Dear Leon,

Today’s Queen’s Speech has again shown that the Liberal Democrats are punching way above their weight – and we can be proud of that.

It included many of the long-term reforms we’ve campaigned for, such as reform of the banks. These will help build a sustainable future for our country.

In 2010, we took the decision together to enter into a Coalition Government so we could do the right thing for the country at a time of economic crisis. Today we’ve focused on helping families and supporting growth and jobs.

Vince Cable will regulate the banks so they can no longer be in a position to hold the country to ransom when their financial gambles don’t pay off. And Ed Davey will establish the world’s first Green Investment Bank and introduce electricity market reform to protect consumers, support  low-carbon energy and invest in renewables.

We’re also helping some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Steve Webb will help pensioners by introducing a flat-rate pension. We’ll propose a way to modernise adult care and support, finally ensuring dignity in old age.

Today also clearly set out our collective determination to reform the House of Lords, an historic commitment of our party.

There’s so much more I could highlight: Sarah Teather’s work on improving support for children with special educational needs, our support for flexible working and shared parental leave and our proposals to strengthen the hand of farmers and other suppliers of supermarkets through an independent adjudicator.

You can read about all of this and more on the Liberal Democrats’ website.

This Queen’s Speech has a firm Liberal Democrat stamp on it, delivering on what we’ve passed at Conference and pounded the pavements and knocked on doors for.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP

Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

The campaign locally shows what happens when there is an energetic Lib Dem campaign.  In Worksop South, the other two parties were forced to raise their game.  The Tories responded with more leaflets (they claim 5 but I am only aware of 2) and Labour did more canvassing than usual (even so most people who I canvassed said I was the only candidate they saw on the doorstep).  In other Wards, the campaign between the two parties was much more subdued, where I live in Worksop South-East we only got one Labour leaflet.  Whatever you think of the different parties, it can only be good for local democracy that the claims and promises of each candidate are challenged and examined by the electorate and the other parties.  It also energised the voters and the highest turnout on Worksop was in Worksop South, with the lowest in Worksop South-East

We now have a Council with an overwhelming Labour majority.  One party, any party, having an large majority is not good news for anyone.  As we saw nationally under Thatcher & Blair, such a majority leads to the party in power not having to justify its actions and this leads to bad government.     I hope our local Labour party is wise enough to realise this, and I know that there are some members of it who are, but my fear is that, as we have seen here and elsewhere before, there are some in senior positions in the Labour group who will become so carried away with their power that they will not stop to think before they act.  As the Tory & Independent councillors will not be able to hold the Labour administration to account within the Council, I hope everyone will be vigilant and do their best to keep them to account through letters to the local press, writing to their local councillors and by keeping up pressure on the Council to run Bassetlaw for the good of everyone not just the Labour party.

SEVEN ambulance stations in north Derbyshire and north Nottinghamshire are under review, according to radical plans to change the way East Midlands Ambulance Service operates.
Ambulance stations could be closed or refurbished, more vehicles parked in public places awaiting 999 calls and managerial posts cut over the next five years.
Stations under review include Eckington, Chesterfield, Health, Worksop, Bakewell, Retford and Matlock.
The strategy, with details of affected stations, will be completed by the end of July.
Across the East Midlands, between 10 to 14 ambulance centres would be created – where vehicles would be cleaned and restocked – and some of the region’s 65 ‘inefficient’ stations would be closed, as it would cost £13 million to bring them up to ‘NHS standards’.

You can also read more in the BBC story – Ambulance station closures will help service: EMAS chief

It is right that all services paid for by our taxes review how best they provide that service to make sure we are getting the best value for our money.    The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS), which provides the service locally, should make every effort to make sure our money is spent wisely and carefully while making sure that the service they provide meets the standards laid down by the NHS.  If this means how the service is to be delivered has to change then this should be welcomed and supported.

What Labour doesn’t tell you is that when they were in power, the EMAS had one of the worst records of all the Ambulance Trusts (see East Midlands Ambulance Service worst in England).  So instead of trying to scare voters about needed changes, Labour should be apologising for their appalling record on the Ambulance Service

Update – 03/05/12

I have been contacted by Melanie Wright, Communications Manager for Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland and Northamptonshire Divisions of EMAS, who has clarified for me the Trust’s draft plans.  I have uploaded copies of the both the report from the Chief Executive of EMAS report to board giving an overview of the programme and the more detailed Draft Estate Strategy which explains what is proposed for where Ambulances are based & where they will be stationed when “on duty”.  All the papers from the Board meeting on April 5th are available on line at http://www.emas.nhs.uk/about-us/trust-board/

Ms Wright stressed that these are draft proposals and there will be a public consultation on the plans later in the year so you will get your chance to have a say.

Labour as ever don’t give you the full facts, just the bits that will scare you.  We in the Lib Dems want to make sure you have all the facts so you can make up your own mind.  I will continue to keep an eye on the progress and will let you know more details of the public consultation when I have them.

The most recent statement regarding the bus station was in the budget report to Council, which reaffirmed a commitment to provide a bus station subject to a detailed scheme being prepared.

