The Conservative Conference - The art of losing the plot

"Are you really sure this won't make us look like a fascist party in a dystopian novel?" "Yeah, sure,don't worry"

Nothing could sum up just how badly the Tories have lost the plot than this picture. Those of us who remember Neil Kinnocks rather unfortunate Nuremburg rally style conference in 1992 in Sheffield could only hold up our hands and say "what on earth were they thinking?". Whatever your political persuasion, you have to admit that this isn't a great look. Of course no one actually thinks Grant Shapps, David Cameron or any of the rest of them are a bunch of Nazis waiting for the coup, but in this day and age, images are everything and this isn't a great look. The conference itself was perhaps the biggest piece of navel gazing in British history. Rather than talking to the issues that that the country care about, it has been dominated by two big cock ups (or rather a big one and what was apparently a rather less big one, if you believe the gossip).

Firstly we had Tory Chairman Grant Shapps (Pictured above) ranting about betrayal, in regards to Mark Reckless. He claims Reckless lacks integrity. Now I am not a UKIP fan, but it was no secret that Reckless had sympathy with UKIP and he has done the honourable thing and called a by election. Too many politicians have not followed their conscience and towed the party line. That is why we had an illegal war in Iraq. I for one believe any MP with the guts to follow their conscience is  a man I'd respect, even if I completely disagree with him. It is up to the electorate to say whether they agree with Reckless, which is how it should be. The fact that the Tories find it inconvenient is neither here nor there.

Then we've had the rather odd case of the Tory junior minister who decided to send a picture of his dangly bits to Mirror journalist who he believed to be  a pretty young woman, but was in fact a rather less pretty bloke. It is quite simple, if you are a Tory minister and married. Don't send pictures of yourself in compromising postions to people you've never met. If you are you are an idiot with lousy judgement. There is no point moaning about the press. If you are so stupid as to do that, you are a naive fool and a security risk to boot. What if the person had been a terrorist mole and wanted to blackmail a minister, rather than a journo. For  the Tories to get outraged just shows how stupid they really are.

As for policies, the big one is the announcement the George Osborne will cut £12 billion worth of benefit payments. This is a small sum sat next to corporate tax avoidance. One single company vodaphone managed to wriggle out of a £6 billion tax liability. I am all for cutting benefits where it is not needed and stamping out fraud (which is rife). I am completely against cutting benefits to vulnerable people who will suffer. The sad truth is that if the £12 billion benefit cut was feasable or desirable they'd have done it already. The fact they haven't surely tells you something. One thing about benefits which is never mentioned is that nearly all legallyt paid benefits comes back into the economy. Far more than tax cuts for the rich. Is it really such a good idea to squeeze it, just when the economy is picking up?

Lee Thompson & The Silencerz live at the Chandos Arms Colindale in aid of MacMillan Cancer relief

Lee Thompson & The Silencerz

Live at Chandos Arms

Sunday 5th Oct 2014 – 8.30pm

In Aid of Macmillian Cancer Relief

In association with Mill Hill Music Complex, Colindale’s most community spirited pub, Chandos Arms is hosting a day in aid of McMillian Cancer Trust with a evening of live music, starring Lee Thompson the renowned Saxophone player from Madness. The eveninhg will feature a selection of Lee's own compositions, Ska classics and covers of such classic artists as Marc Bolan and Ian Dury. This will be a night to remember, entrance is free, we just ask a donation for MacMillan, as we've all been touched by cancer at some point. It is Lee's birthday and will be a very special night

It all kicks off at 11am with a coffee morning and children’s activities, including bouncy castle, children’s entertainment and face painting.

At 8.30pm Lee Thompson will present an evening of ska, soul, motown, funk and music from his roots, with The Silencerz, a slick crew of local musicians. Lee is a remarkable entertainer and this is sure to be an evening of magical music.

Entrance is free, there will be a raffle with numerous Madness memorabilia as prizes and a fantasic VIP pass for a Madness gig of your choice as the first prize.

