The Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - Number 5

Today is question no 5 in our series dedicated to looking at the important questions which face voters in Barnet as we approach the Council elections on May 6th.

Question No 5.
Standards of behaviour in public office
Is it important to you whether the people who run for public office maintain high standards of behaviour whilst in office. I am not talking about their sexual preferences or what they do behind closed doors. I am talking about how they conduct their business. This shows whether they are honest, decent and trustworthy. The two highest posts within Barnet Council are the Leader of the Council and the Mayor. Both of these positions were appointed by the Conservatives using their larger block vote. How have these people conducted themselves and their business in the time they've been councillors.


Council Leader Lynne Hillan. In 2006 the company Lynne Hillan ran, Ashurst Direct Marketing Ltd was liquidated, leaving debts of over £100,000. As a result, the creditors were significantly out of pocket. The largest creditor was you and me, the taxpayer. Whilst not illegal, if Ms Hillan cannot run a small company successfully and thinks knocking the taxman for tens of thousands pounds, whilst serving as a councillor is a good grounding for taking over as leader I'm flabbergasted. What is even more amazing is that a majority of her Conservative Councillors don't seem to mind either. It is worth pointing out that Ashurst Direct Marketing went bust before the credit crunch bit and the economy was in good shape and growing. It is also worth pointing out that Lynne Hillan has displayed the same grasp of economics when setting the Council budget. She has raided the council cash reserves to institute a Council Tax freeze in an election year. This means that the Council, like Ashurst Direct marketing is running at a loss under her tenure. If she'd raided the reserves for a genuine purpose to deal with an emergency, such as an emergency road resurfacing program, to deal with the pothole crisis in Barnet, I would have agreed that this is sensible. To raid them purely for an election bribe is scandalous.

Mayor of Barnet Brian Coleman. Brian Coleman is the only Mayor of Barnet to be found guilty of a breach of the Barnet Council code of conduct whilst in office. How did he react to the verdict? He went out celebrating with other Conservative Councillors. Mr Coleman also stated that the Standards Committee was a waste of time, rather hypocritically, given that he had reported an opposition Councillor to it (a complaint that was slung out). Mr Coleman has publicly supported disgraced Brent Councillor Bertha Joseph, who was suspended for using charity donations to buy ball gowns. He was banned from driving for speeding offences. He described Middlesex University as "crap", insulting thousands of hard working tutors and students. He insulted the successful British Olympic team for taking part in the Olympics in China, stating they had "blood on their hands" whilst not saying a dickybird about Mayor Boris Johnsons embassy in Beijing. Everyone in Barnet knows exactly what sort of a person Brian Coleman is. The Conservative group thought he was the best man to be Mayor.

I was talking to a local Councillor last night. He told me that an ex Barnet Councillor now holds office in St Albans. He is an opposition Councillor there. He said that in St Albans, party politics plays very little role in Council politics. People just want to do a good job. He said that after Barnets toxic mix, it was a very pleasant change. Mayors are selected from all parties as recognition of their long service and civic mindedness. Sadly this isn't what happens in Barnet.

Question No 5.
Do you believe that Councillors should have a track record of good judgement and good behaviour, especially in senior positions within Barnet Council?

Barnet Conservatives: The appointment of Lynne Hillan and Brian Coleman to their jobs says it all.

Barnet Lib Dems: The Barnet Lib Dems will support all measures to improve and strengthen the quality of Barnet Councillors, the sanctions for serious breaches of the standards code and the improvement of the public image of Barnet Council. Note : No London Lib Dem MP was found to have claimed second home allowances or flipped property allowances in the recent expenses scandal.

Barnet Labour Party: Sadly the two local Labour MPs in Barnet featured promenently in the criticism of MPs behaviour in the expenses scandal.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER  - WHETHER THE CONTEMPT FOR STANDARDS IN PUBLIC OFFICE CONTINUES IS DOWN TO HOW YOU VOTE ON MAY 6TH

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other parties and independent candidates are welcome to leave comments outlining their position on this issue. Comments will only be deleted if off subject, racist, sexist or abusive. This is a debate we must have

The Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - Number 4

Today is question no 4 in our series dedicated to looking at the important questions which face voters in Barnet as we approach the Council elections on May 6th.

