A few questions you may want to ask your local Conservative Councillor

Over the next few weeks you are likely to get a knock on the door from your local Conservative Council candidates seeking your support in the Council elections on May 6th. There is nothing that politicians like more when they are out canvassing than for local people to take an interest in their campaign. They like to answer questions to clear up any misunderstandings about their policies and to tell you why they are doing a great job. Having just read the latest "In Touch" Newsletter from the Mill Hill Conservatives, I thought I'd help the voters make sure they could ask just the right questions to ensure that they get to the bottom of the issues that matter. Bear in mind, these are the issues which our local Conservatives think are the most important. The way this works is the big letters are the headline on their newsletter and the small letters are the questions their stories raise :-


Council Tax Frozen
Why has Council tax risen at a rate above inflation since the last election?
Why is Council Tax now higher in Barnet than it is in Brent, where the Council is run by Lib Dems. It was lower in Barnet when the Tories took over in 2003, by several hundred pounds.
Why have the council raided the reserves to keep council tax rises down in an election year when they criticised the previous administration for doing this.
When will the Council Tax payer have to pay the bills for all the money lost by the Council in Iceland.

£5,000 Sports Grant for Disabled Children
Who is actually providing this money and why are Barnets Conservatives claiming credit for cash they haven't provided?
What new sports facilities for Disabled Children have Barnet Council funded from Council Tax?
Under this Conservative administration, the previous leader of Barnet Council and the CEO were bought first class tickets to America for a Conference. This cost more  than twice the amount that they've won in this grant and it was paid for by Council Taxpayers. How can they justify this extravagance?

£50,000 for Mill Hill Play Area
Why are the Barnet Conservatives taking the credit for a scheme created by the Government?
Why does the leaflet show a picture of a play facility which was installed by the previous Council administration years ago as an example of the benefits of the new funding?

Page 2.


Preserving the Character of Mill Hill
Why have the Conservative Council not taken enforcement action against the man elected deputy chairman of the Hendon Conservatives in March last year, for developments on the green belt, which the council have publicly stated require planning permission?
Why have the Conservatives in Barnet taken no action to strengthen Green belt legilsation in over eight years in charge.
Why have the number of enforcement actions taken by the Conservative Barnet Council fallen year on year if they are serious about preserving the green belt, when the number of complaints have risen?
The Conservatives talk about how he "saved a Pagoda tree" on the Ridgeway. Who did he save it from (his own Conservative Council)?

Mill Hill Barracks Site
How can the Conservatives cry that the Mill Hill Barracks site is "A classic example of over-intensive development" when they are in charge of the planning committee and have the power to stop it?
When they talk about over development, why have many leading Conservatives, including the Council Leader, spoken at a planning hearing for the Brent Cross redevelopment in favour of rabbit hutch housing?


Improve our local transport
The leaflet states "commuters and other travellers have suffered long enough" and states that they  demanded "improvements".  What improvements are these?
Are the Local Conservatives unaware of the Thameslink Program, which costs £5.5 billion and will massively increase capacity on the line from Mill Hill?
Are the Conservatives unaware of the Northern Line upgrade, currently also under way?
What additional improvements are they suggesting?
What is the position of the local Conservatives on whether First Capital Connect should retain their franchise?
The Conservatives privatised the railways, causing the system which has brought chaos to the Thameslink line. Do they now admit that this policy was a disaster and are they prepared to apolgise for it?
If the Conservatives want to improve local transport, why did they divert the 186 bus away from many parts of Mill Hill, removing the only direct service to the doors of Brent Cross shopping centre?


Conservative Council Goes to Town on Potholes
Do our local Conservatives think that the state of the roads in Barnet is anything less than appalling?
Do our local Conservatives think that their neglect of road maintenance has lead to the massive number of potholes in our roads?
Why has the Council got no system of getting its own street operatives such as dustmen to report the site of potholes back to the Highways department. They rely on residents using their fix my street website to report the location. Given that Dustmen cover every road in the Borough so why don't they keep an eye on Highways?

Now a few other questions you may like to ask, whilst they are there.
Why the office for the Mill Hill Conservatives is in Finchley, not Mill Hill. It isn't even in the same constituency?
Why can't the Conservatives find three residents of Mill Hill ward to represent them in the election?
Who has paid for the lovely glossy leaflet which they have delivered?

I am sure they will be only too pleased to answer all these questions and clear up any misunderstandings.