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

Proof that the Barnet Conservatives really are rubbish !

I thought I'd visit the Barnet Conservatives website, just to see what they are up to *OFFICIALLY*

Check it out for yourself :-


http://barnetconservatives.com/

Impressive? I don't blame them, I'd be embarrassed as well - Ha Ha Ha

We've also obtained this picture, taken illegally of the Barnet Conservative Councillors voting for Lynne Hillan in the confidence debate last night.

The short one with the rather long arms is Robert Rams. Mrs Angry reports on her blog that when Hillan won the vote, she was kissed by Andrew Harper. Given his plans for her, do you think he paid himself 30 pieces of silver?

As for Brian Coleman, didn't he realise that it has to be a beautiful princess for the toad transformation business to work.

Old Toady has been having a bad day all round - seems like he's taken another hefty whack in the pocket, courtesy of Boris. This on top of the sack as Barnet Tory Chief whip.

And the funniest news on the Tory front is about Mike Freer MP. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that one though. To much richness in one day causes indigestion

Beauty?

I took this picture on my walks around Arrandene open space in Mill Hill. A fine old tree in the snow, artistically decorated with a graffiti tag. Has this tree been decorated in such a way to artistically enhance the beauty of one of Mill Hill's most fantastic open spaces? Or is it just an unintelligent yobbos way of "marking" rather like cats urinating on the garden fence?

I've spent my life trying to get people to be creative and artistic. When I asked the council what they are doing about graffiti in Barnet, they gave me details of how they have "cleaning squads", how they've "targetted" graffiti artists. How they've increased the number of police and PCSO's on the beat.

Why is it so far beyond the wit of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan, Mike Freer, the whole lot of them, to wake up to the fact that this is the result of boredom and lack of facilities for youngsters? When I was at Finchley Catholic High School, I got caught writing an obscene message about a female member of staff on the wall of the boys toilet. Sadly for me, I was caught by the teacher she was married to. As the teacher quite liked me, he arranged for me to repaint the boys toilets, at my own expense, over the half term. He agreed not to tell the headmaster, who was looking for a reason to expel me at the time.

There are plenty of old folks who have flats that could do with a lick of paint. Is it that hard to figure out a solution to this and maybe give a few youngsters a useful skill.

Hot Press : BBC reports Barnet Council have lost £8 Million in Icelandic Bank Glitnr

Hot Press. The Barnet Tories under Lynne Hillan and Mike Freer have been claiming that we'd get all of our money back. The BBC have said that we will lose £8 Million of the £12 million we had in Glitnr. All of this is because the Tory Administration neglected to check up properly on our council officials. If like me you sat through the debates after the event, you will know that Former Leader Freer repeatedly said "The money hasn't been lost". Mike Freer wants to be the MP for Finchley and Golders Green. Nuff said

The Barnet Eye Challenge - Where would you buy your bogroll?

Ok, simple question. You want to buy a pack of Andrex toilet tissues because it's your favourite. There are three shops in Mill Hill which sell it. Which shop would you go to?

Shop A is run by Mr Freer who is a Tory?
Shop B is run by Mrs Moore who is Labour?
Shop C is run by Mr Davies who is a Lib Dem?

The answer? You'd probably go to the one who sold the toilet paper cheapest. Now just suppose that Shop A has a big sign in the window which says "our toilet roll is 5p cheaper than the other shops". Just suppose you bought the toilet roll and found out that Mr Smith was telling porkies and it's the same price. Would you go back to him? I don't know about you, but I'd certainly think twice. Just suppose you found that it was 5p more expensive? How would you feel then? My guess is that you'd give him a piece of your mind and that would be the last time you went in that shop.

Just suppose that Mr Smith in shop A told you, when you queried the cost "Well it should be 5p cheaper, but I lost all my money in an Icelandic bank which promised a high rate of interest but went bust, so I had to make it more expensive" Would you say thats OK, I'm happy to be ripped off? Just suppose Mr Smiths shop had been there for 50 years and you'd always gone in there? Would you think it was OK that he'd mislead you?

The reason I ask you this is because many people will vote for Conservative Councillors in the 2010 council elections. They do so because they think that they'll get lower council taxes. Sadly there is more to delivering low cost services than just saying you are going to do it. Let me explain.

In 2009 Band E Council Tax in Barnet is £1739. In the Borough next door, Brent it is £1672.

What was it in 2004 when the Tories took control of Barnet?
Band E Council Tax in Barnet was £1483. In the Borough next door, Brent it was £1558.

7 years of the Tories has seen Brent become a cheaper place to live than Barnet. What is the difference between the two councils? Brent is run by the Lib Dems, Barnet is run by the Conservatives. In 2004 when the Tories took over from a council run by a Lib Dem and Labour coalition, the tax was lower. I have no doubt that many Tories in Barnet dream of having a low tax administration, but the facts speak for themselves. The current bunch of Tories at the Town Hall have a track record of failure. They cut vital services such as the Sheltered Housing wardens, whilst wasting cash left, right and centre with crazy and wasteful schemes.

I don't believe in slashing vital services. I don't believe in making tax cuts the no 1 priority, but I passionately believe in doing the job properly. I believe that this will deliver savings, without badly thought out slash and burn cost cutting. I have a strong background in running a business, one which is successful in a very competetive marketplace. Why? because I check the detail. Sadly most of the waste at Barnet has come because our Tory lords and masters couldn't be bothered to check details or ask the officials difficult questions. They then complained that "officials hadn't told them the truth".

