The Jewish community in Barnet is sleepwalking towards a disaster. Sadly, it seems to me that through cowardice on the left and misguided loyalty on the right, they are failing the community on a grand scale. What am I talking about? The forthcoming GLA elections. The two credible candidates are Brian Coleman for the Conservative Party and Andrew Dismore for the Labour party. Both of these politicians have a long history of excellent relations with the mainstream Jewish community. In a normal election, party preferences would mean that a Jewish voter would cast their vote purely on the party preference as they would be comfortable that both men would support the community.
This however is not a normal election. It is for the role of GLA rep for Barnet and Camden. Most Barnet voters have no clue of the role of the GLA. It was created to "oversee" the Mayor. This is where the issue becomes relevant to the Jewish community. Who is going to be the next Mayor of London? The vast majority of Jewish people in London hope that it is Boris Johnson. They do not trust Ken Livingstone and many perceive him as anti Israeli and anti semitic. I've spoken privately to many local Jewish Labour activists who are horrified at the way Ken Livingstone has seemingly gone out of his way to insult the community. Sadly, any who have spoken out have been given a ritual stoning by the wider Labour movement. In normal circumstances, this would alienate the community from the whole Labour movement (with ample justification).
The issue is that sometimes, you have to consider the wider picture. The budget has been a disaster for the Tories. George Osborne's attack on pensioners could well be the magic bullet for the Labour party that brings down Boris. The Jewish community has to face up to the very real prospect of a Ken Livingstone mayoralty. This is where the identity of the GLA rep becomes important. If Barnet swings behind Brian Coleman, it will clearly be down to the Jewish community. Coleman is highly disliked and distrusted by virtually everyone else. How will Livingstone react? Lets just be charitable and say that looking after a section of the community which hates his guts will not be top of his agenda. He cant stand Coleman, his Union backers can't stand Coleman and it will give him every reason to stick the boot in where it hurts. The more Coleman will bleat, the more Ken will enjoy it.
But what about if Andrew Dismore is the GLA rep? He will have a slender majority and Livingstone will be obliged to listen to his colleague and not antagonise his supporters. Labour want to win back the marginal seats of Hendon and Finchley. They believe that the Lib Dem vote will collapse at the general election and that they have a fantastic chance. Livingstone is a party man and he have no choice but to give Andrew Dismore every chance of helping this revival. However you look at it, with Livingstone as Mayor, there is no way at all that the Barnet Jewish community will get anything from the London authorities unless Dismore is elected. Livingstone hates free schools and academies. With Coleman as rep, these will be under massive threat. There are huge areas of policy the Mayor controls and an impotent Coleman would just look on, no doubt screaming in high pitched anger, as measure after measure is passed attacking his closest supporters.
So what, I hear you ask, would happen if Boris gets in and Dismore is elected? Well first, Boris is never going to attack the Jewish community. The Tory strategists would put the loss down to Colemans own problems caused by parking. They would say that Colemans anti motorist policies caused his downfall. They would actually take note. This would be good for all small businesses and shop owners in Barnet. Dismore has shown himself to be an effective operator for all sections of the community. Rumour has it that Boris would be none to upset to see the back of Colemans buffoonary and excess. Coleman is a ticking time bomb. A Dismore victory would diffuse it and the reasons would be clear. Boris would be viewed as blameless for Colemans downfall. If Coleman loses and Boris wins, it would clearly be attributable to the parking policies, which Boris has no truck with.
It is high time that the leaders of the community pulled their heads out of the sand. If anyone believes Ken would do anything other than punish Barnet and make Coleman look impotent, they are deluded. Even if you think Boris has it sown up, just remember that Osbornes granny tax has even been denounced by the Tory supporting Daily Mail. Whilst the Jewish community in Barnet is large, in London as a whole it isn't, which is why Ken Livingstone is quite happy to upset it. The only protection will be an Andrew Dismore victory.
If Coleman gets elected alongside Ken Livingstone as mayor, I think it's inevitable that a chill wind will blow through Barnet for the Jewish community. Being a community leader means sometimes telling people things they don't want to hear. It is time for the local community leaders in Barnet to spell out to those they lead, exactly what the likely out comes of this election will bring.
