

worst policy ever. what happens if migrant earns £25000.00 but trains British & EU citizens. After such training, the citizens leaves current employment to earn over £35000.00 with other employer but the trainer (Non EU) cannot change job because of job changes restrictions incorporated into his visa.
The migrant and the non migrant who is more skilled? Please remove work changes restrictions for Migrant on work permit to reflect fairness

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-16T04:19:02-04:00

Linda Jones said:

Its not that Clifford. I think 38 degrees do a good job, just not on this one. Also people haven't lost their spirit they have lost their means of organising, like trade union movement or radical campaigning groups. Too many charities getting public funding. Also government deaf to peoples needs.

Again move to stop DLA being remove d from care homes has already been won. This campaign is about care homes not DLA in general.

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-16T03:34:59-04:00

Andy Robertson-Fox said:

The e-petition now has 20,000 signatures; the Avaaz one 939. Keep pushing all those family and friends, folks!!

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-16T02:30:19-04:00

Andy Robertson-Fox said:

Peter, thank you for your update on dealings with the Cabinet Minister
There may be some who want "all or nothing" but I think that there are many who are not in favour of phasing and ICBP should not be making such offers to Government. It gives the appearance we are out with a begging bowl; we are not, we want what is rightfully ours -and now. It is the government who should be making the offers not the ICBP.

Secondly, I must again be critical at the suggestion of "reciprocal agreements" and I think it quite wrong to nourish the idea that while discriminating against all frozen pensioners is wrong it is OK to do so against a minority if they don't live in Australia or Canada. The governmentalready discriminates against a minority of pensioners already, why condone it further by such agreements?

Thirdly the question of adverse media comment is, in my view, a government red herring. I firmly believe that the majority of UK citizens would be far more supportive of unfreezing than, as Morgeo says handing over fistfuls of cash to the EU.

A formal letter from HMG would be nice but only if it gives specific timeous committment. Who will decide when the economy has 'recovered'?

I look forward to your advising what or who BME is or are!

Also, perhaps divulging who this mysterious Cabinet Office Minister is..excluding the PM and his deputy there are only five to choose from; tossing a coin between Maude and Letwin, myself - probably the latter!

A call for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the UK [updated]

2012-05-15T19:23:18-04:00

'The oil and gas industry is seeking to exploit UK onshore gas reserves trapped in shale rock and coal beds requiring environmentally damaging and risky techniques, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking). We, the signatories of this petition, call on the coalition government in Westminster, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Scottish Parliament to impose a moratorium, demanded by environmental groups and geology experts in the field, on shale gas, and on the related coal bed methane extraction industry, at least until the results of studies here, in other countries in Europe and in the US have been properly evaluated. Such moratoria are already in place in France, North Rhine Westphalia (Germany), New York State, New Jersey.'

Frances Hunt said:

Oh and I'll add what I think: Fracking will crack the bedrock of our delicate environment, it will suck up all our water then spit it out permanently polluted with very nasty chemical additives, and make our air stink of leaking methane. Any support for it as a solution to the energy crisis is complete rubbish as it is environmentally dirtier than burning coal.

A call for a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the UK [updated]

2012-05-15T19:05:34-04:00

Frances Hunt said:

Hi, I posted a campaign suggestion to oppose Fracking by responding to the Dept For Energy & Climate Change's VERY quiet consultation about this industry, the deadline to respond is 25th May, then an approval report can go to Parliament.

However now I've found my way around better I've realised there's 10 sugg- estions opposing fracking. So i've added a note to mine diverting people here in hope that this one can get trending and 38* could send it in to the consultation.

It is urgent that opposition is made clear and public - all DECC pronouncements and policy statements recently have given the highly coded message that Govmt supports and is clearing the lines for drilling to start next year across the UK. They are desperate to get it through because, having practically killed the renewables industry, they are left with an energy policy which relies on nuclear, Fracking and as yet uninvented carbon capture & storage. An Energy Bill is due 22nd May before consultation ends - but cant make it legit if enough outcry forces an adverse consultation report.