The Saturday list #70 - Ten reasons why UK policy on ISIS is wrong

Once again, the British armed forces are being called upon to risk their lives in a region of the world where we are not exactly very well liked. I happen to believe the decision to bomb ISIS is deeply flawed. Here are the reasons.

1. No one has explained what we are trying to achieve. Any military adventure should have a clear political objective. No one has said what this is. If we bombed and killed every single member of ISIS and every ISIS sympathiser (which clearly we can't) all we would have achieved is to create a vacuum which another equally repugnant group would fill. It seems to me that we have a bunch of political incompetents running the west. Obama strikes me as acomplete moron and one has to conclude Cameron is no better. Obama has no vision for what he was trying to achieve. Any reading of the history books shows how the aims of a war should be mananged. Roosevelt and Churchill had a plan in 1943 for what would come after the defeat of Hitler, who was a far greater threat. This plan has ensured that Germany is now a modern democratic state.

2. The Government (and the last one) have run down the armed forces to such a point that all they can contribute is a "token precence".  We read this morning that 2 Tornado jets performed a 7 hour mission.  In the scheme of things, this shows just how small and peripheral the contribution is and just how little commitment the government has to actually keeping afit for purpose military machine.

3. It gives ISIS valuable propaganda material in their battle for hearts and minds. We don't really understand a Jihadist mindset. For many disaffected young muslims in the west, the concept of non muslims raining down bombs on oppressed muslims who lack the weaponry to respond is repugnant. Of course there is far more to the argument than this, but this is how ISIS propaganda portrays this.

4. An air campaign against such a rag tag army is not a fit for purpose response. The type of weaponry a Tornado carries was designed for the cold war. We have precision guided missiles and bunker busting bombs. These are being deployed against blokes driving around in Landcruisers with AK47 rifles. Each bomb probably costs £100,000. Whilst ISIS has some fixed assets in Syria where these may be useful, that is not where the RAF is being deployed.

5. The RAF are not allowed to attack Syria. This is like trying to cure a cancer patient whilst saying you won't remove the primary tumour. It is quite frankly ridiculous.

6. By ruling out ground troops, we are neither in nor out. You either support something or you don't (although I suspect that the fact they've run down the army has a lot to do with the decision).

 7. If as Cameron claims, ISIS are a serious threat to the UK, then surely he can explain why. As I see it, there is zero prospect of ISIS invading the UK and toppling the deomcratically elected govt. So what is the threat? A few disaffected angry young men taking extreme actions. Does anyone thinking the current UK policy deals with this disaffection?

8. There is no UK policy to combat the internal UK threat from radical Jihadis in the UK. It is patently obvious that actions such as capturing and beheading aid workers are unislamic and that the vast majority of people killed by ISIS are fellow muslims. This should be central plank of our fight back.

9. It is nothing short of a scandal that the Government don't have a credible spokesman who represents the Muslim community in the UK within the upper echelons of the government. As a result, they have no input from anyone who understands the issues and concerns of the people we are addressing our policies at in a position to advise the government. Whilst I am sure Eton provides an excellent education, I don't believe it really gives you much of a head start when it comes to dealing with jihardi terrorists.

10. Have they learned nothing about what happens when you poke a wasps nest? Look at the timeline of our interventions in Iraq. It more or less started with the Islamic revolution in Iran in the 1970's. The West backed Saddam Hussein in Iraq as they felt he was a bulwark against the Mullahs. At the same time we backed Al Quada in Afghanistan. When Saddam & Al Qaida ceased to be useful to western interests, we then turned on them. Two gulf wars left us in the current position. The Mullahs still run Iran, Iraq has disintegrated as a single unified country, falling between areas of Iraniain and ISIS influence. It seems that all of a sudden Al Qaida are not quite so bad. We've spent billions on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and all we've managed to do is make both countries more unstable and the area more dangerous.