A friend drew my attention to the excellent www.frumpro.co.uk site yesterday. This is an online information website for the orthodox Jewish community. It provides an easy way to find out all manner of information relevant to the Orthodox Jewish community. Whether you need a Kosher butcher, a band for your sons Barmitzvah a Kosher hotel or a cheap flight to Israel, this is a pretty good place to start. I've looked at many sites and this has one of the easiest to use directory search layouts of any site. Although it is primarily designed for the Orthodox Jewish community, it is pretty easy to find out just about any sort of service you may need in Barnet via its pages.
It also has important community information and a pretty decent news service. What was rather interesting was the following article about parking charges in Barnet. For many years Brian Coleman has received staunch support from the local Jewish community. It certainly appears that his parking charges policy have badly affected many small businesses and residents. The only conclusion I can draw from the article is that all sectors of the local community are heartily sick of Brian Coleman, his stealth taxes and his attacks on local businesses. Here's a link to the article on the site :-
I have reproduced the article in full here because it is relevant to everyone in Barnet. Mr Chaim shows that it is cheaper to park in the streets of central London than under Brian Colemans regime. I couldn't agree more with his conclusions. Politicians are elected to serve the local community, not to rob us.
Note : Brian Coleman receives a £50,000 taxpayer funded salary for his role on the GLA, which is a part time job. He is up for re-election to the post in May at the same time as the London Mayor elections. If you disagree with these outrageous parking chances, this election in May is your opportunity to send him and the council a clear message where it hurts.
Official! Hendon Brent St more expensive than St Johns Wood High Street
Shocking realisation that its cheaper in Westminster
by Mr M Chaim
Written on 12/Dec/2011
Cheap Westminster Parking at £1.30 an hour
Expensive Hendon Parking at £2 an hour
Its a long, dark, cold winter, especially in Hendon. A quick drive to
the local shops will now set you back £2 for 1 hour parking and payment
by the time consuming Pay By Phone system. I thought all of London was
like this but its not. Hendon is now more expensive than St Johns Wood
High Street who charge £1.30 for the same amount of time.
Are you kidding me??? This is madness. A madness which has been rammed
through the local Tory controlled council by some of the councillors.
We know the council needs money but surely not to charge more than Westminster.
We all know that the country needs money but taking even more from the
already struggling car owners is going too far. £55 for a 50% reduced
parking ticket now. Traffic Wardens everywhere. If parking was the issue
you would have a 15/30/60 min grace period free whilst you pop into the
shops like in Radlett. This is about money and taking it from those who
need it most.
A quick google brings up numerous articles on the now infamous Tory
Councillor Brian Coleman such as this one below which talks about how he
has aboolished the pay and display parking and pushed up prices.
I have just read the most bizarre post on Finchley and Golders Green MP, Mike Freer's website. I was wading through this article - http://www.finchleyconservatives.com/news/140-jewishnewsaugust.html - on the challenges facing the Jewish community when I got to this statement.
This includes taking back the Unions too. The techniques of militant entryism of the 1980’s appears to be being used to take control of Unions so anti-Israel motions (and perhaps this is the respectable face of anti-Semites?) can be passed. Half a dozen people sitting through turgid union meetings for hour after hour until only the die-hards are left – mean a hand-full of people can dictate policy. So Jewish union members and friends need to do likewise and take back the agenda!
What Mike Freer is advocating is highly disturbing.The thought that a local Conservative MP should advocate that a religious group hijack a Union to force through motions favouring one section of the community is repugnant. I sympathise with his wish that Unions show fairness and balance in dealing with issues such as Israel, but if we take his argument to its logical conclusion, we could have all sorts of groups manipulating Unions into supporting all manner of proposal, none of which are anything to do with their members interests. Where does it stop? I can guarantee that if it becomes clear that a specific religious group are intent on hijacking Union policy, it will inspire other groups to follow suite. Would Freer condone militant islamists pushing through motions denouncing the USA or backing Al-Qada? As is often the case, statements such as this have unintended consequences. Generally the people most likely to behave in the way Freer describes are the most highly motivated and ideologically charged groups. Whilst Mike may be purely interested in getting anti Israeli motions toned down, any attempt to deliberately infiltrate Unions is not likely to pass unnoticed and may cause a whole host of new problems.
