Are the Barnet Tories a bunch of misogynists?

In a blog yesterday, Mrs Angry makes the accusation that the Barnet Tories are a bunch of misogynists. It is quite clear that they have a few people who are misogynists, but is Mrs Angry being fair? Lets look at the evidence. She has also regularly made the point that the few Tory councillors who are female are knocking on a bit.

It is clear that the Tories would benefit from a bit of new blood, but this is true of all three parties. To be fair to Richard Cornelius, he has only really had one opportunity under his leadership to select a candidate in a winnable ward and he selected a young muslim woman, who got soundly trounced. Perhaps even more alarming was the clear evidence of  a backlash against the selection from a large core of traditional Tory voters.

Another interesting point to consider is the fact that if the previous Leader, Lynne Hillan hadn't died of cancer, then Barnet Council would actually have a female leader still. I wondered how Ms Hillan would have reacted to Brian Coleman's hag jibe?

If we look at the key roles in Barnet there are 3 Tory MP's. One of these is a female -Theresa Villiers. Of the other two, Mike Freer is gay and in a civil partnership, so we can hardly tar Mike Freer with the "old school" label. In fact for all the criticism I have levelled at Mike Freer, the one thing I would never accuse him of is being insensetive to inclusivity.

The other post is the MEP, who is Marina Yannakoudis. She is a rather bright and bubbly personality and I don't think anyone would describe her as a misogynist.

The other post of note in Barnet is the Mayoralty. Last year it was Councillor Lisa Rutter, who is anything but a dull old fellow. This year the deputy Mayor is Councillor Kate Salinger. This position was clearly awarded by Richard Cornelius in an attempt to make amends for her appalling treatment over the expenses hike. It has been alleged that her treatment then was perhaps the premier example of misogynist Barnet, but given that Lynne Hillan was leader and in charge of the monstering, this seems a bit of a tenuous call.

In actual fact, I don't agree with Mrs Angry's analysis. I think the problem is a completely different one. I think that the Barnet Tories have lost the ability to attract talent. If you were a bright, young ambitious Tory, would you want to nail your banner to the Barnet Council mast? Not a week goes by without a scandal. At a recent GLA visit to North Finchley, I was talking to one of their press officers. I mentioned this blog and he said "Oh yes, I used to read it all the time". I was quite flattered. He then explained that this was because Brian Coleman was always featured. He gave me the distinct impression that his job was far easier now with Mr Dismore in the job.

Strangely enough, it wasn't awlays like this. The Barnet Tories used to be a hothouse for young talent. The Battersea MP, Jane Ellison was one example of a career launched in Barnet. Another example was Caroline Clapper, who defected to Hertsmere Council.

It is quite clear to me that the local Tory party are in deep doo doo. There is a distinct lack of activists who are coming through the ranks. As a result, they are getting a very low caliber of candidate. Even more worrying is the fact that the most talented councillors, such as Mark Shooter are pushed to the fringes, whilst intellectual lightweights such as Dan Thomas and Tom Davey rule the roost.

As to the current cabinet, there are also female members. Helena Hart is probably the most capable member of the cabinet. Sadly the other, Joanna Tambourides is completely hopeless and every time she speaks, shows just how out of her  depth she is.


So in total we have

MP's - 3 in total - 1 female (33%)
MEP's  -  1 -1 female (100%)
Council Cabinet 9 - 2 female (Less than 25%)
Tory Councillors - 37 - 9 female (less than 25%)
Mayor & Deputy 2 - 1 female (50%)

In my opinion, the root cause of this terrible underrepresentation is down to the fact that the proposition of being a Barnet Tory is not appealing. What sane and intelligent woman would want to have to set next to Brian Coleman as he foams at the mouth and calls people hags? What sane young woman would want to be the only one in the club under 50? I think that anyone wanting to make a name in politics (such as Jane Ellison did in the 1980's & 90's) would give Barnet a very wide berth.

And I think that it is time that the Leader, Richard Cornelius woke up to the fact that whilst he probably is horrified to be called misogynist by Mrs Angry, when he tolerates Brian Colemans behaviour and presides over a party with such massive under represenation of women, who make up 50% of the electorate, he really only has himself to blame for the charge.

Is Barnet becoming a Police state?

I was stunned to read the latest press release from Barnet Council. It is entitled :-

Enjoy the World Cup responsibly this summer

(click here to read the whole thing - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=2224 )

The press release ends with the following statement :-

Councillor Joanna Tambourides, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Cohesion, said: "The World Cup is a time when the whole community enjoys the feelgood factor, and the council is totally supportive of residents enjoying themselves while watching the football. What won't be tolerated is anti-social and violent behaviour that intimidates or harms others simply trying to enjoy the games. We will work closely with our police colleagues to make sure that any problems are quelled quickly and effectively."

