Allowancegate : James Cleverly on Fat Cat Hypocrites

Tory GLA member James Cleverly yesterday berated Bob Crow on his "fat cat 12% payrise".

http://jamescleverly.blogspot.com/2010/08/fat-cat-bob-crow.html

Well James, if you don't want to look like a complete hypocrite yourself, let's have a blog criticising your fellow GLA member Brian Coleman for his 100% allowance increase at Barnet Council.

If you can criticise Crow for a 12% increase, then surely Brian Coleman is 8 and a bit times worse !!!!

Come on James, take a stand against something where your views may actually carry a bit of weight

Lets face it, Brian Coleman is making you look like a bunch of berks (that's rhyming slang you know).

A nice night out - Brian Coleman style !

"Boris, Boris, wake up. Wake up Boris"

"Boris have a look at this, and this, and this, and this"

"It's fantastic. Four of our top GLA tories Roger Evans, James Cleverly, Kit Malthouse and Tony Arbour's expenses. Between these four a mere two taxi bills and one of those, for Tony Arbour is shared with Val Shawcross, Boris shall we call the Evening Standard and say what a virtuous bunch us Tories are"

Boris looks up at his new assistant with a dolefull, sad, world worn look "I'm afriad we can't possibly do that. You clearly haven't heard of our good friend Brian Coleman".

As regular readers will know, whilst the above four GLA Tories have managed 1 & 1/2 Taxi journeys between them at the public expense, Brian Coleman has managed rather more. Now you may think "Well if he's working hard, that is fine". We here at the Barnet Eye decided to have a closer look. Amongst the 37 taxi fares claimed on his GLA expenses (Click Here for the full list), these particularly caught my eye. I've put in a little cross reference against the Gifts and hospitality register to highlight exactly what events 2 of these 4 claims are for.

73.41 12/3/08 Taxi N2 & City Hall to Royal Albert Hall Sw7
81.07 12/3/08 Taxi Royal Albert hall to N2 & N3


40.02 15/3/08 Taxi N3 to Lords Cricket Ground NW8
15-MAR-08 Westminster Civic Dinner at Lord's Ground,
Marylebone, London NW8
58.77 15/3/08 Taxi Lords Cricket Ground to N2 & N3

62.40 29/3/08 Taxi N3 & N2 to Central London Synagogue
84.54 29/3/08 Taxi Central London Synagogue to N2 and N3

96.03 11/11/08 Taxi N2 & City Hall to Royal Albert Hall Sw7
11-NOV-08 Two tickets for Music for Youth Concert at the
Royal Albert Hall and refreshments
58.57 11/11/08 Taxi Royal Albert hall to N2 & N3


You may ask what is special about these journeys. Well it seems to me that not only are we paying for a Taxi for Brian Coleman, we are paying for one for a guest of his. You will notice that the journey back from all of these outings was to N2 & N3. It looks to me as if Brian's guest actually ran up more taxi fares at the public expense than several of the other top Tories put together. Maybe this is within the rules, maybe he's done nothing wrong, all I can say is that to me the whole thing stinks.

If you see Boris Johnson pass this message on from me "Wake up Boris, sack Brian Coleman before he fatally tarnishes your regime."

You are doing no favours whatsoever to the chaps listed above, who are completely blameless, yet are tarred by association. We in the London Borough of Barnet are lumbered with him for the time being. You can sack him at LFEPA any time you like. What are you waiting for?

Vote for Somebody else !!!!!

All of our Tory bloggers seem to have got themselves in a real tizzy. Such esteemed commentators as James Cleverly and Iain Dale are prostituting themselves by giving instructions on how to vote for themselves in a blog of the year show.

I really don't do it to win prizes, if you've got five minutes spare, sign the sheltered housing petition in the sidebar. If you feel the need to vote for a political blog, vote for www.notthebarnettimes.blogspot.com. I hate awards of all kinds. I don't like the Oscars, I don't like the Brits (although I'm glad that Amy Winehouse & Kate Nash won as they are customers of the studio, on the basis that if someone has to).

Who will I be voting for? Paul Evans who runs the LocalDemocracy.org blog. I quite like the thought of all the Tory bloggers having to sit through his five hour acceptance speech. He He He !

Which petard shall we hoist Brian Coleman from today?

Q: Which petard shall we hoist Brian Coleman from today?

A: His own !!!!!