The people of Barnet deserve better. My advice to you. Before you buy your Andrex or anything else, check that the price really is cheaper. Before you cast your vote, check whether the party you are voting for really does what it says on the tin.

Leader Listens? it's a bit hard with the comments turned off !

The Leader of Barnet Council has a blog, paid for by the taxpayer (not like this blog which is free). Why does he have it? Supposedly to engage in two way dialog with the taxpayers of Barnet (ie me and you). Now you'd think that calling it Leader Listens means he'd welcome comments. You'd think he'd LISTEN to them. Well rather like the old Stalinist Communist Newspaper Pravda (translates to "Truth"). It is actuallty the total opposite of what it says on the tin. I left a comment on there a couple of weeks ago and I've been checking in to see if Mike ever printed it.

Well not only has he not printed it, he's turned comments off completely. Check out the screen shot

You can click here to see LEADERLISTENS.COM in all it's glory. In this post Mike Freer claims he has nothing to hide in his expenses. Well there is one thing he definately wants to hide - My comments. If you were wondering what the question was that Mike was so reticent about answering, click here to see the post with the comment saved from my Blog.

How long can Mike go on calling it Leader Listens, before he realises what a prize plonker he's starting to look? It's quite simple Mike, just tell us what this entertainment was and be done with it. What is there to hide?

In the world of Twits, the one handed leader is King !!!!!

The Mayor of Barnet, The extremely honourable Brian Coleman famously stated that Twitter was for Twits, shortly after his boss, Council Leader Mike Freer started Twittering. As we know Brian Coleman suffers from an obscure variant form of Tourettes Syndrome, whereby he loudly shouts the most inappropriate response possible (or sometimes emails it) at every possible opportunity. Once in a while, you do wonder if he had a point.

I just had a look at Mike Freer's recent Twitterings and for once, I have to conclude that Brian Coleman has hit the nail on the head.

If ever you needed an insight into the tortured workings of Mr Freer's brain here it is. There are 5 Tweets and they graphically demonstrate vain yet thin skinned nature of Mr Freer's personality. He wants to be an MP, but let's face it, running the council has proven beyond him, so why he thinks he'd be any good in the bearpit of Parliament, heaven only knows.

Lets go through them.

Nick Raynesford writes a well argued article about Future Shape. What does Freer call it? Ill informed. Of course, like all Freer sniping, he doesn't actually justify his comment.Freer calls all of the critics of Future Shape "ill informed", even though some of us have read every single document he's published. If we are ill informed, it's because the quality of information is poor.

Unemployment up 67% in Barnet. Mike Shrieks "Shocking". Quite ironic given the posts before and after. Under his Future Shape scheme and his plans to cut wardens, many local jobs are being destroyed. Families of sacked council workers will fall into poverty. I wonder if Mike was any good at "Join the Dots" puzzles when he was a nipper?

The Child Poverty Action group call for social solidarity - ie people to help each other and be good neighbours. Like a good Stalinist, Freer responds "out of touch" and says we need "targeted action". I'm sure he's drawing up a five year plan to address Child poverty in Barnet as we speak.

Next up he tells us he's flattered to be in the list of the 1,000 most influential Londoners. Let's face it he's in charge of a London Borough, it would be a bit odd if he wasn't on the list. being "influential" doesn't necessarily mean being any good. If someone asked you to make a list of the 1,000 most influential figures of the last century, it wouldn't be a great party to attend, would it?

Last of all, he fumes at "Lazy Journalism" over his councils purchase of some rather expensive laptop Computers. It's actually a rather bizarre comment, considering that  there is a lengthy quote, 11 lines long, from his deputy leader, Lynne Hillan. She gets a far bigger say than opposition leader Alison Moore who only gets four lines. If he thinks journalists are lazy for giving lengthy quotes to his deputy, then he should get a better deputy.

Mike really should learn that criticism is constructive and should always be considered. Only a fool dismisses it out of hand in the manner he does. If he'd actually listened to some of it from day one, he'd be running a far more effective administration now.

Mike Freer : We've got nothing to hide (except your comments)

Leader of Barnet Council Mike Freer says on his latest "Leader Listens" blog

I trust publishing these figures here will demonstrate to critics and cynics, and to you, that Barnet has nothing to hide.

 Strange really that he chooses to hide the comment I left?

Rog T

Posted November 7, 2009 at 11:03 am | Permalink

Your comment is awaiting moderation. Mike,
Please can you share with us exactly what this £417.20 in “Entertainment” was. I presume it wasn’t for a troupe of dancing girls to entertain you prior to your last cabinet meeting?

Are the Barnet Tories really just the biggest Practical Joke of all time?

Many moons ago, I was sitting in the pub with a couple of mates who were anarchists and followers of the band Crass. They were having a conversation about trying to destroy "the establishment". I was trying to chat up one of the guy's sisters ( who was, shall we say, on another planet to the rest of the people at the table). The guy suddenly cottoned on to my hidden agenda and decided that he'd pick an argument. "How would you destroy the establishment then, come on lets hear your ideas". I responded that, if I were them, I'd join the Conservative party en mass, pretend to be respectable, then screw things up to such an extent that the whole system collapsed. The guy had a horrified look and said "but how could you possibly join THE CONSERVATIVES". I responded that if I wanted to destroy the establishment, that would be the first place to join. I then berated the chap for "not being a proper anarchist and lacking commitment". He was rather upset, but his sister found the whole concept rather funny.

