October 11, 2007

4:15pm Wednesday 10th October 2007

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So there is not to be an immediate election! Mr Brown can get on with running the country and I can continue tackling local problems and my work at Westminster.

I do not blame Mr Brown for pulling back from an election when all the omens were less optimistic for him but I do wish he had been sufficiently brave not to cover up this obvious and understandable reason.

This, and apparent double counting of troop returns from war zones, do not help his image as changed from that of his predecessor.

Stourport has had more than its share of traffic problems recently. Gridlock has been awful and local radio stations have been advising people to avoid the town as traffic lights were in operation on all but one of the major routes into the town.

Traders have had their worst period ever and the last straw was the complete closure of the bridge and Bridge Street last weekend to be repeated this weekend.

After talks with county councillors and officers I have an admission that the lack of co-ordination that led to the contemporaneous work on so many of the access routes to Stourport was a serious, unforeseen error and will not be allowed to happen again.

I have been told that Severn Trent will postpone their work other than on the Worcester Road to try to ease the situation.

I asked why the Bridge Street repairs were not done at the same time as the major repairs to the bridge itself some months ago. These were never seen as the same task and discussions with local representatives had led to the current plan of two weekends' complete closure so the work could be finished in the shortest possible time.

Sadly coming as it did on top of all the other disruptions, the severity of the blow to local traders was far greater and unforeseen.

I had a useful meeting with Helen Blanchard, the new Director of Nursing at the Acute Hospitals Trust. I went through some of the recent complaints about the quality of care local people have received in Worcester.

I was very pleased to hear that quality of care is at the top of her agenda and, from the chairman, that she was appointed for this very reason.

If the distressing and avoidable concerns about hospital care that have been raised to me reduce during the next few months I will know she is doing her job.

Music for You, now in its 26th year, was a superb event last weekend. I was lucky to be there on Saturday when, following our terrific and unexpected triumph in the World Rugby Cup, the audience had heartfelt reasons to raise the roof when standing to aid Jonathan Darby, Kidderminster Male Choir and Wyre Forest Symphony Orchestra in Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory.

It did us all good!