Brian Coleman told Paul Waugh at the Evening Standard (in relation to disclosing his expenses) :-

“I won’t do it vountarily. It’s none of the public’s business. They have coped well without knowing this kind of detail for more that 75 years."

“They are not entitled to drool over our personal lives. I’m not going to help the mad, bad and the sad, the bloggers on the internet. I’m not pandering to mob rule. It undermines democracy to suggest that all MPs, all politicians are the spawn of beelzebub.

“Nobody is going to go into public life if they think the minutiae of their grocery bills are going to be looked over.”

When it is pointed out that fellow Tory Andrew Boff managed to pull on the hairiest of hair shirts with zero expense claims, Mr Coleman replies:

“Politicians with lower expenses tend to be the politicians who do least work. Those with higher expenses are the ones who do most work.”

Mr Coleman adds that he has nothing to hide and points out his exes are audited. But he adds:

"I'm from the Boris school of anarchist thinking. If somebody tells me to do something, I don't want to do it."

Lets go through this. Firstly, Brian Coleman doesn't like bloggers does he?

Strange that he used to write a blog for the New Statesman then, here's the directory :-

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/brian-coleman

Brian Coleman doesn't think he should disclose his expenses because "They have coped well without knowing this kind of detail for more that 75 years"

Well in one of his blogs - http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/brian-coleman/2007/12/local-government-service - He says :-

"When I was first elected to my local council the annual allowance payable to a councillor in suburban Barnet was £600 (less income tax). There was also a complicated attendance scheme that necessitated filling out a monthly form which most members, including me, couldn't be bothered with for the sake of a couple of quid."

He clearly was operating under a completely different set of rules when he started, which the public new very well. This "75 years" nonsense is pure rubbish. Especially since the GLA only came into being 9 years ago.

Brian Coleman goes on :-

To keep the backbenchers happy so-called 'Special Responsibility Allowances' now have to be paid for all sorts of minor, functionary positions: £2,500 for being vice-chair of the Trees and Cemeteries Scrutiny Committee or for turning up at a Licensing Committee once a year. In short big money for local politicians.

The danger of this, of course, is leaders now win or lost their positions on the strength of who they had promised well paid jobs to.

Brian is quite right to criticise these political bungs. he knows all about them. He earns over £100,000 for these grace and favour jobs.

Brian Coleman says that politicians who claim least expenses do the least work. His colleague, James Cleverly, who claimed for a Travelcard and nothing else says on his blog :-

Brian's candour can be refreshing. The by-product of that candour is the occasional gaff.

And his recent comments about expenses, transparency, bloggers and the work rate of fellow Assembly Members sits squarely in the gaff side of the equation.

The only thing I'd disagree with James Cleverly about is the word "occasional".

Finally, Brian Coleman claims that both he and Boris Johnson are anarchists. He may be right. I thought I'd Wiki Anarchism and it says :-

Anarchism is a political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which consider the state, as compulsory government, to be unnecessary, harmful, and/or undesirable, and promote the elimination of the state or anarchy. Specific anarchists may have additional criteria for what constitutes anarchism, and they often disagree with each other on what these criteria are. According to The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, "there is no single defining position that all anarchists hold, and those considered anarchists at best share a certain family resemblance."

It certainly looks to me as if Brian Coleman's behaviour could be construed as something which undermines faith in the institutions of the state. I have yet to meet anyone who condones his behaviour. People look at him and say "they are all the same", which is unfair if you look at the expenses of most of the other members (eg James Cleverly, Roger Evans).

I've long wondered why Boris ever promoted Coleman to run the Fire service. If they really are both anarchists as Coleman claims, it is a perfect job for a Boris anarchist henchman. Could this by why Wiki talks about "a certain family resemblance" ???

Leader of GLA Tories issues withering rebuke to Brian Coleman

Roger Evans, Leader of the GLA Tories doesn't do stinging rebukes. He's invariably polite. He did however make this comment on his blog today

I see no evidence that people who claim more work harder

Trust me, coming from Roger Evans, in the context it was made, this is as withering a rebuke to Brian Coleman as you are likely to see.

Unlike Coleman's largess, Roger Evans has claimed a London Travelcard.

It rather looks to me as if the Tories are finally getting completely sick and tired of Brian Coleman and his buffoonary. I can't say I blame them. His comments were crassly insulting to GLA Tories such as Roger Evans and James Cleverly who get on with the job and don't take the mickey out of the system.