The consultation can be found here: http://og.decc.gov.uk/en/olgs/cms/explorationpro/onshore/cuadrilla_decc/cuadrilla_decc.aspx
(Health warning: it seems mostly written by the Fracking industry PR department)

10 days to stop Fracking companies polluting UK water, ground and air: govmt consultation! [updated]

2012-05-15T18:52:10-04:00

The Queen's speech made Fracking official policy ('unconventional gas' is its coded description) which will clear the many sites already licensed across the UK to start drilling. This US technology drills down & forces large quantities of water laced with several nasty non-biodegradable chemicals (eg ethyl-benzene) under high pressure into the rockbed to force out methane gas. There is little to prevent the poisoned water & uncollected methane leaching into groundwater and air - as beleaguered US states have discovered too late & are now trying to stop. DECC (govmt dept) has a 'consultation' very quietly running until 25th May - we must record opposition to this mining industry which environmentally is dirtier than coal burning. See twitter #frack-off to find information

Frances Hunt said:

Hi, important message: we need a petition fast but there's TEN suggested campaigns listed on this subject & dividing the votes so please go to this one instead:
http://38degrees.uservoice.com/forums/78585-campaign-suggestions/suggestions/1717939-a-call-for-a-moratorium-on-hydraulic-fracturing- I put up this suggestion here but hadn't found my way around this process properly - so my votes are now on this other one. Do hope 38* can put a petition in to the DECC consultation by 25th May - may be th only chance to keep Fracking out

Restoring gas, water and electricity to public ownership [updated]

2012-05-15T17:26:38-04:00

Natural resources belong to all of us and therefore those who use them (all of us) should be the shareholders in publically owned companies and/or mutual societies. Prices should be controlled so that the poor, old and sick do not fall into fuel poverty.

Anonymous said:

Re-nationalize the water industry. Too much is wasted in leaks and too much is owned abroad. Do they pay sufficient taxes in the UK? Unlikely...

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T16:54:53-04:00

Morgeo said:

Agreed Jane. A little more transparency both on the part of government and also those working for the resolution of this problem would not go amiss. You see Peter, you mention BME and we have no idea what you are talking about and when I googled it , I learnt nothing . Pensioners whose income is getting less and less are reluctant to spend $20 on membership of the CABP whose efforts have drawn a total blank so far in their view. Now I appreciate what has been done as a rep for New Brunswick and it is a difficult and uphill struggle to not only get the right information but convince them that we are winning the war and to stay with us. Compared to the position when I joined we have made a lot of headway but to see more comments from others would be nice as we have to keep on jumping on every opportunity to keep the subject alive. You have been conspicuous in that respect and the POP group to which I also belong are really keen to do the same as I'm sure you have noticed.
A question - When will the UK economy recover enough to stop the freezing ? We are talking about a mere 600 million GBP. I say that because they find that amount every 12 days and give it to the EU.
They were able to find 8 billion GBP to give to India in aid which was not given after all as I understand it, What happened to that money ?
And the interest of 1.3 billion paid back last year on the loans from the NI fund which is twice the amount needed to settle it. These sort of situations make the argument seem so petty and unnecessary.
If I have the wrong end of the stick then tell me but opting for settlement sometime whenever should never be an option for us to consider in my view..

Save the cattle of the UK from TB

2012-05-15T15:15:04-04:00

Anonymous suggested:
To publicise the impact TB is having on the UK farming industry, and the distress it causes farming families

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T14:51:20-04:00

Jane Davies said:

Thanks for that Peter, just a couple of questions. What has the state of the UK economy got to do with it? The NI fund is a separate entity, ring fenced and in surplus, it's our money sitting there for our pensions?
Even the DWP has had to stop saying that reciprocal agreements are not needed as this has been proven to be untrue (or to be less polite..a lie).
Excuse my ignorance but what does BME mean?
Why is the name of the cabinet minister not disclosed? Did the rep from ICBP point out the savings to the UK economy that expats make in not using the NHS and all the other services that resident pensioners are entitled to?
A positive meeting in many respects until you mention George Osborne...he is not intersted in seniors welfare...in fact he seems to be on a mission to make life as hard as possible for those who have worked and paid taxes and are now retired. Much better to give taxpayers money to those who have not done a days work all their lives.

