Are UKIP U-sluss ?

Let me let you in on a little secret, nobody knows this, but the Barnet and Camden UKIP candidate is a chap called Michael Corby. I have started to suspect that he is the invisible man. Whilst everyone seems to know Tory candidate Brian Coleman, for his multitude of sins and his "all publicity is good publicity" mantra and everyone knows former Hendon MP Andrew Dismore, who is a hard working and diligent candidate, where is MR Corby. Ex Hendon Tory bigwig, who defected to UKIP, Adrian Murray-Leonard assured me last year that UKIP would beat the Lib Dems into fourth place in Barnet and Camden at the GLA elections. He stated that Coleman was so unpopular that they may even win the seat.

My assumption was that UKIP would target the seat and go in all guns blazing. Whilst I doubt they could beat Dismore, my assumption was that they would see Barnet as a place where they could get their vote high enough on the PR list vote, on the back of an anti Coleman campaign, to get a rep in the GLA.

Sadly (for them), it seems they have no organisation, no strategy and no effective organisation in Barnet. In short they are missing an open goal. What is shocking is that no one I've spoken to seems to understand how the GLA voting system works. Even a supposed "political party" like UKIP are seemingly unaware of how to exploit a weak "candidate from hell" like Tory Coleman to boost their chances on the PR list top up system.

In short, I think that UKIP should rename themselves U-Sluss. If they can't get their act together to even get a leafllet out in Barnet, they clearly don't deserve any representation. My advice to disaffected Tories, who hate Coleman and would vote UKIP in protest. Abstain for Coleman and vote Tory on the top up list. Voting for a party or candidate who is invisible and a party with no election strategy, is sending out completely the wrong message. If you want to send a strong signal to the Conservative Party that Brian Coleman is not an appropriate candidate, following his parking policy fiasco and his general boorish demeanour, then you can do this by voting for Boris in the Mayoral election, Conservative on the top up list and abstaining on the Coleman vote (you will get three voting slips). The Conservatives are a well organised and professional party and analyse the results in minute detail. They will see this and will then make sure that the local Tory party get the message that such basket case behaviour is unacceptable.

Boris Campaign is planning to "Blitz Barnet"

Given the strong Jewish connections in the London Borough of Barnet, am I the only person who thinks that the BackBoris Campaign Director Lynton Crosby could have chosen his words better when putting this tweet out?

Lynton Crosby ‏ @LyntonKCrosby

Another blitz by Boris today. In Acton,Ealing,Southall,Finchley,Barnet,Enfield Southgate, Enfield Town to sell his 9 Point Plan.

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Crosby is building a reputation for being inept and ham fisted in the arena of social media. Adam Bienkov recently exposed this ineptness in a very revealing blog - http://www.adambienkov.com/2012/03/does-anyone-on-boris-johnsons-campaign.html

I have started to wonder about what is going on with the BackBoris campaign. I spoke to a couple of Tories in Mill Hill, who had read my recent blog about the "what has Boris done for Barnet" leaflet and were horrified that his greatest achievement was "planting 88 trees" - http://barneteye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/oh-dear-boris-this-is-bit-embarrassing.html

Given that Boris is generally well liked, he has all the press on his side and he hasn't been as bad a disaster as many people on the left suspected, could it be that employing a buffoon like Crosby could be the masterstroke (for Ken Livingstone) that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory for Boris.

Given the fact that Barnet is the most populous borough, surely any vaguely competent campaign manager would have got Boris to replace the GLA rep, Brian Coleman with someone who may actually be a campaign assett.
 

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.

Boris launches the Brian Coleman charm offensive

This weekend the Barnet Tories launched the Brian Coleman charm offensive. We got a leaflet showing just how hard Brian Coleman has been working on our behalf. Strangely it makes no mention of the way Coleman has hiked up parking charges. Apparently the fact that certain types of crime are down is completely down to all the hard work Boris and Brian have been doing. Strangely, the leaflet doesn't mention that theft of mobile phones is up by 10%. What is the police advice for residents? Don't make lengthy mobile phone calls on the street or have your valuables handy. What does Brian Colemans policy for pay by phone require? Lengthy calls on the street, with your credit card in your hand. Due to the document being bigger than the scanner. I've sent an FOI request to the police to find out exactly how hard Brian Coleman has been working with the Police. Should be interesting

It is nice to see that Boris completely associates himself with Brian Coleman and his policies. Next time you get a parking ticket, or if your business is suffering, ask yourself this. Do I really want Brian Coleman to be rewarded with £50,000 a year for the next four years at the GLA elections in May for these policies? Hear is a rather crappily scanned version of the leaflet.

In response to the taxpayer funded pro Boris rally at the Peel Centre last week, I received this letter from the Labour candidate Andrew Dismore. He clearly is rather upset at the taxpayer funding such a rally. I was under the impression that in the run up to an election, public funds should not be used to exclusively promote one side. I'm not taking sides in this, I don't belong to the Conservative or Labour party. You may think I'm a secret Dismore fan. In actual fact the Labour party expelled me in 2010 (even though I'd quit the party in 2009) and told me I was banned from membership for five years. What amuses me is that Brian Coleman could join the Labour party tomorrow if he wanted to, but I can't. Anyway, here's what Andrew has to say

Dear Editor,

The Press  (19^th January) gave extensive coverage to the London Mayor’s meeting at the Peel Centre. However, chaired by the Conservative GLA member Brian Coleman, also facing the ballot box in May, one could be forgiven for thinking it was nothing more than a Conservative election rally.

