Praise be to the Lard - Brian Coleman is my biggest fan !

Brian Coleman as the Barnet Bez !

I kid you not !!!!! Today Councillor Brian Coleman published an article with a lovely picture of me, half inched from one of our local papers. I hope he paid Anne-Marie Saunderson a few pennies for the use (or whoever owns the copyright). As Brian is clearly now a big fan of mine and thoroughly enjoys my blog, I thought I'd repay the tribute with my favourite picture of him.

Of late, Brian has been out of the spotlight and this does not agree with him. Like many late middle aged men, he has started to dream up all manner of conspiracies. It seems he has taken to fantasising that there are teams of bloggers in Black vans scouring the streets of Barnet for Conservative clubs to vandalise and Tory councillors to terrorise.

 Fortunately, Brian recognises that this blog is far from the maddening crowd of other bloggers. Here we like a bit of genuine sensible political debate and like nothing better on our nights off from debuachery than a bit of armchair auditing "a la Pickles". In fact I have just invested in a large jar of the finest Crosse and Blackwell pickles specifically for this purpose. As we know, Brian prefers a different route to getting pickled, but that is quite another story.

 As we said above, Brian exhonourated this blog from his criticisms and was good enough to say some kind words, so it would be rude not to repeat them for him here (let's face it, Brian saying kind things about anyone in Barnet is so rare, it deserves to be carved in stone).
 
Anyway, enough waffle from me. What did he say next to my handsome image? Here it is verbatim.

I am not worried about blogs that genuinely debate matters of political interest and indeed there are several that cover Barnet affairs from a socialist point of view with which I fundamentally disagree but I enjoy reading. Furthermore the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles’ idea about recruiting “armchair auditors“ is a positive move to enhance the power of the Internet and make local government more accountable.

Well thanks Brian, as they say somewhere in the bible, there is much joy over a sinner who repenteths.

Maybe Brian has realised that he rather made a fool out of himself, embarrassed his colleagues and damaged the reputation of the Barnet Conservative party last night and is trying to sucker up to me as I was not actually around at the Town Hall last night. In a spiked barb at the bloggers who did not have exciting musical careers in the fleshpots of Finchley,  Brian recognised that I have a life and better things to do. ( I was playing a gig with my band for the entertainment of the locals, an activity I enjoy far more than watching council debates.)

I have a great idea for Brian Coleman. As he is clearly finished as a serious politician, he could buy himself a set of maraca's and join the False Dot's (my band) as Barnet's rival to Bez the exotic dancer from the Happy Mondays. He could dress up in whatever he likes, shout as many insults at middle aged ladies as he see's fit and everyone would think it was just part of the show.

If truth be told, I quite enjoy Brian Coleman when he appears on the Ken Livingstone radio show on LBC. I think becoming the Barnet Bez could be the first step towards a television career. He'd be great on big brother and even better on I'm a celebrity, get me out of here, which he would surely win if there was an option to keep him in the jungle permanently.

Whilst Brian does perform a vital function in the Barnet Conservatives - he reminds us how truly horrible they really are - the time has come for him to move on to pastures new. Sadly having witnessed his prose first hand, I don't think his future lies in writing, given that despite a grammar school education, he is even less literate than I am and I'm dyslexic. I hear that Brian is actually a whizz on the dance floor and was highly envious of Peter Mandleson for his reputation for being a lothario on the dance floor. Sadly I don't think Brian will ever rival old snake hips, but I think the comedy Bez route would be the way to go. I am sure many people in Barnet, the fire brigade and the wider community would pay good money to watch that. In a private conversation, Councillor Richard Cornelius, the Leader of Barnet Council, informed me that "Brian can be lots of fun!" (who for he didn't specify).

I hear Paul Shea in the Discount Centre in Finchley High Road does ripe tomatoes at a decent price if you want to bring him a present.

As Bwian would say "Wodger, Wodger"

Why every Jewish voter in Barnet must vote for Andrew Dismore

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.