Having read Mike Freer's description of how Unions operate, I do wonder if he actually knows anything at all about how Trades Unions operate. To be quite honest, his comments sound more like the average meeting of the cabinet of Barnet Council. From his statement, it is clear to me that he's well versed in the arts of manipulating committees. Anyone who has seen the Barnet Tories in action will know that they often push the contentious business to the end of the meeting. This way, the public gallery has thinned out and the chances of them getting rumbled are far less. Urging entryists to do the same to Unions clearly shows a mind well versed in Trotskyite methods.
I happen to believe that Unions and their policies should accurately reflect the views of the membership. For an MP to suggest such behaviour, for whatever reason is deplorable. I'd urge all members to participate in debates and stay to the end. That is the surest way to guarantee sensible and reasonable policies. What Freer is advocating is the tactics of Militant Tendency. I've long suspected that Freer is more versed in these arts than he lets on. Anyone who remembers how Freer siezed power in Barnet Council, hours after the 2006 Council elections will not be surprised. Freer also states in the article
But that’s fine for me but I also remember the old adage – ‘divide and rule’ and so I am increasingly worried that the Community needs to lift its eyes to the real threat – those that would seek to destroy the Jewish way of life and/or Israel.
Unlike Mike Freer, I've lived in the Borough of Barnet all of my life. I attended Orange Hill School, which had a large Jewish contingent (it was often a ghost town during the Holy day season we are currently in). It is 100% clear to me that the biggest threat to the Jewish way of life in Barnet is clearly not "those that would seek to destroy the Jewish way of life and/or Israel." It is those that seek to encourage insularity within the community and foster a bunker mentality towards the rest of society. The Jewish community in Barnet is successfull because it plays a full part in the civic life of the borough and is community minded. I know many Union activists who are members of the community. One of them alerted me to Freer's ramblings. I asked her opinion "It is offensive in the extreme" was the response. The way to combat prejudice and ignorance is for members of all faiths and no faith to work together, exchange ideas and show tolerance for peoples views and respect for their feelings. Secretly infiltrating Trades Unions and forcing through motions in closed committees strikes me as a recipe for disaster. The only thing I have yet to make my mind up about is whether Mike Freer is a Troskyite, intent on stirring up unrest, or whether he's just a tad dim and hasn't thought this through. If I had to put money on it, I'd probably go for the second option.
Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer, clearly believes that brown nosing the boss (David Cameron) is far more important than representing the people who elected him. I was genuinely surprised to see him insulting the large Jewish community in his constituency. The Jewish Chronicle has a rather interesting report on the reaction to David Camerons comments regard Gaza being a prison camp.
"David Cameron remains a friend of Israel, but friends can still criticise if and when they feel they get things wrong. Governments have disagreements. That's grown-up politics. The community needs to be mature enough not to take his comments out of context."
So according to Mr Freer if members of the Jewish community, many of whom have strong family ties with Israel and some of whom have lost family members as a result of terrorism inspired by Hamas get up set at Mr Camerons comments, they are being immature. It seems that the Barnet Conservatives are having a competition to see who can seem most out of touch with the people who elected them. I just hope that whenever the next election comes, members of the Jewish community remember what Mike Freer said and make a mature decision as to whether he is a suitable MP.
As someone who lives within the boundary of the proposed Mill Hill ERUV, I have been watching with increasing alarm how the debate is progressing on the website of the Edgware and Mill Hill Times. Check out some of the comments on this story :-
In the title of this blog, I asked "Can we have a debate?". Actually I'm not asking the question you thought I was asking, which is whether the people of Mill Hill should all get a say in this decision. I am asking whether we are capable of having a sensible and civilised discussion on the subject. The level of comments I've seen opposing the ERUV indicate that opposition is based on a loathing of religious observance and in some cases anti semitism. Given that the actual ERUV fence will have virtually no impact on anyone, it seems to me that any such problems can be dealt with simply enough by good and sympathetic design.
Which brings us to the question of how the ERUV will affect Mill Hill in other ways. It is likely to have a positive effect on the property prices of houses such as mine which fall within the ERUV area. As my house is a quick walk from the Shul, I might reasonably expect that it's value will be enhanced as people would wish to purchase a property within the ERUV area. The downside of this is that those living just the other side of the ERUV are likely to see their houses marginally devalued. I expect that should the proposal go ahead, a question which estate agents will have to get used to answering is "Is the house within the ERUV". For any observant orthodox Jew, presumably this could be a deal breaker if the answer is no.
