For those of you who followed the Barnet Conservative Leadership Elections closely, you may want to have another look at this blog - http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2011/06/barnets-most-expensive-tea-boy-end-of.html - in it I predicted that Richard Cornelius would win and that Andrew Harper would come third. I can let you into a little secret. A certain well known figure in Barnet circles sent me an email, following a chat with a senior Council Executive regarding what I'd said. The executive said that he was really pleased I'd written it, because the world would see that I'd been making all this stuff up and Harper would walk it. He apparently said with complete certainty that Harper was a shoo in.
Many people will wonder where all this information comes from. Do I just make it up? Well lets just say that if I'd be a rich man if I could guess this stuff. Yes it is true I did make one outrageous prediction purely as a guess and got it right. I said Barcelona would win the Champions League final 3-1. I don't discuss my sources, but as ever they are pretty spot on. People pass information to this blog for one reason. They trust what they read here. They believe that the information should be in the public domain. Many people believe that the secrecy culture in Barnet is dangerous. I think the whole issue of Metpro has proven this. What is interesting is the number of times three or four different people contact me independently and tell me the same thing. Generally, unless the source is 100% trustworthy, I don't print any rumour or scandal unless I've heard it from multiple sources. We've also had the unedifying spectacle of Barnet executives planting leaked info to try and "flush out moles". I always advise people who want to pass hard information, to take various precautions. Documents such as PDF files have electronic signatures that identify them. Some IT consultants specialise in "tagging" documents so that leakers can be identified. This can be by using patterns of double spacing etc (at a very simple level).
If I were Barnet, I'd stop wasting time and money on all this nonsense. It would be far easier to follow the example of Windsor and Maidenhead Council and let the public have open access to all but sensitive documents. One thing has struck me as a result of the Metpro inquiry. Dogged bloggers have exposed a whole raft of bad practice in the council. This will save the council a fortune. I doubt we'll get a corporate buffet in thanks, to be honest I doubt we really want one. What I do know is that someone with an ability to see outside the box, would recognise this and see the value that ordinary citizens could add.
I don't enjoy writing the blogs I spend my days writing. I don't enjoy having to say people are useless or that the council is doing a rotten job. I'm not happy about having to say people should be sacked. The problem is that all of these things are true. There are a whole host of things I've been told about the way the council operates, that I believe but can't print, because there is no proper proof. In the past I used to email councillors with this info in confidence. In every case one of three things would happen a) I'd hear nothing back at all, b) I'd get a patronising response telling me I really didn't know anything or c) I'd get a rude reply.
Strangely enough, if I emailed them telling them they were doing a marvellous job, I'd always get a warm reply thanking me. I guess most Councillors (Tory and Labour) would prefer it if I fell under a bus. They would rather be let get on with what they do, without having to worry about uppity bloggers spelling out nasty home truths. I'd ask them to consider this. The USA is a far more successful economy than ours. They have a far more open and transparent approach to democracy. This cannot be coincidence.
I hope Richard Cornelius uses his time as Leader to make the type of blogs I write redundant. His first big challenge will be the fallout from the Metpro scandal. He actually has the opportunity to make a difference. Lets hope he uses it.
Many people will wonder where all this information comes from. Do I just make it up? Well lets just say that if I'd be a rich man if I could guess this stuff. Yes it is true I did make one outrageous prediction purely as a guess and got it right. I said Barcelona would win the Champions League final 3-1. I don't discuss my sources, but as ever they are pretty spot on. People pass information to this blog for one reason. They trust what they read here. They believe that the information should be in the public domain. Many people believe that the secrecy culture in Barnet is dangerous. I think the whole issue of Metpro has proven this. What is interesting is the number of times three or four different people contact me independently and tell me the same thing. Generally, unless the source is 100% trustworthy, I don't print any rumour or scandal unless I've heard it from multiple sources. We've also had the unedifying spectacle of Barnet executives planting leaked info to try and "flush out moles". I always advise people who want to pass hard information, to take various precautions. Documents such as PDF files have electronic signatures that identify them. Some IT consultants specialise in "tagging" documents so that leakers can be identified. This can be by using patterns of double spacing etc (at a very simple level).
If I were Barnet, I'd stop wasting time and money on all this nonsense. It would be far easier to follow the example of Windsor and Maidenhead Council and let the public have open access to all but sensitive documents. One thing has struck me as a result of the Metpro inquiry. Dogged bloggers have exposed a whole raft of bad practice in the council. This will save the council a fortune. I doubt we'll get a corporate buffet in thanks, to be honest I doubt we really want one. What I do know is that someone with an ability to see outside the box, would recognise this and see the value that ordinary citizens could add.
I don't enjoy writing the blogs I spend my days writing. I don't enjoy having to say people are useless or that the council is doing a rotten job. I'm not happy about having to say people should be sacked. The problem is that all of these things are true. There are a whole host of things I've been told about the way the council operates, that I believe but can't print, because there is no proper proof. In the past I used to email councillors with this info in confidence. In every case one of three things would happen a) I'd hear nothing back at all, b) I'd get a patronising response telling me I really didn't know anything or c) I'd get a rude reply.
Strangely enough, if I emailed them telling them they were doing a marvellous job, I'd always get a warm reply thanking me. I guess most Councillors (Tory and Labour) would prefer it if I fell under a bus. They would rather be let get on with what they do, without having to worry about uppity bloggers spelling out nasty home truths. I'd ask them to consider this. The USA is a far more successful economy than ours. They have a far more open and transparent approach to democracy. This cannot be coincidence.
I hope Richard Cornelius uses his time as Leader to make the type of blogs I write redundant. His first big challenge will be the fallout from the Metpro scandal. He actually has the opportunity to make a difference. Lets hope he uses it.
Rog: me, I'm an optimist and I'm still waiting for the corporate buffet ... I imagine it will be laid on after the MetPro meeting on Thursday, don't you?
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