Mayoral Election gets nasty - Who do you trust Crosby or Ken?

Last night I received this email from the Ken Livingstone campaign :-

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I’m sorry for emailing you on a Saturday night. Earlier today Boris Johnson’s Campaign Director sent out an email smearing me and I wanted to make sure you saw it. They are determined to raise Londoners fares and will do absolutely anything to stop my plan to cut fares.

In the email, Tory Campaign Director Lynton Crosby said:

“Labour's chief Transport spokesperson [Maria Eagle] has let the cat out of the bag on Ken Livingstone's election promise to cut fares. She has confirmed what everybody else knows: there is no money for fare cuts without cutting £1bn worth of investment in services.”
And he writes:

“It is becoming clearer by the day that either Ken Livingstone has no intention of ever cutting fares, or he is working on a behind the scenes plan to cut £1bn of investment.”
Lynton Crosby needs to wake up and smell the coffee. If elected, I will cut fares on or by October 7th. I will resign if I have not done so by that date, and precipitate a by-election. I have never been more committed to anything in my life.

Boris Johnson’s Campaign Director has invented a plan to cut investment to scare people. It is the worst kind of politics. Tory lies.

Our fares plan is paid for out of the annual surpluses caused in no small part because the fares are so high they are bringing in more revenue than planned. It will protect investment and existing services.

The Tory-led government imposed a £2.17bn 4-year grant cut on Transport for London in the 2010 Spending Review. I have based all of my calculations for funding my Fare Deal fares cut on TfL's revised budget which takes this reduced grant into account.

My fares cut is affordable under either the existing TfL budget, or Maria Eagle's alternative.

It seems the Tories don’t understand the transport budget. It looks like they haven’t even read it.

And they don’t care about Londoners being squeezed through high fares. They want to do everything they can to keep on whacking the fares up.

I want change. If you want to join me in making real change happen, show Lynton Crosby what you think of Tory lies. Donate to our campaign here, today, and give our Fare Deal campaign a boost right now
Thank you

Ken

Ken Livingstone
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And here is the email from Lynton Crosby which prompted Kens Ire.
-----------------------------------
Labour's chief Transport spokesperson has let the cat out of the bag on Ken Livingstone's election promise to cut fares.
She has confirmed what everybody else knows: there is no money for fare cuts without cutting £1bn worth of investment in services.
In a candid interview with the Guardian today, Maria Eagle said: "Reducing the deficit requires us to support cuts in spending that we might not have in the past. Some of this is painful."
This follows independent assessments of Ken Livingstone's election promise that confirm he could not cut fares without cutting investment.
The Channel Four Fact Check blog recently concluded that; 'If he cuts fares, TfL would expect to lose £1.12bn in income from fares – and that’s a hole he wouldn’t be able to plug without hitting the day-to-day funding for London’s transport or taking money from investment projects.'
It is becoming clearer by the day that either Ken Livingstone has no intention of ever cutting fares, or he is working on a behind the scenes plan to cut £1bn of investment. 
This would mean axing local bus routes in the suburbs, cutting bus police, stopping tube station refurbishments and delaying programmes to make the tube more frequent and less overcrowded. 
He must come clean with Londoners now. Which is it to be?

Thanks for your support,
Lynton Crosby

Campaign Director
----------------------------------------------------------
So who do you believe? The simple test I apply whenever I assess such claims is to look at peoples track record. Ken Livingstone, for all his faults has got a long history of commitment to affordable public transport. Those of us old enough to remember the Fairs Fare program, recall how the popularity of the scheme prompted the abolition of the GLC. As to Lynton Crosby? Well he's got a fantastic, a fantastic record of saying what is required to get the person who's campaign he's running elected.

But then who really knows

Matthew Offord - The Incredible Invisible Shrinking MP

Matthew and friends

Matthew, where are you? Matthew, where are you?

