Why I am supporting Helene Richman in West Hendon ward in the Barnet Council Elections

 Several locals have asked me whether I will be supporting Helene Richman's candidacy for the Lib Dems in the West Hendon By Election. The answer is unreservedly yes. There are many reasons, but I'd like to go on record and explain why. Some people have asked why I am supporting a former Conservative Councillor, as I hope all decent West Hendon locals will, especially those who previously voted for her as a Conservative

pic.twitter.com/g7OEp51liW

— Helene Richman (@RichmanHelene) April 20, 2022

1. She was a staunch supporter of the campaign to Save The Midland Hotel from the bulldozers and get it listed as an asset of community value. She came down to an event I'd organised and made a fantastic speech. As best I can recall, she's the only Barnet Councillor to publicly come out and support such a campaign of any party. She did a few months after an election so was not simply out a few weeks before the election to harvest votes. 

2. She is an asset to Barnet council as she is highly intelligent, a Barrister by trade and she speaks her mind. I don't always agree with her, but I respect the fact that she stands her ground. I suspect that when she was first elected, the Tory leadership of Barnet Council used her to say a few things they wanted to say but were to scared to say themselves. My sister is a Barrister and one of the things you have to do as part of the job is say things to people that they don't like. I'd much rather have people who I knew where I stood with. Political parties are better for being reasonably broadly based. Having heard what both Conservative and Labour members have said about other members of their party on many occasions and heard the porkies both parties have come out with to mislead the public over the years, it is good to hear someone say what they think, even if you disagree with them. Fair play for her in sticking in her ward and giving it a go. I've always had a degree of disdain for councillors who took the chicken run. 

3. I've been told privately by  Barnet Conservative councillors that she was unfairly treated by the group. The accusations against her were unsustainable and she has the support of several local Rabbi's which really tells you everything you need to know.  

4. As we've seen over the weekend, the Conservative Party is a bastion of misogyny. Is it any surprise that a strong and driven female councillor was undermined when she didn't sit back and toe the line set by a far less capable leader. 

Anyone who reads this blog, knows I speak my mind. Whatever happens in the election in May, I believe we need the strongest and best candidates to win. I don't think there are too many stronger than Helene and I think Barnet Council needs such people.

Election fallout 2015 - What future for the Barnet Lib Dems?

This will be our final word on the General Election 2015. I am sure you will all be pleased to hear that. I am going to be taking a break from political blogging for a while, as I've a couple of music projects I really need to concentrate on (more of that later). This isn't a "Don't Call Me Dave" style retirement. If something major blows up, of course I'll be back on the keyboard, but as wev've got no general election for five years and no council election for three years, I have to conclude that my time would be better spent writing about things I enjoy. As ever guest blogs are welcome. I am especially pleased to see the amazing response to Stephen McKenzies blog about the Hendon Conservative campaign. As Stephen is a teeneager, it is great to see talented people come through in the next generation.

Anyway, enough of that. I left the Lib Dems till last as I think this is the logical tailend to what I've had to say. In Barnet, for general elections, there is a seeming 2 way face off between the Tories and Labour. In the council the picture is rather different. Until 2010, the Lib Dems had 6 councillors. This consisted of 3 in Childs Hill, 2 in Mill Hill and 1 in High Barnet. Going into the 2010 election, the Lib Dems had high hopes of taking even more seats, hoping for increases in Mill Hill and High Barnet. As the date of the Council election coincided with the General Election, a huge turnout saw these hopes blown away. The group was cut down to 3. In the 2014 election, the anti coalition backlash saw this cut to 1, the veteran Jack Cohen. This near wipeout was mostly due to Labour targetting Childs Hill in a completely idiotic attempt to try and take advantage of the situation. The net result was that the Tories gained 2 seats and retained control of the council.





In the General Election, Lib Dem voters gave Andrew Dismore and the local Labour party payback for this and defected en mass to the Tories, delivering a huge increase in vote for Matthew Offord. What Dismore had failed to appreciate was that whilst Labour leaning Lib Dems were savvy enough to vote Labour aready, Tory leaning ones (or Labour disliking ones) simply jumped to the Offord boat. Given that Offord is hard right, hating same sex marriage and the EU, to back Offord was clearly a big jump, but one that Dismore had pushed them to. His atttude to the Lib Dems had been patronising and had rubbed many up the wrong way. The Lib Dems had chosen an excellent local candidate in Alasdair Hill. As I attended the hustings, it was clear to me that I'd rather have Alasdair than any of those on offer, if I was the sole voter. His efforts for the Library campaign have been fantastic. He is honest, decent and sensible. Sadly for Alasdair, he was standing for a party that the electorate had chosen to give a right good kicking to, for the coalition.

Personally I despaired of the Lib Dem national campaign. If I'd have been head of their National Campaign, I'd have had one simple message. If the Tories win an outright majority, they will lurch to the right, destroy the NHS, clobber the poorest and most vulnerable members of society and give their super rich billionaire backers a huge tax cut, despite running a huge defecit. The message I would have sent to Lib Dem voters is "If you don't vote for us on May 7th, six months later you will regret it, when the Tories start ripping the country apart".  We are seeing the first signs of this, with George Osborne setting a new budget, just a couple of months after setting one with the Coalition. If anyone believes that this is anything other than George implementing a hard right agenda, they need to wake up and smell the coffee. There is no point moaning about what Osborne has done. The Tories did not campaign on a "If we get a majority, we'll carry on as if the Lib Dems are still there" slate. They said they wanted a majority, so they could enact truly Tory policies. I believe these policies are socially divisive in a way the coalition never was. What really saddens me is that arts and creative budgets are likely to suffer most. The Tories are phasing out funding for arts foundation courses and slashing budgets. Creative industries generate £8 million an hour for the economy, yet they are seen as "not serious subjects".