I hope Mr Coleman has the good manners to publicly apologies to his colleagues on the GLA, for his implied criticism of their work rate. I will say this about Roger Evans. He made some intemperate remarks on his blog about protestors against the Docklands Airport expansion. He realised he'd spoken rashly and out of turn. He issued a fullsome public apology. As a result he persuaded me that he is an honest and decent chap doing his best for London, even though I disagree with his political views.

Let's see if Brian Coleman follows his fine example.

The horrible truth about Tories !!!!!!

They say that the most awful thing about Absynth is that if you drink enough of it you see the world as it really is and that is a horrible thing. Well I haven't been drinking Absynthe, but I've had a glass too many of red wine and an awful truth has dawned on me. Let me explain. I've left many messages on the Leader of Barnet Council, Mike Freer's blog - Leader Listens. He virtually never publishes them. He hides them so nobody can see them. He hopes that by doing this, everyone will think that he's popular. It isn't only my message either. Other people tell the same tale. As he's the highest profile Tory in Barnet, I've assumed that this is how all Tory politicians behave and there is a "central blogging control" which keeps all Tory bloggers on side.

Only one other local Tory councillor locally had a blog, Richard Weider, who recently emigrated. Now I left messages on Richards blog and up they popped. I thought "That Richard Weider is OK. He's brave enough to publish nasty comments". Then I left some comments on Roger Evans blog - Tory GLA leader. Roger put them up & I thought "He's OK, he puts comments up". Then I put some on his GLA colleague, James Cleverly's blog. James put them up "He must be OK as well". Then I left one on Tory West Harrow PPC Rachel Joyce's blog. She put it up and I thought "Rachel is OK". Today I posted a message mercilessly ribbing Bedford Tory MP, Nadine Dorries. Nadine put the comment up. I thought "Good old Nadine, she must be OK as well". Then I thought "Hang on I've also left messages on Iain Dale's blog, Don't call me Dave's blog, Guido's blog......." They are all Tories. They all posted the message. Then I thought "who doesn't post messages who is a Tory? It's back to that list of one - Mike Freer.

I've been under the impression that all Tories are a bunch of cowardly yellowbellies who don't post critical messages, when the evidence is actually quite the opposite. It just happens that the one Tory I first left comments on is completely unrepresentative. You see the horrible truth about Tories is that they are all rather keen on free speech and a bit of banter.

Well all except Mike Freer !

Richard Barnbrook - London BNP GLA Member - Wins an Award !

The Barnet Eye is pleased to award the first annual Goldfish Impersonator of the Year award. This years winner of the prestigious award is none other than London GLA member and BNP member Richard Barnbrook.

This award is presented annually to the London Politician who opens and shuts his mouth most times in a public place, without anything actually coming out (anything sensible that is). I must thank his fellow assembly member James Cleverly for nominating him by providing this fine piece of evidence on his blog :-

Click HERE for JAMES CLEVERLYS NOMINATION

James sits next to Mr Barnbrook on the GLA, so maybe he'd be so kind as to give him the prize. We'll be sending James the fantastic prize - some tasty Tubifex worms, a treat for all of your familys Goldfish, to present to Richard at his next meeting. The Barnet Eye would also like to congratulate Richard Barnbrook on his prolific workrate since becoming a GLA member. He has managed to send out an impressive three press releases since he took office, the last in October - CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM - it is good to see that the BNP are this active in office. They often criticise other parties as troughers, scrougers and parasites? Can you guess how many other GLA members have sent out fewer press releases? Look at the shape of Richards mouth in my picture for a clue. The impressive total of three is a whole 1 more than the number of investigations Richard has prompted. Richard has run into hot water for making up porkies about crime in his patch. It must be assumed that as they thought they had a good chance of getting a seat at the GLA, Richard was the best candidate they had in London. Of course it's a free country, so people can vote for anyone on the ballot paper, but surely even BNP voters must be a little bit disappointed that with all the things going on in London since October 2008, Richard hasn't bothered to put out a single press release? Don't they feel just a tiny bit let down? He is there poster boy and yet he has nothing to say.

The BNP claim that they are different to the other parties. It seems they are correct. They are even more lazy !

The Boris Johnson Guide to Sex Education

Boris Legs it from 13 year old Fathers for Justice Dad !!!!

