For the past few days, John Mann’s website has been advising people :

If The Phone Rings On Thursday Evening – Please Answer It!
On Thursday evening (21st January 2010) John Mann MP is conducting an automated telephone poll in Worksop and surrounding villages on the Vesuvius site issue.

Today, he published the results of the poll:

A poll last night, Thursday 22 January of residents living in Worksop, Carlton, Blyth, Langold, Oldcotes, Welbeck has revealed that they are overwhelmingly opposed to Notts County Council’s proposals to cut, privatise and price hike services for the elderly and vulnerable.

Eh? What happened to the Vesuvius site poll?

We think we know. He had a poll running on his website sampling visitor opinion regarding the Vesuvius planning application. When the voting was starting to favour the Council’s decision, it was removed in very short order.

Looks like he’s backing down on Vesuvius, doesn’t it?

We joined up to Facebook and added John Mann as a friend. We then joined his Facebook Campaign on the ASDA planning application. In the hope of sparking a lively discussion, we left a link to this site so participants of the group could see another side of the story.

Our Facebook friendship with Mr Mann lasted all of 5 minutes, after which we were booted out of the Campaign and blacklisted. So much for a lively debate, eh?

Mr Mann has the Worksop press in his pocket – The Worksop Guarding Mann – who will print his spoutings without any regard for the  factual content (if any). In the past, a friendly press has been a great advantage for politicians of every persuasion. But this is a brave new world with the internet allowing alternative views to be published and available to anyone with an interest.

Mr Mann does not like alternative views, it seems.

But, we are all for freedom of speech. Mr Mann is welcome to leave a comment on any of our posts and we will publish it un-edited (providing we are sure of the source).

We’re not afraid of healthy discussion. So, what about it, John?  We know you read this blog. Spare us a few words.

There’s a strange picture on John Mann’s website.

He appears to be making the handsign beloved of motorists throughout the country and reserved for someone who rhymes with banker.

Is he suggesting that if you pledge your vote, donate or volunteer, then you are someone deserving of the gesture?

Well, if he’s not suggesting it, we are.

EDIT: It seems Mann’s web people have seen the errror of their ways and after reading this article, they have replaced the picture. Shame. We liked the original, so we’ll leave it here for your amusement

In the midst of the longest and deepest recession since records began, Labour MPs, including your very own John Mann, voted themselves a nice little holiday for 11 days in February.

If you can be bothered, see Hansard

Nothing like a nice break to take your mind off the country’s problems.

John Mann’s latest self-serving campaign against the Conservative District Council has cost Worksop the chance of a new development and over 1000 jobs.

When the Planning Committee voted against the proposed ASDA development at the old Vesuvius works, Mann saw a self-promotion opportunity and adpoted his default stance of running squealing to the Press, a stance which caused him to be criticised by the Commons Standards and Priveleges Committee recently. He also called a public meeting where he spread his ususal lies and disinformation.

Now, Planning Applications are refused often, when the Committee is unhappy with some aspects of the application. In the normal course of events, the Applicant will lodge an appeal and address the concerns of the Committee and the Application will generally then be granted. However, John Mann has politicised this application, and the result of the application being granted would see John Mann crowing about a great victory that his campaign has had in saving the development.

The members of the Planning Committee will be well aware of this. So what do you think the chances are of this application skating through the appeals process as it probably would have done if Mann had not become involved? None, frankly. Mann’s outrageous action will have the effect of causing the application to be scrutinised to the quantum level and in all probablity being refused.

The Planning Committee refused the initial application for good reason. Now they are being vilified in the Press by Mann, forcing them to justify their quite legal and reasonable refusal and pushing them into taking a hard line due to the added political dimension.

The net result is that this development is now probably lost to Worksop, at least in the short term, thanks to Mann’s actions.

Unless a White Knight can provide a solution.