The truth is that the Tories knew that the best way to win was to knock out what they saw as the soft Lib Dem votes, which they did spectacularly well. The Lib Dems were just to stupid and nice to do anything about it. Many commentators say "What is the point of the Lib Dems?". Well as far as I can see, both at a local and national level, the case has been made but people have simpl not bothered to notice. When the Lib Dems were in council in Mill Hill, they had active and highly motivated councillors, who looked after the neighbourhood. The Tories have been a disaster. The worst example of this is the "Saracens CPZ exclusion zone". This monstrous scheme has seen hundreds of local residents clobbered with fines and forced to park miles away when visiting friends. Despite hundreds of protests, our local councillors did nothing to stop the scheme. This simply wouldn't have happened if the Lib Dems had been councillors. Unlike the Tory councillors, who simply toe the party line and do what they are told, the Lib Dems had a strong record of fighting for local residents and ensuring local issues were top of the agenda. Sadly in 2014, the Lib Dems didn't even bother running a proper campaign in Mill Hill, despite holding 2 seats only four years before. This was in part due to well respected former councillor Jeremy Davies having personal matters to deal with and partly due to a complete lack of activists.

On the national scene, only time will tell if I am proven right, but I beleive that once we've seen the full force of Tory policies and cuts, many will realise that giving the Lib Dems a kicking was a terrible mistake. Whilst I disagreed with much of what the coalition did and was particularly disgusted by the tuition fees U-Turn, I awoke on May 8th to face the harsh reality that like many former Lib Dem supporters, my walking away from the party had ulimately given the Tories carte blache to run riot.

This has been borne out by a huge surge in Lib Dem membership. Apparently the party has gained 10,000 new members since the election. As I mentioned at the top of this blog, I am stepping away from politics for a while to concentrate on music and other projects. I have decided that in October, I will consider my options and may rejoin a political party. I was a member of the Labour Party from 1983 until 2009. I joined the Lib Dems in 2009 and resigned in 2011, when my membership was up for renewal in disgust at the tuition fees debacle. In October, my five year ban from the Labour Party is up. I cannot rejoin if Alison Moore is still the Leader of the group on Barnet Council. By then, they will have a new Leader, and so we need to see how that goes. As things stand, I would join the Lib Dems and try and help the party rebuild their local base of councillors. I believe that this will only be done with a long campaign and lots of hard work.  I really can't see any circumstances where I would join the local Tories. I was asked if there were any circumstances I'd vote Tory and the answer was yes. I would always vote for them tactically to keep UKIP or the BNP out. Whilst they are completely hell bent on destroying art and culture in the UK, they clearly will be pariahs with anyoe who cares about these issues. Having said that I will be seeking a meeting with our local MP's to try and convince them to change their stance on support of arts and music. I believe there is a hard economic case for this and that they should at least be prepared to listen. I will be asking for their support for the #SaveLondonMusic campaign in the House of Commons. It is worth noting that only Alasdair Hill, the Lib Dem candidate publicly supported the campaign, which is one reason I feel he is an excellent candidate.

With the first past the post system, tactical voting is the only way to prevent parties you do not want from getting in. I favour a move to PR and only the Lib Dems support this. I believe it would give us a far more healthy parliament. I'd like to see a system rather like the GLA with local MP's and a list, so there was still a chance for quality independent candidates (such as Martin Bell) to get in. I do believe that there is a role for  3rd parties, but they have to be sensible and pragmatic with their targets. This is why I have an issue with the Greens in Barnet. I cannot see any way they will ever succeed in either council or national elections. At present the only green votes that count are in European and GLA elections. I'd love to see them do well in these, as I think that the Green agenda is important, but the fact that they have continually split the progressive vote in Barnet is, to me, a constant source of irritation. When I was canvassing for the Lib Dems in 2010, there was a council election and a general election. My message to all voters on the doorstep was the same. If your top priority is to keep the Conservatives out, then in the Council elections only the Lib Dems will do this. In the general election, realistically only the Labour candidate will.

For the Lib Dems to be able to say that in 2018, will require a huge amount of hard work. I don't know whether I will be part of it or not, a period of reflection is required. But I hope that whatever happens, the party picks itself up off the ropes. 

Guest Blog - A Liberal voice is needed now more than ever before by Alasdair Hill

By Alasdair Hill,

 

There is no denying how disappointing the results of the election are to the Liberal Democrats locally and nationally; we have been completely routed. The drive to better the whole country and stabilise a fragile economy in 2010 was, and remains, a genuine desire.  I am proud of the fact that we have lifted millions out of income tax, increased education funding for the poorest children and legalised same-sex marriage.

In Hendon I fought an honest battle on education and community cohesion; highlighting my Save Barnet Libraries campaign and credentials working in the state sector. Yet it increasingly seems that national issues dominated the final decisions the electorate made in the polling booth. Much has been said, on this blog and elsewhere, how Liberal Democrat voters switched to the Tories. I broadly agree that it seems “the better the devil you know” played its part in this swing. Likewise the often tribal rhetoric from Labour about the Lib Dems may have turned them off Labour. Indeed the distaste of partisan politics is what often attracts people to the Lib Dems in the first place. However this election has been unique in that there was a real merry-go-round of voter movement that is very hard to read. It is possible that, with talk of coalitions dominating, Lib Dem voters plugged for the larger party they felt comfortable with, anticipating there would be enough Lib Dem MPs elsewhere to play a part in government.

