Goodnight Brian

I think that we'll give Brian Coleman a rest for a few days. Having had to sit behind him for a few hours, listening to his £10,000 lawyer trash my reputation has given me my fill of his company for the time being, so this will be the last Coleman blog for a while. I thought it was quite touching how Councillor Tambourides, Hillan and Offord came to give him moral support. Whatever I think of Mr Coleman, he still has his friends. I personally was pleased to see Labour Councillor Julie Johnson there. In my opinion Julie Johnson exemplifies what a Councillor should be. She's honest, hard working and doing it for the people she represents. I had a little discussion with Julie & ex Tory Councillor Dan Hope. Dan and Julie are at opposite sections of the political spectrum, but are decent, civilised people who you can have a decent chat with. Before I first met Dan, I exchanged many insults with him via the comments in the Barnet Times. His barbs didn't offend me and I found that he didn't mind mine. He understood that it was political banter. I've said many times that he's wrong about many things, his views on some subjects are completely bonkers and other such things. He's retaliated by calling me a "swivel eyed trot" and saying my ideas and views are equally potty. Why do I mention this? Because ultimately Dan "gets it". He knows that when I call him bonkers, I'm robustly referring to his opinion on a political issue. He takes it on the chin. When I first got to meet him, did he blank me. Did he puff himself up and take umbridge. No, we had a bit of banter.

Yesterday as we waited for the decision at the hearing, we adjourned to a side room. What did we discuss? Road humps. This was the subject we've been sparring about for years on end. I doubt we'll ever agree, but despite the banter, we respect each others views. Whatever you think of Dan, I think he has the one thing above all others you need as a politician. He has a sense of humour.

What has been great has been the number of people who have rung me up to congratulate me on the victory. Old friends have sent emails and left facebook messages. People I hardly know have rung up and congratulated me. Neighbours have stopped me in the street and said "Well done". I've had at least a dozen people tell me stories which made them have a drink on me last night.

As to Mayor Coleman, has he learned? Not if this story and picture accurately represents his views. He doesn't get it. He was found guilty by a unanimous verdict. The investigator clearly stated that provocation would be a reason for not upholding the complaint, but she felt that what I said didn't warrant the dismissal. The standards panel agreed. This is a major stain on Colemans character. Just for the record, what did Coleman say when Ken Livingstone was found guilty of saying terrible things?

"London deserves better. This is a humiliation for Ken Livingstone. He has let down every Londoner who has ever put their trust in him."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/02/24/uk.livingstone/index.html
~ Brian Coleman - after Ken Livingstone was found guilty of saying nasty things.

I have called Mayor Coleman a hypocrite on many occasions. Yesterday we saw a prime example of this. His defence was that under section 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, he was entitled to say what he liked about me, even though he'd signed up to the Standards Code of Barnet Council, which expressly forbade him from insulting members of the public. This is the same person who said "Something must be done about bloggers".

Isn't it time that he realised that the same rules apply to everyone. You can't say that minor league politicians should be able to say what they like, but their critics should be silenced.

Two last points. Coleman's supporters have said that "I can dish it out, but I can't take it". They also said "I've wasted public money". I don't mind what people say about me so long as it's true. Brian Coleman said my blog was "full of lies". He had one of the best lawyers in London Town. They read every blog I've done. They couldn't give a single proper example of a lie, let alone justiify the claim that the blog is full of them. Coleman cannot tell the difference between a "difference of opinion" and a lie. Going back to the Dan Hope analogy. Dan and I both believe the other is wrong about road humps, with a passion. Neither of us thinks the other is a liar. By contrast, I said "Brian Coleman is the worst possible candidate for Mayor apart from Mike Freer" now this is clearly an opinion, but Brian Coleman claims it is a lie.

As to the wasting of public money. The standards committe will be beefing up the training scheme in standards for councillors. Presumably they will be told that it's against the rules to use Council emails to send rude emails. If the public of Barnet are treated with a bit more respect in future, then it is money well spent.

Have a nice weekend