So we've all seen the news this week about the 13 year old Dad. What really shocked me wasn't that a 13 year old could become a dad, but on reading the article, he stated that he'd been in a relationship for 2 years - since he was 11. I was reminded of this typically uninformed piece of Daily Mail nonsense http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1039287/Children-young-11-lessons-condom-says-government-report.html complaining that children as young as 11 were being given sex education lessons. Now I've got a 13 and an 11 year old daughter so this is all pretty relevant to me. If someone asks me what I think my daughters should be told about sex, I'd give the answer "What they need to know to protect them from harm". What does this mean practically? Well it means that they need to be told about things that as a Dad I'd rather they didn't know about. I don't want either of my daughters to start embarking on sexual relationships any time soon. If, however they decide they are going to, in this day and age I'd want them to be safe. This means knowing about contraception, STD's and plenty of other things which Daddies don't like thinking about in the context of their daughters. In a school, they have to be told before they actually need the information. If you wait until they are all emotionally mature enough, then I'm afraid it's too late.

So what has all of this got to do with Boris Johnson and London? Well he's the mayor of this fine city. He has appointed James Cleverly as his ambassador for young people. I follow James Cleverly's blog
- as Tory blogs go, it is OK, but for a Young Person's mayor where is the bit about sex education for youngsters. I checked the GLA website - nothing there either. It seems that Boris and his ambassador have nothing to say on this issue WHATSOEVER. Why is this a disgrace and a scandal? Well first, a lack of sex education can result in Children being exposed to diseases. Secondly it exposes them to the risk of pregnancy. Thirdly it exposes them to risk of exploitation.

Tonight as I write this there are prostitues working in this city who are below the age of consent. Tonight there will be youngsters below the age of consent getting STD's and there will be youngsters getting pregnant. Do't believe me? Check these graphs on the Poverty website - http://www.poverty.org.uk/24/index.shtml - London has the third highest rate in the country. What didn't surprise me is the link to poverty. The teenage pregnancy/poverty link is a cancer which eats away at the heart of society. As for prostitution, this is the very best way to contract an STD. Many Holllywood movies sell the image that having sex with a prostitute is a right of passage for young men. The reality is far removed. It is exploitative of women and is one of the main conduits of VD in the UK (and globally). Often these are then passed on to unsuspecting partners. I'd make sure that every young man was graphically made aware of this risk.

Boris is in a position to address this issue. How can a young persons ambassador such as James Cleverly have nothing to say? If I were doing his job, this would be the no 1 priority I set.

So how would I combat it. Well I'd have a look and see which country and which city had the most successful policy. Then I'd steal their policies and ideas. If you check Wikipedia they have a chart of teenage birth/Abortion rates - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_pregnancy - The lowest - the Netherlands which has what we may call a liberal approach. The highest - The good old USA.

Per 1,000 women aged 15 - 19
Country ↓ birth rate ↓ abortion rate ↓ Combined rate ↓
Netherlands 7.7 3.9 11.6
United Kingdom 29.6 21.3 50.9
United States 55.6 30.2 85.8

I find this shocking. In this country the problem with sex is we all bury our head in the sand. Boris & his mates are too scared of the Daily Mail and it's fellow travellers to be honest with us. It is cowardly and it is unforgivable.

For those of you hoping to see "The Boris Johnson Guide to Sex Education" - the big scandal is that no such thing exists and their is no policy that I can see to address this - this is picture is the nearest thing I've seen to Boris trying to improve sex education in London!
The Boris Johnson Sex Education Initiative

Brian Coleman Update : The Pot calls the Kettle !!!

"Do you think the food ambassador, costing us whatever it is costing us, is providing any added value for London taxpayers?" Today a London Assembly member asked Mayor Boris Johnson this question. Now I'm all for a bit of scrutiny of wasteful expenses. There are plenty of serious issues that need cash spending on them in London to solve real problems. How does a mayor decide what his priorities are? What is more important - it seems he's got a job on his hands keeping track of the allowances members receive and reminding them of their responsibility to the taxpayer. Maybe paying for a bit of back up and support to his "ambassadors" i smoney well spent, maybe not? Difficult decisions all. Who are these ambassadors and what do they do? They include former journalist Rosie Boycott, who as his unpaid food ambassador, seeks to encourage Londoners to grow their own food by turning available space into vegetable plots; and James Cleverly, the London assembly member for Bexley and Bromley, who was appointed earlier this month to lead on youth issues following the departure last summer of Ray Lewis, the deputy mayor. This role is also unpaid.

