Barnet Council : Where have all the Tories gone?

At the last Council Election we elected 37 Conservative Councillors in Barnet. I'd like to think that at the time they were all enthusiastic and keen to do a four year stint serving the people of Barnet. Where did it all go wrong. Since those heady days, three of them have emigrated. Edgware Councillor Richard Weider legged it to Israel, Golders Green Councilor Chris Harris upped sticks to Australia (he didn't tell his colleagues and collected his £800 a month allowance for six months, even more worryingly they didn't notice) and now news emerges that East Barnet Councillor Terry Burton has moved to the USA. It is not clear whether any of his colleagues noticed. That is a staggering 8% of Barnets Tory Councillors who have had enough.  Now I've never felt the urge to  up sticks and emigrate, I rather like Mill Hill. My friends are here, my family are here and I love the place. I don't know what thought process makes someone leave. I suppose if Uma Thurman rolled up on my doorstep and begged me to accompany her to California, I may be tempted but other than that I can't really think of anywhere I'd rather live. Assuming these three didn't stand planning to run off at the first opportunity, why did they get so disillusioned that they had to go. Sadly Richard Weider told us that it was "because Jewish people no longer feel comfortable here". Thankfully this isn't what my Jewish friends tell me, but it is highly worrying none the same. Given the large Jewish population of the Borough, it was sad that Mr Weider didn't think he could address this as part of a Tory administration. Harris and Burton haven't really enlightened us at all. Given that for most of the last four years, the Tories nationally have been ahead in the polls, it is sad that they don't think Great Britain has a Bright future.

As well as the three who have emigrated, we've seen a pattern of Councillors resigning and moving away. Sadly the pattern is that they have been extremely capable and committed female Councillors, who clearly felt that Barnet was not a place where their talents would be recognised. Both Caroline Margo who defected to Hertfordshire and Jane Ellison who left Hale to stand as PPC for Battersea, were highly capable councillors. I know Jane extremely well from her efforts for the Mill Hill Music Festival, which she set up. Had she been a PPC in Barnet, Finchley or Hendon, I'm sure that she would have easily won, as she's hard working, intelligent and committed. She doesn't carry the baggage that accompany the selected candidates. As for Caroline Margo, I don't know her, but the Tories I know who do, tell me she would also have been a great PPC. Sadly we've lost these great talents.

Then there are the Tories who aren't standing at the next election for Council. I've been told that Fiona Bulmer is not standing in Underhill. If you do a search on this blog, you will see that from day one I said that she was a credible Tory who did a good job. I've got three children at school in Barnet and they've all had an excellent education (which was her portfolio). I don't agree with Fi Fi's politics, but she is an excellent administrator and has a track record of doing the job well. She challenged Lynne Hillan for Leadership in December so it is quite clear she wasn't planning to leave. She only lost because Hillan bribed several unscrupulous councillors who knew Bulmer was the best candidate with the promise of cabinet positions (some of which never materialised, Ho Ho Ho). Bulmer knew that Hillan would be a lousy leader and she didn't wish to be associated with a culture of failure. Who can blame her. If you think I'm just saying nice things about her now to make trouble, read this blog, written in December 2008, where I graded the performance of all of the then Tory cabinet and in hindsight was remarkably fair - http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2008/11/barnet-council-cabinet-members.html

If you are a Barnet Tory, ask yourself this question. Just suppose for one second that Jane Ellison had been the PPC for Finchley and Golders Green, Caroline Margo the Candidate for Hendon and Fiona Bulmer the Council Leader. Do you think that the Tories would get more or less votes in the election in May. Do you think that the Council would be better run? Do you think you'd have shown that talent was rewarded in the Barnet Conservatives? Sadly all I see from Barnet Council and the Barnet Conservatives is that talent is stifled and driven out and failure is rewarded. Candidates which would be attractive to the electorate and have good track records are undermined, driven out and destroyed. The only people who prosper are those who kow tow to the ruling junta and don't point out the obvious flaws in the various cunning plans which Lynne Hillan and her cronies have cooked up (just see how many Court battles Barnet Council have lost recently).

It may surprise you to know that The Barnet Eye thinks it is bad for Barnet to see all our most talented Conservative Councillors leaving.It also explains why the Council is doing such a rotten jo

Picture at the top : Ex Barnet Councillor Caroline Margo (now Caroline Clapper) on left, at Jewish blind and disabled charity event.
Picture in middle : Ex Barnet Councillor Jane Ellison (left) at Battersea Park School fair

Fiona Bulmer - a voice in the wilderness

Spare a thought for Councillor Fiona Bulmer.Three weeks ago she looked likely to take over as leader of Barnet Council. She had the numbers, she had the credibility and she had some new ideas. Although a member of Mike Freers cabinet, she wasn't closely associated with his biggest cock ups and had proven herself a competent administrator in the education portfolio, one area where Barnet has done well.