Question No 4.
Respect for our war dead.
Of the many questions we have to ask ourselves as we decide who should run the council, maybe the most important is "What are our values?".  Her Majesties armed forces are staffed by volunteers. Men and women who are prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect their loved ones. For this risk how much does a squaddie in Afghanistan get paid? Less than the CEO of Barnet Council, Nick Walkley who pockets £200,000 a year. Less than his deputy Brian Reynolds who pockets £180,000 a year. Less than all of the executives who make up the management team at Barnet. Less than the "allowances" Councillor Lynne Hillan gets to do what a previous Leader of Barnet Council called "a part time job". Less than the allowances of any Barnet Cabinet member for their part time job. Less than the £60,000 a year that Mr Robeson, the Conservative Political officer for Barnet Council gets from the Barnet taxpayer, to advise Conservative Councillors to ignore their consciences and follow the Tory party line. I think you get the idea. Now you may say "fat cat bosses always get more than squaddies risking their lives in far off lands". Well actually no. In the aftermath of the second world war, Councillors were not paid for their services, they did it out of a sense of civic duty and the concept of "local authority paid political officers" was an alien concept in Great Britain, being seen as a Stalinist construct. In Barnet these servants of the public, who gave their time for free recognised the huge sacrifice of the local servicemen and women. They erected war memorials from the public purse around the Borough. Finding the cash for these was never a party political matter, it was just done because it was universally recognised as the right thing to do.

How times change. This blog recently reported how Craig Cooper, Commercial manager of Barnet Council (not even an elected officer), on a salary many times larger than any squaddie in Afghanistan, signed an order banning the addition of names of fallen servicemen, killed since World War II from the council owned war memorials on cost grounds. Council Leader Lynne Hillan was asked about this by the local press and she said "We are doing something else to commemerate them", whilst admitting she hadn't a clue what. In our house we call that being caught with your knickers round your ankles with the postman, pretending to look for a stamp.

This writer of this blog contacted the Leader of the Local Lib Dems, Jack Cohen and insisted that the Lib Dems take some action. Jack immediately proposed a budget amendment to set aside £2,000 (a tiny sum in the billion pound council budget) to cover this work. Jack said that he expected the local Conservatives to nick the idea and pass it in a fanfare of good publicity. In an act of spite, as it was a Lib Dem amendment they voted it down.

Question No 3.

Do you think that the Council should add the names of heroes who have fallen in action since the end of World War II to their local war memorial.

Barnet Conservatives.

No, at £2,000 per annum it costs far too much money.

Barnet Lib Dems.

Yes, and there is a budget amendment on public record to prove it.

Barnet Labour Party

The position of the Barnet Labour party on this issue is unclear.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER  - WHETHER THIS INSULT TO OUR BRAVE FALLEN SERVICEMEN CONTINUES IS DOWN TO HOW YOU VOTE ON MAY 6TH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other parties and independent candidates are welcome to leave comments outlining their position on this issue. Comments will only be deleted if off subject, racist, sexist or abusive. This is a debate we must have

The Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - NumberThe Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - Number 3

Today is question no 3 in our series dedicated to looking at the important questions which face voters in Barnet as we approach the Council elections on May 6th.

Question No 3.
Secrecy Culture. Many independent commentators on both  the left and right of the political  world have criticised the secrecy culture in Barnet Council. Only yesterday this blog detailed how Barnet Council hid the details of how much it was paying "consultants" who had been awarded a contract without even looking for cheaper bids. Given that the money belongs to us, this is a scandal. If you want to know how much Mayor of London Boris Johnson gets paid for expenses or how many free dinners he has, paid for by other people, the Greater London Authority (GLA) have a website where you can find out. This is because, for all his faults, Boris Johnson knows that a culture of secrecy is a culture of corruption and inefficiency. If you want to find out about anything the GLA spent more than £1000 on, they have a website where you can find out. As a result of this I know that in January, the GLA paid a company called Urban Design a grand total of £16,243.22 for "consultancy fees". Now if I was a competitor of Urban Design and I'd bid for that contract and I'd only wanted to charge £10,000 I'd know they charged more and I could raise it. This would mean the GLA knows they get best value for money. In the Conservative run London Borough of Barnet, things are done slightly different. If I want to find out about the Mayor of Barnets free dinners, I have to make an appointment, in office hours to view the register. If I want to know about his expenses, I have to submit a Freedom of Information request and if I'm lucky and he agrees I will eventually get to see it. If I want to know how much Richard Ellis Consultants got paid to advise the Borough on privatising it's land assetts, I'd have to burgle the council offices, rifle through Brian Reynolds desk and find the relevant papers. They have deemed this "confidential". I can guarantee that if all of this was in the open, the taxpayer would get better value. The Conservative Council in Windsor did just that and Council tax has been significantly cut, as savings have piled up. Sadly Barnet Council has gone the other way and gets more secretive with every day. If you want lower taxes, this is a simple way to get the best value from councillors, executives and suppliers.

Question No 3.

Do you believe that the culture of excessive secrecy within Barnet Council should come to an end?

