Barnet bloggers respond to Councillor Gordon’s defence of Barnet Council residents’ forums
Dear Councillor Gordon,
A letter was published last week in the Press group of newspapers from you concerning the Barnet Alliance for Public Services residents’ forum held on Tuesday 4th October.
We must correct a factual inaccuracy in your letter. The forum was not "private", it was open to all. All Barnet councillors were invited and would have been welcome to attend.
You state that Barnet Council’s own residents’ forums are not in any way hampered by the new rules governing them. Is this your opinion or have you asked the residents who attend, we think they would take a different view.
You state that the forums are "marred occasionally by the irresponsible actions of anti-council agitators". We ask you to withdraw this offensive remark. The undersigned have all attended numerous residents’ forums and have never witnessed an "anti-council agitator".
We have witnessed many local residents who disagree with the policies of the current administration, and we believe their comments are born out of deep concern for the direction of the Council and cannot be in any way construed as "anti-council".
We are also concerned by the description you give of the appropriate way to deal with residents and taxpayers. The phrase "with firm chairmanship, those individuals are fairly swiftly subdued" has highly oppressive overtones and clearly implies that residents are not welcome to express views at odds with the chair.
We would like to remind you, Cllr Gordon, that the forums exist for residents’ benefit, not for that of the chair.
We would also like to remind you of the circumstances in which you became chair, when it became necessary to instigate an investigation into the behaviour of the previous Conservative incumbent.
We remind you that Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has praised the concerned citizens of Barnet for their efforts in exposing the shambles that your administration allowed to develop in the Council’s purchasing department.
We are pleased that you have drawn attention to the next set of Council residents’ forums. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss your comments with you and your colleagues at these events.
Yours,
Derek Dishman
John Dix
Vicki Morris
Theresa Musgrove
Roger Tichborne
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This statement has been prepared and jointly issued by five Barnet bloggers in response to the letter published in the Press group newspapers, written by Hale Ward Conservative Councillor, Brian Gordon (known in Barnet blogging circles as "Councillor Brian the Less important")
2 comments:
Who`s the deck chair attendant at Barnet council.?
He had left, to join the "Abide With Me" orchestra.
Of course, at 1.45am. on April 15, 2012, an hour and a half after the London Borough of Barnet hit reality, Mr. R MetPro Cornelius, Leader of the outfit that ran the borough, jumped into one of the last lifeboats to leave, on the starboard side.
He said afterwards that he had helped with the rowing, but this seems unlikely: not only was he facing the wrong way, but he was in no state to do anything physical. When he left the sinking ship, Mr. Cornelius stepped into a bottomless well. The Leader's hair failed to turned white overnight, since he didn't have any, but those on the rescue ship, the SS Pickles, said that his body in the lifeboat was as stiff and lifeless as a marble statue.
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