The ERUV is likely to lead to a concentration of Orthodox Jewish people within the ERUV area and a depletion of this population outside. Given that the Jewish population is generally law abiding, is this a problem? Well it is clearly a problem for any anti semites who happen to live within Mill Hill, but what about the wider community. I was struck by how much Mill Hill had changed when I recently stood for the Council elections. I visited many homes which I used to deliver papers to as a delivery boy 30 odd year ago. At the time I cannot remember a single customer who was black or Asian (apart from Mickey Mosts maid). There has been a massive influx of people and a massive outflow of older people. I was struck by how the demographics have changed. As a practising Roman Catholic it is clear to me that our church is fuller than ever, mainly due to eastern Europeans and African immigrants. The point is that areas change with or without ERUVs. If a large Mosque was to open in Mill Hill, we'd see an influx of Moslems. Would this be a reason to oppose the Mosque?
Organisations such as the BNP seek to put the clock back and dream of a world of warm beer and white anglo saxon Christians. This world no longer exists in Mill Hill. We are a multi cultural society and we all get on pretty well. Is the ERUV likely to change this? Well no one will be forced to become an Orthodox Jew. The ERUV won't be accompanied by a recruitment drive or knocks on the door as the Jehovas Witnesses, Mill Hills other large religious establishment practice. Will non Jews be forced to get out of the area against their will? No, but if they decide to move, they will get more money for their house. All sounds good so far. What about non jewish families who have lived in Mill Hill all their lives and have children who wish to buy property in Mill Hill? Well this is an issue. It will become more expensive and difficult and will over time see long standing Mill Hill families move out purely for financial reasons. This does concern me, because I love the area and whilst I have no objections to newcomers, I would like to see the "Mill Hill Community" continue.
I have spoken to many Jewish friends about the proposal. You may be surprised to hear that the majority (though not all) are against the proposal (yes I know my friends are not necessarily representative). They prefer a diverse Mill Hill and feel that an Orthodox Jewish monoculture would be a bad thing for the wider Jewish community. The friends who are reformed Jews feel that the development would be a step backwards. One friend who is a particularly vociferous opponent, who comes from a Polish background and who lost family members in the Holocaust said that the last thing we need is a Jewish ghetto in Mill Hill. He feels that it would actually flag the area up as a target for anti semites and cause resentment within the local community. He is of the opinion that those people who are championing the proposal haven't properly thought the whole issue through. His view is that all residents of Mill Hill should be given the opportunity to take part in a referendum on the issue. That is how things are managed in Switzerland and he quite likes it.
As to my own views. I really haven't made up my mind. I believe in freedom of religious expression, so I wouldn't oppose it on these grounds. We have to live and let live. As to whether I'd vote yes or no if we had a referendum. I don't know as yet, I'm leaning towards yes, but my friend makes some powerful arguments. I suspect that Barnet Council don't trust us Council Taxpayers enough to actually let us choose, so it's all academic, but I for one would like to see a proper debate occur. I would like to see a decision where everyone participated occur. I would hope that we could have a proper, unemotional and sensible debate and get a decision which Mill Hill was comfortable with. Is that too much to ask for?
Please note that on this post, I will delete any comments that I deem to be offensive or anti semitic. I want to see a debate not a slanging match.
On Saturday I was on the Lib Dem stall in Mill Hill Broadway. One conversation has stuck in my memory. One guy came up and introduced himself as a reader of the Barnet Eye. Like many people who read the blog and enjoy it, he doesn't agree with my political outlook. I asked him "Will you be voting for me?". He replied "I've always voted Conservative. I will be voting for David Cameron, but locally I will be voting for you". I enquired why. He said "It is simple, you wrote a blog eleven months ago highlighting the risk that the warden cuts pose to the elderly Jewish residents of sheltered housing". In this blog I raised the issue that Barnet has the highest number of Jewish residents in sheltered housing of any London Borough. He fully agreed that the removal of wardens left the frail and elderly in a position of vulnerability. Many of these elderly tenants suffered at the hands of the Nazis. They lost family and friends. Sadly there are plenty of people who see them as "fair game". An on site warden can keep an eye out and will see if there are undesirables lurking. They are on hand if a resident has a concern. The gentleman I spoke to said "I think all elderly residents deserve safety and security. As Jewish residents are particularly threatened, it makes the issue even more important". He went on to remind me that people who defile gravestones clearly have no morals.
