Brian Coleman : A bad year for Lynne Hillans teaboy

Where did it all go so wrong? Why did it all go so wrong? At the start of the year, our (then soon to be) Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman was riding high. He knew he would soon be fulfilling his lifelong ambition of becoming Mayor and he was widely seen as the kingmaker in the Barnet Conservative Party. He reveled in his role as the "Marmite Man" of Barnet politics. You either loved him or you loathed him. Either way, he had a high profile and a solid base of supporters who he'd carefully built up and who he could marshall behind whatever position he wished to take.

Brian ends the year widely discredited. Strangely this was starkly demonstrated by two issues where he was probably completely right. Brian was a big opponent of the Brent Cross redevelopment scheme. He felt that it was the wrong scheme for a leafy suburb such as Barnet. Sadly for Brian, the other events of the year actually meant his opposition to the scheme was used by the PR for the scheme to demonstrate that it was only oddballs and fringe elements who opposed the scheme. The other big illustration of his diminishing influence was the election of Lynne Hillan as Leader of the Council and the Barnet Conservatives. Previously Brian would have expected to play a lynchpin role, but he knew Hillan was the wrong candidate. When he did the maths and realised he couldn't stop her, he bottled it. He didn't even bother to turn up to vote in the election.

Brian has had his year in the sun as Mayor. Sadly for him, it won't be remembered fondly. As the only sitting mayor to have been found guilty by the Standards committee, of breaching Barnets code, it was pretty embarrassing.  All of this started by Brians lack of judgement in sending a rather stupid email and then not doing the decent thing and apologising. Probably even more embarrassing and even more damaging was his "odious toad" at fellow ex QE Boys schoolmate and colleague on the GLA John Biggs.This was filmed for posterity and has caused much merriment on the various blogs.

This was the moment when my attitude towards Brian Coleman changed. I suspect this was true for many people. For me, he stopped being a strident, arrogant bully and became a rather sad figure, filled with Pathos. Why? Well I received a couple of emails from ex schoolmates of Biggs & Coleman who explained how Coleman was teased and bullied at school. Listening to Colemans comments to Biggs in this light, it became clear that Brian Colemans outrageous behaviour over the years is classic behaviour of a little boy who has been bullied. His many and varied outbursts over the years are his way at lashing back at the "big boys in the playground". As such I cannot view him through the "marmite goggles" I previously used. I just feel sorry for him.

Hearing how some Tories have referred to him as Lynne Hillans teaboy, given the lack of respect  and inability to exert influence, I've almost started to feel sorry for him. The emphasis is on the almost as he is a grown up and he's brought it all on himself.