It seems no one knows where Matthew is? In case you hadn't noticed, there is an election in May for the Mayor of London. Boris and Brian have taken a hammering in Barnet, due to Brian Colemans catastrophic parking charges blunders. In the circumstances, you would think that the local MP Matthew Offord would be out knocking on doors, trying to rally the troops.

I was not surprised to be told that there was a story on the Hendon Conservatives website about an MP out on the streets of Mill Hill, helping octogenerian Councillor John Hart delivering BackBoris leaflets. That's what Tory MP's are meant to do, isn't it? What is rather more surprising is that the MP in question is not the MP for Hendon. He's not even an MP in the London Borough of Barnet, in fact he's not even an MP in London. Nope, the MP helping dear old Johnny Hart is Dan Byles, MP for a Warwickshire constituency - http://www.hendonconservatives.org/news/delivering-envelopes-boris-johnsons-re-election-can-be-fun - one has to wonder if any sane politician who is familiar with Barnet would really want to go out on the streets canvassing for Brian Coleman right now.

Mind you given the complete disappearance of Matthew Offord from the streets of Hendon, I bet more people would recognise Mr Byle than Matthew. I bumped into a local Tory activist delivering leaflets and asked where Matthew was. His response "I dunno, probably walking his dog". I asked how the campaign was going, to which he rolled his eyes "If it wasn't for the fact that I hate Livingstones guts, I'd have jacked it in". Sadly I think that reflects the views of a significant number of Barnet Tories. More than a couple have told me privately that they will be abstaining in the GLA vote. It will be fascinating to see how many people in Barnet tick the box for Boris and don't for Brian. 

Welcome back to work - Deus Irae? or the woe of Thameslink

For many of us, today is the first day back at work after the Xmas and new year break. After the festivities, the alarm clock here went off at 6.30 to get the children up for school. What a day to come back to. On one such day, my old latin teacher at FCHS exclaimed as the wind howled and the rain poured down "Deus Irae". Today's weather is appropriate for the post holiday hangover we all have. For me, the first day back after the seasonal holidays is my least favourite day of the year. We find ourselves skint, facing the two harshest months of the year. We are welcomed back today to a huge hike in the cost of commuting into London. The reason for this is to "pay for investments" apparently. I have no issue with investments being paid for, but I seriously question the logic of paying for it by front loading it on to hard pressed commuters. Let me give you an example. Take my local service, the Thameslink line into London. Fares have been hiked, year after year to "pay for improvements". What has been the effect on the commuters of these improvements. Let me list a few :-

1. No direct service to Moorgate Station
2. The through service suspended for six months to construct the New St Pancras Station
3. Blackfriars tube Station shut for two years.
4. Massive overcrowding.
5. Removal of cross London Services for Sutton Loop.
6. No cross London services at weekends for years on end.

With all this disruption, you would think that rather than fare hikes, they should give passengers a discount whilst there journeys are constantly disrupted. For many people they pay the rises, but by 2016 when the program is finished, they will have retired. Years of disruption at extortionate prices, with what in return? Nothing. We are told that when the program is finished, there will be less overcrowding. I don't believe a word of it. If the service improves, more people will use it. I remember when the M25 was proposed, the argument was that it would "reduce overcrowding". What happened was the opposite. So you may say, how should the Thameslink program be paid for? It is clear to me that it should be paid from general taxation and borrowing. Capital programs produce a return on investments. Presumably there is a good business case for Thameslink and the benefits of the work will be felt for decades, if not centuries. Not only that, but people who never set foot on a Thameslink train will reap huge benefits from it. How you may ask? Because improved infrastructure opens up job opportunities, meaning that people can travel further to work, more quickly and more conveniently. This reduces unemployment and stimulates the economy. It removes cars from the roads, as people switch to rail, making other motorists journeys quicker and more pleasant. Who pays for major road projects? We all do. I rarely use the M1, but the roadworks North of Luton are paid for by me. Road commuters from Bedfordshire into London are subsidised by me, but as a regular rail user, they get a free ride from subsidising me. 