Of course you may say "It's easy to pick holes, what would you do?". Well for a start  I wouldn't throw our forces into a conflict without a clear plan. The Iraqi govt is a mess and any intervention in Syria will simply help Assad. It may well be that an Assad govt is actually the least bad option for the Uk's interests in that region, I really don't know, but I can't see any credible alternative. It seems to me that there is a strong case for supporting the Kurds. They have a decent admintsration and have long been our allies. The Iraqi govt are in hoc to the Iranians, so I'd let the Iranians sort them out. ISIS are armed and well funded by various Wahabi interests in Saudi Arabia etc. I think our efforts should be aimed at trying to staunch this flow of cash. It also appears that black market oil is making its way into Turkey (who seem to be doing quite nicely from the deal). I'd inisit that as a NATO member Turkey seals its border. This would also stem the flow of UK Jihadis entering Syria. I would like to see the RAF's resources being directed more to humanitarian aid of refugees etc than bombing. This may win us a few friends and show that we aren't what ISIS portray us as.

 Oh and I know that this Saturday list is being posted on a Sunday. It should have been posted yesterday, but I got too engrossed in all the sport yesterday to finish it off.

The Tweets of the week in Barnet 27/9/2014

So here it is. Again. Our weekly roundup of the best and worst tweets of the week in and around the London Borough of Bonkers

1. A rather odd tweet from the deputy Leader of the Barnet Tories. Seems he's worried that Ed Milliband will forget to implement a socialist utopia when elected?

Daniel Thomas @TrueBlueBarnet  ·  Sep 24

What else will Ed forget to do if ever, God help us, he is PM?! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29335450 …

2. It seems that Mike Freer is getting hot under the collar about a cartoon strip which lampoons Hitler and the Nazis.

Jewish News ‏@JewishNewsUK Sep 23

MPs join call to pull comic book showing ‘Hipster Hitler’ @mikefreermp: “It makes Hitler seem acceptable." http://www.jewishnews.co.uk/hipster-hitler/  Agree?

3. The Borough of Barnets top Baking WAG is rallying troops to the cause!

Sarah Burr @SarahEHBurr  ·  Sep 24

#TEAMRICHARD! "@RadioTimes: You choose! Which #GBBO star should be on the Radio Times cover? http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-09-24/which-great-british-bake-off-star-should-be-on-the-radio-times-cover … pic.twitter.com/PUeZdEyBSj”

4. Mr Reasonable is concerned that Barnet has torpedoed social care in Barnet with huge pension liability for YCB, whilst excusing private contractors such as Capita of their obligations.

Mr Reasonable @ReasonableNB  ·  16h

Urgent feedback on ACAS/Your Choice Barnet meeting http://www.barnetunison.me.uk/node/1426  Have Barnet unfairly saddled YCB with massive pension liability

5. Suzy Fitzgerald is outaraged that the taxpayer has yet again been shafted in Barnet

Suzy Fitzgerald @pannusf10  ·  Sep 25

Outrage as care home bought for £1 set to be sold for £12million - this is outrageous #Barnet http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/outrage_as_care_home_bought_for_1_set_to_be_sold_for_12million_1_3782730 …

6. Globetrotting Barnet Councillor magically appears where we least expect him !

Danny Seal @DannyGSeal  ·  Sep 23

I'm at Hendon Town Hall https://www.swarmapp.com/dannygseal/checkin/5421b917498ec8564f776f33?s=LKBSHCF-4qia-Ckv35EfTb8F6XI&ref=tw …

7. Disgraced criminal ex councillor Brian Coleman seems to think that in the year 2014 people are interested in the private live of a long dead former Prime Minister. One suspects that poor old Brian is a tad out of touch.