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T14:06:29-04:00

Peter Morris said:

There was a meeting between a representative of the ICBP and the relevant minister on 24/04/2012. Here are some revised notes:

Met with the Cabinet Office Minister. The meeting was most friendly and he confirmed that he was personally responsible for the issue of BSP indexation and that this was no longer part of Pension Minister Steve Webb`s responsibilities. The Cabinet Office Minister continues to be very supportive and he agrees with us that the current policy is unjust, unfair; he himself made the point that all recipients of BSP paid the same NI insurance and should therefore be entitled to the same Pension. I stressed the importance of the 8% of the electorate being BME and the fact that 65% supported Labour. Obviously the UK economy is in a parlous state; we did discuss the question of an age- tiered approach; I pointed out to him that if HMG started with the 85+ group, it would cost less than £100Million and would probably not attract adverse criticism – he took this under advisement. I also pressed him hard on the issue of Reciprocal Agreements, initially with Australia and Canada; Hague had rejected official approaches by Canada ( Cannon ) and Australia ( Carr ), however this was shortsighted, since the current freeze was costing both countries` economies. Reciprocal Agreements could be handled with the minimum of adverse media comment. Lastly we discussed a formal letter from HMG recognizing the fact that the current situation was unfair and illogical and would be considered for resolution as soon as the UK economy recovered; he would try and get such a letter to us within a couple of weeks but he had `to talk to George [Osborne] first`.

I know some people say they want "all or nothing" but anything might just be the thin edge of the wedge.

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T13:33:51-04:00

Morgeo said:

You are right Jane. Getting answers from anyone, particularly MP's is
virtually impossible as they hide behind their army of 'helpers' or 'advisors' or whatever you wish to call them, who push out the same old rubbish day in day out and most times never about the subject that you are asking about. Much like this useless forum on 38 degrees which has produced nothing and obviously do not intend to. I am not convinced that they are not politically backed and controlled as they do not wish to support this in any way and the disappearance of the campaign suggestion league where No1 meant a problem for them which they did'nt want to know about. Convince me that this is not the case 38 degrees.! No reply expected as usual.

nutritional standards in LEA-maintained schools and academies

2012-05-15T13:22:39-04:00

Anonymous suggested:
Research by the School Food Trust shows that 89 out of 100 academies are selling junk food that is banned in LEA-maintained schools to protect children's health. Michael Gove has up to now asserted that academies shouldn't have to abide by the nutritional standards introduced under the last government because he felt that they would continue to maintain high standards - that's clearly now not the case. Surely all schools should be required to abide by the standards?

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T12:51:59-04:00

Jane Davies said:

We have been very busy doing other things, working hard to get an end to the frozen pensions, James. Also waiting for the answers to questions posed here. Like, what has Michael Parkinson and Dickie Bird done for this campaign? What has become of the much lauded working group? Also we hear that this campaign suggestion is not going to be taken up by 38...it came last on their list when members were asked to vote on their next campaigns. So the fact that this issue is the most voted for by the public means bugger all if 38 decided not to go with it.
I hope the ICBP have read the reaction to the Telegraph article about "phasing" in of uprating...we have been taking part in that outrageous suggestion, by we of course I mean the group I belong to. No concessions James, uprating for all is the only option, anything less is a cop out and condones the continued freezing of the rest.
Looking back at the last month the only comments posted have been from just the three of us, not counting you James and Peter Morris, so I think we, Andy Morgeo and myself have been flogging this dead horse so maybe we deserve not only some credit in keeping this forum going, albeit intermittantly, but also some answers.

I will ask again....what has happened to the Dickie Bird and Michael Parkinson involvment? What about the much lauded working party?

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T12:21:33-04:00

Freda Piles said:

Oh Andy, you mean the working party that is so secret that no-one has heard a word about them or from them or even know who they are ?
This was some delaying tactic to stop any changes before the budget so they can run on another year robbing us.

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T10:44:19-04:00

Andy Robertson-Fox said:

But not as quiet as ICBP it seems...no response in 10 days from them. I see Dickie Bird collected his gong at Buck House today so what news on them and, while we are about it - a question about this working party. Simply is it actually working?

End state child abduction and state cover-ups: Prosecute Blair, Brown, Cameron and collaborators

2012-05-15T10:03:13-04:00

an anonymous user suggested:
Those involved in the shocking events surrounding the removal of my daughter and the subsequent cover-up must be brought to justice. Our hard fought democracy, human rights and rule of law MUST be respected. Ordinary people and their children need protection. That means no one is above the law. 10 seconds at www.facebook.com/TheKeyAuthor and you will know.