Does the phrase "We will work closely with our police colleagues to make sure that any problems are quelled quickly and effectively" sound like what you'd expect a councillor to say about the World cup? It surprised me to see that this is, so far, the only Barnet Council press release on the subject of the World Cup. Nothing trying to capitalise on the huge interest in participent sport, which will doubtless ensue. Nothing to get youngsters off their backsides and out  into the parks playing football. No special events to use the World Cup to promote community cohesion (just think how many different nationalities, who live in Barnet are represented). All we have from  the Police is this statement :-

Inspector Simon Roberts, in charge of Barnet Police's Priority Intervention Team, said: "Naturally we want England to go the whole way and win, and we want people to enjoy every moment of it. While we think the chance of any real problems arising is low, passions do tend to run quite high in these sorts of events. We will deal robustly with any disorder and alcohol related offences during South Africa 2010."

Is it just me or are we becoming rather authoritarian in Barnet. Are the Police saying they don't normally deal robustly with disorder and alcohol related offence? Are they saying that they are simply targetting World Cup revellers?

Even more worrying is the following statement in the press release :-

Enforcement and police officers have extra powers in the Cricklewood, Tally Ho, Finchley Central and Hendon Central areas where there are alcohol control zones now in place. If there are people drinking in the street and officers suspect they may commit anti-social behaviour they can demand the alcohol is handed over. A £500 fine is the maximum penalty for refusal.

So the Police have been given the power to sieze alcohol if they think someone "may commit anti-social behaviour". Lets get this right, you don't actually have to do anything. So if I go for a picnic in Finchley and have a lager and a policeman decides "I might commit anti social behaviour" he can nick my booze?

This is completely bonkers. There are acts of anti social behaviour actually happening all of the time in Barnet, which go unpunished, which the police totally ignore, but they can nick the booze of anyone they think "may commit an offence during the world cup?".

It flies in the face of English law to allow Police to punish people for crimes they haven't committed. They have drafted 30 extra officers in to deal with "football related trouble" but refuse to deal with all sorts of other trouble. Sure, bunches of bare chested blokes drinking lager and shouting "England" isn't the most edifying of sights, but what sort of a world are we coming to.

I suspect that the real cause of this press release is the fact that Councillor Joanna Tambourides and her ilk are snobs who hate football. I suspect that they consider normal working people who actually know how to enjoy themselves to be oiks and that they would ban all revelling if they possibly could. I seem to recall Brian Coleman telling Ken Livingstone with great glee, how he'd scuppered plans for a large screen for people to watch games on in Hyde Park. I suspect the reason that Brian doesn't understand the thrill of watching football over a few lagers with your mates is because he hasn't actually got any mates.

Why Barnet Council must regulate Dog Walking Services

I have written on this blog before about my concerns about the use of public land by commercial dog walking services. I have said that as these are commercial activities and people make money from them, they should be properly licensed and regulated. A pack of large and unruly dogs being exercised by someone not in proper control of the pack poses a clear and present danger to other users of the public space. They don't clean up their mess, they have no regard for other users of the space and they make money from their operations. Any activity which poses a threat to other members of the public should be subject to licensing and control and this is no exception.

My wife walks our dog on a daily basis across Arrendene open space. In recent weeks she's told me the activities of "the wolf". A large wolf like dog which has apparently attacked several other smaller dogs. This dog is walked by a professional walker and is not muzzled. I have been increasingly concerned. I am even more so today. The picture you see is of what this dog did to our well trained and friendly mutt. My wife was in no position to intervene. Another professional dog walker with a pack of dogs, in an act of solidarity with the Wolf walker said "He only growled" (to gauge the scale of the wound compare my wifes' fingernail to the cut) and explains "he only does that when there is a new dog in the pack".

The mentality of some the people who run these services is just one where they just don't care for anyone else or their pets. If Barnet Council do nothing then they are culpable and negligent. Councillor Joanna Tambourides is the Cabinet Member responsible for Community Safety. Councillor Lynne Hillan is the Leader of the Council. If they do nothing and something really bad happens, they've been warned. They have to act now or face the lawsuit later.