The UK has some of the highest fares in Europe and some of the lowest subsidies for travel. Who benefits from all this? The Thameslink service is operated by First Group under the First Capital Connect banner. Has First Group and it's shareholders suffered for this? Of course not. They have hidden behind the program as an excuse for a shoddy service. Regular users have suffered all manner of misfortune under this inept company. We had a period of months where the network virtually ground to a halt due to lack of trained drivers. We have had noticeboards which didn't work, resulting in many people boarding trains to completely the wrong destination. I had a conversation with a First representative about this. This is how the conversation went

Me: What are you doing about the fact your electronic destination boards are consistently not working
FCC: We are talking to our suppliers
Me: That is no use for me, why can't you have a system to tell passengers on the platform?
FCC: We do, we make announcements
Me: That is no use to me, I'm registered deaf (NB> I have a 44db hearing loss) and cannot usually hear them
FCC: Well that's your problem then, isn't it. You should check the front of the train or ask a member of staff.

The bottom line is that this company makes huge profits, is subsidised by the taxpayer and the passengers are lumbered with an uncaring monopoly. If and when they lose the franchise, no one will mourn their demise.

At the Mayoral election in May we have a clear choice and we have two people who have vastly different views on transport. We have Boris Johnson who stands for high fares and cares only for motorists in the posher London Boroughs and we have Ken Livingstone who has a consistant track record of standing up for lower fares and better all round transport infrastructure.

I asked a local Tory what Boris had done for Transport in Barnet. His answer "He got rid of the Bendy buses and he's developed the new Boris bus. He also got the cycle scheme going". An odd response really. There were no bendy buses in Barnet, we've seen one prototype bus delivered, which I've yet to see in Barnet and the cycle scheme hasn't come within miles of the Borough.

I doubt Ken Livingstone will do well in Barnet.I doubt that this fact is anything to do with his record on transport. In fact I doubt that it is based on anything more than a dislike generated by some comments to an Evening Standard reporter who was hassling him. I do understand this and I have some sympathy with the view, I just think it is crying shame that everyone in Barnet who commutes has to pay for these comments on a daily basis.

If like me you've been none too impressed with the performance of First Group, you may wish to sign this petition.

http://www.petitiononline.co.uk/petition/say-no-to-firstgroup-bidding-for-scotrail-in-2014/4085 Say no to firstgroup bidding for scotrail in 2014 www.petitiononline.co.uk Say NO to FirstGroup bidding for Scotrail in 2014.

London Mayoral Elections - Boris Vs Ken - Election broadcast from the Apathy Party

Originally published in 2000AD - issue 1743 - The galaxies greatest comic

Brian Coleman LFEPA expenses update

On Wednesday, we posted a blog detailing outrageous expenses claims by the Barnet and Camden GLA Member and Barnet Councillor Brian Coleman. Brian Colemans colleague at the GLA, John Biggs, clearly a sensible chap and avid Barnet Eye reader, immediately twittered this :-

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JohnBiggsAM John Biggs

@

@MayorOfLondon Pity most of that £30m is going to pay Brian Coleman's expenses http://tinyurl.com/5rpt8sc

12 May Favorite Retweet Reply 

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John then raised it with the Mayor, who is clearly sick of Coleman and his pisstaking. Dave Hill at the Guardian, then piled into the story and the Evening Standard also joined in. A whole bevvy of disgusted Standard readers have left comments indicating that they take a dim view of Coleman and his antics. 

As predicted here, Coleman is yet again showing that he has the ability to completely poison the image of Boris and the Tories in London. Half a million Evening Standard readers are reading all about Colemans excess, less than a year before Boris and he come up for re-election. Brian Coleman's new spin doctor has only been administering the medicine for a  couple of weeks and already the toxic Coleman brand has worked his magic. 

Oh yes, I've also heard that Ken Livingstone is keen to get Brian Coleman on his Saturday morning show on LBC as much as possible between now and the next election. Whatever you may think of Ken and his policies, everyone knows he's a canny political operator. This tells you everything you need to know about what effect Brian Coleman will have on the voting intentions of Londoners.