So which virtuous GLA Member saw fit to criticise the cost of these unpaid advisers. None other than the King of Bling, Brian Coleman

Now regular readers will know that I held Mr James Cleverly up as an example of a virtuous Tory and as an example to Mr Coleman. Cleverly published his expenses for the year to the GLA - nothing. He works as an ambassador to youth and gets paid - Nothing. I know Brian Coleman and his friends read this blog - one of the head honchos from Tory Central Office emailed me on his behalf. Can his comments about ambassadors be a bit of payback for James Cleverly making Coleman look foolish over his 2008 £8,500 Taxi bill to the GLA? I've no idea at all. I've been following James Cleverly's blog for a while - http://www.jamescleverly.blogspot.com/. Of all the various Tories who blog, he seems like a genuine guy, he has a sense of humour, he seems public spirited and I suspect he's someone who you could have a pint with and not be constantly checking your watch. I suppose the fact that Coleman is having a veiled go at him, only puts him up another step in my opinion.

As for Rosie Boycott. She's a major asset to Boris Johnson. She founded the feminist magazine "Spare Rib" and has a distinguished career in the male dominated world of Newspapers, being a former editor of the Independent. I've no idea what Coleman is up to, trying to wind Boris up. Has his dislike and fear of James Cleverly's example affected his judgement? I suspect Coleman may have made a big mistake, Boris is currently "The King of the Jungle", Boycott has many friends in journalism, who may well decide that Coleman needs a poke in the eye.

What was the reaction from Boris - The Guardian says :-

Stunned by the question, Johnson said out loud he detected some "disapproval" from his Tory colleague before answering: "Most of the people who have been generous and public spirited enough to work as ambassadors or whatever it happens to be are doing it without any financial consideration whatever.

In the case of Rosie Boycott she does get some support for a programme that to the best of my knowledge has so far produced 400 new growing spaces in London."

When I started this blog I decided on the title "Brian Coleman Update : The Pot calls the Kettle !!!" because it's catchy. From what I've seen, this isn't really fair to Boycott or Cleverly - apologies guys and gals. For the full article :-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/28/boris-london

Is Mike Freer registered on Second Life?

Mike Freer in Israel working hard

Mike Freer Says
"Anyone who knows me knows I am a worker and that is what this constituency needs."

Rog T says

Unless Mike Freer is registered on Second Life and runs a virtual council where everything runs smoothly and he does a great job, he is clearly a fantasist.

If he's such a hard worker, how com the following has happened when he's leader :-

Barnet lost £27.4 in dodgy investment schemes in Iceland? He says he never checked them (Very hard working).

The latest budget attempted to raise the charges for burying dead children by 10% because neither Freer nor his scrutiny cabinet bothered to read it. They only realised when David Miller started a campaign. Freer's equally hard working lackey, Brian Coleman commented " none of the council officers told me about it"

The Aerodrome road Bridge project went Millions of pounds over budget, gobbling up Council resources. Less than a year ago, on his blog in the Edgware Times, Freer said it was on budget and he'd done a great job. He's in charge of Barnet resource management.

His last job, which he clearly worked so hard at was as a banker. Under his stewardship, Barnet Council borrowed hundreds of millions of pounds. This is now sitting in accounts earning minimal interest, meaning the Council taxpayer has to pay the difference to make up the interest. Even in his chosen field of excellence he fails.

I thought I'd dig a bit deeper and have a look at Mike's website (or Should I say the Finchley Conservatives website, which has morphed into a Mike Freer Hagiography).

Clearly if he's a hard worker, he'd be running lots of local campaigns and have lots of pictures and stories of him standing up for local people. There would be lots of pictures of him with smiling old ladies who'd had their taps fixed through his efforts. So what do we get - Click HERE TO SEE.

Yup, what we get are six campaigns

1. A link to the Central Conservative website urging small businesses to take up rates relief - No input from Mike. Interestingly, elsewhere on his website he has a picture of his launch of the Barnet bond. This is a stealth tax on businesses. I suppose it should also be noted that when I last appealed my business rates, it took nearly three years to be heard. Eventually I got a few thousand pounds back - so much for helping small companies.

2. A note about the Equitable Life scandal. Mike posted a letter on his website. As best I can tell, he seems to say Theresa Villiers has done a fine job on his behalf chasing it up in parliament.

3. A campaign to keep some post offices open. He's asked us to send him an email. Part of the national Tory campaign against post office closures.