I saw her on the train today, first time in years. "How's John" I enquired. She replied "He's now a pillock of the establishment". I asked if this was a cunning plan to destroy the system from inside. She responded "Oh, you know John, he doesn't think like that". She then said something which shocked me. "I've been following your blog. Do you think the Barnet Tories are a bunch of fifth columnists who are hell bent on destroying the Tories from inside?"

I'd honestly never thought of it, but she made a compelling case (she's now a Journalist). Is it possible that measures such as the sky high allowances for Councillors (far bigger than the recommended rates suggested by the independant committee) are purely a clever wheeze to undermine trust in our elected representatives. As for Brian Coleman's rampant disregard for anything remotely resembling manners in his behaviour. Could this possibly be anything else other than a wheeze to destroy faith in our elected representatives. What about the cuts to Sheltered Housing wardens? Can anyone who has a heart possibly think this is a policy which would do anything other than upset voters. We all have parents and grandparents and no one wants them to suffer the stress that Barnet Council are inflicting on this most cherished group of people. As for the Icelandic fiasco. What better way to upset people than through their pockets? As for the Easycouncil concept. If you were going to pick a concept, would you pick one that is associated with hidden charges, poor customer service and hassle for it's customers? The strangest thing is the way the inner cabal seem to pick the very worst Councillors for important roles. In the past couple of days I've highlighted ridiculous statements from Councillor Matthew Offord and Councillor Richard Cornelius. Any sensible person reading these statements would immediately conclude that they just ain't up to the job.

There are several realistic possibilities. They could be a group of Anarchist infiltrators, bent on destroying the system. They could be a group of pranksters who have just pulled off the biggest practical joke of all time. Maybe they really are as useless as they seem. I don't know, but I do know that even a few friends who are died in the wool Tories have told me they'll be voting Lib-Dem at the next election, as they couldn't possibly vote for Freer and co. Whatever the scheme is, it seems to be working.

Oh, and on a different subject, as we parted on the train, my friends sister said something rather chilling to me "You know that the political classes have put a lid on the whole expenses scandal.The whole business is being stage managed with a few sacrificial lambs being thrown to the dogs. They looked into the abyss and they were scared by what they saw. That's why they closed the whole issue down".

Barnet is full of Nutters !!!!!!!

Are you a nutter? According to the Leader of Barnet Council, you are if you agree with me ! I thought I'd give all my legion of readers a chance to take the "Are You a Nutter test". It's very simple you just choose from answers A, B or C. If you answer A, then you agree with me. If you answer B, you agree with the leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer and if you answer C, you don't know, don't care or hate the pair of us. All of the questions are based on criticisms I've made of Mike Freer.  For Every A give yourself 10 points, Every B give yourself 0 points and for every C Give yourself 5 points.

1. Do you agree with the Statement "If I had £400,000 of taxpayers money I'd rather spend it on Wardens for the Elderly in Sheltered housing, to keep them safe, than Fat Cat Allowances for Councillors".
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

2. Do you agree with statement "If a popular Leader of a Party wins a Council election, increasing his parties majority, it is completely undemocratic to get rid of him before the ink is dry on the ballot forms and replace him with a new Leader who is "ideologically sound""?
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

3. Do you a agree with the statement "If a Councillor is paid a "responsibility allowance" of several thousand pounds a year to look after the Borough's finances, it is his responsibility if the rules aren't followed and £27.4 Million pounds of Taxpayers money is lost"?
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

4. Do you agree with the following statement "At a time when many families in the Borough are suffering terrible financial hardship, do you think it is scandalous that Council officials are spending thousands of pounds on jollies to the South of France to attend "property development conferences"?
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

5. Do you agree with the following statement "At a time of extreme financial hardship for many families, raising the cost of burying dead babies in Barnet, by many times the rate of inflation is cruel, callous and heartless"?
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither


6. Do you agree with the following statement "A Councillor who keeps a Taxi waiting for five hours, running up a bill of £396.00 when attending a banquet, then claiming the money back from us Taxpayers, has shown he is not up to the job of being "Mayor of Barnet".?
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

7. Do you agree with the following statement "Council meetings should be recorded and put on the Internet unless there are overriding privacy or security issues, so that we can all find out what is going on?"
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

8. Do you agree with the following statement "It is highly inappropriate for Barnet Council to appoint a Conservative activist as it's communications supremo, a highly sensitive, non political role, at a massive salary at huge expense to the taxpayer"?
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

9. Do you agree with the following statement "Paying a taxpayer funded allowance of several thousand pounds to the chief whips of political parties in Barnet is a scandalous waste of money, and is of no benefit to the Taxpayer"
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

10. Do you agree with the Following statement "The Leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer would be a far more credible Leader of the Council if he spent his time sorting these issues out, rather than continually trying to get his face on telly and in the papers."
A - I agree , B - I Disagree, C - Neither

Ok, add up your scores.

0-20 - You are a true Freerite and Mike would be Proud of you - You are probably a Barnet Tory Councillor or a Barnet Tory Councillors mum.

20-40 - You used to be a Freerite, but you are getting better

40-60 - You clearly think there's big room for improvement in Mike Freer's Barnet regime, but you think Rog T is a bit of a knob as well

60-80 - You are pretty sick of Barnet Council and think it's time for Freer to go.