 

 

Brian Coleman Special - The Spin Doctor in Action

When the news Brian Coleman had appointed a spin doctor broke last week, I allowed myself a sly chuckle. What on earth could any spin doctor prescribe to make Brian Coleman seem a reasonable choice to the voters of Barnet? Silly me. I had asked the completely wrong question. Now sadly Brian hasn't asked me over to discuss what he's being told to do or say, or what his spin doctors plan is, but it is becoming pretty clear, just from watching what is happening. Telling Brian Coleman to behave himself is pretty much like me telling my dog not to lick her backside. If I give her a treat she won't lick her bum until she's finished guzzling it, but she doesn't even understand what I'm saying. So any spin doctor working for Brian has to approach the problem from a different angle. Maybe a really good spin doctor could make all his opponents seem equally, or preferably even more awful. Anyone who studied Boris Johnsons campaign, as I did for the 2008 Mayoral election will know that Boris had a team of happy helpers who scoured the local papers leaving nice comments about Boris and horrid ones about Ken. These were all anonymous, I used to exchange banter with them across the websites of various publications. Oh what fun we had.

Now lucky old Boris wasn't the only Tory with a team of web based, anonymous admirers. Finchley MP, Mike Freer has had a very small band of anonymous followers who also have left comments on the local paper for the last few years. Strangely, although they find Mike fascinating they seem to ignore all other topics. Until this week.  On a Hendon Times story about Andrew Dismore and Ken Livingstone, guess who has popped up?
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narthlandan, Barnet says...
10:10am Wed 4 May 11

Yes, I remember how wonderful it was when Ken stuck up council tax year after year and increased bus/tube fares. Really listened to the people.

 

AmandaB, Hendon says...
12:28pm Wed 4 May 11

Wow Ken in North London... he forgot where it was last time!

 --------------------------------------

 

It strikes me that what has happened is not so much that Brian Coleman has appointed a spin doctor (who'd want that on their CV?) as Boris has realised that Coleman will cost him votes big time in Barnet and Camden, therefore he's lent Coleman a spin doctor to do a bit of damage limitation. I suspect if it was as simple as Coleman getting the boot at the election, Boris would be quite pleased to see the back of him, but every vote Brian Coleman costs the Tories, is a vote less for Boris. If Andrew Dismore runs a strong campaign and Tory voters turn away from Coleman, it could cost Boris the race, if things get tight.

Now we all know that politics is a dirty game and hopefully no one is stupid enough to think that the two F'ing B's (Fabulous Brian & Fabulous Boris) are the only politicians out to do a bit of nasty negative campaigning. I hear whole truckloads of dirt are being ordered by all sides. Mrs Angry has claimed that her family have the power of Mystic Meg. I claim no such powers, but I do have this prediction. The Boris Vs Ken election will be one of the nastiest ever seen in the UK and the battle in Barnet between Brian Coleman and Andrew Dismore will be the nastiest GLA battle ever. Brian Colemans strategy will be to make people think that the pair of them are the same and hope tribal loyalties see him through. I am sure that Andrew Dismore has a stack of dirt to throw back & I suspect that he'll be aided and abetted by a whole army of people who don't like Coleman (including some local Tories who want to be rid of him).

I was asked this evening, as I discussed this blog over a beer with a mate, who my money was on. I'd say the smart money has to be on Dismore. There are three reasons for this (in order of importance) :-

1) We'll have had 2 years of vicious Tory spending cuts in London. Dave Cameron has no interest in helping Boris and no interest in saving Coleman, so the tide will be out for the pair of them politically.

2) Labour will see Boris as a massive scalp (as Ken was previously for the Tories) and will throw the kitchen sink at him. Brian Coleman is a fine stick to beat him with, being Boris's no 1 henchman in shafting Londons brave firemen. If Boris decides Coleman is a liability, he'll lose him.