My deepest worry from this election is the rise of Nationalism. It is truly an ugly politics. The SNP are divisive; fighting for one group of people instead of for the common good of all the country. It was right to highlight this but it was wrong to use it as a way to stoke up English Nationalism. In the dying days of the campaign this is what the Conservatives did. The result? A House of Commons filled with the politics of grievance and fear. We face five years of bickering between nations whilst our liberty is slowly eroded. Liberalism and the values of tolerance, opportunity and decency are deeply British. Now, more than ever, we need a Liberal voice in politics.

And this message is being heeded. Over the weekend our membership has soared. In Barnet there has been a 25% rise in members as people who share my values of liberty, opportunity and decency pin their colours to the mast. In this period of reflection the Liberal Democrats remain dedicated to a fairer society, a fairer voting system and ensuring people of all background have the same opportunities in life.

As for me? I will not be returning to anonymity. I will continue to fight for a fairer and decent Barnet. My success with galvanising the entire community into campaigning to keep our libraries open is just the start; I will continue to put pressure on the Council to ensure we have these essential social assets available to all. Barnet is bereft of decent and compassionate politics. We have a Tory party hell-bent on eroding public services whilst filling our land with luxury developments. We have a Labour opposition too inept to even put forward an alternative Budget. We deserve better. Over the coming months and years I and the revitalised Liberal Democrats will fight for more school places, a viable library service and a cohesive, green and fair Barnet for all its citizens. I look forward to speaking to you all.

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Editors Note:
The Barnet Eye has invited representatives of all the main parties to submit guest blogs detailing their experiences and views of the General Election. Please note this is purely for the interest of the readership and fairness. Publication of such blogs does not imply endorsement of the views contained.

Many thanks to Alsdair Hill for the submission. Guest blogs relevant to the London Borough of Barnet are always welcome. 

What future for the Lib Dems in Barnet?

Two incidents have forced me to give some thought to the issue of what is the future for the Lib Dems in Barnet. The first is the Brunswick Park result, where the Lib Dems got less than three percent of the vote. The second is an exchange of comments with Matthew Harris, the former Lib Dem candidate for Hendon. Whilst I've said everything I have to say regarding Matthew, he asked me a very interesting question. He suggested that there was no way I could claim that Gordon Brown's government was better than the coalition.

I hadn't given this question any thought whatsoever until Matthew posed the question. I thought Brown ran a truly awful adminstration. Not only was it seemingly out of touch and dominated by Brown's autocratic tendencies, it made a whole string of appallingly inept political decisions. The worst of these was abolishing the 10p tax rate. So how does the coalition compare? Sadly, it seems to me that they are even worse. The economy has slid into recession, directly as a result of government imposed austerity policies. As industrial growth grinds to a halt, what is the solution the coalition chose? A big tax cut for the most well off. I have to ask myself, what do the Richard Bransons of this world do with huge sums of extra cash? Buy villas in Martinique, expensive German cars and luxury truffles snorted out by only the finest French porkers? A stereotype, I admit, but there is no way that I can see how this benefits the UK economy (of course I have no idea whether Branson likes truffles or German cars). At the same time, the coalition has given tuition fees a massive hike and abolished EMA. What does this do to the economy. It puts young people of going to college and University. It then saddles them with debt for years. As they progress into careers, their concern will be paying back a mountain of debt. This is takes money out of the economy. Students and young people starting out in their career spend virtually all of their money in the local economy. It depresses high streets and stifles employment. It is short termist and economically destructive.

I have two children who will hopefully be going to University in the next three years. The coalition has made this whole issue a worry and a finacial issue for them. I didn't go to University, although I got A levels that would have got me in. One of the reasons was that due to the arrangements at the time, I'd have got what was called "the minimum grant". This was because I was the youngest child of wealthy parents. My brothers and sisters who attended Uni all got a full grant. It meant I'd have to rely on "parental contribution". I was worried that any bust up with my parents (and these were frequent) would have resulted in them withdrawing financial support. I did not want to be placed in that situation.

Which brings us back to Matthews question. Whilst I think Brown did a rotten job, I think the coalition have enacted polices which will be far more damaging in the long term. Which leads us to the local situation. The Lib Dem Barnet voters have traditionally been on the centre left. It is clear from the Brunswick Park vote that they have deserted the party on mass, defecting to Labour. There is no way these voters will return to the Lib Dems for a long, long time.

There is however an opportunity presented by the extraordinary ineptness of the local Tory party. As the Lib Dems are now effectively Tory lite, the sensible thing to would be to rebrand themselves in Barnet as the acceptable face of the coalition. Given the lack of talent in the Tory cabinet and the fact that Jack Cohen is head and shoulders above any Conservative councillor in Barnet, maybe the way forward is to declare a Barnet Coalition. Bring Jack into the Cabinet and let him sort out the mess that the likes of Coleman and Rams have left. If the Tories left Jack and the other Lib Dems a free run in Childs Hill and stepped back in a couple of Labour controlled wards to allow the Lib Dems a chance to fly the centre right flag, it is always possible that they may actually avoid a complete wipeout.

I suspect that Jack Cohen is shrewd enough a politician to know exactly what sort of a damage limitation exercise is needed to prevent an armageddon for the Tories and the Lib Dems in Barnet. Of course this policy would completely alienate myself and every other person on the left, who have previously voted Lib Dem as a means of stopping the Barnet Tories, but lets face it, we were alienated the day the Tories and the Lib Dems jumped into bed at national level.