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T08:22:57-04:00

clifford said:

you are right linda i am afraid not enough people who will stand up and be counted the bulldog spirit has long gone only a few of us left but to be fair i feel 38degrees has given a platform to people but nobody wants to stand on it together so they will win again how sad people have lost there spirit strengh and pride

fairness, justice and equality for all British state pensioners [updated]

2012-05-15T07:40:42-04:00

James Nelson said:

You have all become very quiet.

10 days to stop Fracking companies polluting UK water, ground and air: govmt consultation!

2012-05-15T07:38:09-04:00

Frances Hunt suggested:
The Queen's speech made Fracking official policy ('unconventional gas' is its coded description) which will clear the many sites already licensed across the UK to start drilling. This US technology drills down & forces large quantities of water laced with several nasty non-biodegradable chemicals (eg ethyl-benzene) under high pressure into the rockbed to force out methane gas. There is little to prevent the poisoned water & uncollected methane leaching into groundwater and air - as beleaguered US states have discovered too late & are now trying to stop. DECC (govmt dept) has a 'consultation' very quietly running until 25th May - we must record opposition to this mining industry which environmentally is dirtier than coal burning. See twitter #frack-off to find information

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T07:04:57-04:00

Linda said:

I guess there is just not enough of us for 38 degrees to take it on.
And yes, disability can affect any one at any time. It feels that disabled people may become an underclass.
All the progress which has been made looks as if it will all be lost.

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T06:39:53-04:00

Linda Jones said:

There is a new website from the US. I think its called change.com. They have had a lot of success in the States. It may be worth trying to start something there.

38 degrees do not appear to want to support this campaign.

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T06:37:10-04:00

Linda Jones said:

Couldn't agree more Rose.
Another problem is that those who are able bodied appear not to realise that anyone can end up disabled. In this situation, and unless you are very rich, you could end up needing DLA for survival. The coalition government seem to have created an us and them mindset in the UK so that able bodied people feel that disability is nothing to do with them or unnecessary. In reality, and at any time it could be everything to do with them. They block out the fact that accidents and illnesses etc happen and to anybody.

RBS planned Share Sub-division and Consolidation [updated]

2012-05-15T05:22:01-04:00

RBS have just sent out a notification to shareholders about a planned sub-division and consolidation of shares. They believe that their share is too low and want to consolidate shares to bump up their share price. To do this they value current shares at 25p, 15p of this will be turned into a deferred share (made worthless and kept by the bank) and 10p into an ordinary share with 10 of these shares being combined to make a £1.00 ordinary share. Although the share value remains the same the taxpayer is effectively losing 60% of our share volume which is being turned into worthless shares. A fair consolidation would simply turn four 25p shares into one pound share. There is no point in this exercise other than for cosmetic purposes, probably with a view to the Government selling our stake as quickly (and considering the current financial climate) as cheaply as possible. The only people who will benefit are the Government who I'm sure have green lighted this project, the advisers in the enormous fees this will cost, and the directors of RBS who will now have millions of differed shares floating in their books for bonuses etc. There is an AGM on the 30th May to vote on this plan, however the Directors would never have suggested this without Government approval and as they hold our 80% of the vote this will be passed unless action is taken to highlight that the Taxpayer is once again getting ripped off by this RBS fiasco.

Carol Williams said:

For every ten shares that are owned you want to convert these into one share. I do not find this acceptable. For years I worked for Nat West and then RBS and contributed into the share save scheme with a view to having a more comfortable retirement from the proceeds of the shares. I was encouraged by Fred Goodwin to purchase more to raise extra funding.
I have recently been through the same sort of restructure with Millwall shares and lost everything.
I feel this is an excuse for people who have millions of shares that have been given to them as part of their bonus are set to “Make a killing” as soon as the new share price is announced. It has been said that the reasoning behind this is because the market is flooded with RBS shares. I find this laughable as it was themselves that made this situation in the first place and now just want to profit from it with their over inflated bonuses and pay packages for which I do not feel they deserve.
After the Northern Rock saga came to light our attention then became focused on the other banks that were also in difficulties, RBS being one of them. It had been mis-managed, and run into the ground by over inflated pay rises and bonuses to the hierarchy. Originally my shares were valued at approximately £300,000 + around the year 2001/2 and whilst I appreciate that market values fluctuate on a daily basis with what they are trying to propose now the value of my shares would only amount to around £4,250 and this is totally unacceptable in a time when the government are already pushing OAP’s into working longer and using what little savings they may have..
How can they sit there an award themselves such massive pay rises and bonus packages knowing what they have done and try and think of all the shareholders and what your obligations to them should be rather than trying to line their own pockets.