He told me that whatever reservations he had about the Lib Dems were insignificant when it came to protecting the old and frail members of his family. He also told me that he'd drawn the attention of his friends and family to the blog on many occasions. I was intrigued. I checked my stats and sure enough, this particular page has had a massive number of hits.
If this issue concerns you, please read the blog I posted eleven months ago
Now let me just make one point about this blog. When this was posted, I wasn't a member of the Liberal Democrat party. I had no intention whatsoever of standing for council. I was just campaigning against the cuts. I joined the party and have stood, only because I was asked to, by people such as the guy I spoke to on Saturday. People who want a council that stands up for it's vulnerable.
This week we've seen the two major religious festivals of Passover and Easter. Not being a religious scholar, I'm not going to offer the readers of the Barnet Eye any great insight into either of these festivals. In Mill Hill I've witnessed many people of the Jewish faith walking to and from Synagogue past my house. These are typically family groups of old and young. As they walk they talk, joke, laugh. It's pretty much the same for the people visiting the various Christian churches in Mill Hill for the Good Friday and Easter Sunday ceremonies.
In Mill Hill there was one rather noticable feature of all of these worshippers. They all approached their respective services in a calm relaxed and happy manner. None of them were looking over their shoulders for the police, death squads, mobs of other faiths armed with stones. People are free to practice whatever they want in peace, free of fear. Whilst the Synagogue does employ security to ensure the safety of worshippers, this is more as a sensible precaution against lone nutcases or groups with their bases far from Mill Hill, who have no association with the area. I think I can say with cast iron certainty that anyone who publicly threatened any of the religious establishments in Mill Hill would receive a united front of opposition from all faiths. For as far back as I can remember there have been excellent relations between all of the faiths in Mill Hill.
My mother used to help at fundraising events at the Synagogue in the 1960's and 1970's. It may surprise you to find out that she was a devout Roman Catholic. Why did she help/ One of her best friends was a Jewish lady who organised the events. She used to ask my mother as she knew she was a hard worker. In return, she would help my mother to organise events at St Josephs College, notably the annual garden fete. I once asked my mother about this curious arrangement. She replied that her friend thought that St Josephs College was the best thing about Mill Hill, with its beautiful grounds and landmark tower. She thought it was worth preserving. As to my mother helping at the Synagogue, she said that in a community we should all support our friends. I guess that this practical level of building communities sank in. One interesting thing which a Jewish friend pointed out. St Joseph who sits atop the tower at the college is possibly the only Saint in the Catholic Church who wasn't a Christian, but a Jew. He was never listed as a follower of his son, just as a guide and an influence. Maybe his towering presence in Mill Hill has helped ensure we all get on. A nice thought.
On Easter Sunday, I would suggest that all of us who live in a free and fair society, where we can live our life and practice our faith as we choose should say a prayer of thanks for this privilege. Whatever faith you belong to or even if you have none, when you see people attending services for faiths and denominations you are not a member, it is a cause of celebration. The best guarantee that we can live our lives according to our beliefs is that we are happy for others to do the same.
Have a great Easter Sunday. I gave up Red Wine, Meat and Bread for lent. It is fair to say I will enjoy my Sunday roast today, two stone lighter than when I started.
I've been played a recording of an answer Mike Freer gave to a question by Labour Councillor Alan Schneiderman concerning the Conservatives and who they sit with in the European Parliamentary chamber.
Mike Freer gave a very long and very evasive answer. At the end of this he stated that it was Ok for the Tories to sit with neo fascists because Labour sits with some equally unsavoury characters.
Let me remind Councillor Freer that he's going to be representing a Constituency with a large Jewish community. Many people within this community lost family members to the Nazis and Fascists in the middle of the last century. This is one issue that the people who will be voting for him really should know his views on.
I'm afraid that Mike Freer's evasive answer to the question just won't do. As to the ban on recording council meetings. Many people have phones & other devices that can record these meetings in a clandestine fashion. How can someone pushing a policy called "Future Shape" be such a Luddite?
