My name is Payzee. I was 15 when my dad first asked me to get married – I giggled “I’m so young”. The next time, I felt if I said no it would damage our relationship. I didn’t comprehend at 16 that it was a life-changing decision that actually meant leaving my family and forming my own. I didn’t understand the consequences. Both my sister Banaz and I were pressured into marriage in the UK at just 16 and 17 years old. Banaz was later murdered at the age of 20 in a so-called “honour” killing for leaving her abusive husband. Whilst I was eventually able to divorce my husband who was 12 years my senior, the lasting effects of my experience of child marriage stay with me. Despite this, current UK law allows 16 and 17-year olds in England and Wales to marry with parental consent, a legal exception that leaves children vulnerable to being coerced by their parent into marrying against their will.That’s why I’m calling for marriage under 18 in England and Wales to be a crime. Outlawing child marriage is the best way to stop coerced child marriage from happening – there is no reason to leave children unprotected from the risks associated with child marriage in today’s society, when only 0.07% of registered marriages are with under 18s. I remember thinking Oh My God, he looks old, he was losing his hair. I was just hoping he wouldn’t want me, that he’d say, “she’s just a baby!”. I had to quit college for a bit because my husband complained that I wasn’t caring for him, cooking for him. He said to my parents, “she needs to have a baby”. It made me feel sick. I did not choose child marriage, it ruined my future. It led me astray from my dreams of focusing on my education, it took away the best years of my life. I’ll never again be that innocent 16-year-old. Alongside Freedom United and Girls Not Brides UK Co-Chairs: IKWRO, Karma Nirvana, Forward, and Independent Yemen Group, I am 100% backing changing the age of marriage. I can confidently say it was not an experience a 16-year-old should go through. I have lifelong emotional scars from it and we need to put a stop to any more young women having their lives controlled like this. Join me in calling on the UK to #SafeguardFutures #BanChildMarriage.

Youth work is important but it’s under threat. Pledge to invest in growing the service for London's young people.    The cuts in youth provisions has had more of an impact on us (young people) than people may think and we care - enormously. Young people want and need to be able to socialise in a safe and secure environment. Youth provisions create great opportunities for young people. They give us places of learning, chances to build friendships, access to professional and local support and to have fun! It gives us a place we can call ours. But it's under threat.  Because of cuts decided by adults, many youth workers are losing their jobs. They are as important to us as the venues and programmes being closed down and under threat. Also, many places we care about are being closed down and hours of delivery being reduced. This issue affects us all, whatever your age. This needs to stop. We want mayoralty candidates to pledge to invest in and protect youth services in London right now. We can see plenty of money being spent on expensive new homes but not on provisions for the community that already lives here. Quality youth work and services are important to us and important to the whole community. London needs these services. We came together thanks to the work of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and Rio supports us on this campaign.  “I have often said that if I had not been lucky enough to be a professional footballer I would have worked in youth services in some way, as I remember the support and mentoring my friends and I had when we were young, and some of my friends work in that field to this day. In the current climate youth services are increasingly under threat, and while in some parts of London great work continues as with our partnership with Lewisham Council, in other areas youth provision is minimal and young people are missing the opportunities we had when I was younger.  It is great that young people themselves are recognising the issues confronting them, from youth club closures to jobs to housing, and are campaigning to do something about it. I am proud to support their voice and their cause both personally and via my Foundation.” Rio Ferdinand  We invite the candidates to meet us, listen to us, acknowledge our campaign, and respond to our views and ideas. Change needs to happen before it’s too late. Please sign and share this petition and help us show the candidates for London Mayor 2016 how important youth provision is all over London. We can all be part of the solution.  #InvestInYouthWork