Brian Coleman ‏@BrianColeman251 Sep 25

@MailOnline Heath was as queer as F**k and I suspect Special branch files from the 1950 would show that

8. Sadly Burnt Oak is making the news for all the wrongreasons

LBC ‏@LBC 20h

Man in critical condition after being stabbed in Watling Park, Burnt Oak, on Friday morning http://l-bc.co/wf3mZS  pic.twitter.com/Qg2Cxcl6eD

9. It seems that local residents are none too pleased with Barratt homes

Top / All

Oscar Webb ‏@owebb 53s

West Hendon estate residents blocking Barratt Homes construction site entrance this morning @OurWestHendon @FocusE15 pic.twitter.com/bGLCOrq9YV

 10. Laura Haynes is most impressed with Mill Hills newest Zebra crossing !

Laura Haynes ‏@LauraHaynesPR 3h

A brand new zebra crossing to walk over. That's about as exciting as life in #MillHill gets! pic.twitter.com/VLJdIpnmwH

How much is that doggy in the window? The myth of the One Barnet capita savings

When I was a small child, my favourite song was "How much is that doggy in the window?" I heard the song on the radio last night, first time for many years. Coincidentally I was reading Mr Reasonable's latest blog about the myth of Capita savings. As what Mr Reasonable has to say is so important, I reproduce it here (read the original here - http://reasonablenewbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/one-barnet-and-why-capitas-75million.html)

One Barnet and Why Capita's £75 million Doesn't Add Up

We have been told repeatedly that the Capita One Barnet Contract will save residents millions of pounds. The two main contracts and the forecast savings are as follows:

NSCSO (now called CSG)
Baseline (at December 2012) costs £38.8 million
Forecast costs savings £7.01 million
Procurement savings £4.69 million
Improved council tax collection £0.84 million
Total guaranteed saving £12.54 million
By my reckoning this means that Barnet should pay £26.26 million per annum
(Source: NSCSO Business Case Cabinet Meeting 6 December 2012)

DSG (now called Re)
Baseline (at June 2013) costs £14.2 million
Forecast cost savings £0.53 million
Increased income £3.38million
Total guaranteed savings £3.9 million
By my reckoning this means that Barnet should pay £10.3 million per annum
(Source: DSG Business case Cabinet Meeting 24 June 2013)

So if we look at the figures above this means that we should be paying Capita £36.56 million assuming they deliver all of the guaranteed savings. It may therefore surprise you that in the year 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 Barnet paid Capita £75,008,840.49. Yes £75 MILLION,  £38.44 million more than we should be paying.

Even setting aside the £16 million of up front investment Barnet have paid to Capita (which should be factored back into the annual cost savings)  that still means we paid £59 million when the cost of providing the service before outsourcing was only £53 million. Also bear in mind that Barnet have shelled out millions in redundancy payment, £8 million on Agilisys/iMpower, millions for agency staff as well as causing distress and heartbreak to hundreds of families that have suffered redundancy to push through these contracts.

At tomorrow night's Council meeting, Richard Cornelius will once again be selling the myth that Capita are saving Barnet residents a fortune in his response to a question from Alison Moore. I hope some of the Councillors present start asking whether these figures are real or just smoke and mirrors. The number don't add up Cllr Cornelius.

So you may ask what all this has to do with doggies in the window. Well the question in the song is "How much?" When it comes down to any transaction, the key phrase is how much? The council spends a small fortune on accountants. They produces figures that are avaialable to the public (if you know the process) which allow us to see "How much". With One Barnet, the deal was that the council would export hundreds of jobs to Capita and other parts of the  country and in return Capita would save us money. In the process Capita would make a hefty profit. This money is our money and we are entitled to know "How much" We are entitled to know if Capita have delivered the promises savings and if they haven't we are entitled to an explanation.

However the only figures we've seen are from Mr Reasonable and we've heard nothing from Richard Cornelius, the leader of Barnet Council who signed and delivered the contract. So once again, the Barnet Eye asks the question "How much". If Mr Cornelius has done us a good deal, his army of highly paid accountants suely can produce the figures. If the deal has been a good one, having run for a year, Mr Cornelius should be shouting about what a marvellous job he's done. He should be inviting the Barnet bloggers up to his Ivory Tower, giving us a cup of tea and the figures which vondicate his decision and say "There's the figures, I was right no Feck off and write that up in your blogs". And we would all come back and acclaim Richard as a genius and spend the rest of our lives telling you to vote Tory. That is what would happen if Richard had the figures to make a case.

