Barnet Council - Breaking News - Lynne Hillan quits as leader

It was announced at tonights Barnet Council AGM that Lynne Hillan has resigned as leader of the Council, due to illness. Whilst this blog has been a stern critic of her policies, our prayers are with her and her family at this difficult time.

Barnet Council - legionella outbreak in Catalyst run care homes

There has been an outbreak of Legionalla in Barnet Council care homes run by Catalyst. This dangerous disease threatens the health of some of Barnets most vulnerable people. Reports reach the Barnet Eye that Barnet Council has issued an "Improvement notice" to Catalyst. This blog believes that the elderly and the infirm should be cared for with dignity and compassion. They should not be left to rot in homes where their are clear and present risks to their health. I have these questions for Barnet Council

1. Has the Nick Walkley, CEO of Barnet who gets paid £250,000 of taxpayers money to stop this sort of cock up occurring visited the homes to see for himself what is going on?

2. Has Leader of the Council, Lynne Hillan Visited the homes to see what is going on?

3. Has the Deputy CEO of the Council, who is a Contractor (on £17,000 a month) , Mr A Travers visited the homes to see what is going on?

4. Have any of the £1,500 a day consultants, who are recommending privatisation for the rest of the council, visited the homes to see what happens when their plans are implemented in the real world?

5. Does Barnet Council include issues like Health & Safety in the contract monitoring process? If not why not? If yes when were these last reviewed?

6. Are risk assessments on health & safety carried out in all of the settings?

7. As part of the contract monitoring by Barnet Council are these risk assessments reviewed? If not why not? If yes when were they last reviewed?

8. As part of good safeguarding practice have other residential care homes provided by Catalyst and Fremantle been informed about the outbreak and if so have the checks been carried out in those settings?

9. What was the cause of this outbreak and what controls have been put in place to secure the safety of the residents, staff and visitors?

10. Was a risk assessment carried out after the Legionella bacteria was discovered? If yes, what did it say and what control measures were put in place? If not why not?

And lastly, one final question. Does the fact that the most vulnerable people in Barnet are being put at risk, whilst the pockets of shareholders of private companies are being lined make me feel utterly sick (CAtalyst have just settled for an extra £10 million in fees from Barnet in a case brought because their profits were too low)? I can answer this question - Yes

Barnet Council - A time for common sense and cool heads

Everyone I've spoken today, from Tory Councillors to Trades Union Activists, who attended the Council Meeting last night, were absolutely appalled at what happened. A Jewish Conservative Councillor told me that he hung his head in shame as "Black shirted quasi paramiltary security forces bullied local residents".  Many questions regarding public safety and public order have been raised, which I will not address here. It is now time to step back and look at the real issues. We must formulate a plan as to how we move forward and address the most important issues. This is my view.

1) Private Security Forces in Barnet. There have been many issues raised regarding their behaviour and conduct last night. There have also been questions raised as to the contract with MetPro (the company), their SIA registration (a legal requirement) and the fact their accounts have not been filed. Barnet Unions have asked to see a risk assessment.

Actions for Concerned residents : Contact your councillors, the CEO of Barnet and the Metropolitan Police expressing any concerns you may have.

2) Filming of Council Meetings : It appears that the Council do not know whether they can ban this or not. They clearly have no idea.

Actions for Concerned residents : I suggest that we arrange a "mass filming" of regular committee meetings until such time as the Council sees sense and outlines proper arrangements and protocols. I would suggest that the existing rules cover it already. If people are discreet then it is not a problem. If they unduly disrupt the meeting in a DISORDELY OR THREATENING fashion they can be asked to leave.

3) The Council Cuts. The two issues above are really a sideshow. Anyone who thought the Tories would change their mind regarding their slash and burn program last night was deluded. We can get them to change it and see sense, but only by hard work.

Actions for the people of Barnet :

Bloggers -  Notify each other of issues you are investigating. That way we won't duplicate effort. If we all read the same papers, we are not being efficient. If you start looking at something which will take a few days to get to the bottom of, let the other bloggers know. Other bloggers, please respect this and don't try and "get there first" when you see what someone is investigating. Find something else to look at.

Residents - Sign petitions, attend rallys and marches. Write to your councillors if they are Tories and say you will not vote for them.

Sensible Tory Councillors - Stand up for yourselves.  They can only enforce the whip if they pick you off one at a time. Refuse to be intimidated. Threaten them back. Tell them you will "go public for the sake of the Conservative Party". Whatever you do, end this failed regime in May when you have the chance.  I am not a Conservative, but they are leading you to ruin. An example of Lynne Hillans lack of Leadership qualities is demonstrated here where she blames the fiasco last night on the Mayor - Councillor Tony Finn -

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/topstories/8884511.Security__nothing_to_do_with_me__says_council_leader/

Trades Unions, Opposition Parties & local Campaign Groups - Get off your backsides and campaign against this. Make sure everyone in Barnet knows how the cuts will affect them and their loved ones. Leader Lynne Hillan claimed (backed up by Brian Coleman) that "most people won't be affected". This is the maths they've done. Whilst this may be true, it only requires 7% of their vote to be affected and switch for them to lose the council. We have to work to get that 7% to realise they have been let down. That is our challenge. I believe the Tories are helping us achieve this with every day they keep persisiting with Hillan, Harper, Coleman and Future Shape/Easycouncil/OneBarnet.