4. A few paragraphs saying Mike doesn't like the Council tax revaluation and disagres with the Government on HIPS. Again a national Conservative Party initiative.

5. A few paragraphs about his support for the national Tory campaign against bin tax.

6. A link that doesn't work about Gordon Brown getting his sums wrong.

All in all, whatever you might think about Mike, surely there are real local issues in Finchley and Golders Green he should be campaigning about. If he was, surely he'd post them on his website? Surely he'd have a few testimonials from people he's helped? I don't know if the issue is he's got a rotten website or that he's as lazy as it appears? Either way, given that he's clearly a bright guy, you'd expect a hard worker to be on top of this.

One final example of the hard work of Mike Freer. Check out the LEADERLISTENS.COM blog. Mike Freer got this vanity project set up by the Council at a cost of over £400. This year he's posted one item on it. Not exactly prolific. As a contrast Conservative GLA member and deputy mayor for young people - James Cleverly - has a free blogspot blog, which he's posted to 14 times. Now I'm a Labour member so I don't agree with much of James Cleverly's policies, but it's a good blog (and it's free to taxpayers). I've also got a link at the side to Tory GLA member Roger Evans blog, again worth a look to see how it's done. I should also note that these guys always seem to respond to comments, Mike has not moderated at least 50% of the comments I've left. Now there are plenty of Councillors, etc who don't have blogs, so it's not a "must have". I would however say that if you get one set up at cost to the taxpayer, you should as a minimum a) update it regularly and b) respond to your comments. If you can't be bothered, don't go around boasting about how hard you work.

Mind you he's been recognised for this achievement with a "Banker of the year award" from Private eye, for elevating incompetence to new levels. The only areas of Barnet Council which run smoothly are the ones he leaves well alone, such as education. Everything else is in turmoil due to his "Bonkers" future shape scheme.

Cleverly Coded Criticism of Coleman !!!!

Praise where praise is due. If I see a politician, whatever the party doing something the right way, I'll praise them to the hilltops. There are plenty of decent men and women in all of the parties, doing the job as best they can. I am sure the excesses of politicians like Brian Coleman must privately enrage them. His £8,231 taxi bill last year no doubt caused much squirming amongst his colleagues on the London assembly. It rather looks to me as if one of his colleagues, James Cleverly has had enough of Brian Coleman's excesses and has decided to take a principled stand and send him a powerful message. In his blog http://www.jamescleverly.blogspot.com dated yesterday he says :-

22 January, 2009
My expenses

Jimmy, a regular commentator on this blog, makes a valid request. In my last post I wrote about MPs expenses and he feels it only fair that I'm open about mine. Fair point.

Before I reveal the figure I think it only fair to explain that Assembly Members and MPs expenses work in very different ways.

Firstly because London is a physically tight area none of us need second homes. All our staff, IT equipment and office equipment is paid for centrally rather than being paid by or bought by the MP, as is the case in Westminster. I also get an annual travel card so I can get around London for meetings, visits etc. This all keeps our expenses lower and more simple than MPs.

Now here is the good bit. Based on my expenses since being elected in May of last year I calculate my annual expense claim for the municipal year 2008/9 will be £0.00

I can't promise it will always be this low but I'll do my best.

Well Done James. Another Tory who's style I quite like is Roger Evans. I suspect that he's very close to Brian Coleman politically, but he can make his point without coming over as being arrogant or offensive. Wheras Coleman dismissed the Brent Cross Railway as "A bonkers scheme devised by men with train sets in their attics" (or words to that effect, Evans puts his opposition to Cross London Tram in far more measured and sensible terms in a reply to a question I asked him on HIS BLOG. He says :-

One of these was Brian Coleman who made his presence felt by objecting to the tram proposal, to the extent that his efforts were - I believe - reported by some of the pro tram bloggers, after the meeting. I was also present and I raised an objection on the grounds of cost. I can think of many better ways to spend £1.3 billion...

I don't agree with Roger Evans at all on this subject, but it seems to me that his approach is far more sensible. There even seems to be a tacit acknowledgement in his comment that the Brian Coleman approach doesn't really help move the debate forward.
I don't expect Colemans fellow assembly members to go public with open criticism, but it certainly seems to me as if they have realised that his approach does more harm than good. The James Cleverly attitude towards his expenses is a breath of fresh air and there are many politicians of all parties who could take a leaf out of his book.