80 - 100 - Mike Freer thinks your a nutter, but I wouldn't loose too much sleep over that.

Councillor Lynne Hillan - The most loathesome woman in Barnet

Councillor Lynne Hillan is the architect of the Council's policy of abolishing the wardens in the Barnet Council Sheltered housing schemes. What does she really think of the idea to cut the number of wardens by 75% and make them have to travel from scheme to scheme in busy traffic?

Well her mum used to be in a Sheltered housing scheme, with a warden. Shortly before the cuts were publicly announced, Hillan moved her mother to another scheme, where the wardens are being retained.

Her Barnet Tory Cabinet Colleague refused to visit one such scheme to discuss the cuts, announcing that it would be "too upsetting".

Now when I thought about describing Lynne Hillan in such harsh terms, I thought to myself. Could I be accused of being too harsh? Could there be a more loathesome woman in Barnet? Well let me explain why I handed her this rather unpleasant title.

1. She is clearly aware of the effect that the change would have, otherwise she'd have left her mum where she was.

2. There are hundreds of old and vulnerable people in Barnet, who currently have wardens. They are contemplating the future with trepidation, stress and fear.  This is all Lynne Hillans fault as it's her scheme.

3. Stress is one of the primary causes of premature death. Lynne Hillan is subjecting hundreds of elderly Barnet residents to high stress levels. This will inevitably lead to some deaths. Again Lynne Hillan is responsible.

4. She is responsible for 78 year old David Young to have to engage in a costly and stressful court battle against Barnet Council. This will eat up thousands of pounds of his money. Is this any way to treat a man in the twighlight of his life? Lynne Hillan thinks so.

5. We all love our Mums, Dads, Grandpas and Grandpas. Lynne Hillan has made sure her mum was Ok, but she doesn't give a stuff about anyone elses. If she did she'd have killed this awful cut long ago.

6. As the Jewish Chronicle has pointed out, there are more elderly Jewish people in Sheltered accomodation in Barnet than anywhere else in the country. Many of these people survived horrors and some lost whole families during the war. Hate crimes are on the increase in Barnet, yet Lynne Hillan seeks to remove the security and safety of an on-site warden.

For all these reasons, I cannot think of anyone else who could possibly qualify for the title.Lynne Hillan could have stopped all of this months ago. I sincerely hope that in the Council elections next May, the people of Barnet stand up and show Lynne Hillan what they  think of her.

Oh and before anyone says "we need to save money", here's a chart showing how the Council could save twice what they are saving through cutting wardens, without affecting a single front line service or hurting a single old lady (Thanks to Don't Call Me Dave for the info).

The basic dishonesty of the Brent Cross / Cricklewood redevelopment

The picture shown above is one that forms part of the artists illustration of the Brent Cross /Cricklewood redevelopment scheme.  It was the one which they've been punting to the papers such as the Hendon Times.Now take a look at this picture taken from google earth of how it looks today. I've added a nice pink arrow to show which angle the artists impression is looking from.

As you may notice, the way it is represented by the artist, it looks like there's a lovely green area that is part of the development, however this is a bit of the land adjacent to the plan and unaffected by it.

Now look at this picture.

On this picture I've helpfully put a border around the part of the artists picture which actually shows the development. Now if I was an architect and I was proud of my designs, would I give greater promennance to the sky, the allotements and the playing fields than my lovely buildings. Well, yes I would, if I was trying to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. If I was trying to pretend the plan was a fantastic, green, innovative design, when really it was a high rise hell, comprising rabbit hutch flats.

The evidence is there. How can they possibly think this is a great plan, if they hide it like this. You'll note that the high rise element is in the far distance. I saw the picture and thought "that looks quite nice" until I analysed it. Then I though "cheeky B*******s".

What disturbs me is that when Councillor Maureen Braun chairs the planning committee, people might fall for this ruse. Her political master, Councillor Mike Freer is speaking in favour of the proposal. Of course, I'm sure this won't put her under any pressure at all. Interestingly enough, even Councillor Brian Coleman thinks it's a rotten plan and has come out against it. What is the difference between Coleman and Freer? Well Mike Freer doesn't come from Barnet and he's hoping to move to Westminster some time soon. Brian Coleman has lived in Barnet all his life and plans to hang around.
What does this tell you?

Who do you trust? Brian Coleman or Don't Call Me Dave

Today Don't Call Me Dave, Barnet's most sensible Tory, has a great blog exposing the secrecy culture eating away at the heart of Barnet Council. Although I'm a swivel eyed Trotskyite and David is a dyed in the wool Tory, we both agree that transparency in government is vital. There is only one reason that in this day and age that a council wouldn't want to record council meetings and let the public have free access to these. That is because they don't want us to know what they are up to. Councils such as Barnet do not plan clandestine operations against foreign powers. They collect our waste, run our schools and arrange for carers to look after our sick and elderly (at least they are supposed to). Little of their business warrents secrecy. The public can attend council meetings (except when councillors decide to chuck them out) but no wider record of this is available.