There are many councils up and down the country where Lib Dems and Tories have run the administration for years in grand anti Labour pacts. This was a fact I was extraordinarily naive about when I joined the party in 2009. I first became aware of this on the doorstep when a voter presented me with a labour party leaflet giving the details. I believe that this leaflet, more than anything destroyed the credibility of the Lib Dems in Mill Hill and High Barnet and ensured the Tories victory. As it turned out, I would have been in an impossible position had I been elected as a Lib Dem in Mill Hill. I would have felt duty bound to represent the people who voted for me and the people who campaigned for me. At the same time I would have belonged to a party who were enacting policies which I find repulsive.

It may sound strange, but I think Barnet is one place where we do need a strong third party. The Tories organisation is completely dysfunctional. They have presided over a complete disaster and with the One Barnet fiasco it will just get worse. Unless they come up with some sort of strategy, they will be wiped out completely and Labour will sweep the board. A coalition with the Lib Dems and a complete abandonment of useless policies and useless cabinet members may provide some sort of relief from the complete implosion of their vote. As for the Lib Dems it may at least offer them the opportunity to say to the voters of Barnet "we have a purpose". It will be a difficult decision for both parties, but if they were to bite the bullet now, they'd have two years to try and rebuild their reputation and go into an election with some sort of track record.

Sadly for the Tories and the Lib Dems in Barnet, there is as much chance of common sense breaking out before 2014 as there is of me being elected Pope.

(Please note that I am no longer a Lib Dem and can see no circumstances under which I would vote for them again, following the coalition agreement).

Breaking News : Brian Coleman to join Barnet Lib Dems

Barnet Lib Dem Leader this morning announced that Brian Coleman is to join the Liberal Democrat Party. The deal has been brokered by Nick Clegg and David Cameron, in an attempt to revitalise the coalition in Barnet. The existing Lib Dem candidate for the GLA elections has agreed to step aside to allow Mr Coleman a free run at the seat.

The Barnet Eye suggests that this is clearly a panic move, sparked by recent reports that Labour candidate Andrew Dismore is a shoe in for Barnet. Jack Cohen added "Although Brian and myself have had our run ins in the past, we are really the best of friends. Brian and his mum often pop in for tea and scones on their way to functions in London". The Barnet Eye rang Mr Coleman for a comment but got the phone slammed down on us. Conservative Leader Richard Cornelius said "I urge everyone in Barnet to support the Coalition candidate. This arrangement is great for Conservatives and great for our partners"

************* Updated 11.20 *****************
In a surprise announcement this morning, the local Barnet GMB branch announced that it is dumping Labour candidate Andrew Dismore and will be backing Lib Dem candidate Brian Coleman. Local branch sec Avi Newon said 'in the GMB we like to back winners'. In a seperate move, Coleman was seen in Brent Cross with Ceo Tom Nathan shopping for wooly jumpers and was heard to say 'i suppose i'll have to grow a beard'

Lord Monroe Palmer and the future of Liberalism in Barnet

Lib Dem Peer, Lord Monroe Palmer leads the Barnet Council audit committee. In June, the committee will meet to discuss the findings of the audit committee investigation into the Metpro Rapid Response Ltd inquiry. Many people, myself included, believed that this inquiry should have been undertaken by an independent team. Lord Monroe Palmer has an extremely difficult job on his hands. At stake is not only the reputation of Barnet Council, but also the future of the Lib Dems in Barnet. At the least elections, the number of Councillors was halved from 6 to 3. These consist of Lord Palmer, Suzette Palmer (his wife) and Jack Cohen. They all represent Child Hill ward. before the last election there were two in Mill Hill (Wayne Casey and Jeremy Davies) and one in High Barnet (Duncan MacDonald).

As I stood for the Lib Dems in Mill Hill, I am on good terms with many local members and voters. It is fair to say that in Mill Hill, many have been alienated by the coalition. Many have said to me "What is the point of the Lib Dems?". I have always stoutly defended the record of the local Lib Dems at Council Level. It is also true to say that many people (especially many local Conservative voters) have told me that they bitterly regret the fact that Jeremy Davies lost his seat. Sadly none of these people are actually ever going to vote Lib Dem next time.

Which brings me to the point. There is only likely to be one issue where the local Lib Dems can actually make a difference in Barnet. This is with Lord Palmers chairmanship of the Metpro inquiry. If he ensures that the whole sorry business is exposed and the lessons of this disasterous outsourcing project applied across the board, then maybe, just maybe, when people say "What is the point of voting Lib Dem?", activists will be able to say "Well look how they sorted out the Metpro fiasco". I am not going to tell Lord Palmer what to do, say or what findings to make. I will tell him this though. If he does an exemplary job, which the fair minded and honest voters of Barnet see to have done the job, then he has made his point for an independent third force.

If he blows it, then as far as I'm concerned, that is it for the Barnet Lib Dems.

Allowancegate latest : grim reading for Barnet Tory Party

The Barnet Tory Party are conducting something akin to the charge of the light brigade, but with all of the honour and courage removed. This weeks BARNET PRESS is starting to plop down onto peoples doorsteps and if you thought last weeks copy made bad reading for the Tories, check what they are saying today  - Here's the online version -

http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/launch.aspx?referral=other&pnum=&refresh=F0a23X1gr4T1&EID=9d4d6537-ad1c-4af9-8156-58268b8878bc&skip=

I will be reproducing a few of the choice moments over the next few days, but the here's the Highlights :-

Page 4  - 3/4 page article on Hillan -"She lives on another planet"
Page 5 - 1/2 page story about the gutless new intake  -Evangeli, Shooter, Old, Khatri et all. The cowards refused to comment
Page 8 - Editorial & Letters -  another scathing editorial and a hatful of letters.