The trouble was that Fi Fi underestimated the lengths to which Lynne Hillan would go to get the job. Deals were done, cabinet positions with juicy allowances were offered and when the votes were cast, Hillan was in and Fi Fi had to take "The Long Walk".

Now as regular Barnet Eye readers will know, the Barnet Conservatives have more leeks than a St Davids day parade. A strange list has reached "The Barnet Eye" containing the likely shape of Fiona Bulmers proposed cabinet, to take the Tories into the 2010 election. Having seen the list, I now realise that Jack Cohen, Leader of the Barnet Lib Dems has the one character that all good leaders need. He's lucky. Instead of facing a broadly balanced and competent team, he's facing one there purely because they dobbed their vote for Hillan and are collecting the rewards for their support.

News reaches the Barnet Eye of the possibility of two well organised independent candidates standing against certain high profile Conservatives in seats considered safe. Since I've been a Lib Dem candidate, I've lost count of the number of people who've said to me "I've always voted Tory/Labour in the past but I'll be voting Lib Dems this time." The reason? The Labour voters are disillusioned with Gordon Brown and his government and the Tory voters are furious about Sheltered Housing wardens and the Icelandic fiasco. As the election looms, voters who are fed up often switch back to their default party. Had the Tories elected Bulmer, this would have been a much easier decision. As it is Hillan is in charge and the warden fiasco will roll on and on, eroding their support and undermining their credibility.

I wonder exactly what thoughts will go through Fiona Bulmers mind, if as I expect the Tories in Barnet do extraordinarily badly, whilst nationally they do quite well?

Brian Coleman and Richard Barnbrook

As it's saturday, I thought I'd put the spotlight on London's two disgraced assembly members. Both of these rather naughty chappies have been found guilty of failing to discharge their duties in an appropriate manner. Both of them appear to have told a few porkies along the way.

Here's an example of Colemans porkies. This is one he told about me attending Residents forum meetings in Barnet. There are 18 of these a year in Barnet. I've been to 3 in my life. Coleman said this to a standards investigator in an interview (see clipping below from his witness statement). He was trying to portray me as an obsessive opponent. For the record, the last meeting I went to was to complain about the state of the youth football pitches at Burnt Oak leisure centre. The deputy mayor was there and he agreed to take a look and do something. (you can find a few more examples of Colemanporks by clicking HERE)

And here's a what naughty old BNP Barnbrook's been up to :-

http://torytroll.blogspot.com/2009/09/richard-barnbrook-suspended-for-murder.html

Earlier in the year, I was rather surprised to read this report in Totally Jewish, detailing how Brian Coleman had boycotted a holocaust memorial service, arranged by the GLA. The reason for the boycott? The organisers felt that seating Barnbrook who's BNP leader has in the past denied the holocaust, should not be seated at the front with victims of the holocaust. To me the concept of even allowing a senior politician from the party which is Britains version of the Nazi party to attend a holocaust memorial is repugnant, let alone allowing him to sit at the front. Brian Coleman saw things different. He boycotted the service to stand up for Barnbrook's right as an elected BNP member to attend and sit at the front. Here's the full story.

http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/c-11069/shoah-memorial-day-marred-by-disputes/

Whilst there are a few big differences between Brian Coleman and Richard Barnbrook, it seems to me that there is one rather big similarity. They can, shall we say, be rather economical with the truth when it suits them. My dear old dad used to often say "If a man cannot be trusted in small things, how can you trust them in big things".

I don't believe that there is any place in public life for people who have been shown to be completely untrustworthy. I don't care whether they are BNP, Tory Lib-dem or Labour, if you can't trust them they shouldn't be doing the job. There are lots of Tory councillors in Barnet, who I think are honest and trustworthy, even if I disagree with them. John Hart, Fiona Bulmer, Andrew Harper to name a few, are people who strike me as honest and decent - there are plenty of others.

The reason I seek to highlight these two individuals, Conservative Coleman and BNP Barnbrook is this. The BNP use Brian Coleman as an example of a politician who behaves badly. They say, "we are different, we are clean. Vote for us and sweep the likes of Coleman away". As you can see, Barnbrook shows that the BNP are a completely dishonest bunch. A couple of Tory Councillors have let me know that privately they are appalled by Brian Coleman's behaviour. That is the difference. Coleman is a bad apple in the barrel. The BNP is a barrel full of bad apples. If you don't want to vote Tory because of Brian Coleman, don't vote for a mob that are 10 times worse.