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).
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.
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.
Are you considering moving to Barnet? Are you considering moving away from Barnet? Are you not considering moving at all, but you own your own flat or house? Well if you fall into any of these categories, you really should read this blog and consider some of the points raised. There is an old saying about the three most important factors which affect the price of a house. Location, Location, Location. People will spend more money on a house if the house is in a nice area. If it's not, then they will pay far less for the same house. What makes a "nice area" :-
* Good Schools * Good Transport Links * Pleasant Street Scene * Good local amenities * Low Crime
If you have all of the above, you live in an area where the prices are most likely to be higher than neighbouring areas where this is not the case. How are Barnet Council doing in these five important areas?
Good Schools - Barnet have historically had great schools. The achievements of our best schools such as QE Boys, Henrietta Barnet and St Michaels are recognised across the country with all these schools regularly appearing at or near the top of the league tables. That is one of the main reasons that property prices in Barnet are amongst the highest in London. The trouble is that since Mike Freer took over the Council, the wheels have started to come of the school bus. There are several examples of this which have been picked up by the press. Deansbrook School will lose it's state of the art Computer suite, to accomodate another class. This is an example of the council actually spending money to MAKE A SCHOOL WORSE. The parents are up in arms. At least the children in this school will have a proper classroom. Three other Schools have placed emergency orders for PORTACABINS to accomodate the pupils starting next term. Would you move your family to an area where your kids go to school in a Portacabin? This can only have a negative effect on property prices.
Good Transport Links - The planners at Barnet want to accomodate another 80,000 people in the Borough in the next few years. There are huge developments all over the Borough, most notably at Mill Hill East, Colindale and Brent Cross. There are no planned major improvements to public Transport in these areas. A figure of £400 million is mentioned in the plans. This sounds a lot, but it cost the Council £23 Million just to replace a couple of bridges in Aerodrome Road. Much of this £400 Million is for projects unrelated to the redevelopment, such as Thameslink improvements at Cricklewood. What we need are major infrastructure projects which will give people clean, cheap and convenient alternatives to the car for their regular journeys. The only mooted scheme, the Brent Cross Railway has been scathingly written off by the Council, even though this could mitigate the effects of much of this traffic in all of these areas. That can only mean one thing - even more traffic jams. When people get sick of this, they move. When people move out, property prices drop.
Pleasant Street Scene - Am I the only person to notice how ugly the Council are making Barnet. In Mill Hill, the rather attractive flowerbeds now have ugly council sponsored advertisements for estate agents. Lamp posts have oval signs plugging obscure messages, designed solely to distract drivers from the road in front and to run people over. Nice shops and family businesses have deserted many high Streets to be replaced by bookies and fast food outlets which generate litter, smell and noise. A trip down Mill Hill Broadway on a Saturday evening used to be a pleasant affair. All we see now is litter and drunken yobs prowling. These sort of changes drive property prices down, once people start to notice.
Good Local Amenities - In Barnet Council Watch blog today, there is an expose on the policy of the council towards playing fields - sell 'em off is their clarion cry. There has been an ongoing campaign to get the council to reopen the Pavillion Road playing fields in Burnt Oak. What has happened? Nothing. My son plays football for Watling Club. Last season many matches were abandoned because the council, despite receiving fees for the football pitches, didn't maintain them during the wet weather. At a Hendon Residents forum meeting, I raised this point. Tory Councillor Hugh Rayner stood up and said "I often visit Burnt Oak Leisure ceentre and the facilities are fine". I responded "Do you ever go round the back and check on the football pitches" Councillor Rayner rather sheepishly responded "No". If kids don't have positive outlets for their energy, they'll soon find negative ones. What will happen then to the value of the housing stock as gangs roam and drug use spirals up? Which brings us nicely on to
Low Crime - Barnet is historically quite a low crime area, where people of all races, creeds and colours get on. Barnet has the largest Jewish Community in the UK. How do they feel - here's a quote from a rather prominent Jewish commentator :-
due to the worrying rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in England, many Jews no longer feel safe
You may be relieved to know that the author of this comment doesn't live in Barnet. You'd probably be less relieved to know that he used to. In fact, up until May, he was a Councillor in Barnet. The author of this comment is ex Tory Barnet Councillor Richard F Weider. If people such as him, someone who was in a position to do something about it don't feel safe, what on earth is going on. There are many elderly and vulnerable Jewish People in Sheltered accomodation. The Jewish Chronicle has reported that they feel exposed to risk by the proposal to get rid of wardens. Barnet Council didn't even bother to do a proper risk assessment for this decision. They haven't considered the safety of those they have a duty of care to. No wonder people such as Richard Weider have no wish to grow old in Barnet. If Barnet's Jewish community decide to follow the lead of one of their most high profile local politicians and leave en mass, what will this do to the price of Barnet property.
