Brian, you should have listened to me in 2009 - so its goodbye from me

Four years ago this week, I was preparing to attend a hearing of the Barnet Council Standards committee. Councillor Brian Coleman had responded to a perfectly reasonable email, sent to every Barnet Councillor, with a tirade of abuse. I felt that this was not a reasonable response and that as a public official, with an allowance funded by my taxes, Brian Coleman should not respond in such a manner with his council email address. Brian Coleman had a history of abusing people. On the 16h September 2009, the standards committee of Barnet Council found in my favour. Sadly for all concerned, they took no action against Brian Coleman, who was then Mayor. The Hendon Times reported the story in the following article.

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/4633911._I_feel_vindicated__says_blogger_after_Coleman_s_code_breach/

In the article, I made a comment to the report. I said

“My advice to Coleman would be to concentrate on being a politician and doing a good job for the people of Barnet because obviously some people like him and respect him and he undermines that by making clearly inflammatory remarks.”

Now sadly for Brian Coleman, he didn't listen to this advice. In fact he did the opposite. Not only did he carry on making obnoxious remarks and sending people rude emails, he assaulted a woman in Finchley High Road, got caught and was convicted. The local Conservatives were left with no choice but to expel him from the party. Whilst still playing an active role, before his naughtyness overwhelmed him, he called a local resident a "TWAT" at a council meeting. This resulted in yet another complaint. For his sins, Coleman was eventally censured by the council. This punishment in effect meant that a statement was read out in a council meeting stating that Brian was not the messiah, he was a very naughty boy. Councillors were given the opportunity to vote on this and they passed the motion, so he is now officially not the messiah ! He is officially a very naughty boy. Somewhere in Brians mind a large copper penny dropped on Thursday. I think he finally realised the game is up. He twigged that his career as a politician is over.

His response to this is to write a lengthy tirade on his blog, lashing out at his former friends in the Barnet Conservative Party. When I write a blog or work on a campaign, I always consider what will happen next. Throwaway comments made months or years ago can come back to haunt you. I should know, I've made a few. I wonder what thought Brian Coleman gave to this as he picked up his poison pen (or should that be malicious mouse). I should imagine that everyone in his circle of acquaintance will now know what happens if you tell Brian Coleman a secret. When you introduce your wife or partner, will they end up as part of a salacious blog? In short, Brian Coleman has destroyed any trust people may have  had in him. The Leader of Barnet Council rightly states that "the political death of Brian Coleman is inevitable" following the latest blog.

There was a time when simply putting the words Brian Coleman in a blog would add a couple of hundred visits to the blog. Not now. People are sick of him. He has become rather like an embarrassing uncle who has had one too many G&T's at a party. All people want is for him to go home and leave the rest of us in peace. It is not just me saying this. It used to be that any story about Brian Coleman would be the most read story on the Hendon Times for days on end. His latest outburst doesn't even make the top ten

MOST READ

1. Davids: 'I don’t have to explain anything to anybody'
2. Lincoln equaliser a bitter pill to swallow admits Davids
3. Driver caught with £85,000 worth of unpaid fines
4. Dump truck ends up vertical on main road after collision
5. Last minute goal proves costly for Bees
6. Eco-friendly hearse 'star of show' at funeral awards
7. Council 'has nowhere to put' millions of tonnes of recycling
8. New sergeant to offer 'reassuring' police presence
9. Woman and baby in stable condition after Finchley collision
10. Premier League star snapped filling up £120,000 sports car

The truth is that however loud Brian Coleman shouts, no one is listening. His behaviour is embarrassing and he really has nothing very interesting to say. A fine example of just how dull his revelations are is in his comments about Councillor Maureen Braun

Councillor Maureen Braun (Hendon Ward ) Elected in 1998 having previously served 4 years on Camden Council where famously she had a bag of soot thrown over her during a Poll Tax setting debate, now that was proper Politics ! . Loyal to Lynne Hillan and implacable supporter during the Salinger coup had a long term rivalry with Eva Greenspan over the Mayoralty and positions on planning . Has become the target of accusations from the "boys " that she rests her eyes at meetings. 

I use Braun to illustrate the point, because in the 2009 standards case, Coleman stated that I was an awful person because I had drawn attention to the failure of Braun to follow planning rules when she erected a large shed in her garden. Coleman stated that because she was an old lady, she should not be criticised. It seems that like many things, his views change  to suit the moment.

When this blog first started, we felt that Brian Coleman exemplified everything that was wrong with Barnet Politics. He was rude, arrogant, unpleasant and his liking for a free dinner at the expense of rich benefactors was, in our opinion, not conducive to good governance. Now however he is a marginal figure, an embarrassment to everyone.  His blog is purely written to draw attention to himself and settle old scores. As such, the sensible thing to do is to draw a line under this sad individual and waive him adios.

This will be the last blog that I write on the Barnet Eye that mentions Brian Coleman (unless he is readmitted to the Conservative Party) until the day after the Council elections in May 2014. Should I go back on my word, I will donate £50 to the first charity that anyone leaves a comment recommending on any blog which references Brian Coleman.

I will also not be including Brian Coleman in any emails circulated to Barnet Councillors and I will not be mentioning him in any tweets until after the council elections in May 2014. For those of you who are a bit nostalgic, you may be interested to see the first blog I wrote about Brian Coleman, where I revealed he is actually my Dad ! How times have changed. This was back in the heady days when I wrote a blog for the Hendon Times, before Brian Coleman, Mike Freer and Robert Rams got me sacked for complaining about Barnet Council posting pro Nazi Youtube videos on the Council website (I kid you not).

http://www.times-series.co.uk/archive/2008/06/30/3208915.Dr_Coleman_I_presume/

Goodbye Brian. I wish I could say it's been fun, but actually it hasn't.