What has happened in reality? The Sounds of Silence. No invitation around to the Cornelius mansion in Totteridge for tea and humble pie. So there is only one thing we can conclude. I wonder if the answer to the question "How much is that doggy in the window?" was "Give us your bank account details, we'll charge you what we like every month and at the end of the year, you can tot up the cost" whether you'd be taking Rover home? If you wouldn't do it for a lovable pet, why on earth would you let councillors do it with your hard earned cash to run the council?

Guest Blog - PREPARED STATEMENT TO THE BARNET GROUP BOARD, REGARDING YOUR CHOICE BARNET (YCB) - By Tony Solomons

I SPEAK AS THE PARENT OF MY 41 YEAR-OLD SON, WHO IS CLASSED AS HAVING PROFOUND AND MULTIPLE LEARNING DISABILITIES (OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PMLD) AND WHO HAS BEEN A SERVICE USER OF YCB AND ITS PREDECESSORS FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS.

MAY I START WITH A POTTED HISTORY OF YCB, AS I SEE IT. I PROMISE TO KEEP IT BRIEF.

YCB’S CREATION WAS ESSENTIALLY BASED ON IDEOLOGY AND QUESTIONABLE MORALITY. EVEN IF WE SET ASIDE THE ETHICAL ISSUE ABOUT A COMPANY HOPING TO PROFIT FROM SEVERELY DISABLED PEOPLE - WHICH MOST REASONABLE INDIVIDUALS FIND PRETTY DISGRACEFUL ANYWAY - WE JUST CAN’T IGNORE THE FLAWED ASSUMPTIONS ON WHICH THE ORIGINAL YCB PLANS WERE BASED.

YCB WAS GOING TO BRING NEW BUSINESS TO BARNET - WHERE WAS THE EVIDENCE? “CUSTOMERS” (SO-CALLED BECAUSE WE WERE NOW IN A COMMERCIAL MARKETPLACE) WERE GOING TO SWITCH IN DROVES TO DIRECT PAYMENTS - WHERE HAS THIS HAPPENED? AND WHO ASKED THE QUESTIONS REGARDING WHAT THE BOROUGH OF BARNET WAS PREPARED TO FUND AND WHAT IT WASN’T (FOR EXAMPLE NO-SHOWS.) THE ASSUMPTIONS WERE INADEQUATELY THOUGHT THROUGH AND NOT PROPERLY COMMUNICATED.

AND, AS A RESULT, WE HAD A BUSINESS PLAN AIRILY COBBLED TOGETHER BY A TROOP OF NUMBER-CRUNCHERS WORKING IN THE DARK.

MANY WISE AND COMPETENT PEOPLE PRODUCED TELLING EVIDENCE THAT THE PLAN WOULD NEVER WORK. AND - JUST TO PROVE THE POINT - AT A VERY EARLY STAGE IN THE PROCEEDINGS, YCB FOUND ITSELF HAVING TO BORROW £1M FROM BARNET HOMES. THE CHICKENS HAD COME HOME TO ROOST FROM THE VERY START.

HAD YCB BEEN STITCHED UP BY THE COUNCIL? PROBABLY, BUT WHAT’S SO POIGNANT IS THAT IT MAY WELL NOT HAVE BEEN CONSCIOUSLY. I’M PREPARED TO ACCEPT THAT NEITHER PARTY WAS AWARE OF THE MINEFIELD AT THE TIME. I KNOW SOME WILL DISAGREE, BUT WHEN IN DOUBT I USUALLY GO FOR COCK-UP OVER CONSPIRACY.

THAT’S THE BRIEF POTTED HISTORY I PROMISED. I DARESAY IT’S  KNOWN TO EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM, BUT IT CAN’T BE REPEATED TOO OFTEN.