We await the Times tomorrow.

The opposition parties have spotted an opportunity. The Labour party have realised that this is THE ISSUE in Barnet. They have online links to all sorts of petitions - Check Here


http://www.labourforbarnet.co.uk/

The Lib Dems have also devoted their website to fighting this issue - Click Here


http://www.barnetlibdems.org.uk/

Rather sadly, there is only one major party in Barnet which doesn't seem to mind (or at least have been a bit slow off the mark, if we are being charitable) - Barnet Green Party have so far said nothing. Come on guys, this is a cross community campaign. Either you are against the rise or you're not. According to your website 20,000 people in Barnet voted for you, so please at the very minimum let us know where you stand on this.

http://www.barnetgreenparty.co.uk/

I would be amazed if the vast majority of voters of all Parties didn't object to this rise. I'd love to see a Tories against the rise campaign. We can stop this if we all pull together. This blog is doing it's bit. The local papers are doing there bit (in a way I've not seen for years) and the main opposition parties are doing there bit. Let's keep those letters rolling in and those petitions going. Please can all of the major parties update their websites, email their members and keep the pressure up.

Sooner or later the penny has to drop with the backbench Tory councillors- doesn't it?

Barnets greedy Tories - Troughing update

The Labour party have been busy and rushed out this leaflet. They were distributing it at Mill Hill Broadway Station at rush hour this evening.

It was interesting watching the reaction of the commuters taking the leaflets. Mill Hill hasn't been happy hunting ground for Labour, being split between Lib Dems and Tories over the last few years.

It was probably the first time I've seen any such action from Labour supporters since the 1990's. It gives some sense of the reaction that they think it was worthwhile and that people have given the leaflet such attention. Comments such as "they are disgusting" abounded. I know that any election is likely to be a long way off, but it is good to see that Labour have finally got off their backside and chosen to act like an opposition.

As to the Lib Dems, leader Jack Cohen put out the following press release  (reproduced in full)
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Liberal Democrats Refer Barnet Council to the Standards Committee

Cllr Jack Cohen , Leader of Barnet Liberal Democrats has reported Barnet Council to its own Standards Committee.

Cllr Cohen believes that Barnet has broken the Law by allowing the Item on Members Allowances to be dealt with at Tuesday’s Council meeting

Councillor Cohen points out that The Local Government Acts of 1972 and 1985 set out rules which Councils must follow when Reports are considered by Council. These include provision that reports must be available for inspection by the public (and Members) three clear days before a meeting. The rules also say that the day the report is published and the day of the meeting are not counted. The report on Members Allowances should have been made available, at the latest on Wednesday of last week. In fact the report was not made available until late on the day before the Council Meeting.

Councillor Cohen wrote to Borough’s Chief Monitoring Officer prior to the Council meeting complaining that the Council had breached the law. As a result the mayor announced that he would instead take the Members’ Allowance Item as an urgent item. A Furious Councillor Cohen protested that the Council was trying to use a loophole in the law to get them off the hook. Councillor Cohen says however “they have dug themselves deeper in to a hole. Although the Law is unclear whether an item can be taken as urgent, Whatever the law is four things can be said with certainty if an item “any urgent business” is allowed”

a)     it must be urgent

b)     The Chair of the Council must take the decision that it is urgent. As this is a statutory decision it must be taken properly and not under the dictate of party political pressure, which would render it unlawful

c)      “Urgency “itself is not sufficient. The late item can only be added if “by reason of special circumstances it should be considered “as a matter of urgency” at the meeting

d)     The reason for the special circumstances must be stated in the minutes of the council meeting

The facts are clear says Councillor Cohen, “it was not urgent. We are not talking here about a situation for example where a person or persons would be put in danger if a decision was not taken, we were not up against deadlines which could put a capital project at risk nor were there any budget imperatives as the proposal is cost neutral for the current financial year, and finally there was no reason why the item could not have been deferred to the next Council Meeting.

Councillor Cohen who is a member of the Council’s Standards Committee says

“The Standard Committee is the Council’s Watchdog. Its job is to ensure that the whole Council behaves in an ethical manner. The whole point of having rules about the publication of Council Reports is so the Public (and Members) can have access to papers in good time. Late reports open the Council to suspicion, disrepute and allegations of trying to suppress information. What is made worse in this case is when they were found out they attempted to use a loophole to try to avoid compliance. You do not expect a public body to behave in this way.”

Councillor Cohen says he does not know why the Report could not be published with in the time scales laid down by Parliament. . “The only explanations can be that there were bureaucratic delays or it was done deliberately, either way I believe there now needs to be an enquiry and that is why I have requested the Standards Committee  to investigate”

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Barnets Tory MP's have developed squeaky bum syndrome over the matter with both Matthew Offord and Mike Freer criticising their former Council colleagues in the press :-

Mike Freer -
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8273728.MP_insists_pay_hikes_are__not_justifiable_/

Matthew Offord -
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8274410.Allowances_vote__should_have_been_matter_of_conscience__says_MP/

The most interesting development is the news that Council Leader Lynne Hillan is out of the office. Some reports say she's on holiday (the third one this year if the report is true) other reports say shes "away on business" (Council business?? She's not moonlighting surely) - I await her expenses, which interestingly she hasn't posted on her blog despite a promise in February to do so - check this  link http://leaderlistens.com/ -

Another most interesting development is the Barnet Tory house blog has announced that Kate Salinger is "history" -
http://www.thelondondailynews.com/barnet-tories-stand-firm-vote-cost-neutral-increase-payer-p-4345.html

This is the blog which printed exclusive pictures of Brian Coleman celebrating looking rather ruddy, glass of champagne in hand, when he lost his Standards battle last year (leaving him £10,000 out of pocket and reputation in tatters). The exact quote from this poisonous rag -

A senior member of the Conservative party commented on the stance of Conservative Councillor Kate Salinger who abstained in the vote to increase the allowance of members despite the groups support for the motion, and said that she was "already a marginal figure and her actions have ostracised her entirely and she is now history".