Motor Neurone Disease (MND / ALS) Six lives lost daily to MND in the UK and treatments already exist. There are over 5,000 people suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in the UK. MND is also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for which the Ice Bucket Challenge raised awareness in 2014.  A third of people with MND die within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis. Six people a day are diagnosed with MND in the UK. Six people a day die from MND in the UK. The impact of MND on patients, their families and the economy cannot be overestimated. Previously, the only drug available was one not much better than a placebo.  For the first time in history patients need not die from MND as treatments now exist. However, patients don't yet have access to such treatments.  When it comes to cancer, other diseases and historically HIV / AIDS lifesaving drugs have been granted accelerated pathways through the clinical trial and drug approval processes. Furthermore, the EU drug approval process through the European Commission / European Medicines Agency (EMA) and/or the review by MHRA/NICE in the UK to approve a new treatment for NHS patients may each lag behind the US FDA approval process by 9 months or longer. While there is a movement that is gaining momentum in the US to accelerate completion of phase 3 clinical trials and approval of drugs that have been deemed safe and effective for MND patients, there is no similar effort in the UK.  This could result in a situation where a treatment is available in the US but not in the EU or UK for a year or more until approved by the EU and/or MHRA/NICE, resulting in over 2,000 lives lost in the UK during the interval. The UK has its own accelerated process known as Accelerated Assessment / Access which the UK could potentially apply to new MND treatments before or immediately after ongoing phase 3 clinical trials are complete in the US. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/guidance-note-on-new-assessment-routes-in-a-no-deal-scenario#accelerated-assessment-pathway https://www.nice.org.uk/aac NurOwn 1-  Stem cells are taken from the patient's own bone marrow (BMMSCs). 2-  The BMMSCs are harvested and enhanced using the NurOwn process to produce a two year supply. 3-  The enhanced BMMSCs are injected into the spinal fluid to preserve nerve cells and slow or halt progression of MND.  This injection is repeated more than once annually. Effective treatments currently in phase 3 trials: 1-      NurOwn   - Stem cell therapy (Brainstorm, US) 2-      Cu-ATSM  - A basic copper compound that crosses the blood brain barrier (CMD, US/Australia) - (Phase 2/3) The anticipated schedule in the US without an accelerated process there is listed below. - December 2020, Completion of phase 3 clinical Trial (NurOwn only)- June 2021, FDA review and drug approval- March 2022, EU and MHRA/NICE approval (without Accelerated Assessment / Access in the EU or UK) The first likely to be approved is NurOwn. It may be possible to combine both treatments potentially increasing efficacy. [ Tregs is still in early clinical trials but is also emerging as an effective treatment for MND. The above excludes a platform trial of 5 drugs due to commence in the US in 2020.] Unnecessarily, waiting, without an Accelerated Assessment / Access Review, for many more months to March 2022 at the earliest is another 4,250 lives lost in the UK despite two different safe and effective treatments being available. Current health / social care and economic costs relating to MND may well offset the cost of new treatments. There is certainly no reason for UK patients to wait beyond the date of FDA approval of NurOwn. A UK government initiative could potentially result in early approval before the FDA as clinical trial data is available and the same stem cell procedure is being carried out at hospitals abroad. If the process is accelerated in the US the FDA review and drug approval processes may commence early and/or drug approval may be granted while phase 3 clinical trials are still ongoing but with sufficient data released. The disease is fatal so approving a drug that has been shown to be safe and effective can be no more fatal than time lost without treatment.The UK government does not have to rely on the US process but can take action under its Accelerated Assessment / Access Review to approve before mid 2021. The above treatments are not a cure for MND but transform it into a disease that can be managed similar to how drugs for HIV allow sufferers to live long productive lives today.  We are at the same point in time of the drug discovery process for MND that we were in when new effective lifesaving drugs were approved to treat HIV. The only difference is that there aren’t as many influential voices calling for early access to treatment for MND patients. What can the UK government do to save over 2,000 lives per annum and reduce the cost of MND to the economy? 1- Announce a policy on MND with the objective of providing patients with treatment at the earliest possible date by actively accelerating the approval process where possible and not simply waiting for the US to approve before taking action. 