SINCE THAT DISASTROUS OPENING, YCB HAS BEEN IN A STATE OF DENIAL. THEIR HEADS ONLY EMERGED FROM THE SAND WHEN IT BECAME ONLY TOO APPARENT THAT THE FINANCIAL NUMBERS WOULD NEVER WORK. SOMETHING HAD TO GIVE. SO INSTEAD OF SUCCESSFULLY ARGUING FOR THE NECESSARY INCREASED  FUNDING FROM THEIR COUNCIL MASTERS, THEY WENT FOR THE SOFT UNDERBELLY OF THE ORGANISATION - THE CARE STAFF.

WE KNOW WHERE THIS HAS LED.  STAFF TERMS AND CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN DOWNGRADED, AGENCY WORKERS HAVE REPLACED GOOD AND EXPERIENCED STAFF MEMBERS, AND - UNLESS SOMETHING NEW AND POSITIVE HAS EMERGED FROM TODAY’S ACAS TALKS - STAFF HAVE SUFFERED A 9.5 PERCENT PAY CUT. NO WONDER THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO STRIKE, THEIR PATIENCE FINALLY EXHAUSTED.

AND THE STAFF ARE OF COURSE NOT THE ONLY VICTIMS. MY SON, AS A SERVICE USER (OR CUSTOMER, THE PREFERRED MARKETPLACE TERM) AT THE ROSA MORISON DAY CENTRE, HAS BENEFITED HUGELY OVER THE YEARS FROM THE SKILL, COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION OF THE TRULY AMAZING STAFF, WHO HAVE OUR FULL SUPPORT IN THEIR CURRENT ACTION. AND ALL THIS IS NOW PLACED IN JEOPARDY, OUR SON’S FUTURE WELLBEING AND QUALITY OF LIFE COMPROMISED THROUGH THE PAST MISMANAGEMENT BY EVERYONE CONCERNED.

THE COUNCILLORS (IN MY VIEW THE ULTIMATE VILLAINS OF THE PIECE) WON’T BUDGE. NEITHER WILL THE OFFICERS, EXEMPLIFIED BY BARNET’S CEO, WHO, I UNDERSTAND, REFUSES TO GET INVOLVED. IT SEEMS THE YCB CARE WORKERS WILL HAVE TO KEEP TAKING HAIRCUTS. MEANWHILE CAPITA LURK IN THE WINGS, WAITING FOR MELTDOWN, LICKING THEIR GREEDY CHOPS.

AS A PARENT, I SINCERELY WANT TO BE ABLE TO HELP BREAK THE DEADLOCK, BUT I FEEL MARGINALISED AND IMPOTENT. IT’S A DESPERATE SITUATION, AND I’M HOPING AGAINST HOPE THAT YOU, THE BOARD, HAVE GOT SOME REALISTIC PLANS IN PLACE, WHICH ARE FAIR TO THE CARE WORKERS, AND WILL HELP GET US OUT OF THIS UNHOLY MESS. THANK YOU.

TONY SOLOMONS

22 SEPTEMBER 2014

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Tony Solomons is a Barnet Resident and a parent carer. Guest blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye

Barnet Council - Tories yet again exposed for their hatred of Football

So what is our national game? What is the game that most boys would play out of choice at school? The answer is Association Football. There are many sports played in the UK, but football is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of levels of participation, interest and affection for our young people. It is a sad fact that there is one place where this is not the case. That is here in the London Borough of Barnet. We used to have two clubs with famous histories and traditions in the Borough. Sadly both have been shafted by Barnet Council. Barnet FC were forced out of the Borough by Council intransigence and hostilty. The club now play in the London Borough of Harrow at the Hive, having finally given up on trying to get the Council to cooperate. For Hendon FC, it is even sadder. The team now groundshare with Wembley, their ground being sold to a property developer of £20 million. 

It seems that the Council have no clue about the vital role of having a local team to inspire youngsters. It goes deeper than that though. Barnet has a reputation for poor maintenance of pitches in the Borough for youth teams. I recently visited Burnt Oak lesuire centre and was dumstruck to see the state  of the youth football pitch. The season has only just started, but the pitch is in a highly dodgy state. The number of playing fields that the council has concreted over in the Borough or left to fall into rack and ruin is scandalous. Within a couple of miles from my house we've lost Pavillion Road and the Mill Hill Sports club in recent years. There now seems to be a massive question mark over the future of Mill Hill Village FC, a club which has been around for over 100 years. It seems that there are issues with the lease on the ground. There is a suspicion that the council sees such sites as prime real estate.

