The Conservative Councillors of Barnet Council are currently going through the process of choosing a new leader. Now the more naive amongst us may possibly think they will choose based on who they think will do the best job. Sadly those of us who know how these things work, know better. A game of "name your price" is going on. The contenders do the maths and it works like this. Tot up all the people who hate your guts. Discount them. Then make a list of all of the others and work out what you have to offer them to vote for you. This usually involves a promotion or a bit more money. As you can kick out all of your opponents big supporters, there are usually a few cabinet posts up for grabs and a few committee chairmanships. The biggest gift is the deputy leadership. This is generally offered to someone who leads a faction and can bring a few extra votes in. Back room wheeler dealers such as John Marshall are past masters at using this process to secure maximum personal advantage and ensuring the stitch up works well. In the last election, he suckered Mark Shooter into standing and managed to get a nice juicy promotion, getting his hands on the wheels of power to save Lynne Hillans neck (allegedly).
This time round? My money is on Richard Cornelius because a) He isn't Brian Coleman and b) he isn't Andrew Harper. Sadly he is what is known as an invertebrate (doesn't have a backbone), so he won't actually stand unless he's sure of winning. If he bottles it, the it's who has upset less people, Coleman or Harper. That's one battle I couldn't call, but I reckon Coleman would be knobbled, because the Tories would prefer someone weak, mallable and stupid, to Coleman who may well destroy the whole group with is enormous, overbearing ego.
The sad thing is that whoever comes in, will immediately have a crisis. You see a few days after they have the election, the Audit committee will report on it's findings. This is likely to reveal a train crash (if it doesn't then, judging by the documents I've seen) the council will unleash a storm the likes of which has never been seen in Barnet. Myself and a group of Barnet residents concerned about this, recently had a meeting and you will soon see the fruits of that discussion. It was a small group, and all I can say is that we have access to some very interesting information and we have some big hitters in our group (nope, not me). Watch this space (and the blogs / press).
One thing is crystal clear. The Metpro scandal has proven beyond doubt that Barnet cannot effectively manage even the smallest contract or contractors. In a sane Council, it would spell a top to bottom overhaul and immediate abandonment of the One Barnet Outsource the world program. Sadly, dim idiots such as Councillor Robert Rams, who clearly don't read council reports, are still marching forward, proclaiming that such a broken model is the way to go. At our meeting, we saw how the Metpro Scandal was flagged up in 2009 and yet here we are in 2011 and they did nothing. More will be revealed here and in other blogs. We are co-ordinating and liaising as to how best to ensure that we can emsure Barnet Council meets it's statuatory obligations. Again watch this space.
Having seen and heard all that I have as I researched this, over the last couple of months, I can say this without fear of contradiction. The Metpro Scandal will fundamentaly change the way Barnet Council conducts it's business and some senior officers are likely to lose their jobs. I recommend that all Conservative Councillors bear this in mind when they choose their leader, because they really do need someone on top of their game. The Metpro scandal inquiry/audit will have national press coverage (especially if it is a cover up). They will need someone to save their bacon.
This time round? My money is on Richard Cornelius because a) He isn't Brian Coleman and b) he isn't Andrew Harper. Sadly he is what is known as an invertebrate (doesn't have a backbone), so he won't actually stand unless he's sure of winning. If he bottles it, the it's who has upset less people, Coleman or Harper. That's one battle I couldn't call, but I reckon Coleman would be knobbled, because the Tories would prefer someone weak, mallable and stupid, to Coleman who may well destroy the whole group with is enormous, overbearing ego.
The sad thing is that whoever comes in, will immediately have a crisis. You see a few days after they have the election, the Audit committee will report on it's findings. This is likely to reveal a train crash (if it doesn't then, judging by the documents I've seen) the council will unleash a storm the likes of which has never been seen in Barnet. Myself and a group of Barnet residents concerned about this, recently had a meeting and you will soon see the fruits of that discussion. It was a small group, and all I can say is that we have access to some very interesting information and we have some big hitters in our group (nope, not me). Watch this space (and the blogs / press).
One thing is crystal clear. The Metpro scandal has proven beyond doubt that Barnet cannot effectively manage even the smallest contract or contractors. In a sane Council, it would spell a top to bottom overhaul and immediate abandonment of the One Barnet Outsource the world program. Sadly, dim idiots such as Councillor Robert Rams, who clearly don't read council reports, are still marching forward, proclaiming that such a broken model is the way to go. At our meeting, we saw how the Metpro Scandal was flagged up in 2009 and yet here we are in 2011 and they did nothing. More will be revealed here and in other blogs. We are co-ordinating and liaising as to how best to ensure that we can emsure Barnet Council meets it's statuatory obligations. Again watch this space.
Having seen and heard all that I have as I researched this, over the last couple of months, I can say this without fear of contradiction. The Metpro Scandal will fundamentaly change the way Barnet Council conducts it's business and some senior officers are likely to lose their jobs. I recommend that all Conservative Councillors bear this in mind when they choose their leader, because they really do need someone on top of their game. The Metpro scandal inquiry/audit will have national press coverage (especially if it is a cover up). They will need someone to save their bacon.
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