Let me translate into English - A gutless trougher who was to chicken to give his name, expressed his complete lack of comprehension that a Barnet Tory could have a conscience. "She just doesn't fit in with the rest of us" he grunted and squealed.

Piggy in chief Brian Coleman grunted :-

Allowances are payable to recognise the special responsibilities attached to certain positions to which councillors may be appointed.

Well if these allowances are so easy to justify, why wasn't a word of this whispered during the election? Why was the report hushed up until the last minute, breaching their own rules. Coleman claims some councillors work 90 hours a week. I suspect that Brian Colemans definition of work is rather different to yours or mine and involves eating many free lunches and attending fine banquets.

I challenge Brian Coleman to publish his diary to show how long he has spent on Barnet Council business. Presumably he has the info to back up his claim.

I agree we're thick !

"I agree with Nick". For a few days this seemed to be the rally cry which would carry the Lib Dems into government. As it is, it seems to be carrying us into a shoddy deal to prop up a failed Tory Leader who blew a 44% lead in the polls against a Prime Minister described as "the worst ever" on election day by a member of his own party.

All of our canvassing in Mill Hill indicated that the Lib Dems would get in at the Council in Mill Hill. We thought we'd left nothing to chance and were canvassing all hours for weeks on end. I now realise that there's a huge swathe of Tory and Labour voters who only come out to play at general elections. These people will only vote for their own party. They don't read the other sides leaflets. They will be polite on the doorstep and listen to your arguments, but they ain't going to change where they put their cross on the ballot paper.

So could the Lib Dems have won in Mill Hill on a day when the Council Elections coincided with a general Election? This is a question I have been asking myself. The honest answer is "Yes, but only with hindsight or a Tardis". You can't fight the same campaign that you fight for purely locals. Former Lib Dem Councillors all over London have learned this harsh lesson. Sadly for Barnet, I think the election has delivered an awful result. One of the reasons I joined the Lib Dems last year was because I was impressed with how the Lib Dem Councillors had provided effective opposition on a whole range of issues (Iceland, Sheltered Housing, Future Shape). As Wayne Casey was standing down, he personally asked me to consider taking up the mantle because he knew I'd put the hours in and do my homework. It was not meant to be.

Sadly for the people of Barnet, I think that less effective scrutiny as they launch into Future Shape will be a disaster. I am at a complete loss as to how to head this off. I am sure that Jack, Monroe and Suzette will do a fine job as best they can, but with half the number of councillors it will be a daunting task.

Every conversation I had on the doorstep, every chat in the street or in the pub, made me think we we had got it right. The behaviour of certain people on the night of the election, convinced me of the need to get decency back into Barnet politics. Unless you were actually there, it would be impossible to convey how awful some of the people in Barnet politics really are. There are some very decent people on all sides, many of them backbench councillors who just do it for the good of the people they represent. I must say that I think the Mill Hill Conservative Councillors are decent men so I'm not having a go at them. I am sure you can guess who I am referring to. One such man sneered at me after the result was announced "What an idiot, he actually thought he was going to win".

Well my friend, to coin a phrase "I agree we're thick". Let me remind him of another one of my mantras "what doesn't kill us makes us stronger". Last time I looked in the mirror I most certainly wasn't dead. Let me remind him that Tory Mill Hill Councillor John Hart lost in 1994, 1998 and 2002 (and at a couple of byelections). Did he give up and hide under a stone? John and I have one thing in common. We are Mill Hill through and through (even if boundary changes mean he now lives in Hale!). I suggest if any Tories in Barnet think I might get fed up with all of this and give up, they ask John Hart how likely this would be. He understands. We may sit on opposite sides of the politcal fence, but we are both stubborn sods.

Mill Hill Election Special - 7pm update

So we're nearly there. 3 hours to go. How's it going? It seems to be going well, but it will be tight. There has been a huge turnout, especially among new voters, who we have no idea how they'll vote. If you haven't voted, get out and do it. In 1994 the Lib Dems won the a seat in Mill Hill by 12 votes. If those voters had decided to watch Eastenders and not vote, the whole history of Mill Hill ward would be different. Will it be that close again? Who can tell.

What is the feeling on the ground? We've had a good response. Polling is especially brisk in some districts. We saw our first Labour canvassers of the campaign this evening in Mill Hill half an hour ago. I bumped into one of the Tory candidates from the last council election, Matt Dreisin.Had an interesting chat about the dynamics of the ward. His advice "You can't take Mill Hill for granted". I certainly don't think we've done that. Will all of the work be enough? Well it certainly will be if the people who've said they will vote for us do. Whatever your views, if you want someone to get in, either at Council or at National level, then vote for them. You have three hours. Time is tight and so will the result be.