What would happen if Barnet recorded meetings and made them publicly available. Well one thing I can guarantee is that people like Don't Call Me Dave and myself would regularly draw your attention to what they've said and they wouldn't be able to deny it. Decide for yourself whether that would be a good or bad thing. I consider Barnet to be rather lucky. We've got several blogs which represent all political views. DCMD and Richard Weider are Conservatives, VickiM and myself are left wingers. There is balance. I've read every single blog DCMD has ever written. As a result I know 1,000 times more about the workings of Barnet Council than I did before he started it. Unlike Council Leader Mike Freer's Barnet Pravda.com  blog, it is interesting, informative and readable.

Whilst DCMD and myself disagree about many things political, we both passionately believe in open, honest and clean administration. We both write blogs because we want The London Borough of Barnet to be a better place. We both love the area with a passion and we both want to see our Council be well run.

Today in the Ham & High, Brian Coleman launches an unprecedented attack on bloggers. He calls us a Cancer. Why? Because we've highlighted his shenanigans. He claims we undermine the publics faith in politicians. It doesn't occur to Mayor Coleman that people don't like taxpayer funded excess. If Brian Coleman wants bloggers to write nice things about him, maybe he should stop saying outrageous things, reign in his expenses and start acting as if he was a "public servant".

The reason Great Britain is a successful country which is a mostly fantastic place to live is because we have a free press and people can express their opinions. Brian Coleman himself used European Human rights legislation as his defence for insulting and smearing me. Coleman lost this case because whilst we all have a right to free speech, no one is allowed to make libellous accusations if they are a public servant. I don't know if Brian Coleman suffers from a rare form of Tourettes syndrome, but was he really incapable of telling someone he didn't like them without being abusive and making wholly unsubstantiated allegations.

And therin lies what I perceive the problem to be. Whilst Barnet Council is dominated by  people such as Brian Coleman and Council Leader Freer who descibes his opponents as "nutters" and other more repulsive terms, it is probably quite a prudent move for them to ban recording of meetings. I mean heaven forbid if we could actually hold them to account.

So who do you trust more? Dont Call Me Dave who campaigns for open government and honest policies or Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman who fights it tooth and nail and wants even more censorship of the Internet than the Communist government of China has introduced.

Do you think Rupert Murdoch and the Sun have visited Barnet Recently

"The Sun" has come out in favour of the Conservative party. Let me remind you of what the Party Rupert Murdoch supports has done in Barnet, where it has power.
* Imposed a budget cut to abolish Sheltered Housing Wardens for the Borough's Elderly and Infirm
* Spent millions on consultants to write reports about reports about reports, none of which seem to lead anywhere
* Lost £27.4 million by borrowing money to invest in high interest accounts in Icelandic banks, which went bust
* Spent £15,000 on Tellies for senior Council officers
* Increased allowances for Councillors so that they now cost over £1 Million
* Overspent by £11 million on the £12 million Aerodrome Road Bridge project, leaving another huge hole in Council reserves
* Used depleted reserves to artificially keep Council Tax low, in the year before an election, despite describing the previous Lib/Lab administration as "criminally negligent" for doing the same
* Spent taxpayers money to put  video clips of people making neo-nazi statements on You Tube, proclaiming anti-semitic propaganda. (This was only removed following pressure from the Bloggers of Barnet)
* Spent Taxpayers money sending Council Leader Mike Freer and former CEO Leo Boland on jollies to America.
* Spent Taxpayers money sending Council officers on Jollies to the South of France to attend "property development conferences".
* Raised Council tax by levels many times higher than inflation
* Raised the cost of burying dead babies by many times the rate of inflation, hitting bereaved parents where it hurts at their most vulnerable time possible
* Used Taxpayers cash to launch a standards complaint against a solicitor representing the elderly and disabled of Barnet, purely for doing too good a job

What sort of people are running the Conservative Party in Barnet?

Council Leader Mike Freer - Describes his opponents as Nutters and claims they masturbate while criticising him, during a recorded interview (podcast) as Council leader

Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman -  The first Mayor of Barnet to be found guilty of a breach of the Standards Code whilst in office. What did he do about this to make amends? He went on a Champagne fuelled binge to celebrate

Hendon Parliamentary Candidate, Former Deputy Leader Matthew Offord. Boasted about arranging Contractors for Aerodrome Road on the Hendon Conservatives website. Those contractors were responsible for the £11 Million cost overrun. As Cabinet Member for community safety has allowed areas of the Borough to become no go zones.

Deputy Leader Lynn Hillan  - Claims that Barnet Council listens to residents. Ignored the 85% of residents who took part in the Sheltered Housing Warden consultation who said "Keep our wardens". According to Councillor Hillan "We know best"

And then there's the Tory Councillor who described the whole of the Labour group as freaks, there's the one who said "residents expect us to wipe their arses" (forgetting that many Council carers do just that for the disabled), and the one who said he didn't want to talk to elderly residents who are facing the loss of their wardens because "it was too upsetting".

I must confess I don't know any of the Tory Councillors too well. I can't tell you what they are really like, but the man they chose as Mayor, Brian Coleman said they are all completely self obsessed, whilst under oath, talking  to a standards investigator. And how does Mr Coleman view himself? I'll leave the last word to him. This is what he said about the Tories picking him as Mayor (this is bottom of page 8 in his witness statement).

What Brian Coleman told the Standards investigator in his interview

During the course of the Standards Complaint interview between Councillor Brian Coleman and Melanie Carter, the independent investigator, Brian Coleman said many things which require a bit closer scrutiny. Some because they are, shall we say "slightly at odds with things of public record", some because they are funny, and some because a few people might be rather surprised that Brian Coleman said them. These are taken from my scanned copy of his statement. This document was published on the Council's website among the background papers.