Both the new Retford bus station and the Mansfield bus station (under construction) I understand benefit from joint funding with the respective District Council for either/both construction and on-going running costs.  Discussions regarding the Worksop bus station are therefore underway between the County and Bassetlaw and indeed are very positive.

In summary I would suggest there is a clear commitment to build a new Worksop bus station, that preparation and feasibility work is progressing and we will be mindful of any opportunities that may arise to help progress the scheme further/more quickly.

As you can see,in spite of what Labour are claiming,  there is a commitment from County to building a new Bus Station for the town so we now need the District Council to match that commitment.  Please feel free to pass this on to others and keep the pressure up on the Bassetlaw District Council and whichever party control it after Thursday.

Firstly, the reactions I got when leafleting outside Ryton Park School were very encouraging and it also gave me a chance to observe firsthand the parking problems being caused on Sparken Hill.  The cars are certainly causing a problem there and something needs to be done.  After the election, I will write to the County Council to suggest they open up the fence around the old Harland Car Park as a temporary solution while a more permanent one is sorted out.

Secondly, while out distributing off my Election Special Focus I bumped into a team of Conservative leafleteers, maybe my comments about their invisible campaign have struck home and they realised that to get votes, you should have to work for it.

Finally when on the way home for a well earned cup of tea after delivering over 650 leaflets, what should I see but two Labour Councillors also out leafleting on Newgate Street, perhaps they realise that having a Lib Dem running an active campaign in the Ward means they will have to up their game to keep up, although I doubt if anyone will see them (or the Tories for that matter) out on the streets after May 3^rd and before next year’s elections.

Anyway time for a rest and can I leave you with this, supplied by Cllr Jason Zadrozny, Leader of the Lib Dem Group at County Hall - The Spending Challenge: Labour’s record of failure.  This is what Labour Council’s do across the country, Bassetlaw at least deserves better.

This has been a quite an eventful weekend in the campaign.  Firstly we had a great day yesterday delivering leaflets around parts of the ward with help from fellow Lib Dems from across Nottinghamshire and also from Bolsover.  This meant we were able to get most of the Ward covered in one afternoon!  If you haven’t had the leaflet yet, don’t worry we will get to you before election day on Thursday, meanwhile you can read it on line at Worksop South Election Special.

The leaflet has created quite a stir as firstly a typo in the version sent to the printers lead to John Mann picking up half a sentence to claim we don’t talk to voters at elections .  As I wrote in other posts earlier today (John Mann gets it wrong, again and  John Mann gets it wrong, again – Correction), this was, I suppose, pay back for me poking fun at the typo in the Labour leaflet and also pointing out the post on John Mann’s web site dated December 2012 (see http://www.johnmannmp.com/johns-weekly-column).  If it meant more people read the leaflet, then no harm was done

Even more excitement this evening when I was phoned by the Labour Party Agent concerning the story in the leaflet highlighting that Labour were thinking about changing to having a Mayoral system for Bassetlaw I had been told about the proposal by two independent sources so I stand by it completely but I have also added Cllr Wynne’s rebuttal to the posts in the interests of fairness.

All this make me wonder that f they are so rattled by one leaflet, are Labour getting worried about holding on to Worksop South.  They certainly haven’t put much effort into the Ward to win votes (to be fair neither have the Tories).  Maybe up to now they just take the voters for granted,  maybe there is an upset on the cards on Thursday night?  Lets hope so.

How sad that he has to resort to such tactics.  I suppose I should have expected it after my poking some fun at the mistakes made in the Labour Election leaflets (Labour vow NOT to bring services to Bassetlaw Hospital!) and on his own website .  Never mind, the voters of Worksop South know which is the only party & candidate that gets out to leaflet & canvass them all through the year, they know which party is talking with them about problems they have, they know which party puts them first.

Maybe Labour are getting worried about the outcome on Thursday or maybe John Mann has nothing better to do on a wet Sunday afternoon, all I know is I am working hard to win this election for the people in Worksop South.

I stand by my story on Labour’s post election plans as, as I made clear in the article, I have heard it from two separate sources, neither with any connections to the Lib Dems apart from knowing me.   If the Labour Party  don’t have any such plans then they can release a statement to say so making it clear they will not be introducing a mayoral system into Bassetlaw at least until the next District Council elections in 2014.  I wait to hear from them on this but I will not be holding my breathe.

I wasn’t quick enough to respond properly to Mrs May before she walked away with a line about how Labour knows all about untrue scare stories. They are experts at putting out a story that suggests something bad will happen and then, when it doesn’t, claiming that they stopped it. Here are a few that they have put about recently – “cuts” to services at Bassetlaw Hospital that even the Hospital managers didn’t know about;  “cuts” the Fire Service in Bassetlaw that no-one knows about except Labour;  the “Granny Tax” which doesn’t exist;  Labour posters that claim cuts to free Bus Passes, Winter Fuel allowances, free prescriptions and free TV Licences, all complete fabrications.

Update on this story:  I have been phone by the Labour Party’s Agent for the elections, Cllr Griff Wynne  this evening and he has asked me to make clear that a switch to a Mayoral system has not been discussed by the Labour group on the Council and it is not local Labour Party policy.  This I am happy to do as I know from previous discussions with Cllr Wynne that he is as opposed to the mayoral system for Bassetlaw as I am.