Time for a change - In who runs Barnet Council

The Tories have recently plastered their "change" message all over the London Borough of Barnet. I mischieviously asked one of their councillor candidates on Saturday in Mill Hill if he thought people should vote for change. He replied "yes". I then said "Well you could have saved them the bother and just stood down". Sadly he didn't find it very funny. When he composed himself he said "Oh we don't need change at the council, we're doing a marvellous job. We need another eight years!". ( I didn't remind him of the £27.4 million they'd lost in Iceland, the £11 million they'd overspent or the raid on the council reserves to keep down Council Tax).

I then asked him if he would be glad to see the back of "unelected Gordon Brown". He said "Yes, it's terrible how he didn't call an election when Blair went, don't you agree?". I replied "Oh yes, mind you, didn't your lot sack Salinger (The Tory Council Leader at the last election) five minutes after the last election?". The esteemed councillor replied "Oh, but that's different, he didn't have the support of the group". That's Ok then. Stuff the electors, the Tory councillors view is far more important.

I thought I'd have one last little bit of banter. "Do you think Andrew Harper will be the next Leader of the Council?". He immediately snapped back "Lynne Hillan is doing a fine job as Leader". I then said "Ah yes, but if and when she does go, would you back Andrew Harper?".

I can't tell you what he said next as he made me promise to keep it secret and that's exactly what I'll be doing. Let's just say that his answer was rather surprising, although not totally out of character for a member of the Barnet Tories.

Me personally, I rather hope Jack Cohen will be the next Leader of the Council. I rather think it's time for a change in who runs Barnet Council and I don't just mean Lynne Hillan.

It's party time in Mill Hil Broadway !

It's Saturday morning. It's 11am. It's Mill Hill Broadway. It's party time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woo Hoo I hear you shout. Sadly, I don't mean that it's time to have a party. No, don't all rush down with your bottles of champagne and your shortest mini skirts. I mean that all of the political parties are out in force. Now I have two perspectives on this. One as a blogger documenting the life and times of Mill Hill and one as a Liberal Democrat candidate for Council. So who did we have?

Well first up you had the A Team. The Mill Hill Lib Dems. in the picture are the three candidates for Mill Hill, Jeremy Davies, my good self and Kim Checchetto. Also present is Barnet Lib Dem Leader Jack Cohen and his good lady Ruth Cohen, who is a Lib Dem candidate in Golders Green. As you can see, we got up early and nabbed the best spot. I think it's fair to say we had the best stall, with balloons and pictures of Mill Hill, the Manifesto, a whole selection of leaflets and even "I agree with Nick" badges for sale. For us it felt as near to a carnival atmosphere as you are likely to get on a political party stall in Mill Hill. Even the local Conservatives were grudingly telling us we've had a good campaign and a good election so far.

Next up, outside Jennings Bookies was the Residents Association candidate for Hale. His name is Derek French. I had a chat with my Barnet Blogger hat on with Mr French. I was keen to understand why he was standing. If you click the above link, he's laid it all out pretty well. Now as there are Lib Dem candidates standing in Hale ward, I obviously want them to all get elected, but lets just say I would certainly like Mr French to come fourth in the polls behind our three candidates, if someone has to. I am a great believer in "localisation" and Mr French embodies this. He told me that before he started he had reservations about canvassing and standing on the street handing out leaflets. He tells me he's had a great reception and is warming to the task at hand. Whatever party you belong to, you should see it as a good thing that people believe in democracy enough to stand as an independent.

Finally outside Iceland we had the "B" team. The Conservatives (B is for Blue). There were four of them when I went up and asked if I could take their photo. One of them shrieked "He'll lampoon us and humiliate us, send him away" (or words to that effect). Councillor John Hart, wisely said "He'll take a picture anyway, so we might as well let him". The other two legged it out of shot, leaving candidates Suri Khatri and Councillor Hart to have their picture taken. Councillor Hart was collecting signatures to stop the development of sports facilities at Copthall. I had a peek and four people had signed  at that time (him and his three helpers possibly). I told John that he'd scored an own goal and explained why. He looked rather glum and told me "Well I didn't write it". I promised John I'd only print the picture if it was flattering (I hope he likes it). I must say I was disappointed with their stall. Given all of the lovely wonga that Lord Ashcroft has given the Conservatives and their recent sponsorship deal with a local commercial dog walking service, I fully expected neon lights and a brass band.

Anyway, I made my way back to our stall. One thing I have noticed since the debate is the number of voters under 30 who have taken an interest in politics. It seems to me that all of these are swinging towards the Lib Dems. Our backroom computer guy came down to have a chat and told me something rather technical. I asked for an explanation. He said that thousands of people had registered to vote in Barnet recently. It seems that after a decade or two of declining interest, people are waking up to the fact that if you want to make things better you have to vote. As I drove to drop my son off for Gaelic football, I tuned into LBC to listen to the Ken Livingstone show. Rather oddly David Mellor was presenting it. It seems that Ken was poorly. They had "the UK's leading pollster" in to explain what is happening. His verdict? He hadn't got a clue. He was explaining how Labour could finish with least votes and get the most seats and how the Lib Dems could get the most votes and the least seats. When I'd finished dropping my son off, I went back for the last half hour.

A man asked me how I could possibly think a hung Parliament would be a good thing or how PR could possibly be good for Great Britain. I explained what the guy UK's leading pollster had been saying and said that I thought that Democracy meant that the majority of people supported the Government. Did he really believe that a system which could deliver such a perverse result was fair?

His answer seemed to be "Yes, if it means the Conservatives are elected". If you believe our electoral system is fair and works well, please consider the following.