2- There is nothing stopping the UK government and MHRA/NICE approving treatments before the FDA in the US, based on existing and future clinical trial data. 3- A fast track approval process for the treatment/drug in the UK under the Accelerated Assessment / Access Review or an executive order/decree that approves the treatment/drug. 4- Instruct MHRA/NICE to open discussions with the drug companies NOW to agree supply arrangements and prices to avoid having the same discussions well after the treatment is on the market in the US while people die in the UK as treatment is either too expensive for the NHS or is yet to be approved. 5- Explore the possibility of commencing new large scale (up to 5,000 patients) clinical trials at UK hospitals. One interesting future trial could be the efficacy of combining NurOwn and Cu-ATSM. 6- In the event of a likely delay to the approval of NurOwn and/or Cu-ATSM, explore the possibility of funding patient treatment abroad, where feasible, until approved and until MHRA/NICE completes its review for the NHS to provide treatment. 7- Cu-ATSM is a simple compound to produce.  An agreement with CMD in Australia/US may achieve the objective of agreeing early availability of the drug through centres that specialise in MND such as Sheffield MND Care and Research Centre.  This drug could be administered through a large scale clinical trial. 8- The UK government and NICE should contact Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics and CMD inviting the companies to submit applications for approval / early approval. 9- The MND Association and leading MND treatment centres in the UK can be included in discussions with Brainstorm and CMD as an introduction to the treatments and to plan and prepare for patients receiving treatment. 10- MND treatment centres in the UK can start clinical trials performing the stem cell procedure without using the NurOwn platform for harvesting of bone marrow MSC until NurOwn is available in the UK. This Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMMSCs) procedure is already available in many counties. What can you do?  Write to the Prime Minister and your MP highlighting the issue so that the government can review and approve access to MND treatments early. While the UK excels in medicine and healthcare this does not apply to either stem cell procedures or those using Regulatory T cells (Tregs) in neurology and for treatment of MND. It therefore follows that effective treatments for MND in the UK may have to be provided in cooperation with other specialists or hospital departments other than neurology until there is change. There is no reason for clinical trials not to be commenced in the UK using Stem Cells and Tregs to treat MND.  It may also be possible to host trials using Cu-ATSM with CMD's permission.  Either way government, MHRA, NICE, NHS and treatment centres need to start preparing NOW. The MND Association perhaps could do more to advocate for the early introduction of such treatments in the UK and/or ensure that there is no delay upon FDA approval. Hence start planning NOW. Every life counts! https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/467580-the-real-horror-this-halloween-is-the-fdas-drug-approval-process https://n.neurology.org/content/neurology/early/2019/11/17/WNL.0000000000008620.full.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2t-h0fav4unoep3Fas_AqLGt8ERvZ4rGMj_s6cLFCbu4zZZDF0zJY4sIA https://alsnewstoday.com/2019/11/01/nurown-gets-good-safety-review-by-phase-3-trial-monitoring-board/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bruX2CzQAgw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FI4mHtYESw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuDxBQYeiS4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezj5iJCU5K4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrYb4mQAHFU&feature=emb_logo   [Tregs] https://alsadotorg.wordpress.com/2019/06/24/challenge-me-to-halt-the-progression-of-als/  [Tregs] https://alsnewstoday.com/2019/10/16/first-patient-enrolled-in-phase-2-3-trial-of-cuatsm/ https://www.als.ca/blogs/whats-the-story-with-cuatsm/ https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03280056?term=nurown&draw=2&rank=1 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04082832?term=cuatsm&draw=2&rank=4 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04055623?cond=als&draw=2&rank=11 https://www.massgeneral.org/neurology/als/research/platform-trial https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-05/right-to-try-law-namesake-gets-als-therapy-says-it-s-working https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/03/11/als-patients-fighting-fda-for-experimental-drug-nurown/ https://www.facebook.com/6209609/posts/10107753561682093/