Where do the Parties stand on the issue?

Barnet Conservatives : They've been in power for nearly nine years and they've shown they are committed to keeping us all in the dark about everything.

Barnet Lib Dems : Open government is a key Lib Dem principle and policy. The Lib Dems will sweep away the secrecy culture and institute open and honest administration in Barnet.

Barnet Labour : They have not stated their policy on openness and transparency within Barnet Council.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER  - WHETHER THIS SECRECY CULTURE CONTINUES IS DOWN TO HOW YOU VOTE ON MAY 6TH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other parties and independent candidates are welcome to leave comments outlining their position on this issue. Comments will only be deleted if off subject, racist, sexist or abusive. This is a debate we must have

The Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - Number 2

Today is question no 2 in our series dedicated to looking at the important questions which face voters in Barnet as we approach the Council elections on May 6th.

Question No 2.
Council executive pay. In 2003, the salary of the chief executive of Barnet Council was £113,000. It now stands at £200,000. Have you had a 76% percent payrise in this period. He's not the only one to be doing rather well. The deputy CEO gets £180,000. Barnets most sensible Tory, Don't Call Me Dave, highlighted this issue in an excellent blog before his retirement from trying to knock some sense into his Tory colleagues. The following table shows all of the Barnet Council fat cats.

As you can see there are 11 people now earning more than the CEO of Barnet when the Tories took over. The argument the Tories Council have used is that you need to pay these high salaries to ensure "the right calibre of people". This is an old list. Clive Medlam has left as he didn't follow council rules for investments and was blamed for the Icelandic fiasco. As you assess the potholes in the borough you may ask whether the executives are delivering on road maintenance. As you look at all of the legal fiascos, which have cost enough to save the warden service several times over (Icelandic Banks, Underhill, Warden cuts) you may ask whether this area is delivering. Barnet has a housing crisis.Over 6,000 families are on the list for Council houses. The Council has a strategy to build rabbit hutch flats to house  60,000 people from outside the Borough, addressing the Council House shortfall is not part of this strategy, we'll still have people on the waiting list. The infrastructure will not cope. Can you possibly say that the people devising the strategy are doing a good job. The Council plans to transform itself. The latest budget has a sum of £5 million allocated for "legal issues". Is this what you want your council tax spent on (especially  with Barnets record of losing legal battles).

Question No 2 in our daily series is this. Do you think the fat cat culture of Barnet Senior Executives should be addressed. Should the management structure be streamlined and should salaries reflect the difficult economic circumstances which face public finances.

Where do the parties stand on this issue?

Barnet Conservatives : They have a record which shows that they believe in a bloated corporate sector in Barnet, fat cat salaries and inefficiency.

Barnet Lib Dems : The Barnet Lib Dems promoted budget amendments which would have saved the sheltered housing warden scheme, paid for by streamlining the management structure and addressing these pay rates (the Tories rejected this)

Barnet Labour Party : Their position on this issue is unclear.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER  - WHETHER THIS EXTRAVANGANCE CONTINUES IS DOWN TO HOW YOU VOTE ON MAY 6TH

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other parties and independent candidates are welcome to leave comments outlining their position on this issue. Comments will only be deleted if off subject, racist, sexist or abusive. This is a debate we must have

The Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - Number 1

Here at the Barnet Eye, we don't believe in telling people how to vote. We believe in giving you the evidence. What you do with that evidence is up to you. Between now and the 6th of May we are going to run a daily series of important questions. Every one of these questions can be influenced by the way you vote on May 6th.  With each of the questions, I'll give a brief summary of the positions of the three main parties in Barnet.

Question No 1.
Barnet Council are currently trying to abolish the warden service for sheltered housing residents. This policy was first introduced when current Council Leader Lynne Hillan held the responsibilty for the social serviceses portfolio. The policy will save the Council approx £400,000 (less than the cost of the salaries of three senior council officials). They will replace the existing on site wardens with a service provided by telephone, where wardens will drive from site to site on request. For every four on site wardens, they will replace them with one mobile warden. In the consultation for the change, over 85% of the residents strongly opposed the changes. The residents have taken the Council to court and had the changes declared illegal. The Council are now trying to reintroduce the changes. Do you believe that stripping the elderly and vulnerable of the security of their on site wardens is a policy you agree with or not?

Barnet Conservatives : Strongly committed to abolishing the Warden Service

Barnet Lib Dems : Strongly committed to retaining the Warden Service

Barnet Labour : Strongly comitted to retaining the Warden Service
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMEMBER  - WHETHER THIS CHANGE HAPPENS IS DOWN TO HOW YOU VOTE ON MAY 6TH