IMAGINE you are a top civil servant in Whitehall sitting up in your ivory tower and you have been closing down A and E Departments for 18 years. Imagine you now want to shut Darlington’s A&E.

The man down the corridor in your ministry sets the budget for the local NHS Trusts. Imagine you go and see him and say to him “don’t include anything in the budget for the NHS Trust for an A&E Department in Darlington next year because we are going to close it”.

Would it be any wonder if the NHS Trust then ran out of money?

Of course not.

But without going through the proper statutory procedures or finishing the proper consultation that is exactly what the top civil servants in Whitehall are about to try to do.

So when you read about a cash shortage in your local NHS Trust or there is a shortage of doctors don’t be surprised. It is just one more dirty trick Whitehall wants to play on us without going through the necessary statutory consultation.

Remember, please, you pay their wages through your taxes. When you buy £10 in petrol £9 of that is tax of different kinds. You actually pay VAT as well on top of the duty.

You are paying tax on the tax.

These services are not free. They are just free at the point of delivery.

They are not doing you some gigantic favour by providing a free hospital. You pay for it every day in all kinds of ways you’ve just forgotten about. Wake up, Darlington. We are not going to be bullied like this are we?

Nigel Boddy, Darlington