THE FINANCIAL FACTS The annual £1bn wasted on the UK government’s current inefficient management of litter & fly tipping leaves us drowning in litter, killing or injuring 70,000 animals a year and makes us statistically one of the most littered nations on earth. By adopting our approach, Britain could be cleaned up overnight and the costs reduced to £383 million.  That’s an annual saving of £617m! That could be used for one of, or a combination of the following:- 20,000 police 16,000 nurses 7400 doctors 10,000 social homes  Enough is enough and this madness must stop now. What is Needed? A uniformed and structured approach is urgently needed across the nation that is delivered on as a “ONE WAY AND ONE WAY ONLY” policy that cannot be ignored or deviated from. Our target is to achieve over 100,000 signatures from UK citizens in order that we can force this matter to be taken seriously in Parliament and appoint a Litter Minister or Litter Tzar to deliver the programme. By signing our petition, you are supporting our aim to force the government to change the way they tackle litter in Britain by adopting these 5 key actions across the nation: - Educating The Nation – Embedding a public information film and awareness campaign across the country and ensuring that all schools are on board with showing this at school assemblies. Setting Standards That Show We Care – Adopting a zero-tolerance littering policy whereby all litter is picked up every day and maintaining Grade A, litter free standards in line with the law and DEFRA Litter Code of Practice already in place. Enforcement Of The Law – Setting examples across the country with clear visibility to the public that enforcing of fines for littering and fly tipping is in place and being done. Tapping in to evidence from the vast network of traffic cams and CCTVs and encouraging the public to post footage of littering offences caught on mobile phones and dashcams. Enforcement is to also include issuing Litter Abatement Orders for fly tipping on private land and if not cleaned up, action taken immediately by the authorities to do so. Eliminate Fly Tipping – Simplifying the recycling rules and multiple coloured wheelie bins to one standard across the country. Changing and unforming the rules and relaxing the restrictions at all recycling centres that will then allow homeowners to dispose of household waste including the use of a van or truck to do so. Embracing & Adopting an Innovative Approach – Giving the public one free app to use to report litter and fly tipping and turning clean up teams into “smart teams” adopting a proactive, reactive and innovative approach working out in the field using live updates via reports from the public direct to smart tablets to tackle litter and fly tipping in real time and maintain high standards everywhere. The addition of introducing technology such as high-powered driveable litter vacuum trucks for keeping verges litter free and roads swept of debris also equipped with sign washing equipment to keep traffic signage clean and visible will also ensure areas remain spotless and costs are reduced due to less staff needed.

I’m the baby's dad who took on Boris Johnson over the NHS when he came to Whipps Cross Hospital for a publicity stunt. I started this petition because I discovered as a result of my daughter's experience at Whipps Cross that there is a huge crisis with buildings and equipment in the NHS.  You can read more about this issue in my Guardian article here. Whipps Cross is just one example of how our NHS is literally falling apart: hospitals are crumbling, equipment is broken and repairs are not being made. Spending on buildings and equipment is insufficient to meet the NHS’s needs – this means hospitals will struggle to continue to provide even the current level of service. I started this petition to do something about the buildings and equipment crisis in the NHS! I would be grateful if you could sign the petition.  Thank youOmar SalemPETITION******Our NHS is falling apart. Hospitals are crumbling, equipment is broken and repairs are not being done. Current levels of spending on buildings and equipment are not sufficient to meet the NHS’s needs. The NHS cannot even continue to provide the same service, because equipment is not being replaced and buildings are not being fixed. Over the past decade, as part of austerity, money that was meant to be spent on NHS equipment and buildings was diverted by the government to be used for day-to-day running costs. There is a £6.5 billion maintenance backlog, £3.4 billion of which presents a high or significant risk to patients and staff.  However, the government has promised less than 10% of the extra money that the NHS needs for new buildings and equipment. We want the government to provide the funding needed to remove the maintenance backlog and make sure that proper funding is in place for buildings and equipment.  Experts say that the NHS budget for new buildings and equipment needs to be increased by £6-7 billlion. We want the government to pledge to provide this funding. This should be new money that is not taken from reducing other current or future NHS budgets.     Patients deserve decent hospitals and working equipment. NHS staff deserve to work in good conditions and have the equipment they need to do the best job they can. We need to rebuild our NHS! For more information about the campaign visit www.rebuildourhealthservice.com.