The latest Barnet Council Bombshell - Proof Barnet is not spending money wisely

My thanks to Councillor Andrew Harper for (albiet inadvertently) pointing me in the direction of the latest Barnet Council Scandal. You can read the whole sorry story here :-

http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=10084

It details (albiet in a nice sugary way) the fact that Barnet Council has lost control of the way it spends your money. Now maybe you don't think that matters, but I do. This is the reason why Childrens Centres are being chopped, Sheltered Housing wardens sacked and 800 Council workers threatened with redundancy.

Turn to the conclusions on page 15 and you will find this :-

This couldn't be more clear and the conclusion couldn't be more stark. Barnet Council are not spending our money wisely.  The computer systems they use are not set up properly. This blog recently exposed how during the reign of  Mike Freer, a SAP system was implemented. Mike Freer trumpeted in 2006 that this would "modernise procurement" and save Barnet Council millions of pounds. The system is outsourced (what Barnet want to do to everything else they run). This report says it doesn't work properly. Mike Freer said the system would cost £6 million. Some estimates say it has cost £15 million.

This is a scandal. Council workers are facing the sack, children are being cut loose. Vulnerable adults are losing their wardens. Today one of my friends in the Barnet Alliance for Public services asked me what I have been doing to save those affected by the cuts. I'll tell you what? I've been reading reports like this. I just hope that all of our useless, ineffective Council Leaders such as Lynne Hillan and Andrew Harper have been reading them as well. I just hope that they understand what the reports are saying. If they don't they should be sacked and be replaced by people who do. They cannot keep sweeping these disasters under the table. Just what does CEO Nick Walkley do for his money (£200,000 PA + perks) ? He certainly doesn't make sure our money is spent wisely. His own council report says so

So who is responsible if you fall over on the ice?

Just suppose you are an elderly person living on your own. Nine days ago it snowed in London. The pavements have been treacherous ever since. Would you go out an risk life & limb or stay in, running out of fresh food and provisions? More to the point, if you have to go out, who is responsible if you fall over and break your hip.

When my mother was 81 years old, she fell and broke her hip. On arrival at hospital they advised that many elderly people with her injuries don't make it. She pulled through the episode, but it just about finished her off and robbed her of what little independence she had. Yesterday I fell on the ice in Flower Lane car park, as I walked my dog. I didn't break anything, but I have a huge bruise. I was wearing proper walking boots, but the car park was a sheet of ice. The council had plenty of warning about the bad weather and the snow has sat on the ground for nine days. Elderly people are virtual prisioners and nobody can walk the pavements without fear of  a fall. The grit bin at the bottom of our road is empty and has been for most of the time.

The council policy of not bothering to grit is tantamount to discrimination. The argument they use is that it's too expensive to grit. How come they used to do it and we paid far less tax? Council tax is higher than ever, but services are worse than ever. The reason? Overmanagement. In the not too distant past, council depots had a foreman who allocated the work and reported in to the town hall. My guess is that these days there are more managers than people driving grit lorries. I'd almost forgive them if when it snowed they all rolled up there sleeves and got out with the boys gritting. Sadly when it gets cold, the top bosses bugger off on holiday. They've left a geezer running the council who is not a Barnet Council employee, he's a highly paid consultant. He gets between £15,000 and £17,500 a month.

Has he been working 24 hours a day, telling staff on redundancy notices to pull their fingers out? Has he been repeating (on holiday) Council Leader Lynne Hillans message that "We're all in it together" to staff.

If you have fallen over and injured yourself, I'd strongly advise you to check and see whether Barnet Council have failed in their duty of care to you by not taking steps to ensure safety of their property (pavements, car parks, etc). If everyone who could sue them, did sue them, maybe they'd actually make sure the pavements are safe. Has anyone been to North London Business Park. I'd be intrigued to know if they've gritted around their own offices?

Brian Coleman : The saviour of the London Borough of Barnet

Just remember, you read it here first. In the Barnet Eye on December 18th, 2010.

Next year is going to probably be the toughest year ever in Barnet Council. Whatever happens, there will be mass redundancies. Many public services will be closed down, many vulnerable people will be left high and dry. Whilst all of this goes on, many leading Tory councillors will be trowsering huge amounts of allowances, far in excess of any other year. As libraries shut, sheltered housing wardens are sacked, childrens centres closed and care workers for the elderly and vulnerable are made redundant, huge contracts will be doled out to multi national companies as part of the Future Shape/One Barnet program.

If you think that there has been unrest, in the words of the old song "You ain't seen nothing yet". I was talking to Barnet Unison secretary John Burgess on Tuesday night. John is a highly intelligent guy. he was explaining to me that the workforce at Barnet Council have been extremely reluctant in the past to take industrial action. This is all changing. When people realise that their jobs are on the line and there aren't other jobs out there, people suddenly realise it is in their self interest to defend their rights. Barnet Council has made the fatal mistake of thinking that because the staff have traditionally been quite passive, they can kick the crap out of them and they won't fight back. When staff received redundany notices, the penny dropped.

