Good evening, everyone!

The petition is still going strong and heading towards 137,000 signatures as I write this. I'm still absolutely overwhelmed by the support it has received and I am grateful to you all.

Yesterday evening I emailed my MP with regards to the petition. She has since responded and asked for my postal address, so it appears she's planning to respond (hopefully!). I will, of course, update you all once I hear back from her.

Many people have raised the issue of enforcement and the lack of available resources to hand out the fines. I agree that these are valid concerns, and it is something that I do hope to address with my MP. I believe that first and foremost it was important to build momentum with the petition, and gain as many signatures as possible for the increase of the fine to start at £1000. How that is managed, enforced and facilitated (I would hope) is something that the government can advise on.

The sheer strength of feeling regarding this highly contentious issue simply cannot be ignored. Something HAS to be done about it, and the complete lack of deterrent has gone on long enough.

Again, as with my previous updates, I ask if you could kindly share the petition, please. Each time this has been done it has resulted in a boost of signatures. A share via any means helps, be it Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, text, WhatsApp or email!

It would be fantastic if we could get to over 150,000!

Thanks again 

Jen

The photo on this update is one I took a couple of weeks ago, and is a nice reminder of what we're all fighting to protect.