Last night, Barnet Council CEO Nick Walkley was in high spirits at the Barnet Council Cabinet Resources meeting. I don't blame him one little bit. The sheep on the council committee duly rubber stamped all of the reports, just like they were told to. Debate was kept to a bare minimum, for example the debate on the parking contract lasted less than three minutes (see video in previous blogs).
As I watched decision after decision being passed, after a perfunctory speel by one of the sheep, I was reminded of the film "The Stepford Wives" about a town where women are mysteriously transformed into compliant and subserviant automatons. How has Nick managed this trick with a bunch of people elected to serve the people of Barnet?
As I heard Brian Coleman extoll the marvellosity of his changes to the parking service, I watched Nick beaming like a cheshire cat. £200K a year in wages and a bunch of mugs like this who he manipulate even more easily than Gerry Anderson controlled Dick Tracey. No wonder he was smiling.
As I watched the shambles unfold, I pondered just how thick are the cabinet? Earlier this year, they rejected a proposal to set up a system to formally film council meetings, in favour of just allowing the public to.Not only are their strings pulled by Non Stick Nick, but they have surrendered control of information about the council to the bloggers of Barnet. Because of their addiction to secrecy, we control the public debate. Every week the local papers are crammed with stories broken by bloggers. Videos and audio clips are elusively published on blogs, which the council have no control over.
They really couldn't be more useless if they tried.The Stepford Councillors of Barnet march on to oblivion
"more easily than Gerry Anderson controlled Dick Tracey"
ReplyDeleteRoger, Dick Tracey was a 1930s detective; you mean JEFF Tracy and his sons.
Perhaps you could imagine them around the committee table...
All the Thunderbird pilots wear a common mid blue uniform consisting of a polo-neck tunic, trousers, boots, and a simplified glengarry cap. Each uniform is accented by a sash uniquely coloured specific to the wearer and bearing the International Rescue insignia, which carries a sidearm and two pouches, and similarly coloured cuffs to the boots:
Scott – pale blue
Virgil – pale yellow
Alan – white
Gordon – orange
John – lilac
Sorry, freudian slip. I was thinking of the Borough Solicitor when I wrote that bit
ReplyDeleteDick Tracey was also a former MP for Surbiton, and currently London Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth - one of the Fat Toad's colleagues.
ReplyDeleteLet us remember, Roger, you have blogged a picture of the high command before:
ReplyDeletehttp://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/12/first-picture-of-new-barnet.html
and there's a picture of Thunderbird Rams (would you want to be rescued by him?) here:
http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/12/exciting-edition-to-world-of-barnet.html
which just proves that fact is stranger than fiction in the Rudderless Borough of Barnet.
Talking about jokes, there's a good one in tonight's Standard, from a (the Chief?) Rabbi:
ReplyDeleteA Rabbi says: "Two negatives make a positive. But two positives never make a negative."
And from the back comes: "Yeh, Yeh."