I'm not writing this blog to scaremonger or try and force property prices down. I'm writing it to try and shake the citizens of London's finest Borough out of their torpor. All of the above issues could be combatted by an honest, brave and well lead council. If they were a bit more concerned with proper long term planning and a bit less concerned with getting free hospitality and huge allowances, maybe I'd not have to write this sort of blog.
If they don't get up off their rotund posteriors and start sorting these problems out, we may well find that Richard Weider was the most sensible of the lot of them and the rest of us are left in a ghetto of negative equity. Unlike some people, I'm not prepared to sit back and say nothing, if they want to ruin my town and destroy the value of my house, they'll have a fight on their hands.
I found out a very interesting fact today. Barnet has more elderly Jewish people in sheltered accomodation than any other Borough in the Country. This generation has suffered tragedy beyond comprehension. Some of these people will have lost whole families, seen atrocities and cruelty beyond comprehension. In their sunset years, how should a decent, fair society treat them? I believe that they should be able to live their lives out in comfort, safety and security. It is reported that at last nights Scrutiny committee meeting, Councillor Richard Cornelius stated that he hadn't visited any homes to explain his policy because "it would be too upsetting". He stated that this was important because he "didn't want his emotions to cloud his judgement". What sort of a regime makes statements like that? Who came up with that idea? Surely a caring society does just that. It has compassion.
Many residents of sheltered housing are scared, they are stressed. Anyone with experience of the elderly will realise that this could kill them. Once the residential wardens are gone, what then? I am sorry to have to point out that in our society today, there are sick fanatics who may just see the elderly, vulnerable Jewish communities as a soft target. If they know that the wardens have gone, ask yourself this? Are they more or less likely to target these poor frail people.
Every senior citizen in Barnet deserves safety and security. I'm a Roman Catholic, but I can see many reasons why the Jewish elderly cannot be abandoned by a callous, uncaring council. If Israel was under threat, the Jewish community of Barnet would rise up as one. I am asking this question. Surely the elderly of Barnet are just as worthy and deserving of your support? The present Jewish community of Barnet is settled, prosperous and safe. They owe it to their elders to afford them a happy old age. The Jewish Chronicle has covered the story, but we need you to bring direct pressure onto your Tory Councillors and the PPC for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer
a) Name an area of London with a large Orthodox Jewish population?
b) What do Orthodox Jewish people usually do on a Saturday Morning?
c) Who is the Conservative Candidate for Golders Green?
d) If you were the Conservative Candidate for Golders Green, what would be the worst possible time to hold a Council funded meet the public session in Golders Green?
I kid you not, Leader of Barnet Council, Conservative Candidate for Barnet, Mike Freer has decided that the best time and place for his Leader Listens roadshow to visit Golders Green is Tomorrow (Saturday 25th April) between 10am and noon, at Sainsburys.
According to the press release, voters can tell Mike how to improve Barnet. Leader of the Council, Councillor Mike Freer said:
“The Leader Listens programme has been instrumental in allowing residents of the borough to interact and share their views with the Council outside the normal channels, therefore expanding the scheme to make the Council more accessible makes perfect sense.”
Well it seems that a rather large and rather important sector of the public have been excluded. The question is whether this is pure incompetence from Mike Freer or whether it's a deliberate snub to the religioulsy minded Orthodox community. I recently attended the Bahmitzvah of my friend and local businessman Lawrence Bard's son and I asked his opinion of Freer's choice of venue and timing? His response "I'm speechless. It is awful." He added "It will exclude a whole section of the community which has many issues it would like to raise with the Council".
I would say that the appearance or otherwise of a grovelling apology from Mike Freer would indicate whether this is conspiracy or cock-up.