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T04:46:02-04:00

clifford said:

as i have said before the british are known around the world as moaners who do nothing the goverment encourage and thrive on this attitude that is why they have no respect for anybody they have heard it all before only direct action from all cities at the same time under 1 banner of
protest will make them take notice as far as they are concerned they can do as they please with very little backlash WE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMIES WAKE UP PEOPLE FIGHT BACK

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T04:19:51-04:00

Rose said:

DLA to PIP will just be the start - I think the numbers of 500,000 is downplayed and in reality it will be twice as many. If they get away with this plus the change to Universal Credit I expect that over the next several years they will eventually enusure that everyone regardless of disability will end up on JSA rates. Also if you can lift a pen you will be deemed fit for work.

As for the fact they should be chasing tax dodgers. It appears they have made a start by going after sellers on Ebay and Amazon. Note that they are chasing small traders and people and not the two huge companies themselves who do not pay tax in the uk. The rich it seems make the rules and reap the benefits and we are all daft and soft enough to let them.

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T04:05:33-04:00

clifford said:

well as we all know there is only 1 option left anonymous they are'nt going to listen and really don't care about words so its we go to the streets big movement big enough to get media coverage or roll over and take the kicking

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-15T02:49:24-04:00

Linda Jones said:

This government are intent on giving the disabled a 'good kicking'. Pity they wouldn't concentrate on the real robbers ie those who evade tax.

Banning the Grand National [updated]

2012-05-15T02:40:33-04:00

ban the cruel and horrible 'sport' that claims the lives of so many horses each year.

Jacqui said:

Ban this disgusting activity.

Stop adding flouride to our water supplies. Flouride is a known poison with many deleterious effects [updated]

2012-05-14T20:35:59-04:00

Anonymous said:

An enquiry into this and mercury in almalgam fillings would be most interesting.
I'm of the understanding that it's possible a certain immunity would be built up due to the dilute nature of the flouride but nevertheless it needs bringing to the fore and addressing as a matter of urgency, as everyone reacts differently to different substances.

A campaign to stop the abolition of Disability Living Allowance - the measure of civilised society. [updated]

2012-05-14T19:56:58-04:00

Louise said:

The new Personal Independent Payment that comes into force by the DWP in April 2013 is also unfair on people who have life long illnesses in which they can have remissions as well for a short time before another re-lapse with their illness, as it states that these people will either be awarded the lower rate or loose PIP all together & then have to re-apply when they have a relapse with their life long illness. Once a person who has a life long illness has been award the benefit they should not be givin a lower rate or loose it altogether when in remission at all when it is only for short periods.

UK companies' use of coltan fueling human rights nightmare in the Democratic Republic of Congo [updated]

2012-05-14T17:49:13-04:00

Coltan is a mineral used in electronics, including all of our computers and mobile phones. 80% of the world's coltan is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and their proxy militias are the primary exploiters of coltan in the Congo, which is bought by multinational corporations, whom the UN has described as "the engine of the conflict in the DRC." The war in the Congo has claimed an estimated three million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. More than 8,300 women were raped during fighting in 2009, and the DRC has been in the news recently due to systematic raping on a massive scale. I want to put pressure on companies such as companies such as Nokia, Motorola, Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Ericsson and Sony to ensure they are not buying coltan or other minerals from regions of the Congo where the fighting is taking place, and to audit their supplies. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4473700036349997790# http://mobileactive.org/are-there-conflict-minerals-your-mobile-phone

Anonymous said:

If anyone has any links or info, lets add it here: http://www.crowdvoice.org/conflict-minerals-in-our-mobiles.

The sale of the Royal Mail to private enterprise

2012-05-14T16:30:49-04:00

jeff gilbert suggested:
Because the tax payer has funded this organisation. If the government has its way it will be sold off probably cheaply as the current head of the royal mail says it is balance sheet poor and then broken up and enormous profits made from the parceling up of land and properties.The land and properties should not be sold to predatory developers but sold/leased to social housing associations/ local authorities for council housing or for community projects. Almost a big society idea!!