There are other things which I could have also included, but to quote Mayor Coleman, "life's too short".

In this extract, Brian Coleman states that I turn up at virtually every residents forum an I attack people. There are approx 18 of these a year in Barnet. I've been to 3 in my life. At the last one I went to, I asked a question about the state of the football pitches at Burnt Oak Leisure Centre, where my son plays football. This is a matter of public record.

I've never stood for Council (although having seen how rotten the Standards process is, I'm seriously thinking about it). This again is a matter of public record. I cannot believe that Brian Coleman would make such a claim without checking his facts. 

In this answer he specifically accuses me of making an anti semitic statement and being a homophobe. With regards to the Anti semitic statement, the phrase he refers to is one that a Barnet Council video featured on it's You Tube website. I stridently criticised the council for allowing this to be featured. You can read the blog here which details the incident.

http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2008/10/barnet-councils-incompetance-puts-nazi.html

Coleman and his legal team must have known this. My blog is all on public record. There is no homophobia and no anti semitism. If there was, Coleman's £10,000 lawyer would have been over it like a rash. One other point regarding the Watling festival. I was actually organising a 5-a-side tournament for 8-10 year olds when Coleman turned up. Anyone who has ever organised an event for 50 children will know you are too busy to behave in the way Coleman alleges. Ho hum.

Now this is the Barnet Eye, we like to look at the funnier side of things as well. We've well documented Brian Coleman's speech impediment "Call me Bwian" - Anyway, here's a video of Mayor Coleman. Does he preonounce "R"s as "W"'s as I said (comparing him to Monty Pythons Pontius Pilate in the Life of Brian) or not.  As ever, you be the judge.



Another highlight. This is something which I totally believe Brian Coleman when he says it. He tells us what his Tory Colleagues think of the Barnet Eye and what they are really like. Sound like a lovely bunch, don't they. I wonder if Freer, Hillan, Offord, Tambourides, Hart, etc recognise themselves from Brian Colemans description

Last but by no means least. A little quote that quite a few people may enjoy.

 

I'm having a couple of days off blogging. I'll be back nice and sharp at 11am on Wednesday, so until then, adios amigo's.I've got a song to write for a great singer and I need to cleans my soul of Brian Coleman. To all my Jewish friends and readers I wish you a fullfilling fast and to everyone else enjoy what's left of the weekend and I hope like me you've enjoyed the weather.I'm off to have a glass of wine and pick up my guitar.

Brian Coleman really isn't the problem in Barnet

There are many things wrong with the local political scene in Barnet. I've written hundreds of blogs on the subject. It may surprise you to know that the vast majority of these don't mention our beloved Mayor Brian Coleman. Whilst I may have rather strong views on him, I can honestly say that I don't think he's the problem, he's just a symptom.

Having reflected on the background of my standards complaint and having seen the standards process in action, I think it demonstrates all that is wrong with Barnet Council. Let me explain to you why I say this. I believe that the root cause of the problem is that senior Councillors and Council officers have lost sight of why they are there. They should be their to ensure that local services run as smoothly as possible and that the weak and vulnerable in Barnet are well looked after. They should try and make the environment in Barnet as pleasant as is possible for the residents. They should be respectful of the people who pay their wages (the taxpayer) and be prepared to engage and discuss issues with these people, no matter how difficult the individual may be.

Given that the catalyst that started the whole process was Council Leader Mike Freer, describing his critics as "nutters" and "one handed bloggers", it is clear straight away that the leader has no respect for anyone that disagrees with him. When I wrote a polite email to the ruling group of Councillors, a senior member, Mayor Coleman thought the appropriate response was to reply to all recipients in an offensive manner. Did the group think "This guy has just abused a member of the public, he's out of control". No they did not, they elected him as Mayor, despite being under no illusion whatsoever, that he thought abusing the public was fine and dandy. Surely a few of them must have realised that this was a clear breach of the Standards code. Both Lib Dem leader Jack Cohen and Labour leader Alison Moore realised this immediately. The next sorry step on the trail was when Mayor Coleman asked Council Leader Mike Freer for a £10,000 indemnity to fight the case. I've spoken to lawyers and trade Union officials about this. They've all told me that the sensible thing to do would be to have apologised and drawn a line under it. That would have been the end of the matter. Now Mike Freer had seen the email exchange. Did he think "This is directly related to me, I cannot make an objective and transparent decision here". As Mr Coleman rounded off his email to me by saying "The Leader is totally right" and as it is crystal clear that Freer saw this, he was compromised. If he believed that Mayor Coleman had a good case, why didn't he let Council CEO Nick Walkley make the decision? He approved the decision to give Coleman an indemnity using delegated powers, meaning it was totally up to him. Barnet Council had an insurance policy that covered standards complaints. Coleman could have used this at no cost to the taxpayer. He chose not to and thought the taxpayer should foot the bill.

At no time in Mayor Coleman's defence did he say that his email didn't breach the code. He knew it did. His defence was that he was provoked and that the fact that he couldn't tell me to bog off without being disrespectful was a breach of his human rights. From all the paperwork, he actually admitted the breach all along, just claimed mitigating circumstances.