At more or less exactly the same time, Lynn Hillan, Conservative leader of Barnet Council stated "We are all in this together". Given that she's given many of her councillors who chair committees a huge increase in allowance (only scrapping her own rise because of a huge campaign), she couldn't have told a bigger whopper if she'd tried. Hillan only just survived an attempt to overthrow her by Mark Shooter, who had only been in the council for five minutes. You may have thought that Lynne Hillan might have learned and would get her nose to the grindstone. This time last year, Barnet was paralysed by bad weather. Salt stocks ran out and both Hillan and her deputy Harper, were on holiday. This year, as once again bad weather hits, where is Hillan? I got this when I emailed her :-

----- Original Message -----

From: Hillan, Cllr Lynne Conservative

To: Roger Tichborne

Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 6:38 PM

Subject: Out of Office AutoReply: Extremely Urgent : Library consultation

I am currently on leave until 5 January 2011 .   Please contact the Deputy Leader, Cllr Andrew Harper for anything urgent, em: cllr.a.harper@barnet.gov.uk.  For Brunswick Park Ward issues, please contact my colleagues, either Cllr Andreas Tambourides on 0208 368 5417 or Cllr Lisa Rutter on 07956 858913.  Otherwise I will deal with your message when I return.
--------------------------------------------------------------

She learns nothing. At the one time when it was crystal clear that the Council would need firm leadership and action, she's on holiday. Fortunately Andrew Harper seems to have learned the lesson. In Scotland, a crisis centre has been set up, where rail, road, police, fire and all other emergency services can be co-ordinated from. The top politicians are there day and night to ensure that the situation is addressed. In North London Business park, all we have is an empty desk from Hillan.

So what has this all got to do with Councillor Brian Coleman. As regular readers will know, this blog can, with some justification, claim to be his biggest critic. As far as I know, I'm the only person in Barnet to successfully hold old porkychops to account. As such I was rather surprised to be contacted by a Barnet Councillor, asking me whether I would support a Coleman candidacy for Leadership in May.

My initial reactions was "He's the last person in the world I'd choose. It would be like putting Dracula in charge of a bloodbank". My esteemed Councillor friend then walked me through the likely candidates

Lynne Hillan - Completely Useless and totally discredited.

Andrew Harper - Hillans deputy.  A firm believer in all of Hillans policies, such as future shape, library cuts, scrapping wardens, in short the status quo candidate

Daniel Thomas - A right wing uber-Thatcherite, who believes that Future Shape doesn't go far enough. Thomas is believed to want to pass a whole host of unworkable bylaws and rules to make Barnet an even more unpleasant place to work, study or live. He is an avid reader of bonkers policy documents from obscure right wing think tanks (manned by people like Robert Rams) who devise all sorts of crazy policies, yet have never had a real job or run a real company.

Which brings us to Brian Coleman. What does porkychops have to offer, which the rest of them don't. Well firstly we can be pretty sure that he'll double the Leaders allowance to £70,000 per year (because he's worth it). Unlike Hillan he won't crack when the press start whining. The next thing he'll do is cancel Future Shape and sack all of the consultants. Brian Coleman knows it's a complete pile of crap. He knows the figures don't add up. He knows that by sacking the consultants, he can save £5 million this year. With this he can save the libraries, wardens and a host of other services. Brian is a populist. he knows that if he says "I've sacked all these useless consiltants who write waste of space reports and i've saved the libraries, wardens and childrens centres with the money", people will think he's doing a great job. They will be prepared to look the other way as he hikes up his salary. Once he's sacked all of the consultants, he's going to set about the tiers of middle managers in Barnet Council. Coleman is said to believe that a blank cut of 50% of middle managers would have no effect on front line services and would reap huge savings. Again, he will plough this back into tax cuts and mainating front line services.

Despite our perception of Coleman as a greedy trougher, with no regard for his fellow man, Coleman is a lover of things like Hendon Town Hall, Civic flowerbeds, libraries and museums. I hear he's horrified at plans to cut Church Farm Museum. Coleman has a soft spot for the museum, following an exhibition about gays in Barnet a few years back. Brian believes that he is morally obligated to save the museum for staging this.

The big difference between Coleman and the other three, is that he doesn't care who he upsets. If he believes he's right (which he always does 100%) he's prepared to move Hell and High water to get what he wants. Coleman believes that if the Tories don't sort themselves out, they will lose Barnet in 3 1/2 years and he knows that he's likely to lose his GLA seat to Andrew Dismore in 2012. Unlike the rest of them, he doesn't want to retire from Politics at the next council election.

Brian Colemans biggest fantasy is a blue plaque on Hendon Town Hall saying "Brian Coleman, the Man who saved Barnet Council". Sadly for Coleman, all of this is a pipedream. In reality, most of his colleagues hate his guts and wouldn't elect him unless a gun was put to their heads. The only footnote he'll get in the anals of Barnet history is "Brian Coleman : The only mayor to be found guilty of breaching the standards code". Whilst in some ways I may agree with many of his plans to save the council, the truth is that the man is a complete arse and everyone knows it. That is why Harper will take over in May.

The three types of Tory Councillors in Barnet

Last night I attended the Barnet Council Cabinet meeting. I realised that if you want to get on in the Tory Party in Barnet you have to be one of three types of people. These are :-

A) People who are very rude. We saw several fine examples of this last night. Top Cat for rudeness was Lynne Hillan. Sheltered housing resident David Young, who launched a legal battle with Barnet Council last year and got the decision to scrap sheltered housing wardens declared illegal by the High Court cam down to ask a question. Given that Lynne Hillan was the architect of the policy, which was declared illegal, having indulged in a lengthy legal battle against Mr Young who is 78 and should be enjoying his retirement, you would think Hillan would have a) Apologised to him for persuing an illegal policy. B) Extended him a modicum of courtesy, given that he'd given up his evening to participate in the democratic process. She didn't even give him the time of day. As Mr Young tried to ask a question, Lynne Hillan continually butted in and told him to hurry up. After two minutes and 36 seconds, she finally said "Have you actually got a question", to which Mr Young replied "How stupid are your Councillors". As Mr Young walked away he commented "Don't you realise that some of the residents have told me they will commit suicide if the wardens go". At this Lynne Hillan rolled her eyes. She was ably supported in the rudeness stakes by Brian Coleman, who managed to insult the local papers such as the Press and the Edgware Times. He was also rather rude to Councillor Dean Cohen, who was trying to be helpful in suggesting ways Barnet could improve it's response to bad weather (but I'll forgive him that).