REMPLOY [updated]

2012-05-14T15:53:14-04:00

STOP THE FACTORY CLOSURES

andy said:

A union rep. stated in a local meeting of employees that he thought 75% of those made redundant would lose the will to live within a year.
It's disgusting what the government is doing.

Reduce or abolish the 24mth contracs on mobiles for pensioners and students,

2012-05-14T14:12:39-04:00

sandy suggested:
My contract with 3mobile is for 24 mths, unbreakable as far as 3 is concerned, however, I would like to have more options as tariffs evolve. I think a 6mth contract with options to renew or change is fairer.

Immigration

2012-05-14T11:38:11-04:00

John Brown suggested:
The number of people that are being allowed to live in this country is having a significant impact and knock on effect, into every aspect of our lives, including the two issues above. We are a small island and simply cannot sustain the influx of so many people from other countries...............the social, economic and environmental implications of this, are massive and highly destructive in the short term and catastrophic in the long term. This is nothing to do with Race, Colour or Creed; it’s about common sense and taking steps to protect the beautiful things we have, while we still can!

Town and Country Planning

2012-05-14T11:36:49-04:00

John Brown suggested:
Changes in Planning legislation, giving local authorities the power to encroach and build houses on Green Belt

Care of the Elderly

2012-05-14T11:34:41-04:00

John Brown suggested:
The serious inconsistencies in the quality of basic care, that people receive when hospitalised The serious inconsistencies in the quality of basic care and dreadful stories of abuse, of people living in Residential and Nursing Homes The insidious plans to make people pay for their care, to the extent of enforced sale of their homes/property

Pro wind farms. Let's be "for" something for a change! [updated]

2012-05-14T10:22:40-04:00

Government seriously considering u-turn on wind; wind companies' investment on hold due to uncertainty; well-funded anti-campaigns. Is the viability of life on earth more important than a view?

Peter said:

This isn't a debate. Any debate on this is an utter irrelevance.
1. Climate change is real and is happening now.
2. Even if it wasn't, renewable energy is environmentally better than fossil fuels because
a. it's non-polluting
b. fossil fuels will run out

I'll link to answer websites with answers to all of the climate deniers BS, but I believe the most important one is this http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/c/confirmation_bias.htm .

There is a link between peoples willingness to believe deniers and how much combating climate change will affect them personally (nimby doesn't want a wind farm near them = they are less likely to believe in climate change, more likely to believe BS from deniers)

The biggest cause of climate change denial is pure selfishness.

Which leads to this http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/02/02/a-case-study-of-the-tactics-of-climate-change-denial-in-which-i-am-the-target/ and this http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/mar/03/michael-mann-climate-change-deniers

http://grist.org/series/skeptics/
http://www.alternet.org/environment/145609/how_to_answer_the_dumb_things_climate_deniers_say

Scrapping the UK's Trident Missile System [updated]

2012-05-14T09:36:44-04:00

Trident A Doomsday weapon and an utter waste of money! Let's scrap it now!

Rik said:

This is the email I put to 38 Degrees:

Good Afternoon,

I wanted to put a proposal forward for a potential campaign in the future. I'm sure your well aware of the Royal Navy's participation in the Trident Programme that builds submarines with nuclear missile capabilities. The government says they act as a 'nuclear deterrent'.

Having looked at the figures I am shocked to realize how much we are pumping into this programme on an annual basis.

I quote:

‎"The total acquisition cost of the Trident programme was £9.8 billion, or £14.9 billion at 2005 prices, 38% of which was incurred in the U.S. In 2005/2006, annual expenditure for running and capital costs was estimated at between £1.2bn and £1.7bn and was estimated to rise to £2bn to £2.2bn in 2007/2008, including Atomic Weapons Establishment costs. Since Trident became operational in 1994, annual expenditure has ranged between 3% and 4.5% of the annual defence budget, and was expected to increase to 5.5% of the defence budget by 2007/2008.[9][12]"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Trident_programme#Cost

We are putting in billions of pounds of the taxpayers money to fund these ludicrously expensive and superfluous machines.

Here is a great article on Trident by the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4805768.stm

I apologize in advance if you have already tried to campaign for change on Trident or that you are already working on something.

Thank you and keep doing what your doing!