There's something in the air in Barnet - an opportunity for the Lib Dems

Something rather strange happened today. I got a massive spike in the number of hits on my blog. The strange thing is, I don't understand why. Normally if I get a day where it's much busier it's because someone has linked to a story, there is a big news story and I've come up in google searches or someone's emailed their mates and said "look at this great blog" or words to that effect.

I thought it was possibly something to do with Andrew Dismore being in the news for his flipping of flat expenses, but strangely more people found the blog today searching for Vanessa Gearson than Dismore. I don't think that this is in any way a vindication of Dismores expenses, I just think people are so sick of him they can't be bothered looking. For my part, I wrote a letter to the Edgware & Mill Hill Times as a Labour Member six years ago telling him that he'd come unstuck. He wrote a letter back to the Times saying that if I was a Labour Party member, he'd never heard of me. He's done a fair bit as a constituency MP so I have fairly mixed views on him, but ultimately, if you carry on like this, it is bound to end in tears. I just wished he'd listened when I told him.

A careful analysis of the searches showed that there are two things people were looking for. Blogs on First Capital Connect and it's rubbish service and the disarray of the Future Shape project. Lots of people were emailing their friends and lots of people connected to Barnet Council were dropping by.

As to First Capital Connect. Tonight they were giving out "emergency timetables" with excuses for the disruption on. The new one is "it takes a year to train up drivers and we've lots of new trains". Here's the question. How long ago did they order the new trains? I suspect that it takes a bit longer than a year for a company to order a brand new fleet of trains. I could understand 5% of the trains not running but 50%? The advice from First Capital Connect? Use the Great Northern Route. It takes me 30 minutes in rush hour to get to Blackfriars on their train. It would take me nearly as long to drive to new Barnet, the nearest GN station. These people really don't know what they were doing.

The Lib Dem candidate for Hendon is Matthew Harris. Unlike Andrew Dismore, no Lib Dem MP's in London have claimed a second home allowance. Labour has had 12 years to sort out these awful train operators and haven't. If I were him, I'd stop by Mill Hill Station and Hendon and speak to a few commuters. They might just listen. If I were Matthew Harris, what would I tell the hard pressed commuters. I'd tell them that in 12 years, the service has got immeasurably worse. I'd tell them that John Prescott said when Labour took power "If we haven't sorted this mess out in 5 years we've failed" when asked about the rail privatisation. And once I'd told them about Labours record, I'd turn to the Tory Party. The local candidate is Matthew Offord. He is one of the architects of the Future Shape program, which is spectacularly unravelling as we speak. Matthew Offord spoke up for warden cuts at cabinet. He smugly told all of the public gallery that he knew better and that wardens weren't needed by many people in sheltered housing. A rather well to do octogenarian turned to me and used language that would make a docker blush at that. She then apologised to me profusely. But most of all, if I were Matthew Harris I'd tell them that rail privatisation was a Tory invention. The whole system was their last big policy initiative. All of the suffering is down to them. Someone asked me on the train who is more to blame, the Tories for bringing it in or Labour for not getting rid of it?

The sad truth is that they both are. I've not got a clue what the Lib Dems plans are with relation to Thameslink, but THEY CANNOT DO A WORSE JOB THAN THE TORIES OR LABOUR.

I wrote to Andrew Dismore about the awful FCC service. I printed his response on the BLOG.

Here is a highlight from his reply :-

Station refurbishment

Though this is not uppermost in passengers’ minds at present, I was pleased to see on my visit to Mill Hill, the following improvements over the last year:

· platforms resurfaced;

· new information screens;

· new lighting;

· new shelters;

· new platform name signs;

· removal of the graffiti on the platform canopy.

I added no comment as I was livid. How can the man be so out of touch? I read the paper today to find out the reason. He has a nice comfy flat in Notting Hill Gate. He doesn't have to suffer the crap service. How long does it take to get from Notting Hill Gate to Westminster? TFL says this

• Departing:  Monday  23  November  2009 at: 20:29
• From:  Notting Hill Gate
• To:  Westminster
• Restrictions:

Route	Depart	Arrive	Duration	Interchanges	View
1	20:26	20:44	00:18

How's about from Westminster to Mill Hill, near where his other flat is?

Journey Summary

• Departing:  Monday  23  November  2009 at: 20:31
• From:  Westminster
• To:  Mill Hill Broadway
• Restrictions:

Route	Depart	Arrive	Duration	Interchanges	View
1	20:20	20:57	00:37		View

Problems are currently reported on this route

I'm sorry but anyone who thinks they should get a £65,000 subsidy to save themselves less than 20 minutes on their journey really has lost touch with reality. I suspect that if a few more MP's used the service, that little message in red under the journey may appear slightly less often.

So what am I saying here. I honestly don't believe that anyone who is aware of the track record of Matthew Offord at Barnet Council or Andrew Dismore in his expenses shenanigans could vote for either of these two. If I was Matthew Harris, the Lib Dem candidate, I'd tell everyone in the Borough my story. I really hope Matthew Harris does and I hope that EVERY SINGLE disaffected voter in Barnet listens to him, because that other party of protest, that I'm not going to name, will be a big beneficiary if the disgruntled Tories and Labourites stay at home. If you are tempted to stay at home for the next elections, think again. I'm not endorsing anyone here, but with two such tainted candidates, I suspect that for many people in Barnet, there really is only one choice at the moment.