B) People who are very spineless. Into this category falls Deputy Leader Andrew Harper, Councillor Robert Ramsbottom and Councillor Melvin Cohen. Harper and Ramsbottom both asked reasonable and sensible questions. Both got nonsensical answers and said "Thank you councillor Rajput for such a marvellous answer" or words to that effect. Ramsbottom asked "Are we going down the same road again" Rajput said "No of course not" and then went on to actually detail why we were. Yvonne Hossacks, who is the countries leading lawyer on sheltered housing, must have been laughing her head off (she was there with David Young). Harper asked an even more sensible question "Is it sensible to spend huge amounts on legal fees for these quite small savings" or words to that effect. Rajput responded "Yes of course it is, because, it is". As for Melvin Cohen. If Brian Coleman had talked to my son, in the manner Coleman spoke to Dean Cohen, I'd have probably stuck a ball point pen in his eye and said "Oops sorry Brian, my pen slipped" or at least said "Can it, knobhead, that's my boy !". Of course Melvin C is a gutless spineless lackey, so he just sat there grinning as pooe little Deano got squashed.

C) Completely useless. This brings us back to Dean Cohen. He was presenting a report about the chaos in Barnet when the Snow hit in January. Councillor Dean Cohen spoke for 5 minutes and 31 seconds on the subject. Guess how many times he said "er" or "erm" in that time as he read his prepared speech. Well I counted 46 times, including several "er, erm, er's". I'm sure big daddy Melvy sent him to the finest school, so where did it all go wrong. Having not allowed Mr Young, who spoke clearly and eloquently 30 seconds without interruption, Hillan was quite happy to let ineffectual Dean ramble on seemingly forever. In all my years (apart from injury time in the Manchester Derby last year) has 5 minutes and 31 seconds seemed so long. When he finally finished, Brian Coleman wiped the floor with him. Whilst I may not like Brian Coleman, I can understand why he would be so angry, wasting 5 mins and 31 seconds of valuable sponging time listening to him. Another one of the useless squad, Joanna Tambourides gave a fine cameo performance as Councillor Rajput spouted waffle about introducing a "menu of charged services" for adults with care needs. She asked Councillor Rajput "How much will these services cost". Now given that she's a Cabinet member and she'd read all of the papers, it was patently obvious that no one has a clue. Rajput replied "as affordable as possible". She responded "Marvellous, Marvellous". She must be easily impressed.

As I left, Yvonne Hossacks was waiting for a cab in reception with David Young. I passed on some information they had missed. I asked a couple of questions about the strategy she might employ and pointed out what I thought was a couple of major weaknesses in the approach Barnet are adopting. She smiled the smile of a cat watching as the mouse emerges from it's hole. In a perfect world, David Young wouldn't need to go to war with a useless and uncaring council. I was given some information, which I am not going to publish here, but yet again Barnet will lose. To use a football analogy, they are using a Ryman League legal team to take on the Premiership champions. Hossacks is an expert in her field. If I was Jeff Lustig, Barnets in house legal chief, I'd take Hillan and Harper into a quiet room and say "Just drop the whole scheme quietly, otherwise we'll lose again and look ridiculous". I spoke this morning to a Tory Councillor about the plan. He agreed with me that Barnet should just stop digging. He told me a shocking fact. The £300,000 savings that were quoted are entirely bogus. The new scheme will cost even more.

Oh yes, he also told me rather proudly that I'd like Barnet Councils new website. They are spending £50,000 on a redesign, to make it more funky. So there we go. Who loses in OneBarnet - The elderly, the disabled and the disadvantaged. Who wins - Committee chairmen (54% rise), Legal briefs, Consultants and website designers.

As I left the meeting I saw Councillor John Hart sitting there. I gave him a friendly smile. He smiled back and shook his head.

The two happiest people in Barnet tonight

There are two very happy bunnies snuggling up in bed as I write this. Leader of the Labour group in Barnet Council, Alison Moore and Tory Chief whip Brian Coleman (no not together, perish the thought).

It is now common knowledge that the attempted Coup by disgruntled Tory Councillors has fizzled out. As it stands, three will vote for the motion of no confidence and a maximum of three will get a headache and not show up. Brian Coleman has let it be known that any Tories who vote with the opposition will lose the whip, lose all committee postings and be ostracised. Of the 18 councillors who voted for Shooter, 12 have told Coleman they will vote with the party. Expect a minimum of two bye elections in coming months. Coleman has been saying that Shooter has lost the plot and is walking the streets of Barnet shouting rude words (well not quite, but I'm sure you get my drift) and thinks it is hilarious. As for Shooter, he's gone to ground, drawn the curtains and isn't taking any calls (and I don't mean from me).

As for Alison Moore, the last thing she wanted was to see the back of Hillan and Coleman. She's privately chuffed (although it is fair to say she can't stand the pair of them). Probably the only person to come out of this with their image enhanced is Lib Dem leader Jack Cohen, who's motion has exposed the Tories as completely two faced, voting against Hillan last week and for Hillan this week.

