Acidity

Acid. What does Acid mean to you? If you are an ageing hippy, it probably reminds you of the psychedelic 60's. If you are a kid at school, it means experiments and science. If you are a cook, it means a flavour. If you are cleaning drains, it is something which removes limescale. If you keep fish, it is something to monitor to ensure you have healthy fish.

So why does the Barnet Eye want to talk about acid on a Friday night. It's not because I'm reprising my misspent youth, far from it, haven't even had a drink yet. It's because I was thinking about the term "Acid test" in terms of policies. What is the Acid test of a good policy?

Well, here's a few. They serve the needs of the people they are designed to help. They deliver value to the taxpayer. They make taxpayer feel happy that money is being well spent. The people proposing them are prepared to put their neck on the line and publicly back them at public meetings. That the people proposing them tell the truth about them.



If you heard the debate about the Sheltered housing warden cuts on Monday, If you heard how Tory Councillors refused to attend sessions at accomodation with wardens, If you read how backbench Tory Councillors sought to distance themselves from the policy. If you heard residents telling how Councillors such as Councillor Andrew Harper had reassurred them about "activity behind the scenes". If you'd seen how the BBC ran the story as their lead item on London news. If you witnessed any of this, you'd know this policy stinks. It fails the acid test.

Watch the video above. This says everything that needs to be said. Who would you trust? Mike Freer & Lynn Hillan, the authors of the cuts program or the poor lady who will suffer it's consequences. I was brought up to believe scaring old ladies is wrong. Some of our Councillors seem to have a rather different set of morals and values.