3) Andrew Dismore is far more intelligent than Brian Coleman, has a team of people in the constituency who are loyal to him personally and he knows how to campaign. Boris would be well advised to stand well back when the Coleman hits the fan.

If I was a betting man, I'd take a small wager on Coleman being dumped before the GLA elections actually happen. There's a few things which could tip him out. He's up before the Standards committee again, sometime soon and could be suspended. There is a strong possibility that the Tories in Barnet will have a new Leader some time in the next six months (Hillan is apparently very poorly) and a new leader may well want shot of him. And the biggest imponderable, as mentioned previously - Boris might just wake up to the fact that he's probably the worst possible advert for the Tories.

In a tight election Coleman is just what Ken Livingstone needs. Would anyone who knows Coleman, be in the least bit surprised if he imploded to hole Boris below the waterline a few weeks before the Mayoral Election with one of his idiotic outbursts. I've no idea if Boris reads the Barnet Eye, but if he's reading this I have one question for him "Is your career really worth flushing down the bog, just to keep Brian Coleman in free dinners for the next four years?". The one thing which puzzles me about Boris and his indulgence of Brian is why? We all know that Boris has plenty of mates from the Bullingdon club, who are past masters at behaving badly, but at least they really are toffs. We all know that, when it comes down to it, Coleman is a bit common, he fools no one. For all their faults, at least the Bullingdon mob, could afford their dinners and weren't constantly on the ponce. Has Brian fooled Boris into actually thinking that this is how "commoners" carry on and that he's a man of the people? I've a word of advice for Boris. The average working man has no time at all for a man who won't stand his round. It amazes me that Boris thinks employing a spin doctor is the way to fix the Coleman problem. Wouldn't he be better sacking him & getting the spin doctor to spend his time getting him a few gigs back on "Have I Got News For You" or "Top Gear". Now that would win him a few votes for sure.

The Mayor of London in Barnet - Boris or Ken - Interactive blog

I have a little request for all of my legion of readers. When Boris Johnson took over, he said he'd be a "Mayor for all of London". I've been racking my brains trying to think of anything either Boris or Ken did directly for The London Borough of Barnet (Londonwide initiatives don't count). Personally I'm rather pissed off with Boris for not doing more to make sure Brent Cross redevelopment wasn't a monstrosity, but I also blame Ken for this.

Please can you add your comments if you can think of anything. I will also break one of my own rules. Any comments which do not specifically list something they've done for Barnet will be summiraly deleted. I just want a list of stuff they've done and not a list of boring comments that Kens bum smells and Boris is the reincarnation of Ghengis Khan. As both these chaps are icons, I'm sure that we'll get a rather impressive list.

Coleman on Ken - Firemen to be given 90 days notice

Brian Coleman has just told Ken Livingsone on the LBC 97.3 radio show that he's going to give all of Londons firemen 90 days notice if they don't accept new shift patterns and other changes. That's Brian Coleman who earns between £114,000 and £130,000 per annum depending on who you believe. The same Brian Coleman who voted himself and other cabinet members a huge payrise of 100%. The same Brian Coleman who used his role as chief whip of the Barnet Tory group to publicly humiliate Kate Salinger for abstaining in the vote. The man is a bully and a menace

Heads in the sand as Boris exposes Camerons Conservatives

Cowards. That's what I hate more than anything. Most of the problems of Great Britain today could be solved if our leaders had a little bit of backbone and were prepared to take tough decisions. In less than a year's time, we have an election. What choice will we have? Gordon Brown or David Cameron. We know plenty about Gordon Brown, but what do we know about David Cameron and his Conservatives? Well the most powerful Conservative in the Country is Boris Johnson. I'd like to say I'm shocked about the revelations of the last few days, which have exposed his regime as being completely incompetent and useless. The trouble is I'm not. Even worse than that, I happen to know that David Cameron is not shocked either. David Cameron always saw a Boris candidacy as extremely risky, Cameron always knew that sooner or later Boris would show himself to be unfit for office. Cameron's plan was to hope that Boris would fail after the next general election. Boris was a risk worth taking at the time. When he was selected, Cameron thought he stood no chance of beating Livingstone, so he was happy to let Boris have a go. As Gordon Brown's credibility waned, Cameron suddenly realised that Boris may actually get in. He was lumbered with him and he knew it. All he could do was cross his fingers and hope.