Most of the time was taken up by the Mayor extolling his own virtues, supported by  the rest of his “ backing group” panel. Ostensibly to discuss local economic issues, the GLA member was very careful to avoid calling any questioners who wished to raise the parking charges issue- the biggest elephant in the room and for which he is personally responsible - and indeed to avoid calling anyone likely to ask challenging and difficult questions in  the short time they  left for questions.  Criticism was confined to outside the formal meeting. 

Of course, if the meeting had been paid for by the Conservatives, one could hardly object to the holding an election rally: but it wasn’t. It was paid for by London’s council taxpayers.

Personally, I think the money could and should have been better spent on ameliorating the Mayor’s police cuts or fares rises, but clearly the Mayor and GLA member have other things on their mind as the May elections approach.

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden

Boris support for Brian Coleman is starting to bite back

Has Boris made a big tactical blunder by agreeing to appear with Brian Coleman at an election rally tomorrow night. I spoke to a friend last night and he gave me a stark illustration of how Brian Coleman is seriously affecting the core Conservative vote in Barnet.The pay and display changes have been universally rejected by the local business community. Yesterday I bumped into a friend who is a staunch Conservative. He runs a small business with his wife and is a member of the local business community, having run a successful business with his wife for 25 years. He's also an active member of the local Jewish community. He attended Orange Hill Senior High School with me many years ago and has never been afraid to speak his mind. He told me -

This parking business is a direct attack on the local business community. Coleman has behaved in a disgusting manner and clearly doesn't give a shit about small businesses. The local business community have been the backbone of the local Conservatives for many years. Whether it be fundraising or delivering leaflet, we've always supported the party. Now we find that this counts for nothing. We have been attacked and no one in the local party seems to care. I've never voted anything other than Conservative. I could never vote Lib Dem or Labour and I hate Ken Livingstone, but as Boris has chosen to stand on a platform with Coleman, I will be staying at home this time. Even if the parking changes were reversed tomorrow, it would change nothing. As soon as the election is out of the way, they'll put them back. I can't trust Coleman and until he is gone, the Conservative party will have to do without my vote. I'm not the only one. The whole community is up in arms.

If any local Conservative MP's, Councillors or other party activists are reading this, I suggest that they take themselves down to any of our High Streets and have a word with local shopkeepers. The above statement has been edited. There were plenty of words starting with F's and C's that I took out. If the local Conservatives think that they can impose policies which cut peoples incomes, in challenging eeconomic times, without there being a price to pay, then they really are even more useless than we thought.

In May, if Boris Johnson finds he has lost the Mayoralty in a tight race, I wonder if he will look back on the day he took a platform with Brian Coleman in the London Borough of Barnet as the day he lost it?

Boris re-election special - Who is Mr Minus - The Walking Timebomb?

As regular readers of this blog will know, I have a friend who is a reasonably senior member of the Tory party in another part of London. We regularly meet for a few beers and a curry to discuss beer, football and the joys of having teenage daughters. Yesterday he rang me for a chat about Manchester City's famous victory over the red peril. He's a neutral in that respect, but thoroughly enjoyed the stonking game of football. Anyway as we chatted, he told me that he's getting rather involved in the campaign to get Boris re-elected. "How's it going?" I asked. He replied that it's going pretty well. Polling shows that the ordinary man in the street likes Boris. They have a whole host of initiatives and announcements lined up which will chime rather well with the public. What's the view of Ken? "We're not really that worried about him right now". So it all sounds pretty good. I asked "So any issues that are causing problems?". The answer surprised me, not for the content but because it was something I didn't think he'd say "Well we have Mr Minus, the walking timebomb". I was rather shocked "Mr Minus, the walking timebomb? Who's that?" At which he laughed and said "Come on Rog, you no I couldn't possibly comment on that".

I do wonder if Boris is considering getting a bomb diffusal expert. I would if I were him.

On another subject completely, I am most disappointed that there wasn't a rush of support for Brian Coleman following my plea for campaign funds for him yesterday. Come on Tories, get your wallets out !

Boris 2012 - The most stupid political leaflet ever?

I got this leaflet through the door today, from the Mayor of London. Have I ever seen a more ill timed and stupid leaflet? Let me think about that one. What has been the big London story this week? Riots & looting. Guess what Boris says in the leaflet "By working closely with Brian Coleman, we have so far delivered 75 more police officers on your streets and cut crime by almost 13% in Barnet and almost 14% in Camden". On the other side of the leaflet, Boris proudly boasts of "a fall of 20% in robberies". Hmm, I wonder if the figures include last weeks crimes?

Ok Boris, let's just take this really easy. On Monday night, the streets of London were nearly completely out of control. Were there adequate numbers of police? No, of course there weren't, that's why we have Welsh bobbies patrolling the streets of London. That is why tonight, one of my friends couldn't play five a side football, because all of his leave has been cancelled. If Boris thinks that sending a leaflet boasting about his successes preventing crime, in a week when many London landmarks have gone up in flames and many shops have been looted bare, is a good idea, we have to ask whether he is up to the job  (It is great to see that he's chosen to use Brian Coleman as a big vote winner in Barnet - at least everyone knows to blame him for the riots as well).

As I read the leaflet, was I the only person in London who got this who thought "Mate, you should be apologising for losing control of the streets for three nights, not crowing about what a marvellous job you've done". A couple of the guys I play football with are Conservative voters. They told me they'd read the leaflet in total disbelief. Surely Boris has someone on his team with enough savvy to say "This ain't a great leaflet to send out right now".

Anyway, just in case you weren't lucky enough to receive it, here it is. Click on the images for a more readable version.

The only rational explanation I can think of for putting such a stupid leaflet out and sticking Brian Colemans mug next to his, is that he wants to lose the mayoral election, so he can go back to the Commons and take "Dave" Camerons job? If anyone has a better idea what he's up to, please leave a comment