I suspect that  this will not really give Jack too much satisfaction as he dearly hoped that he'd actually managed to see off Hillan and Coleman for a couple of days.

Lynne the Library lacerator Vs Richard Cornelius ???

On Saturday, The Barnet Eye revealed that Lynne "the Library Lacerator" Hillan planned to sell off all of the Borough's Libraries


http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2010/08/exclusive-barnet-council-planning-sell.html

Today the sleepy old Hendon Times caught up with the story


http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8362739.Libraries_in_firing_line_for_council_sell_off/

The sell off is a short term punt to try and get some cash in the coffers before the borough goes broke due to Tory mismanagement by Council Leader Lynne Hillan and her loving band of cadres. We can now add libraries and allotments to the things Lynne Hillan thinks are less important to the people of the Borough than her allowances.

There is one person who this policy puts in a bit of a pickle (assuming he has any principles left whatsoever). Richard Cornelius came to promenance and got selected as a councillor on the back of a campaign to save Totteridge library. He stressed just how important these were and what a vital public service performed. He vowed that he'd never support a leader who planned to scrap them and came out vociferously against the then Tory Leader Victor Lyon. Of course he didn't get fat allowance cheques then (neither did his wife). The question is, with a leadership election brewing, with the Mark Shooter challenging Lynne Hillan and her cadres, will Richard and Alison Cornelius follow their consciences and vote for the new kid who has stated that he will maintain the current library service or will he ditch any last vestige of trustworthyness and back Lynne the Library Lacerator?

Richard Cornelius has always amused me. In the Michael Moorcock novel "The English Assasin" a character called Jerry Cornelius gets his kicks from burning down libraries. I always thought that it was ironic that Richard Cornelius came to promenance fighting to save them. Maybe he has more in common with his namesake than we thought. On the subject of the the other characters in the book, Bishop Beesley has always reminded me of another character in Barnet politics. Does the wikipedia description remind you of anyone?

"Bishop Beesley, endlessly corrupt gluttonous villain. Thirsts for power, money, pleasure."

 Answers on a postcard please.

Allowancegate : Exclusive - Hillan cracks and backs down

10.45am Monday.

I have just received a telephone call from a Tory insider, stating that the leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan has prepared a press release this morning withdrawing the Allowance rise.

More to follow ..........................

If this is true, My friends, we have won. Now lets finish her off

Crikey - Them blogs of Barnet, they're all at it now !!!!!

Did you know that watermelon is known as natural viagra. If your loved one needs, shall we say, perking up, get them to tuck into a delicious slice of watermelon and they'll be "happy" all night long, as it were. Now this blog doesn't normally do sex tips, but after the last few weeks in Barnet, lets face it, we all need some light relief.

Regular readers will know that such tips are not the normal staple of this blog.  Mostly it's Barnet politics with a bit of Music and Football thrown in. I normally do a roundup of the various Barnet blogs at the weekend. Trouble is that apart from the Broaway Blog, they are all full of the same thing -  The news that Mark "Sharp" Shooter is taking on Barnet's Arseholy trinity of Coleman / Hillan / Harper. Even Mike Freer's "official blog" has got in on the advising his former colleagues to "do their homework and make the right decision". What on earth does this mean?

Another interesting development is the return of Statler and Waldorfs blog - http://www.barnetcouncil.net/ -  I must also thank Vicki M for reminding me of exactly why I quit the Labour party last year - http://vickim57.blogspot.com/2010/08/two-jags-and-posh-git.html - Mrs Angry is cementing her reputation as the Picaso of Barnet Politics with another superb graphic on her latest blog - http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.com/2010/08/once-upon-time-in-broken-barnet.html - One blog I've been meaning to mention is a rather bizarre offering from former Edgware Tory Councillor Richard F Weider - Mr Weider moved to Israel last year. He's clearly starting to lose faith in the Tories as he is very critical of David Cameron for criticising Israel. I think it would be fair to describe Mr Weider as a Zionist, so I was truly shocked by the contents of this blog. Mr Weider seems to imply that Israel is managing the flow of missiles to Hamas, which are then fired back at Israel. Is Mr Weider becoming a conspiracy theorist, accusing the Israeli state of manufacturing a pretext for  a state of permanent war? I left a comment asking him to clarify whether he'd simply drafted his blog rather clumsily, but he's declined to change it or even respond, so we have to assume that he meant what he said - http://richardfweider.blogspot.com/2010/08/david-cameron-v-shimon-peres.html -

Yet again this week, the "established press" - The Times and the Pres group are full of letters about the allowance rise. I await with interest how they react to "Sharp" Shooter's leadership bid. August is normally a quiet news month in a Borough such as Barnet. I believe the Arseholy Trinity deliberately changed the allowances at the July meeting as a cynical attempt to slip it through unnoticed. Sadly for them, they couldn't have got it more wrong. As Mrs Angry says, there will be blood spilled before this one is played out.

