Opinion

Christmas is just around the corner and many of my friends and colleagues have made start on their Christmas gift list, writes Stacey Smalley, fundraising manager for Macmillan in Nottinghamshire.

If I were to mention the words ‘domestic abuse’, the first thing that would likely come to mind for you would be violence, writes Jason Hanson.

This week, the single biggest issue I have had the most correspondence about has been Berry Hill Park, writes Ben Bradley MP.

I have had a large number of emails and letters from constituents recently about their concerns over pubs closing, writes Gloria De Piero, MP for Ashfield.

We’re filming the latest series of The Mash Report in Pinewood Studios, so now I think I’m up there with Harry Potter and James Bond – my bank manager disagrees, writes comedian and Sutton-in-Ashfield lad Steve N Allen, star of BBC2’s The Mash Report.

Last week, we heard what I thought was an incredibly positive Budget from the Chancellor, writes Ben Bradley MP.

One of the things I love about this job is hearing about everyday acts of courage and bravery that have made a real difference, writes Paddy Tipping, Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire.

When I started work on August 19, 1963, I was elated to be earning money, such as it was then, writes Steve Milnes.

Another Tory Budget has come and gone and another opportunity for improving the lives of millions of ordinary people has been missed, writes Gloria De Piero MP.

Birthday parties.

Last week in Parliament, I spoke at length about the importance of sports facilities in communities like ours, both to support and give opportunities to our young people to take part, and also to help us all to be healthier and happier, writes Ben Bradley MP.

Universal Credit will be rolled out in Ashfield this month and we are bracing ourselves for the fallout, writes Gloria De Piero MP.

In my role as chairman of the children and young people’s committee, it is my responsibility to make sure that there are enough school places across the county to give every child an opportunity to reach his or her potential, writes Coun Philip Owen.

The college had a proud start to the new school year when it won the Business Partnership Award at the East Midlands Chamber’s Derbyshire Business Awards, writes Mark Cottingham, principal at Shirebrook Academy.

This week is my first meeting of the education select committee, one of Parliament’s formal scrutiny groups that I was lucky enough to be elected to this month by my colleagues, writes Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield.

I have spoken many times in the past about the unfairness of lottery funding going to big projects in big cities, while former coalfield areas like Ashfield get relatively little cash, writes Gloria De Piero, MP for Ashfield.

So have you hit the big 4-0? Or is it all in the past? They do say life begins at 40. And it is quite a pivotal time, writes Jillian Thomas, a financial planner and the managing director of Future Life Wealth Management, based in Renishaw.

This week I’ve been working to support local people in to work through my seasonal jobs fair, supported by the Department for Work and Pensions, Futures and local job board Dalmatian, where we offered up more than 100 local opportunities, writes Ben Bradley, MP for Mansfield.