Prooof speaking up works

Quite a lot of homes remain without superfast broadband, which is not helping kids studying or those working from home. We were promised it in Nottinghamshire in 90 per cent of our homes by 2015, and the County Council took this to the press, including the Worksop Guardian to tell us what a good job they were about to do on this.

Guess what, it is now delayed until 2017, though George Osborne was reluctant to admit it. It took four answers before he did. George blames the County Council and others are blaming the Treasury. The truth is probably a bit of both, with one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Meanwhile we still await our broadband connections.

The ambulance service bosses confirmed in great detail their plans for Bassetlaw ambulance services, finally making their decision. Worksop becomes a main station - hub seems to be the favoured word, but with Gainsborough and Retford remaining as well. This means ambulances as well as stations.

Considering their loss of money, this is a big victory for the people of Bassetlaw. Remember how last year one person suggested that we should accept the proposals to move to Mansfield, another couple proposed that we could make do with just one ambulance station and even letters suggesting that the decision was made and nothing could be done.

Well pat yourselves on the back because we did do something. We petitioned, we protested and we very carefully argued our case. And our arguments won. Remember this please the next time someone tells you that speaking up is a waste of time.

I have not heard from the two would be politicians locally who claimed that the whole issue was just another John Mann scare story. They argued that the move to Mansfield was the best option because the people in charge, who know what they are talking about, had proposed it.

Well the people in charge have had their minds changed, once presented with all the information. There has been a series of letters saying that everything I raise are scare stories. On Accident and Emergency. On maternity services. On fire services. On local policing. On local ambulance stations.

Others are trying to play politics by ringing round suggesting that we have been defeated, including one strange individual who has written using what appears to be a false name. How strange that anyone would want to decry the efforts of local people, the SOS campaign group and our local ambulance staff.

Next time I hope that these politically motivated cynics swallow their pride and join the campaigns to defend our local services.

First a Tory called Louise Mensch resigns from Parliament to get a job in New York, then this week David Miliband. I don’t get it. You fight an election campaign persuading people to vote for you, then you jump out to take another job. It remains a scandal that needs sorting because MPs who do this get a pay off. I think I will try and stop this practice so that if you are a quitter then you get nothing.

I got on alright with David Miliband, but I noticed how he never liked to get his hands dirty by fighting battles and that he didn’t like knocking on doors. People can be wonderfully rude to you when you do (though you might get back as good as you give), but it is the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. More of these Westminster intellectual types should give it a go - I am prepared to show them how.