Oh and before I sign off for the weekend, I thought I'd just share the latest rumour from my friends in the Barnet Tory Bunker. The old guard (ie the Arseholy Trinity) are working on a contingency plan in case "Sharp" Shooter holes the Hillan Supertanker below the waterline. The strategy is this. A) Try and brazen it out with Hillan in charge and keep as much cash as they can (maybe a concessionary don't take it this year or donate it to charity). If the numbers don't add up, then they move to plan B. This is to get Hillan to bow out gracefully on some pretext (she doesn't know this yet). They then propose a "unity candidate" from the old guard. They buy off a couple of Shooters top supporters with cabinet roles (Hillan's departure will create one and there is another member who they don't trust and want to shaft). They will then propose a modified, stepped approach to the introduction of the allowances (or drop it completely if that won't wash, half a gherkin is better than no gherkins at all). Sadly the key part of all this is to keep as much cash as possible for the old guard. It seems that both of these options work pretty well for the chief whip, Brian Coleman.

I suspect that no one would be more surprised than Brian if he heard who tipped me off about all of this or why. It may well be Brian Coleman is getting a little paranoid about who is leaking what to who. Anyway Brian my advice to you is cut yourself a big slice of watermelon, pour yourself a nice glass of red wine, put on some nice music and look at yourself in the mirror. That way you can spend a pleasant evening with the only politican in Barnet who still respects you, rates your talents and that you can trust. These days not many things truly shock me, but today the contents of my email in box has. I can't decide whether they are trying to find out what I know and who's been tipping me off, or whether they genuinely have realised the games up. To be honest, I don't much care either.

Barnet Tories : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly !!!!!!

I was heartened to see that the "conscience" of the Conservative Party is still alive and well in the general membership. It seems that while all of their councillors (bar Kate Salinger) lack backbone, the wider membership is not afraid to speak it's mind. The Hendon Times reports that the Chairman of Hendon Conservatives, Adrian Murray-Leonard has branded Hillan and co "greedy vultures" following their decision to award themselves huge payrises at a time of national belt tightening. Read all about what Mr Murray-Leonard had to say here :-

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8297992.Conservative_association_member_brands_party_colleagues__greedy_vultures__over_allowance_hike/?ref=mr

It seems to me that we can divide the Barnet Tories up into three Groups when it comes to the issue of awarding  yourself huge payrises -

The Good -
Kate Salinger (who was the only Tory Councillor to abstain and got ritually humiliated for her trouble)
Mike Freer MP and Matthew Offord MP (both criticised the increase)
David Miller (former chairman of Chipping Barnet Conservatives)
Adrian Murray-Leonard (Chairman of Hendon Conservatives)
Every single Barnet Conservative I've spoken to who isn't a Barnet Councillor (and the many who've privately emailed me to express disgust)

The Bad
Council Leader Lynne Hillan who has shown herself to be a complete hypocrite on the issue
Councillor Graham Old who despite knowing Kate Salinger was right lacked the backbone to stand up for her
Councillor Barry Evangeli who used the opportunity to snaffle an allowance, when Kate Salinger lost a committee chairmanship
Councillor Hugh Rayner who was distributing a very brown nosed press release saying that the increase was a good idea, completely ignoring what could have been done with the money had it not been spent lining the pocket of the cabinet
The rest of the motley crew of Barnet Tory Councillors who gutlessly voted for something they know to be morally wrong

And the Ugly

Hard working Councillor Brian Coleman who trousers between £114,000 and £121,000 from the public purse (depending who you believe) and claims he spends 100 hours a week beavering away at his desk.

And last but by no means least

Well if it ain't old Tessie Viler than a blocked drain Villiers. The only Barnet MP to think it's a spiffing idea for her mates to line her pocket. Of course given that she' rather partial to a little bit of troughing herself it's hardly surprising is it.

Sadly all the troughing seems to be taking its toll !!!!!

Oh, by the way, let me share a little snippet of gossip with you. Apparently Mike Freer MP has been telling his friends that he's rather enjoying the experience of not being beholden to certain friends of his at Barnet Council - this is my interpretation of his exact words - I'm sure you get the gist.

Barnet Tory Councillors fail the people who elected them

Lets talk Mill Hill first.

J'accuse Councillors John Hart, Brian Schama and Sury Khatri. The people of Mill Hill elected you to represent them. They expected you to cut waste in Barnet Council. Thats what your manifesto promised. Last night you voted for huge increases in allowances for your chums in the cabinet, some up to 100%. This at a time when public spending is being hammered. You have lost any moral authority you may have had. You have undermined any argument that may be made to the trades unions that cuts are needed.

In short you are a complete disgrace and should resign. Of course you wont. You get your bunce as well. I stood against you, for the Lib Dems, specifically to oopose this sort of disgusting troughing. I lost the election, but I believe you have committed fraud against the people of Mill Hill. Where in your manifesto did you say "We will give ourselves massive payrises". This is virtually the first act of the new administration. I was prepared to give you a chance to prove yourself. You are a disgrace.

As to Council Leader Lynne Hillan. She has shown herself completely unfit for the job. Doesn't she read the papers. The school rebuilding program in Barnet has been savagely cut by the new government, but she's all right jack. As to Brian Coleman - his allowances for a string of part time non jobs has risen to over £130,000 a year.

You may think you've won the battle for a pay rise, all you've won is round one. I will do everything I can to ensure you lose the war.

Barnet Council paper admits discrimination against Blacks and Asians

Barnet Council has admitted that it discriminates against black and asian people in a recently released Council briefing paper. The paper states the following :-

You can download the whole paper here - http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=9350

So what do the council propose to do?

So if you've finally worked your way to the top of the waiting list after years of stress, tough luck. They are going to suspend the list pending its full abolition. There is one clear issue a lack of Council housing. Does the paper discuss how the reall problem may be addressed. Of course it doesn't.