We are Fionne Orlander and Miranda Yardley, both of us transwomen. We recognise that we, as transwomen, are biologically male; we are not the same as women and our lives differ from those lived by women. We are asking you to support our call for the provision of Third Spaces for transgender individuals of both sexes. We as transwomen share concerns with women, we share a need for dignity and privacy when using public spaces such as washrooms and changing rooms, and specifically we are concerned about the risk to us of abusive behaviour and physical and sexual assault when sharing single-sex spaces with other males. In recognising our lives are different from women’s lives, we recognise and support single sex spaces for women, and support the right of women’s organisations under the Equality Act to provide services exclusively to women and girls, who may in a number of circumstances have lived under fear of or experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of men, who overwhelmingly commit the majority of physical and sexual violence. In recognition that women should have access to single sex spaces, and in recognition of our own concern and fear of using single sex spaces designated for males, we call on all political parties to recognise the need for the provision of publicly funded third spaces for transgender individuals of either sex, to allow us to participate fully in public life without imposing ourselves on those single sex places presently enjoyed by women. Specifically we call for publicly funded Third Spaces in respect of the following: Public washrooms and changing rooms, including those at schools, leisure centres and other publicly funded institutions; Hospital wards and other NHS facilities that are presently single sex; Prisons, remand centres and all other parts of HM Prison Service; For the provision of relief centres for transgender individuals who have been physically or sexually assaulted, or who are fleeing or need protection from abusive partners. Please commit to providing Third Spaces for transgender people of either sex. Thank you Fionne OrlanderMiranda Yardley

It is ethically and morally unacceptable for any British political party to nurture affiliations with any apartheid state. Israel 'is' an apartheid state. It is nothing short of hypocritical for leaders of British Political Party's to, on the one hand, praise the legacy of Nelson Mandela and participate in remembering the struggle of millions of South Africans under the fascist South African Apartheid State while at the same time nurturing affiliations with groups supporting another fascist apartheid state, in Israel.Israel has killed thousands of innocent Palestinian men woman and children over many years and has no qualms about shooting or imprisoning young children. Israel continues it's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and pursues it's campaign to forcibly remove Palestinian families from their homes to make way for illegal Israeli settlements, unabated. In a decades long land grab, Israel has displaced close to a million Palestinian people and today occupies almost the entire Palestinian territory....https://mondoweiss.net/2015/10/check-msnbcs-palestinian/ Israel has also kettled over 1.8 Million Palestinians into Gaza, a small strip of land which it has effectively turned into an open air prison through blockades. Israel refuses to allow human rights and relief organisations access to Gaza. It also refuses to provide the people of Gaza with access to clean water and a regular supply of electricity and it even blocks access to medicines. In fact it frequently delays or even refuses medical care, including vital cancer treatments, for the people of Gaza.https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-expert-warns-97-of-gaza-drinking-water-contaminated-by-sewage-salt-1.5747876 https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/MAGAZINE-gaza-power-watch-how-many-hours-of-electricity-did-gaza-get-yesterday-1.5493152https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-the-goldins-revenge-on-gaza-s-cancer-patients-1.6343198The crimes of the Israeli Apartheid state are numerous and well documented and it is wholly immoral for any British political party to continue to affiliate with any group or organisation supporting or promoting Israeli interests under the circumstances. We call on all British political parties to officially declare their solidarity with the victims of apartheid and to immediately disaffiliate with any and all groups supporting the Israeli Apartheid state.