The majority of voters at the last election voted for parties that have had no say in the running of the country. The Country has been lead for three years by a man who was not elected by the British people. Since this man took over, the country has fallen into the biggest financial crisis the country has ever faced in peacetime.

What about at a local level. Four years ago, Brian Salinger was leading the Conservatives. Immediately after the election, which his party won, they sacked him on ideological grounds. They are on their third leader. The elected one had the shortest tenure. In this time they lost £27.4 million in Iceland, £11 million on Aerodrome Road Bridge overspend. They have had to raid the cash reserves to prevent council tax from skyrocketing in an election year. None of these policies were in the manifesto which Salinger presented to the people of Barnet.

One lady bowled up to me and announced "The Tories said you were looking rather glum". I asked "Oh, do I look rather glum". She said "Actually no, you look quite cheerful". I then asked "How did they look". She replied "Oh, they looked rather glum, now you come to mention it".  I asked her if she would be voting for us on May 6th. She announced proudly "No". I guess I must have started to look glum myself, as she then announced "because I've already sent my postal vote off for you". At this I cheered up considerably. She then asked "Why aren't labour down here today?". A question which we've all been asking ourselves.

Nick Clegg spotted in Mill Hill and the dangers of canvassing

 Gordon Brown is in the news because he took exception to something a voter said out on the campaign trail.

You hear all sorts of views, all sorts of opinions and all sorts of comments. Sometimes you may have talked to someone and thought you've made a great impression and only find out later that you got the complete wrong end of the stick. Let me give you an example of one such event in Mill Hill.

One Lady who I spoke to yesterday told me she was highly impressed with the local Lib Dem campaign in Mill Hill. I was rather pleased having worked hard on it for the last six months. Then she delivered the knockout blow. "I was so impressed with you getting Nick Clegg down to the Mill Hill Broadway on Saturday". I was rather puzzled. "Nick Clegg in the Broadway?". She replied "Yes you know, when you had your stall. He was walking up and down handing out spoof Conservative leaflets".

Suddenly the truth dawned. She'd met Matthew Offord, the local Conservative candidate for Parliament, who had also been doing the rounds. Now I had a dilemma. What should I say. She carried on "I told him he did very well in the debate and he said thank you very much". I realised Matthew must have thought she was talking about the candidates debate at the local Shul. I thought I'd try and break the news gently "Do you know who the local Conservative candidate is?" I asked. "Oh yes, he knocked on my door. He's that chap who looks like Jimmy Edwards. I wouldn't give him the time of day". I asked her if she'd be voting for us. She replied "yes, I've already posted my vote. I always do".

At that I decided that I'd leave it there. I wonder how many other people met Matthew Offord and thought he was Nick Clegg handing out spoof Conservative leaflets? I suppose that given his enormous popularity, if I was Matthew I would take it as a compliment.

Not all of the news on the campaign trail is good

On Saturday morning in Mill Hill Broadway. There's revolution in the air. The previous Saturday there was an air of euphoria, with many people coming up and congratulating us on Nick Cleggs surprise victory in the Leadership debate. The atmosphere was different this week. The polls have gone up and stayed up. Rather than euphoric congratulation, people were asking serious questions, raising real issues and telling us that they were on side. Of course not everyone in Mill Hill like the Lib Dems. Amongst the anti mob, there is also a hardening of attitudes. If you are an irrelevence everyone is nice to you. Until last week that was the case. There was a massive dollop of poison dumped on the Lib Dems in the week, so it was inevitable that this would affect some people. As I've spoken to many people on the doorstep and on the street, I can tell you how this has worked. The people who really hated the Lib Dems now hate us even more and they have better ammunition with which to be rude to us. The people in the middle who may or may not vote for us have read this and are really keen to discuss the issues raised. As a candidate for council, this works massively in my favour. As people want to talk to me, I can get the message across.

Another thing which I haven't anticipated is the number of people I've told on the doorstep to read my blog if they wanted to find out about my views. Quite a few came up to me on Saturday morning and congratulated me. That is nice. They asked why the local press didn't cover local issues in such depth. They were amazed at how many issues they'd never heard of. There was one piece of news which absolutely gutted me. I bumped into an old footballing friend, who played in several teams I've played in over the years. He told me he had Kidney cancer and it had spread. He was on an experimental drug and was hoping it would stop the cancer in it's tracks. My friend is not a shrinking violet, he's one of the most full of life people I've ever known. As we chatted, he announced to everyone who passed "Vote for this guy, he's the man". I pondered the fact that he'd make a great politician, a man of great charm, personality and charisma. Barnet Council needs dynamic people who are not stuffed shirts. I've long been of the opinion that it's too full of pomp and ceremony and that puts the man on the street off. If I get in on May 6th, I am going to dedicate the next 4 years to trying to get local people involved and local people making a difference. One of my Lib Dem colleagues joked that following my run in with theMayor last year, if the Lib Dems win, I'd make a great Mayor. Should that happen the first thing I'd do is sell they Mayoral Limo and the second thing I'd do is sell the Mayoral chain. I'd give the money raised to local sports clubs, to help get young people into healthy lifestyles. I asked why the Mayor needs a limo "So when he attends a function, he can have a drink and get taken home". If I decide to get pissed at the public expense, then it isn't work, it's pleasure and I'll pay my own busfare home. We need to make the council work for the people of Barnet and get rid of all of the indulging of public servants.

I hope that in four years time, my good friend is out on the Broadway telling everyone I'm still the man for two reasons - firstly because I pray to god he survives that long and secondly because I hope I've proven his faith in me to be justified. God bless you Gummsy !