The most damning passage was the following  :-

This is a complete scandal. The Tories have had eight years in charge. They have allowed the system to be discriminatory and not fit for purpose. They've even allowed one poor soul to apply 1,000 times for a home with no hope of getting one. How much does each bid cost the taxpayer? How much grief has she suffered and energy has she wasted? Has she received an apology?

The CEO of Barnet Council, Nick Walkley owes the people of Barnet an apology, as does Council Leader Lynne Hillan. All they are planning to do is abolish the list so there is no audit trail of their failure. This is a disgrace and a scandal. This is one subject which should be exposed nationally on BBC News

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.

Where are Barnet Council putting the 22 new traveller sites?

Boris Johnson has set a legal requirement on the London Borough of Barnet to construct 22 new sites in the Borough for travellers. This arbitary number has been imposed on Barnet without consultation. Rather hypocritically, Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman has accepted a well paid job from Boris running the fire and emergency services. Coleman sounded off about this imposition by Boris, but didn't see fit to actually give up his well paid job in protest.

Unlike Brian Coleman, the Barnet Eye does not go around blindly criticising proposals until we see the details. This requirement has been known for many months and the Barnet Eye has been making enquiries as to the size and location of these camps. We are also interested to know whether they indicated that there will be a massive increase in the numbers of travellers or whether the proposal is just to make proper sites for travellers already living within the borough in less suitable sites.

This blog has long championed the green belt and we have major concerns that several sites have been earmarked which will have a major impact on the green belt within the borough. The council owns huge swathes of land in areas such as Mill Hill and Barnet, and given that travellers do not erect permanent structures, it is far easier to circumvent planning regs for mobile homes.

As this legal requirement has been known for many months, the Barnet Eye has made enquiries as to the location of these sites and been told that they have not been decided. Given that this is a legal requirement why could this be? The answer, sadly, is rather obvious. There are council elections in May and the Conservatives know that many of these sites will be in marginal wards such as Mill Hill and High Barnet. They know that the proposals will not be popular with their voters and they do not want the fact that a Conservative Mayor of London imposed them to become widely known before the election. In short they are hoping to keep it all quiet until after the election.

The Barnet Eye believes that important issues such as this, which may have a huge effect on the green belt and open spaces should be matters of public consultation. Lets be clear about this. Boris Johnson has made the decree, so we HAVE TO HAVE the sites. The Barnet Eye believes that it is hugely important to make sure these are properly sited and that locals have a say in the important issues that are raised. As with many things, I suspect that Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan will simply wait till after the election, then impose them wherever she feels like it, without any consultation whatsoever.

Barnet Councils latest punt with your money - the next big scandal in Barnet

Ex Council Leader Mike Freer lost £27.4 million of your money playing the markets.  He borrowed the money at one rate of interest and then invested it in Icelandic banks at a much higher rate of interest. The income this generated was used to fill holes elsewhere in his budget. It seemed like a masterful ruse, until all the Icelandic banks collapsed. His punt failed and we, the taxpayers of Barnet, had to pick up the cost. How did Mike Freer suffer for this? Well he didn't. He still got his £3,000 responsibility allowance for losing the money. Despite his sheer incompetence, his colleagues still laud the "magnificent job" he did.

You would think Barnet Council might have learned their lesson. Well it appears not. A Council official sent an email to a member of the public yesterday which said the following :-

The current market conditions are not favourable towards a disposal and indeed the Council is currently looking at buying properties.In fact the Deputy Chief Executive has specifically instructed the Investment Manager to find suitable properties and I will be assisting in this task.

 There you have it in black and white. Barnet Council is looking to invest in properties as they think it is a good time to buy. This is called gambling and they are doing it with your money. Lets get this right. The council has spare cash. They could  :-

a) keep the sheltered housing wardens
b) Give you a tax cut
c) Gamble it on your behalf on property

Now I was personally shocked that Barnet Council even has an "Investment manager", whilst I'm sure he's a fine chap and does a great job, this is our money. If I want a punt, I'll go to William Hill and spend it. If they were buying properties to fill the council housing shortage, I'd applaud them, but from the wording of this, it is clear as day that  this is not the purpose of the "Investment Manager" strategy, it is to exploit the state of the market. As we all know, property values can go up or down.

My message to Council Leader Lynne Hillan, Mike Freer and everyone else in the Tory cabinet. You are a council, not  a bookie. Stop gambling with our money. I just can't believe that they didn't learn their lesson after Iceland.

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If Barnet Council have sent you an email containing evidence of dodgy behaviour and you want the people of Barnet to know about it, email me BY CLICKING HERE.

Tribute to the Sheltered Housing Warden Campaign

A musical video explanation of the Campaign to Save Sheltered Hosuing Wardens in Barnet.

Save Our Wardens (The Musical)
Uploaded by BarnetCouncilWatch. - Up-to-the minute news videos.

Many thanks to Don't Call Me Dave at the excellent  Not The Barnet Times Blog for putting the clip together. Also thanks to the Members for writing the Theme tune (I've got the original 45 on clear vinyl and sow their first London Gig at The Marquee club). I trust that if anyone needs reminding why Lynne Hillan really should never even be considered to be the new Leader of Barnet Council.