For some reason, whilst Barnet Council hate local football clubs, they love rugby. Now I personally have no issue with Rugby, I've been to Saracens RFC a few times. I am however appalled by the double standard. Saracens RFC have had a huge subsidy from Barnet Council in the form of  a "sweetheart deal" on their Copthall ground. Now the ground clearly was decrepid before the Saracens development and they've done a great job, but given the lack of previous ties to the Borough, one has to point out the double standard.

The latest example of anti football bias is revealed in a press release on the Barnet Council website. It seems that any sport is encouraged in Barnet apart from football. I was pleased to see a press release on the Barnet Council website announcing funding from Sport England to get young people off their backsides and into a sport (http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/591/sport_england_funding_helps_barnet_young_people_get_in_shape) which is clearly a step in the right direction. Then I read what the press release and I was horrified. It seems that any sport except football is encouraged.  Read these snippets

The Sport England money will be combined with additional funding from Barnet Council’s Public Health and Children Services departments, the Saracens Foundation and Middlesex University to create a £3000,000 project fund.Young people will be able to take part in a range of coaching sessions in sports and activities including basketball, rugby, boxing, athletics, self defence and dance. They will also have the chance to take part in a number of ‘come and try’ days.

 It goes on

Councillor Helena Hart said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive funding from the Community Sport Activation Fund which will allow us to develop our sport and physical activity offer to 14 to 25-year-olds.We will offer a selection of sports and physical activity sessions ranging from self-defence, athletics, basketball, Tai Chi and much more. Young people will be able to have their say about how they can get into sport and I am sure it will encourage them to come back for more.”

As you can see no mention at all of football. Now of course all of these sports are great things to get involved with and all should be encouraged. We have to wonder why in Barnet there is such a bias against our national game? Now it may very well be an oversight. It may well be that there is money in the pot for football (we sincerely hope so) but how could you fail to mention it. It would be like setting up a Battle of Britain museum appeal and not mentioning the RAF.

I've raised this seeming blindspot on serveral occasions with Barnet Tory Councillors. They've all assurred me that there is no "anti football" policy, but not a single one has ever been able to quote a single example of anything where Barnet Council were promoting our national sport. Once again, I am throwing down the guantlet to Barnet Council. Get behind our national game. Tell us what you are doing for young footballers to help and encourage them. We'd be the first to promote any scheme which was good for football in the Borough so tell us about it. My son plays under 15 football for a local club, Watling Youth FC. Guess what the council did to their clubhouse/centre? You've got it. The Watling Boys club building was recently demolished for "new homes". What I see every week is dozens of parents taking excited youngsters for what is the highlight of their week. Like me they stand for a couple of hours at the side of the pitch, come rain or shine. I've seen the boys in the team grow up and I've seen the dedication and hard work they put in. Is it too much to ask for a bit of support from our local Council.

Guest Blog - Is an in house option really on the table for Your Choice Barnet by John Sullivan

By John Sullivan,

 Your Choice Barnet, for those of you who don't know, is the organisation which provides care for adults with social care needs in the London Borough of Barnet. It is a Private company, which was created by the London Borough of Barnet. The London Borough of Barnet owns all the shares. You may wonder why a local Authority would go to such lengths. Could it be so that they could implement swinging cuts in local care with no political fallout? How would you go about doing this? Maybe set up a company with a completely flawed business plan, that is doomed from day one. Then there is  a "cast iron financial case" for deeply unpopular cuts with no blame at all for the puppet masters. But who would agree to set up a company under such false pretences?