Barnets Ministry of Truth strikes again.

If you look at the Barnet Council website you'll see this lovely press release from Fiona Bulmer boasting about how marvelleous Barnet are and how good the SAT results are :-

http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=2022

Way hay, as a parent in Barnet, that's great news isn't it - crack open the champagne !!!!!

Hold on a sec, there's this story in the Times detailing how the SAT results have actually got worse :-

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/4528984.SAT_standards_slip_in_Barnet/

There's even a quote from our FiFi making excuses for it.

Well if you are a parent in Barnet, one thing is clear. Take everything the Council tells you with a pinch of salt. Whether you believe me or not, the evidence is there for you to see.

Shameful really.

Mike Freer : "What Barnet really needs is more rabbit hutch flats"

The Leader of Barnet Council Mike Freer is at it again. Some people like knitting, some like drinking beer, some like golf, some like trainspotting. Mike's hobby is blaming everyone else when the wheels fall of his bonkers schemes. If you read Mike's latest leader listens posting, you'd think that the reason for the problems with Mike's scheme to concrete over the borough and cover it with flats the size of rabbit hutches is down to the government. He neglects to mention that the bloke in charge of the schemes at Barnet got the boot recently.

All that aside though, I'm rather pleased that this particular hobby horse is in trouble. Unlike Mike, I don't think that Barnet is lacking in ugly, rabbit hutch sized flats. Unlike Mike, I don't think that building these for 80,000 new people is a good idea. Schools in Barnet are creaking. Portacabins are being frantically installed, newly IT suites ripped out, extra classes added. Now, surprise surprise - SAT results have got worse. Who's fault is this? Fiona Bulmer, Mike's lackey at education has the answer "Not me guv". Well she didn't actually say that, she said :-

Our feedback from teachers was that marking was stricter this year

Now our Fifi, as we like to call her, isn't despondent though, she adds helpfully :-

However, we are pleased with the results overall, though we are never complacent

Well it's good to hear that results got worse, the head of education is pleased and she's not complacent! Could it be because her allowance for the job got bigger. Maybe I'd be pleased if I got a payrise for doing a bad job. What happens when school standards go down the pan? Property prices decline and people move out. I detailed all of this last month. Barnet's infrastructure is at breaking point, but bonkers old Mike wants to build more flats, import more social problems, cause more parents heartache as their children fail to find schools.

How many times do we have to tell him - More flats = more people = more traffic = more kids wanting a place at school = less green space = less for kids to do = a worse environment for everyone.

Mike's leader listens posting disturbs me. It doesn't surprise me though. I was told last night that someone is running for a senior post in the Hendon Conservative party who has a history of wanting to concrete over the green belt. Someone who is universally loathed and despised in Mill Hill for his attempts to ruin the nicest areas with unwanted development. Someone who has fought tooth and nail for years to bend green belt regulations. Someone who as a matter of course uses the law to harrass and intimidate those who get in his way. A man who has deliberately ruined a beautiful scenic view purely to spite the residents of Mill Hill.

Matthew Offord is the Conservative candidate for Hendon. If this person gets the job they are after, there will be a huge backlash in Mill Hill. I doubt that many of the stalwart supporters of John Hart who belong to the preservation society will forgive him. I'm not a Conservative so I'd like to see them lose, but they really should mind their company.

More on this later, but until now I've been unable to understand Mike Freer's addiction to overdevelopment. When I heard about the moves afoot in the Hendon Conservative party it all became rather clear.

- Oh, by the way in answer to your emails re my last post. No I haven't really hacked the US military computer and no I don't have evidence of alien life. It was a JOKE !

The Barnet Council : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

They fell into my carefully laid trap!

You may notice (until I decide to put another one on) a little poll at the side of the blog, with suggested menu's you might wish to serve up for the Barnet Council cabinet.

Now the fact that 8 people wanted the rather tasty & delicious one and as was pointed out to me I didn't offer a Kosher option, we can fairly safely say that the cabinet must all be reading my blog !

Well if nothing else, that shows they have some good taste. Now I've got their attention, I thought I'd analyse how they are doing. Lets face it we all benefit from some 360 degree feedback. As a lover of a good western, I thought we'd have a look at some of their keynote policies and classify them as good, bad or ugly.

Sorry to anyone who was hoping for a rating of their looks, suffice to say that I don't think any of them really float my boat (and I'm sure they are equally grateful of that fact).