The destruction of the Green Belt in Barnet - Part 1- Low Level Vandalism

One of my favourite places in Mill Hill to watch the sun set is The Mill Field. This lies on the Ridgeway e between The Three Hammers and Highwood Hill. It gives a spectacular panorama of West London and is a great place to view Wembley Statium arch, when it is lit up. If you want a free spectacular display, go up there when there is a spectacular at Wembley with Fireworks. At this time of year, the sun sets over St Josephs College and there isn't a better sight in London (See picture on Left taken last night). I'd recommend anyone to take a walk from the Adam & Eve pub at one end of the Ridgeway, to the Rising Sun at the top of Highwood Hill. Here's a few of the sights you'll see.

I rather hope you agree that it looks well worth the walk. The Green Belt Legislation was set up to protect these views and to protect the fabric of the green belt. The purpose of it is so that our children and our grandchildren have access to green space and London is surrounded by areas where plant and trees can freshen the polluted smog of central London. Is this important? I think so. I'd rather hope that most people in Mill Hill think so. Sadly, short sighted policies of the ruling Conservative Party in Barnet, are putting this vital natural resource at risk in a number of ways. Today's blog explores one rather upsetting case I found on my travels this week.

As regular readers know, I've got a rather nice Boxer dog, which needs a fair amount of exercise. This gives me a great excuse to keep an eye on the green spaces of Mill Hill (which I consider as my own). Sadly, on Thursday this was the sight which greeted me when I visted the lower section of the Mill Field. The Mill field is in the Conservation area and is a beautiful open space. As you can see there are huge piles of earth. What this picture doesn't show is the gang of teenage youths which were frantically digging them. Being on my own, I was at a quandry as to what to do, when my phone went. It was a friend in the locality and he immediately joined me (with work colleague who is a burly farm labourer). When they arrived, we approached the gang. When challenged as to what they were doing, they replied that they were "making a BMX park".

The hole on the left is just one of many of their excavations. As you can see it is massive. We immediately informed them that the park is part of the conservation area. We informed them that they were liable for a huge fine for their act of vandalism if caught by the police. We politely asked them to "fill in the holes", but sadly they had other plans and scarpered from the scene en mass. This isn't the only act of vandalism in the Mill Field.

This is an old oak tree which has been sprayed and tagged. Sadly this type of low level vandalism is not confined to the beauty spots of Mill Hill. It is all over Mill Hill and the whole of Barnet. The Counciol has a dedicated anti vandalism squad, which will repaint walls & shopfronts when disfigured, but isolated areas of natural beauty are not on the agenda. The sprayed trees and the large holes will be dealt with over a longer period of time by mother nature herself.

So how do we address these issues? I had a long chat with my fellow Lib Dem candidates in Mill Hill. We want to get the issue on the agenda and we want sensible long term actions to be taken that will address these issues. I think that only a carrot and stick approach will work, so first lets have a look at the stick.

Lets strengthen the laws and rules surrounding the Conservation area. If you can't change your window style, then surely you shouldn't be able to dig holes and vandalise trees. Lets clearly mark the Conservation area and put (tasteful) signs up with a hotline to report vandalism. Lets impose swinging fines or even better community service orders on people desecrating the green belt. Lets ring fence any money raised to improve it and lets get any vandals to clear rubbish and weeds etc from green spaces. This will have a huge community benefit.

Now lets look at the carrot. There is also a wider issues. One of the youths said at me "Look mate, there's nowhere to go and nothing to do round here, It's just an old field". Barnet Council should insist that Children of school age are educated properly about the green belt and the conservation area. Make sure they understand why it is there and why it is important.There is more though. I suppose in some way these kids have a point. They are into BMX bikes and there is nowhere. This is a popular sport, one which Great Britain has Olympic medal hopes for.

Where are the facilities in Barnet. Barnet Council owns many derelict sites which could be transformed into youth facilities. The picture on the left is just one such area. The site of a demolished and derelict school in Mill Hill. Wouldn't this be a far better site for youngsters to learn BMX skills in a safe an healthy environment. Surely there are companies which would be interested in partnering the Council in such a scheme. Sadly I don't think that the Conservatives who run Barnet Council care aabout our youngsters. They have no vision to see why vandalism happens and no idea of how to stop it before it even starts. They think they do a marvellous job because they have "Hit Squads" who catch and fine taggers - see this Press release - http://www.barnet.gov.uk/press_releases.htm?id=2166 - they've given a grafitti artist an ASBO. Why not make him clean up the mess as part of community service or paint a few old ladies flats. That way, he'd learn and the community would benefit.

This press release sums up Barnet  Councils attitude to young people. Councillor Joanna Tambourides has shown she has no vision and is not up to the job of Community Safety and Community Engagement. ASBO's don't turn young offenders around. Hard work for the community so they see the error of their ways is what is needed.