Councillor Caroline Margo: A failure of Mike Freer's Leadership

The reason d'etre for the Barnet Eye blog is quite simple. I've lived in Mill Hill most of my life and I passionately hope that I live here for the rest of my life. I love the area. I've lived through Tory Councils and Lib/Lab Councils, some good, some not so good. I want the council to do the best job they can. I want our MP's to do the best job they can. I want our money to be spent in the best way possible. Contrary to rumours, I'm not politically active. I've no desire to be a politician whatsoever. I don't think I'd be any good, I'm a dyslexic Punk Rock guitarist and I'd just end up shouting at people if they talked rubbish. Not skills which are called for in a debating chamber. My skills are better deployed writing blogs, my way of saying "this is wrong". The only campaigns I've joined and been active in were the Save Edgware General campaign. When Labour were elected and didn't save it, that ended my inclination to do work for the party. The other is the Save Sheltered warden campaign, currently running. If our local Tory council were doing a good job, I'd be writing blogs about music, football and three legged dogs.

Why this lengthy preamble. Well some people would have you believe that there are all sorts of other reasons why I criticise the council, or that I've some personal vendetta against certain Councillors, such as Mike Freer. This is complete cobblers. As I've never actually spoken to Freer, I've no reason whatsoever to have a personal dislike of him. I just happen to think he does a poor job as Leader of Barnet Council. I happen to think he's not up to the job and that as a result Council services have suffered and taxes are higher than they need be. If you click on the Mike Freer label at the bottom of the page, you'll see a whole host of blogs where I detail why I think he does a poor job.

One area of his leadership of the Tory party in Barnet which I've not touched on is how he's doing as local party leader. One of his jobs is to develop and bring on new talent. The Tory party is percieved by many sections of the public as old, stuffy, middle aged and out of touch. David Cameron, to his credit, has tried to drag it into the 21st century. He has spoken about the need to widen the appeal of the party. The best way to do this is to move away from the white, male, upper class twit image. One of the ways to spot new talent in politics is through local councils such as Barnet. An ideal time to see how good a candidate you have is at a byelection where you can see a single candidate's effectiveness.

There is a Council By-election on Thursday. Conservative Councillor Caroline Margo is stepping down. The official story is that she's got a young child and she's moving to Hertfordshire, so she wishes to concentrate her efforts in the district where she will be living.
Caroline represents Totteridge. If like me you have a dog and you like a good walk, you would probably often walk from Totteridge to Hertfordshire. It is next door. It would be quicker for Caroline to drive to Childs Hill, on the other side of the borough, than to get from Totteridge to her new house. I got to wondering whether there was any more to her decision than met the eye.

I have several friends who are Conservatives living in Totteridge. I discussed Caroline's resignation with one recently and my suspicions seemed to be confirmed. I asked whether they thought Caroline might like a chat with the Barnet Eye to set the record straight. They said that this was unlikely as she's a pretty loyal Tory and whatever she may think of certain individuals, she'd never do anything to damage the party. I asked how she'd performed as a Councillor "She's actually very good and extremely well liked". I asked if she had a future in politics "I think she'll do very well. She never got the chance to shine in Totteridge or Barnet Council. I think she found this frustrating". I asked whether the Tory candidate replacing her was an improvement "If you replace a young, keen Councillor who is the mother of a young child, with the wife of an existing cabinet member, you are doing nothing to widen the appeal of the Tory party to the electorate. There is a perception that Barnet Council's ruling Tories have a powerful clique. Making a cabinet members wife the candidate only adds to this perception". At the current time, with various Tory husband/wife teams in Parliament being highly embarrassed about double dipping on expenses, surely the Barnet Tory leader could see that this isn't the best way for the Barnet Tories to go. As being a councillor is not a full time job, it is an excellent way for intelligent young mums such as Caroline to give public service. She should have been held up as a great role model. The Council should do everything possible to accomodate the needs of people such as Caroline who may have childcare issues. As the children grow and they get more time, this will be repaid with interest.

I suspect that among the Barnet Tories, being a young, rather attractive female counted strongly against Caroline. A certain rather well known fellow Totteridge councillor publicly used the term "airhead" to describe a female MP. With such sexist view prevaling at the top of Barnet Council, it is no wonder that a talent such as Caroline Margo was sadly overlooked. I don't know Caroline, but I wish her well. As a father of young children, I admire her for finding the time to fit it all in and do such a good job.

If like me you've attended a few council meetings, you would have noticed that Caroline Margo stood out. She didn't look like a stuffy old Tory Councillor. As a young mum, she'd have a perspective that is sadly lacking for many of the the Tories. A Tory leader who cared about the party and the Borough would have promoted Caroline. They would have fought tooth and nail to keep her, at least until the Council elections next year. A good leader uses their assetts wisely. Be this assetts in the Bank being deposited safely, or councillors who could broaden the appeal of the party to the electorate. As a Labour supporter, I guess it's good to see that Mike Freer can look such a gift horse in the mouth. As a Barnet resident and a Council Tax Payer, I think it's appalling that the Tories can allow such an ineffective man to have such an important job.

As I outlined in the first paragraph, I care about Barnet. That is why the council needs to represent everyone. That is why it is important to encourage the likes of Caroline Margo, not thwart them. When I started this blog, I never dreamed that I'd be sticking up for the rights of Tory Councillors on it, but I having heard some of the background to Caroline's decision, I simply couldn't let this pass without comment.