So we have a case being fought for vanity. A leader who instigated the sorry matter. Whilst the council cut thousands of pounds in grants from hard working volunteers, the Leader happily sanctions the spending of £10,000 on a case that was doomed to fail from day one. Not only that, but one which could have been avoided by an apology. The cost could have been avoided by using the insurance policy. Why didn't Freer send Mayor Coleman down this route? Because Brian Coleman was actually defending Mike Freer, in the only way he knew how, when he got himself into trouble.

Finally this takes us on to the actual hearing. The way this works is there is an impartial investigator who prepares the report. They present their findings. The defendant's legal representative then gets their say. I asked for the right to address the committee, as I felt that there were points which needed to be brought to the committee's attention. I was denied this right. I was told that only the defence could speak to the committee. To me this goes against natural justice. In any normal hearing, there is a prosecution as well as a defence. Normally these standards hearings are held in private. It seems to me as if they are there to serve the purposes of councillors, far more than the public.

Which brings me to my perception of the problem in Barnet. Sheltered wardens are cut, whilst Councillors allowances go up. Parents of dead babies see funeral charges rise, whilst councillors and council officials go on jollies to the USA and Cannes for "conferences". We have a Council leader who holds the public in contempt, but no cost is too much for defending his political allies. In short, the council is being run for the benefit of the senior ruling councillors and the senior officials.

The Barnet Eye Challenge !!!!

The Barnet Eye is always one to put it's money where it's mouth is. Today we announce the Barnet Eye Challenge. There is a great prize on offer - A Pot Noodle dinner for Two at Mill Hill Music Complex whilst watching the Mighty False Dots (my band), Mill Hill's finest Rock and Roll band in a rehearsal. How could you possibly resist that treat.

The challenge is a simple one. Since the Tories got in, my Council Tax has gone up by nearly £1,000 a year. If anyone can tell me what what extra things I'm getting for my £1,000 a year, then you win. How much have Council workers wages gone up since then (front line workers, not directors or Councillors allowances?). In the words of the song -Where has all the money gone?

Uncle Charlie's Dead - but Barnet's got Talent

I had writers block for a while, but a comment from one of my regular contributors, "Pat" cured it - more of that later ! Anyway thanks to Pat, I've reprised an idea I've been working on for a while. Tell me what you think?

We are set in Barneii, a suburb of the great city of Londinium, set on the side of a volcano, in the last decadent days of a failing civilisation. The Borough Council abolished sheltered housing wardens a short while ago and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Casting

Freerstone Michaels - Council Leader (A Brian Glover type character)

Miss Ermentrude Hilarious - Deputy Leader ( Hyacynth Bucket when happy/ Hilda Odgen when agitated)

Coley Brianman - Mayor who loves wearing the full regalia (A Michael Gambon type character)

Offley Mattford - the former deputy Leader, keen to curry favour with the boss and et his job back (a Baldrick type figure)

Any resemblense to any real person is purely coincidental and purely reflect the type of people who may find themselves involved in local government

Uncle Charlie's Dead

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Scene 1

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Set in Leader's sumptuous office, large plasma telly on desk. FM sit's at desk, CB reclines in armchair, OM stands to attention, towel over arm.

FM: Offley, get me a tea now. I'm thirsty

CB: Tea?? I want my dinner

FM: Dinner Cole, It's only 10 past 10?

CB: I'm hungry !!!!

EH enters the rooms

FM: Ermie, what on earth is the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost

EH: Disaster, disaster, we have a problem

FM: Calm down dear ! Tell your leader all about it

EH: You know those Horrible wardens we abolished. Well one of the Tenants in a flat has had a fall. He lay there for 14 hours before anyone noticed. The warden used to pop in every morning to check. He would have found him and may have saved him.

FM: So what? Offley, I told you to get , me a tea

CB: I want my dinner !

EH: No, you don't understand, the press have got hold of the news, the BBC are on their way over.

FM: Calm down dear, Offley get her a tea !!!!

OM: Yes, boss, shall I get her a biscuit

FM: Just get her a tea. Look it's not a problem. I'll get on telly again and I can tell them how much money we've saved and what a great job I'm doing. Who is this silly old fool who's dead anyway?

EH: His name is Charlie McFarley. Everyone on the estate knows him as Uncle Charlie. He to coaches the local football team. He's a real local hero.

EH: You don't understand. What will happen when the bloggers get hold of it?

CB: Bloggers, Bloggers, Bloggers, Bloggers !!!! (CB starts movin his arm rather rapidly under his robe of office)

FM: Ermy, don't say that word. You know how excited that makes him !

EM: Sorry Boss, I forgot myself. What about Charlie MacFarley, we're doomed !!!

FM: Oh well, look on the bright side, that's one less grant we'll have to pay next year. If they all died it would save us a fortune. We could raise our allowances again

CB: I want my dinner, hungry, hungry, hungry !!!!!

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End scene 1

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Copyright R Tichborne 2009

So what do you think? Ken Loach showed up for the Future Shape rally, maybe he'll make us a You Tube video of it for us. Maybe I'll stage a Barnet's Got Talent show for a casting and we could put it on at the Arts Depot? We could ask Mike Freer, Lynn Hillan, Brian Coleman and Matthew Offord as guests of honour. I'm sure they'd really enjoy it !

