Early Day Motions

REMOVAL OF HEREDITARY PEERAGE

That this House believes that immediate steps should be taken to strip Mark Thatcher of his hereditary peerage after his plea of guilty to helping to finance a coup plot in Equatorial Guinea; and urges the Government to bring forward the necessary legislation.

CASSINI HUYGENS MISSION

That this House congratulates NASA and the European Space Agency on the success of the Cassini Huygens mission; notes that the Huygens science probe is a UK effort; congratulates the team involved on the dramatic landing on Titan; recognises the importance of the scientific data being obtained; and

NHS STAFF PENSION SCHEME

That this House notes with deep concern the proposal to change the present final salary scheme for NHS staff to an average pay scheme; and calls on NHS management to maintain the final salary scheme for the hard-working staff of the NHS.

FARMERS UNION OF WALES

That this House congratulates the Farmers' Union of Wales (FUW) on its 50th anniversary this year; welcomes its campaign to spread the message that Welsh farmers produce top quality nutritious food, meet the highest possible animal welfare standards and provide consumers with the range of food that

300TH YEAR CELEBRATIONS BY JEWISH GIBRALTARIANS

That this House recognises the importance of Jewish culture in Gibraltar and applauds the celebrations to mark 300 years of British rule on the Rock; further recognises that the traditional British sense of fair play and democracy of Gibraltarians has allowed the Jewish community to thrive and prosp

PROTECTION OF ALBATROSSES AND PETRELS

That this House welcomes the British Antarctic Survey report published in Science Magazine which studied the journeys of 47 albatrosses and tracked their travels, discovering that albatrosses regularly circumnavigate the globe in as little as 46 days with typical journeys involving flights of nearly

HISTORIC SITES IN IRAQ

That this House deplores and condemns the reported damage to the site of the ancient city of Babylon caused by the contruction of a US military base; and believes that it is the duty of Coalition forces in Iraq to respect and protect all historic sites within a country which is recognised as one of

ZHOA ZIYANG (No.2)

That this House is saddened by the death of Zhao Ziyang, former General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party; recognises that Zhao Ziyang developed a reputation as a reformer and is still held by many people in China as a symbol of democracy; recalls his bravery in appealing directly to the stud

PENSION RIGHTS FOR "POST-RETIREMENT" WIDOWS

That this House is dismayed at the plight of thousands of widows of public service workers, who lose out on their widow's pension simply because they married the pension scheme member after his retirement; welcomes the acknowledgment of post-retirement widows' rights in the 1978 State Earnings Relat

FROZEN PENSIONS

That this House believes that British pensioners living in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe suffer unfairly because the value of their pensions is frozen and not up-rated annually in line with inflation; notes that approximately 480,000 out of Britain's 900,000 expatriate pe

HUMANITARIAN NEED

That this House recognises the efforts of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to address the humanitarian issues surrounding natural disasters in Indonesia and Africa; welcomes the extensive media coverage that encouraged such an overwhelming response from the British people; and

BBC AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

That this House applauds the decision by the BBC to stick by its decision to broadcast , 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' on BBC2 on 8th January, despite the orchestrated campaign from religious pressure groups, the irresponsible actions of one of which caused alarm and distress to the families of BBC e

BBC AND THE ABOLITION OF THE BLASPHEMY LAW

That this House notes the orchestrated campaign from religious pressure groups to try to prevent the BBC from broadcasting 'Jerry Springer - The Opera' on BBC 2 on 8th January; deplores the irresponsible actions of one such group which caused alarm and distress to the families of BBC executives by m

COPYRIGHT PAYMENTS BY POOLS COMPANIES

after "companies" insert "and other interested parties."

GRAND COMMITTEES

at end add "and believes that, in addition to discussing local issues in the House, all Grand Committees should have the opportunity to meet in the regions which their members represent."

BBC AND JERRY SPRINGER - THE OPERA

That this House regards with dismay the decision by the BBC to broadcast Jerry Springer - The Opera on BBC 2, causing widespread offence to Christians and those of other faiths by its mocking portrayal of Jesus Christ, Holy Communion, and some of the central tenets of the Christian faith; condemns t

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEMES

That this House is aware that currently the Government is bringing forward new regulations to alter the minimum retirement age and early retirement provision in the Local Government Pension Scheme, whilst at the same time holding a consultation exercise on ways to bring in a totally new scheme to co

WINDFALL TAX ON OIL AND GAS PRODUCERS

That this House notes that oil and gas producers will derive massively inflated profits, estimated at an additional £5 billion per year, as a result of unprecedentedly high oil prices; expresses its concern over the impact of both past and future domestic energy price increases on households who str

UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT CLOSURES

That this House notes with concern that many more university science departments face closure, following the recent decision by Exeter and Newcastle Universities to close their chemistry and physics departments respectively; believes that such closures pose a significant risk to the future of scienc

PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL FOR PARTICIPATION IN ARMED CONFLICT

That this House believes that the decision to deploy British armed forces in conflict is of the most serious nature possible; notes that this is a decision to be taken by Ministers via the Royal Prerogative and that Parliament has no right to decide on the matter or even to be consulted; notes that

SUPPORT FOR SMALL SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

That this House congratulates Lord Redesdale for introducing his private members' bill, the Renewable Energy Bill, to the House of Lords on 25th November 2004; notes that this Bill contains measures which would make it easier for people to purchase, install and run domestic renewable installations;

CANCER RESEARCH UK REDUCE THE RISK CAMPAIGN

That this House applauds Cancer Research UK on the launch of its Reduce the Risk campaign to raise awareness of the avoidable risks of cancer and the importance of early detection; recognises that one in three of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some time in our lives, but that half of all cancer

UK RELATIONS WITH CUBA

That this House welcomes the significant decision of the European Union to create the conditions for the re-establishment of a constructive dialogue with the government of Cuba; applauds the recent positive role played by the UK Government in moving towards efforts to normalise relations with Cuba;

OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

That this House congratulates the Ovarian cancer action (HHMT) and WellBeing of Women for organising the third annual Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, which will run for the duration of March; notes that approximately 7,000 women are diagnosed each year in the UK with the disease, and that five year

MYASTHENIA GRAVIS

That this House welcomes the introduction of the National Service Framework for Long Term Conditions; is concerned however that the average GP has little or no experience of myasthenia gravis, an extremely debilitating, neuro-muscular disease that causes severe and fluctuating muscle weakness that c