Just a few words about the Peoples library event yesterday at Friern Barnet. We had a visit from The One Show from the BBC. Even though the heavens opened and we all got soaked to the skin, we had hundreds of people come out for the event. I will post some pictures later. The guy from the One Show asked if I was disappointed that it was so wet. I replied that I was elated. The fact hundreds of people braved the weather, showed the strength of feeling and demonstrated that people care about their libraries.
After the event, I nipped down to Cafe Buzz, for a very tasty bowl of tomato soup with Helen Michael of the Barnet Traders campaign against the parking charges. Helen showed me the letter which Barnet issued her with. Sadly this makes a mockery of the email which the Leader of the Council, Richard Cornelius sent me explaining that the letter was instigated by the Borough returning officer Nick Walkley.
Initially Barnet Council tried to hassle Helen under election law, however this letter was about flyposting. It is clear that they were trying to be clever and make sure that it wasn't seen to be a political action. Barnet is covered in flyposters. How many of these have been prosecuted. How many have received a visit from a man from the Council?
I have come to the conclusion that Barnet Council are rotten to the core. They cannot be trusted. They appear to think that power is a tool to silence opponents. I'd love to see Barnet free from flyposters, but it seems only Helen Michael gets chased and only because she upset Brian Coleman.
On Thursday we have the GLA elections. We can send a message that Barnet can't ignore, by sacking Brian Coleman. The only candidate who can beat him is Andrew Dismore. A Dismore victory would be good for everyone in Barnet, not least the honest decent Tory voters, who don't want a candidate who is rude, arrogant and uses the GLA expenses as his own person taxi service, leaving cabs outside events for hours clocking up hundreds of pounds in charges at our expense.
Strangely enough, I think the person who would benefit most from losing would be Brian Coleman. He is clearly out of touch with reality and a good kick up the backside from the electorate may make him a nicer person. So my advice to you is #SackBrian for Brian Colemans sake !
and one small point is that Helen Michael is not a flyposter for goodness sake, she is far too intelligent to go about deliberately breaking the law. She did make one small mistake with the poster, being new to anything makes lack of experience a factor, which she corrected and the Old Bill were polite and will probably be stopping in for coffee on quiet days. Helen's turnover will go up not down. Police have to eat as well as everyone else. They really aren't impressed at having their time wasted on technicalities when corrective action had already been taken which information was alrerady in hands of the "leader"
ReplyDeleteAndrew Gilligan on his Daily Telegraph blog is predicting defeat for (among other) both Bwian Coleperson in Barnet & Camden, and Dodger Evans in Havering & Redbridge.
ReplyDeleteVote for Andrew Gilligan - ANYBODY BUT EVANS!
"a good kick up the backside from the electorate may make him a nicer person"
ReplyDeleteA second kick up the backside in two years time, in Totteridge ward, would turn him into Mother Theresa.
(Since by that time he would have "earned" maybe a million pounds in allowances from public office over the years, he could start giving to the poor.)