I AM sure David Cameron does not read this humble column, so it probably won’t make much difference to the Prime Minister to learn I’m very annoyed with him.

And before I go on, I can assure you these are not the rantings of a raving leftie, because I was also very annoyed with Blair and Brown for various reasons. In fact, most PMs annoy me. I once even circled a room to avoid shaking hands with John Major when he came to Wycombe.

I honestly have no political leanings and am not qualified to tell you how good a job the coalition government is doing in general at the moment.

However, David Cameron is currently making my blood pressure rise specifically because of the way his much-heralded Big Society notion has backfired into such a big flop here in Bucks.

When he first came into office, he entertained us no end with this dream of people power where communities run post offices, libraries, transport services and housing projects.

The Big Society seemed the perfect way to take the world forward, improve democracy and make us all more responsible adults in the 21st century.

The laudable aim was to create a climate that empowers local communities, ‘building a big society that will take power away from politicians and give it to people’. Big society not big government, said Cameron and his cronies.

All I can see now, however is a big sense of injustice in this area where people power is effectively not being allowed to have a say in the major local decisions.

Take High Speed 2 rail, for instance. And yes, take it and throw it down a big hole because it’s a terrible idea. My view is shared by countless campaigners and all the many local councils around these parts.

But that’s not the type of people power Mr C must have meant when he outlined his Big Society vision. Sure, we can run our post offices, but when it comes to protecting our green belt, big government knows better than us. His cabinet currently insists it must go ahead whatever we may think.

Clearly, the government will say this is not a local issue because HS2 concerns many other regions around the country, some supporting the project. Fair point, but if we truly own Bucks, then we have the right to say we do not want this line to come through here and spoil our countryside.

It seems the Big Society empowers us on the little things when the government needs us to lend a hand. But if we want to do anything really meaningful that gets in their way, we are depicted as selfish NIMBYs.

Meanwhile, of course, there is the matter of hospital reconfigurations. Over the years, I have met countless local people who hate the way NHS services have been transferred from Wycombe Hospital to Aylesbury. They have signed petitions, formed action groups, protested and written to ministers.

But there is no real democracy within the NHS so people power has never prevailed against central government ideology. This reconfiguration nonsense all began under a Labour government but the Tory-led coalition has carried it on.

Unelected health officials are making major unpopular decisions that will impinge on all of our lives, but there’s not that much the people can do about it. NHS bods talk of creating foundation trusts, with local representatives, they talk about consultation and engagement. But, in the end, the health trusts can do more or less what they want and we can’t stop them.

The Big Society was intended to liberate communities and devolve power. Sadly, Mr Cameron, I reckon most Bucks people feel more powerless than ever.

But even if we no longer have a proper hospital in our town or have a giant train line in our garden, at least I suppose the Big Society still gives us the chance to run our own library or post office. So that’s okay then.