Thanks to Pat for his comment about Uncle Charlie's Dead. We wrote that song in 1979. It was about corporate neglect of the elderly. Maybe I'll write an updated version. It is great to hear that some of my ex band members are still angry enough about mistreatment of the elderly to still include it in their set. It is also great to see that it's the one which really moved Pat (Here's the full blog and comments)- It's just sad that 30 years on a song about neglect of the elderly is still relevant and memorable. Here's Pat's comment about the song. :-

pat said...

Best original song they did was "Uncle Charlies Dead". I can't really remember others.

16 June 2009 08:30

Barnet Council : Only following orders ?

If you work for Barnet Council and are in any way involved in the provision of Sheltered accomodation, you may wish to consider the following points.

The officers of Barnet Council's primary role is to serve the residents of Barnet, not the political whims of Councillors who behave in an undemocratic fashion. The current policy to abolish sheltered housing wardens has no democratic legitimacy for the following reasons :-

1) The proposal was not mentioned in the Tory manifesto at the last Council elections.
2) Mike Freer was not the Leader when the Tories were last elected. He deposed the elected leader, Brian Salinger shortly after the election in a Palace Coup.
3) The people Barnet Council asked comprehensively rejected the proposal in the Council's own consultation.

Mike Freer could easily achieve legitimacy for his proposal by holding a borough wide referendum on the policy. As it is we have a leader who wasn't elected, imposing a policy that wasn't in the manifesto on people who told him that he was wrong in over 80% of responses.

There is absolutely no question that people will die because of the stress caused by the changes, let alone the impact of the remote warden service. Any Barnet Council staff who meekly go along with the proposal are complicit. It has been proven in the courts that only following orders is no defence. Should the policy survive the judicial review, what will happen when the first dearly loved granny dies due to the changes? If staff end up facing corporate manslaughter charges in the Courts, what will the defence be.

Lets examine the issue.

Was the issue forseeable? Yes, it's been predicted here and in many other forums.
Was the issue preventable? Yes, you could have voiced your objections and insisted that the council maintained a safe service
Will the Council be guilty of neligence in their duty of care to vulnerable people? Yes
Are there reasonable alternatives? Yes these have been widely documented
Are the cuts financially necessary? No, Mike Freer said this on BBC television

The first time someone dies, all of the questions above will be asked. If you are in any way, shape or form part of the process, you could be facing a criminal record, prison, the sack, press interest & social ostracisation.

Watch this video :-



Look what happened to the head of social services in a recent, rather well publicised case concerning Baby P. All of this is far more predictable and preventable. In every case where the Council has screwed up since Mike Freer came to power a Council Official has walked the plank. If there is a risk of prison & a criminal record, I see no likelyhood of Councillors steppin up to take responsibility. They will just say, as they did in the Iceland case "We believed the officers, they told us it was a safe policy". I'm sure they'll even have reports to back that up

They just shouldn't be here

I'm 46 years old. I've been to lots of protests over the years. There is a typical rent a crowd look, angry students, shifty looking lefties, wild eye'd Trotskyites. I fit right in (or at least I used to before I got Lazy, old & fat). Last night I attended the lobby of the Barnet Council Cabinet meeting where the decision was made to kill off the borough's residential warden service.

This protest was different. It was the first time for years that I've been one of the youngest people there. I guess the average age was around 30 years older than me. There were old ladies in wheelchairs, old soldiers, glamourous grannies. Someone asked if my mum was in a sheltered flat. I replied that sadly she'd passed away last year. She hadn't been. She was lucky enough to have had enough cash to pay for carers and had a big enough family to provide around the clock support as she faded. She lived in her own flat until the day she died, albiet with meals on wheels & an evening meal provided by us or one of my siblings. That is the avantage of having 6 children. As a result of her decline, through strokes and falls, I became aware of the challenges of caring for the Elderly. Exactly 10 years ago, my mum and her then partner were on a six week cruise up the Amazon River. By the time she died, she couldn't even go down the road without help. If her meals on wheels were late, she would have a panic attack. Sometimes she'd have a fall as a result. I cannot recall how many times the phone would go and I'd just hear heavy breathing. I'd not wait for her to try and compose herself, I'd just sprint up the 8 houses, let myself in and sort out the problem. Sometimes it was because a lightbulb had gone. Sometimes it was because there was a fly in the room. Sometimes it was for reasons that I won't tell you, because she was my mum and I respect her dignity. Sometimes it was because she had to go to hospital. I am pleased to say that the longest she had to lie in agony was a mere 45 minutes, when she fell and broke her hip. She'd forgotton to wear her lifeline. As I nipped in every evening at 6pm, she knew she'd not have to wait too long.

I wonder if Council Leader Mike Freer, Deputy Leader Lynn Hillan and the rest of the cabinet, have any idea, how stressful the vulnerable find even the smallest change. I suspect that a massive change such as losing a resident warden will prove too much for many. As I watched the debate proceed, I saw fear and dread in the eyes of Barnet's elderly. The Borough of Barnet has a duty of care to these people. They have paid taxes all of their lives and lived through times of hardship to build this prosperous country. The council's policy is cruel. A huge majority of those consulted rejected it. Did our Council cabinet listen? Nope.

I looked at the assembled crowd, some frail, some sprightly. I felt intense sadness, tinged with anger. I know, from the experience of my mother, what the effect will be. There was only one thing I could say about the whole sorry sight.

They just shouldn't be here. They should be at home, safe, sound and secure. They should be enjoying their twighlight years. Society owes the older generation a huge debt. It seems that Mike Freer, Lynn Hillan & friends wish to default on it