The A - Z of The Barnet Eye and other fascinating facts

Thought I'd give you an A-Z of all the things that are important to me & motivate me

A - Art - The appreciation of the beauty in things. Without this we are nothing
B - Barnet - This is the Borough I live in. Great place, rubbish Council
C - Cancer - stolen too many people I love, caused too much hurt, my one true hate
D - Daydreams - What would life be without them
E - Extravagance - This is what we get when our Tory Councillors decide on their allowances
F - False Dots - My band, the second most important thing in my life (after the other F family)
G - Guinness - Kept my mum going for 38 years after her Cancer, the elixir of life
H - Hendrix - If you play guitar in a rock band, you'll get this
I - Injustice -What fires me up to write this blog
J - Justice - Something which you don't get if you make a Standards complaint in Barnet
K - Kunst - German word for art, or for a dyslexic like me, describes the people running the Council
L - Love - Without this it's all pointless
M - Manchester City - My team.
N - Nature - I'm an environmentalist, something we should respect
O - Overdevelopment - Something which is happening all over Barnet
P - Passion - What makes me love people
Q - Question - What I have plenty of for the people who run the place. There are far less answers
R - Ramones - The greatest band in the Universe
S - Sailor - Second album by the Steve Miller band and my favourite album, a true masterpiece
T - Totty - Makes life worth whileand believe me I'm blessed in this department
U - Urban Landscapes - I love cities. I never feel comfortable in the countryside
V - Vibrators - The Band (not the sex toys) - Orange Hill old boys, made me realise it could happen
W - Work - We all do it, I'm lucky because generally I love it
X - X-Ray Specs - This band embodies everything that is great about punk rock
Y - Yoga - I do a class once a week and I think it keeps me sane. I'd make it compulsory in prisons
Z - Zantac - Without this I'd be dead (or even worse sober)

The Barnet Eye Top ten this week
1 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/10/stuck-in-lift-with-brian-coleman.html
2 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/09/hank-marvin-false-dots-and-candid.html
3 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/10/while-youre-in-sacking-mood-boris.html
4 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/03/5-songs-that-make-me-miserable.html
5 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/02/barnet-eye-round-up-boris-johnson.html
6 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/10/oil-city-confidential.html
7 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/10/councillor-lynne-hillan-most-loathesome.html
8 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/10/barnet-mayor-brian-coleman-in-yet.html
9 barneteye.blogspot.com/2008/11/councillor-brian-coleman-free-dinner.html
10 barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/10/brian-coleman-vs-travellers-true-story.html

As ever, the Brian Coleman free dinner register is in there. I'm especially pleased to see the Oil City Confidential blog in there. The 5 Songs which make me miserable is a perennial favourite as well. Lots of people seem to enjoy the Hank Marvin - Falsedots story.  Maybe Hank would like to join us for a jam at the Claddagh Ring?

Even more interesting are the pictures/documents you've been downloading. This one has been downloaded thousands of times since I first put it up and is No 1 every week. It's been downloaded 39 times in the last 48 hours. This is fairly typical. If Mike Freer/Lynne Hillan think this issue is going away, they are welcome to come around and check my stats. Considering that this was posted months ago, this is a truly awesome number.

2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zlc12g6TJYI/Si10e79Hv6I/AAAAAAAAAsM/YqFJyyBgVEs/s1600-h/scan0001.jpg


Nothing pleases me more than the interest this blog has generated in the sheltered housing issue.

Heartfelt Thanks to Brian Coleman for raising awareness of Barnet Councils Cruel Sheltered Housing Policy

I was half way through writing a blog when I got an alert to say that a blog had just been posted about Sheltered Housing Warden Cuts in Barnet. Don't Call Me Dave, a lifelong Conservative supporter has just posted this blog - http://www.notthebarnettimes.co.uk/2009/10/save-our-wardens.html  -  I couldn't possibly hope to write anything anywhere near as moving, so I'm not going to try.

For those of you who don't know David, he's a life long Conservative, from a stalwart Conservative family. He doesn't criticise the Conservative Party lightly. His blog today is not in his usual style. It evoked the same outrage and disgust I felt when I attended the Cabinet meeting where Mike Freer's Barnet Conservatives passed the policy to abolish the wardens. At that meeting I saw elderly Barnet residents, many of whom had been natural Conservatives shaking with fear and impotence. I saw old ladies crying when the decision was announced. Afterwards I talked to many of the residents who were affected. Many of them had heard that "The Barnet Eye" was fighting to save the wardens and so told me all manner of stories. David Young, who is organising the legal challenge, explained how his Lawyer Yvonne Hossacks would be challenging the decision in the High Court.

Decent people like David Young, people who are well into their retirement, people who should be seeing out their twighlight years in peace and security, should not have to be spending their savings fighting a Council which has a duty of care to look after them.

I have a special message for the Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman. Thank You. As a result of the poisonous lies you've told about me, many people have visited my blog and performed word searches using the term "Jewish". Many of them have hit this blog.

http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/06/time-for-barnets-jewish-community-to.html

Several of these new readers have contacted me to say that they had no idea of the terrible suffering Coleman/Freer/Hillan's policy is causing to the Elderly Jewish population in Barnet. Many of these people support the Conservative Party, but want nothing at all to do with this policy and WILL NOT be voting for the Conservatives locally whilst the current administration is in place. So thank you Mayor Coleman for helping me raise awareness of this most important of issues. We all value our parents, I wish the good Lord had spared mine for a few more years. If anyone in the Conservative administration thinks that this issue will go away, they have completely lost touch with reality. These are Mum's & Dad's, Grannies and Grandad's you are terrorising. Whole extended families are affected and trust me, none of them will be giving you their votes come next May.