Well Boris has been in for just over a year. He's lost 3 deputy mayors and one senior advisor. The saga surrounding the latest casualty is the most appalling scandal I can recall in British Politics. It's not the fact that a Middle aged man started an affair with a girl young enough to be his daughter that bothers me, good luck to him. It is the fact that Boris knew that Ian Clement was unfit to have a corporate credit card in August 2008. I run a successful company and if one of my employees showed themselves as unfit to have a credit card, I would sack them. It is all about trust. How can Boris have thought that Clement was unfit to have a credit card, but fit to be a Deputy Mayor. Not only that, but it seems that knowing he had form for this, Boris still signed his expenses off. He didn't bother to even check. Sir Simon Milton admitted this today. In most firms, if you break the rules, you will be put under the microscope. Your expenses get special attention. If Boris had believe this to be a mistake, he should have let Clement know in no uncertain terms that he'd personally check and would sack him if he found he was lying or he broke the rules again. Clements actions expose Boris as a weak leader with no credibility.

During the Mayoral Campaign, Boris promised a cleaner, more transparent regime. He promised an end to cronyism and he promised that all unnecessary waste would be rooted out. I thought I'd check the rest of his team. This is what I found. If you are a Tory, look away now.

Alex Crowley

Political Adviser to the Mayor

Prior to being appointed, Alex led the team that developed policy and produced the manifestos for Boris Johnson's Mayoral campaign. He has also previously worked at the Greater London Authority, working for Conservative members of the London Assembly, advising on political matters and transport policy.

Appointed: 22 September 2008 to the end of the Mayor’s term of office in 2012
Status: Mayoral appointment
Summary of role: To provide advice to the Mayor on issues relating to his manifesto and to act as principle liaison between the Mayors office and key contacts in London.
Salary: £77,063

This is your money. Is this really the best way for Boris to be spending £77,063 per annum. Over his four year term, that is more than a quarter of a million pounds on someone to help him with his manifesto !!!!! If you don't believe me click here - http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/team/advisors.jsp

Lets examine a couple of his directors :-

Directors

Richard Blakeway

Director of Housing

Richard Blakeway spent seven years working in the House of Commons, including for the Conservative Party's policy review and then as housing advisor to Boris Johnson during his Mayoral campaign. In 2004 he helped launch and edit the International Development Magazine circulated to over 100 countries. Richard is a Young Ambassador for the Samaritans and Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts. He is also a member of the Homes and Communities Agency's London Board.

Appointed: 22 September 2008 to the end of the Mayor's term of office in 2012
Status: Mayoral appointment
Summary of role: To lead the political, strategic and operational framework for the development of the Mayor's statutory housing strategy and other housing and homelessness policies to help deliver the Mayor's housing responsibilities and plans.
Salary: £82,200

Anthony Browne

Policy Director

A former national journalist, Anthony Browne was Director of the leading think tank Policy Exchange, and has written reports on issues ranging from the NHS to housing, education, environment and welfare reform for several think tanks. Anthony has a degree in mathematics from Cambridge University. He is married with two children and lives in north London.

Appointed: 6 October 2008 to the end of the Mayor’s term of office in 2012
Status: Mayoral appointment
Summary of role: To provide policy advice to the Mayor, and to research and develop new policies for London.
Salary: £127,784

Guto Harri

Director of Communications

Guto spent more than a decade as a political correspondent for BBC News. He was also posted by the Corporation to Rome and New York. He has presented some of the flagship programmes on Radio 4 and left the BBC to become senior Policy Advisor consultant for Fleishman Hillard before joining the Mayor's team.