The truth is that Your Choice Barnet was born of a lie in as much nobody was afforded any choice.  Our Tory masters and their lacky officers decided to call it Your Choice, in an Orwellian, minstry of truth style attempt to pretend that this was something that was "opted in to".  By the time any concept of truth regarding the policy that was finally named Your Choice became a reality, it had been replaced with obfuscation, misinformation and downright lies. Truth, transparency, integrity, concern for clients and staff had taken a back seat, and was replaced by the false promises of huge profits hewn out of the care from the most disadvantaged in our midsts. Local Conservative councillors were blinded by promises of massive profits at the expense of severely disabled  YCB clients. An attitude that any decent person would consider immoral and repugnant took precedent. It seems that despite the Tories being the party of business, none of them bothered to study the business plan.

So as YCB has been a lie from the start,  with massive losses presented as "planned losses" (who sets up a company to make losses), there is no need to list the dishonest rhetoric of YCB directors or local councillors on the subject of YCB, because there has been no truth from day one. Therefore anything you hear from them on this subject you can reasonably assume is  obfuscation, cover up or plain old fashioned porkies.

Now we are told that the Council is "looking at" and "In House option". It is one thing to promise an in house option will be considered, but how well funded will the preparation of an in house model be?  Will it be allowed sufficient time to do a thorough job , after all we are talking about the quality of people's lives? Who will prepare the bid and what will their brief be? Will all parties clients, parents, family carers, front line staff and others at the front line for the very first time be consulted. Or will they all as has been the case to date be ignored by both local Conservative and Labour councillors. In short will thed people who receive the care actually be given a choice?

 Any reasonable person could see from the outset that the original YCB business plan was never going to work - you remember the plan that needed a £1 million bale out within a year, any more than the second business plan is working. YCB are currently in hock to Barnet taxpayers for a figure in excess of £1  Million  (the so called planned debt).

However the business plan was never intended to work, the intention from the outset was to drive YCB into debt , which could be used to justify an attack on the  highly skilled staff to force them out and replace them with cheap labour. Those members of staff not forced out initially with the use of every despicable tactic at the disposal of YCB board and their Tory puppet masters, were always going to be subjected to massive life changing wage cuts to prime the business known as YCB , by minimising the quality of service provision and quality of life for YCB clients and staff and sell off to the highest bidder probably Capita.  This is all necessary in order to wipe their hands of the responsibility for YCB clients, which has always been the aim of our local Conservative masters.

Are our local conservative councillors serious about giving an in house option for YCB a fair hearing and the funding and time to prepare a bid? The suspicion is that they are yet again playing games with the lives of YCB clients and their family carers.

I would suggest the latter is the intention simply because and I repeat Your Choice Barnet has been a lie since day one and it continues to be a lie, and one thing is for sure local Conservative councillors will fight tooth and nail to avoid the service being brought back in house. No matter how deceitful underhand and dishonest they have to be, which will only be to replicate the deceitful, underhand and dishonest activities they engaged in to set the lie that is Your Choice Barnet up to fail in the first place.

Whilst I hope to be proven wrong , I seriously have my doubts the right wing detester of the disabled sick and poor,  namely our 'smiling' Conservative leader Cornelius will pull out all of the stops to deny YCB clients any choice at all. Do the sick, the diabled and the infirm not deserve a quality of life and a safeguarded long term future of quality service provision . To stop this service being brought back in house, which is the only way the long term future of service provision can be guaranteed is to deny more than choice. It is to deny the basic needs of a human being to have a life without fear.

There is one final thing which must be said about the whole YCB debacle. It is time for the local Labour Party to stop being the Tories merkin. At every turn they have lost their cojones and voted to go along with the Tory cuts and outsourcing, giving the Tories a legitimacy they do not deserve. Let me put this in simple terms. If the local Labour Party do not stand at the forefront of the fight to bring Services in house, then I will ensure that every reader of the Barnet Eye and every carer in Barnet knows and come the election in 2015 they exercise their vote in the knowledge of what Labour have done, not what they have promised. Because if the local Labour party can't oppose the Tories, then what possible reason is there to deserve our votes?
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John Sullivan is a Barnet resident and carer for his daughter Susan aged 50