We would like to make walking and cycling have the same reimbursement allowance for business travel as cars, which is currently 45p per mile.  How does this benefit us? Air pollution is killing us and costing the UK billions.  Air pollution causes an estimated 40,000 early deaths per year in the UK. Pollutants such as particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) contribute to the rise in a range of diseases such as asthma in adults and children, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, strokes, diabetes in adults, lung cancer, dementia, preterm/low birth weight, and sudden infant death.  Pollution cuts young lives short.  Young lives like my nephew Joseph Itoje who died of a severe asthma attack at the Wireless Festival in 2018.  His family and friends describe Joseph was a positive, happy, and talented young man that had so much potential, his happiness and heart-warming laugh made such an impact on everybody’s life. Joseph was different, he stood out and had such a contagious smile.  Researchers estimated that between 2017 and 2015 there will be 1.15 million people will be newly diagnosed with pollution related chronic diseases in the UK, costing the NHS £5.56 billion.    We can reduce air pollution and save lives by encouraging companies and their employees to adopt greener transport in a way that does not need expensive infrastructure, costly enforcement departments, and without the need to raise taxes. This petition will help companies to adopt greener modes of transport through business mile allowance system.  This would make the healthy choice the easy choice. The current allowance for business travel for the first 10,000 miles for bicycles is 20p/mile, which is less than half the 45p/mile allowance for cars.  While there is no incentive for walking instead of taking the car.  The 24p/mile mileage allowance for walking or cycling would achieve two things. Firstly, it would reduce the number of vehicles used for short business journeys; thereby reduce congestion and reduce economic burden of pollution affected conditions, and thereby saving lives. Secondly, it would incentivise people to walk or cycle instead of driving cars for short business journeys; thereby increasing physical activity levels, improving health, and reducing obesity rates.  Please support ‘Greener Miles Saves Lives’ and the 24p/mile allowance for walking and cycling business miles Here is the evidence: L Pimpin et al (2018) ‘Estimating the costs of air pollution to the National Health Service and social care: An assessment and forecast up to 2035’ PLoS Med. 2018 Jul; 15(7) IJ Litchfield et al (2018) ‘Is ambient air pollution associated with onset of sudden infant death syndrome: a case-crossover study in the UK’ BMJ Open.  8(4):e018341.  PJ Landrigan et al (2017) ‘The Lancet Commission on Pollution and health’ Lancet 391(10119)462-512

  We the residents of St Raphael Estate,  do not want Regeneration. We want  Refubishment with the clause that we are  in control of how this is done.  we need to protect our homes and open space. We need to preserve it for our children and the generations to come. If our estate undergoes regeneration we will lose our community, pay higher rents,  private housing association as landlords, tower blocks, short and unsecure tenancy, higher water rates, losing green space, breaking up of famillies with older children.   The  uphaval of relocation, while work is being carried out, there is no guarantee of coming back to the Estate or London. Although St Raphael's estate has always had pejorative connotations to it and is portrayed as an unplesant place. This is wrong, there is a strong , united community  here who do not want to be separated from their famillies , stripped of the place they have called home for so long , moving away from neighbour, friends and family simply because it's profitable to the investors they're leading us into an ambigious future. We need to achieve 2000 signature, so we can forward our plight to the London assembly member Sian Berry to insure that the Mayor plege to allow the Residents the power to control the future of their estate is upheld. please sign the petition and forward to your neighbours to do the same    

Lambeth Council are demolishing several Council Estates in South London without carrying out any environmental assessments to the well-being of the residents and the wider community especially in terms of Carbon, Energy, Pollution, Traffic, Maintenance, Infrastructure and loss of Green Space. We want Lambeth Council to provide full, impartial Embodied Energy & Embodied Carbon Assessments of all existing Homes and Estates proposed for Demolition so that it can be properly considered in their decision-making process especially when the residents raise their concerns at these Council meetings, as in the case of Central Hill Estate and Cressingham Gardens. Lambeth Council have to take their legal obligations of reducing greenhouse gas emissions seriously and show evidence that they have a low carbon transition plan which can be implemented over the next 40 years. If they fail to provide these Embodied Energy & Embodied Carbon Assessments, it will show that they are, in fact, acting in a very complacent, negligent manner with the futures of all their residents. Furthermore, we request that Lambeth Council show residents examples of how their previous 'successful' regeneration projects have dealt with these environmental matters by showing us how these new developments have performed when compared to the Embodied Energy and Embodied Carbon Assessments of the previous demolished Council Estates such as Myatts Fields / Oval Quarter.