Appointed: 12 May 2008 to the end of the Mayor's term of office in 2012
Status: Mayoral appointment
Summary of role: To advise the Mayor on matters relating to media and communications and to lead and direct media and communications strategy and policy development to support the priorities and objectives of the Mayor and GLA.
Salary: £127,784

There are a few more here, if you really wan't to check.

http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/team/directors.jsp

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I don't know about you, but I ask myself, what value do these people add to London? We are paying a fortune in salaries, but what are these people delivering? Why did Boris pick them? If you were planning to solve the problems of London, would you pick a highly paid team of journalists?

If I was picking a director of Housing would I pick someone who's main claim to fame is

In 2004 he helped launch and edit the International Development Magazine circulated to over 100 countries.

Which brings us back to David Cameron. He leads the Conservatives. He is trying to convince us that The Tories can fix all the problems Gordon Brown created. I ask you this. The evidence of what happens when the Tories get in is there. Boris is his flagship. Cameron knows that he has to keep quiet and hope that not too many people notice. This is why Cameron has said nothing about how Boris has dealt with it. That is why Tory bloggers such as Iain Dale have said nothing about Clement or his resignation.

It is because they are all too cowardly to admit that they campaigned for a man they knew was totally unsuitable for such an important job. Boris was elected fairly and squarely by London, so I accept that we have to put up with him. I can't accept that we have to pay for all his mates to lead the life of riley and I really think that if David Cameron is a proper leader he'll do something about it.

A message from Ken Livingstone

Dear Friend

Tomorrow, 4 June the polling stations open for the European elections.

There is one powerful reason why everyone should use their vote. If you don't, the BNP may win their first seats in the European Parliament. That would be the biggest electoral advance of fascists in British history.

The latest poll puts the BNP within less than one per cent of winning a seat in London.

Unite Against Fascism have written an article for Progressive London "Vote to stop the BNP", which I urge you to read here:

http://www.progressivelondon.org.uk/

Most important, please vote tomorrow to stop the BNP.

You can find out where your local polling station is here: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/

Yours sincerely

Ken Livingstone

Be very frightened - It's the Boris Zombie Budget - Aaarghhh

Thought I'd tune in to listen to Ken interviewing Roger Evans - GLA Tory leader on his LBC show. A couple of very disturbing facts came out during the course of the show. I'd be rather interested to here what Boris Johnson's cheerleaders have to say about these. Firstly Ken stated that when he lost the election, he left reserves in the kitty of £1.5 Billion. The new Boris budget plans for this to diminish to £150 million. Basically, he's keeping tax down by raiding the piggybank. If anything at all unexpected happens, there won't be the cash to pay for it. This seems to be current Tory policy. Barnet did the same thing with the council tax. Now why would any authority be so stupid as to take such a risk? Well it strikes me that the Tories know there is an election coming. No one stands out in the street protesting against tax cuts paid for out of the budget. The Tories know that if they can keep taxes down, people won't look too hard to see how that's been achieved. There are quite a few marginals in London (not least Finchley, where council leader Mike Freer is standing). Their game plan is to say "Look, Tories keep taxes low".

Well, we are being conned, these aren't tax cuts. They are deferred Tax rises, which risk the family silver. I cannot think of any sound politician cutting reserves by 9/10ths at a time such as this.

Another interesting thing struck me when I heard about this figure. The Mayor had a reserve many times bigger than Barnet. How much did he lose in Iceland? Nothing as far as I can see. It is no secret that I am a Ken Livingstone fan. There are many policies which Ken champions that I support. The one thing I never ever expected to be able to do was hold Ken's financial policies up as an example to the Tories, I always thought this was Ken's one weakness. It seems not.

It won't get the juices flowing or make too many headlines, but we are risking a nightmare with Boris Johnson's policy of destroying the reserves continues. The same can be said of the Tories in Barnet.