The Good. Barnet generally provides a good standard of education to its children (despite it's current difficulties in finding enough places). It is no coincidence that the cabinet member for education is Fiona Bulmer, who isn't a publicity junkie and just gets on with the job. The in house bin collection team also do a fine job.

The Bad. Well a few to chose from, but the top of the list must be the resource committee's decision to lose millions of pounds in Iceland. Councillor Mike Freer holds the resource portfolio. His colleagues have found a novel way to get shot of him and are hoping he becomes MP for Finchley, so they can get rid of him without having yet another coup. There is also the multi million cock up at Aerodrome Road, put together by the Candidate for Hendon, Matthew Offord. He's rather cunningly trying to pass the blame on to Andrew Harper who was given the portfolio when Matthew realised that the project was starting to resemble Brigit Bardot sunbathing.

The Ugly. Only one contender here. Lynn Hillans scheme to sack the vast majority of sheltered housing wardens. These caring staff provide vital support for the old, infirm, disabled and other vulnerable people. The crazy thing is that wardens allow them to live independently, so the savings will soon disappear when the support for these people goes. People will lose independence and costs will rocket. The ugliest thing is the fact that Lynn Hillan moved her mum to a flat where the wardens are being retained.

It's quite strange really, it seems that the more quietly Councillors go about their business, the better a job they do. Do you think it's because the quiet ones are more interested in doing the job than promoting themselves so they go up the political ladder? Just a thought.

A great idea from Barnet !!!!! Well Done to Fiona Bulmer

I noticed a press release regarding the Barnet Council Rock School scheme on the council website today - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=1870 - Now as I run a recording and rehearsal studio, I'm biased. The more people who get into music the more customers I get, so it's great for me. Thought I'd better declare an interest before someone leaves a sarcastic comment. Oh and before you think I'm plugging something, the scheme is noting to do with me or my business, we're not involved.

Anyway, why is this such a good idea? Well every 13-19 year old (the target age group for the scheme) practicing at home, is one who is doing something useful and not hanging around on street corners. Playing in a band is one of the greatest pleasures in life. I've played in a rock band for 30 years (as of next month). It has brought me more pleasure than just about anything. I started playing when I was 15 and it gave me bags of self confidence. I was very shy and awkward before I started a band. Whilst I'm biased towards rock music, playing classical music is just as enjoyable. My wife has played Clarinet for the BBC Elstree Band for 15 years and has thoroughly enjoyed it. My musical career took me all around Britain as well as to Sweden, Finland and Belgium. Just imagine where I'd have got to if I'd been any good?

I started my studios - Mill Hill Music Complex - in 1979 when there really was nowhere to play for young bands and no help from the council. We originally started as a musicians collective (we all left our amps etc there and rented the space to friends bands for beer money). As the business built up we became more professional. Luckily one of my friends is an accountant, who was able to guide us through the minefield of dealing with the taxman. I well remember in 1986 going to the bank with my business plan to build up the studios. They laughed at this scruffy punk rocker and told me to get lost. I drew up a second, very scaled back plan, wore a suit and got told to get lost again.

I then went back to them and asked for a personal loan for a car and they lent me the money. Funny thing was that the "professional" bank who had turned down my plan, gave me the money and lost the paperwork. I didn't pay a penny back for three years. Eventually I owned up (I'm honest !!!). They said if I'd said nothing, I could have had it for free. I ended up doing IT contracts during the day and investing the money I was earning back into the studio. I often worked a 9-5 week and then did a 7pm-3am stint at the studio doing building work. I'd get 4 hours sleep, shower and go back to work. By the time we'd built up to 4 studios and a shop, I could afford to pay someone else to do the work.

For most of this period, I had to put my Band "The False Dots" to one side. Not enough hours in the day. Now we're established and the band is back in business. That's what I had to do to get somewhere to play with my band. Thanks to Barnet's rock school scheme young people aged 13-19 are getting a foot on the ladder. If you are in that age group and are looking for a band, check out the scheme. I can promise you that the effort will be worth it.

I must also say that I noticed that Barnet Schools yet again had some of the very best results in the country. It seems to me that Fiona Bulmer is doing a fine job in charge of Barnets education and young people services. As I've got three children at three different schools in Barnet, I must say I'm very pleased to read of the success and pleased with what Fiona is doing. She seems to get on with the job and doesn't court the headlines. Well done Fiona.

P.S Thought I'd give you a giggle and post a couple of pictures of the Dots. The one at the top was taken in the Tiki Club in Belgium in December 1985. The one in the middle was taken in 1980 whilst we were making a video. The one at the bottom was taken at the Mill Hill Music Festival in 2005 at the Mill Hill Sports club.