A fisk of the biggest Porkie ever told in the London Borough of Barnet

I don't really like doing overly political blogs at the weekend. I like to relax and have a bit of fun. However I cannot sit back and let people spin stories that I believe to be a complete distortion of the truth. East Barnet councillor and Tory Cabinet member Robert Rams has published a story on his bog (Story being the only applicable word) that simply cannot go unchallenged. I started writing blogs about Barnet in May 2008 and I can honestly say I have never seen anything which has so outraged or upset me as what Councillor Rams has to say

The Source is here

http://robertrams.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/labour-blunder-cuts-1-9m-of-funding-for-disabled-children-in-barnet-but-council-leader-averts-crisis/

The Barnet Eye feels that the only way to deal with this is to do a Fisk. Our comments are in red italics - Here is what Councillor Rams had to say, including our comments.


An incredible blunder by Labour Group Deputy Leader Cllr Barry Rawlings has effectively cut all Short Breaks funding provided by the council to institutions across Barnet, along with a whole range of other support services for children with disabilities, to the value of £1.9m - As Councillor Rams will go on to show, this is not an "incredible blunder" but has enabled his boss Richard Cornelius to use executive powers to overturn an appalling decisions by Councillor Rams and his Cabinet  Colleagues. The blunder was by his Colleague who enacted a cut without actually bothering to read (by his own admission) the results of the consultation.
The Labour member ‘called in’ the Cabinet Resources Committee report that extended the contracts for these services to the Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday evening and then, with colleagues, voted that it be sent back to the administration - Councillor Rams fails to mention that Lib Dem Jack Cohen and Conservative members Brian Salinger (a former Leader) and Maureen Braun, a long time previously loyal Tory all voted to send the cut back to cabinet. Why does Rams fail to mention this. Councillor Braun even asked "Who is more vulnerable than disabled children". His comments would be highly misleading to anyone who was not at the meeting or had read proper coverage.

Without these contract extensions, the council is left without the legal power to pay its providers, meaning services would have to be stopped - again Highly misleading. The services would have only been stopped if the Council Leader had not decided to use the constitutional powers at his disposal. To claim otherwise is, in our view, not befitting a member of the administration.

Council Leader Cllr Richard Cornelius said:
“This needs to be reversed. I am taking urgent action to avoid these services being wrecked.
“Cllr Rawlings and Labour have created a right constitutional mess and have effectively removed all funding from these organisations. In their attempts to make the funding of Short Breaks at Mapledown School a political football – never having highlighted or varied this particular saving in their budget amendment – they have recklessly made the situation much worse - Again Richard Cornelius fails to mention the role of his own colleagues and the Libe Dems in taking the decision. As to the issue becoming a political football, surely this is also misleading. As Tories supported Councillor Rawling, it was a cross party decision. Jack Cohen specifically stated that this sort of decision should not be about Party Politics and Salinger and Braun agreed. Committee chair Hugh Rayner was also keen to ensure that the effects of the decision were mitigated. He asked if  an emergency session of the relevant committee could be held and council officers offered no reason as to why not .
“Labour are faffing around calling for meetings, but what they’ve done needs urgent action and cannot wait for a committee meeting to be called. This is no longer just about Short Breaks, but also about children in care, mental health services and all sorts. I am ensuring that these services can continue.” - This statement shows that Rams contention was totally incorrect and that the atrocious initial decision was reversed, allowing time for alternative funding to be arranged. In fact what Richard Cornelius has done is simply what any decent person should do on realising a bad decision was made. It is very regrettable that he has decided to use it as a clumsy attempt to politicise a rather sensible piece of work by the scrutiny committee
With no more Cabinet Resource Committee meetings able to take place before the election, the long term funding issue for Mapledown is to be reviewed by the new Education Committee under the new Council - There is no constituional bar on an emergency session of the old CRC. Having said that, given the consensus that the cut was a mistake, use of executive powers to extend the funding for a year is universally agreed as correct.


Council Leader Cllr Richard Cornelius continued:

“The Mapledown situation needs to be determined by the new committee and so I will ensure their funding, to maintain services at the existing level, for one year to give the school a chance to adjust and for alternate funding to be found.” - Let me translate "A new committe will sort the mess out which the incompetents on the old CRC created. In the meantime I've used the powers at my disposal to ensure that the sensible decision of Councillor Rawlings to call in the decision, and the wisdom shown by Labour, Lib Dem and SOME Conservative members of the scrutiny committee to call for a review of the decision has ensured that Mapledown school, which is universally recognised as excellent, can carry on doing the great work, with which we associate it.

+++ End of Rams blog

And there is the paragraph that Richard Cornelius didn't write, Robert RAms didn't write, and Reuben Thompstone didn't write, but they all damn well should.

As Leader of the Council, I would like to personally apologise to all the pupils, carers and parents of Mapledown School and I would like to personally assure them that Barnet Council has accepted that the original cut was an ill thought out decision. We promise to try and learn from our mistakes. We will undertake to properly read all future consultations and if we cannot avoid cuts, we will visit the establishments facing the cuts, prior to the decision, so we can understand the effects of our actions.

For the avoidance of doubt, lets be 100% clear as to what happened.  The Tory CRC passed the decision to cut after school and respite care. Labour called the decision in for review, as they are perfectly entitled to do under the Barnet Council constitution. After hearing all of the evidence, the Tory Controlled scrutiny committe voted to send the decision back to the CRC for further consideration. At this point, the Leader of the Council intervened as he's perfectly entitled to do under the constitution and took a sensible executive decision. This reversed the cut and ensured all of the other services continued. Up until this point, I think we can all agree that everything followed the normal rules of how business is done in Barnet.

Then Councillor Robert Rams wrote his blog. This is quite extraordinary. It doesn't mention the fact that the decision was made by a Tory controlled committee. It doesn't mention that two Tories and one Lib Dem voted with Labour. It implies that the vital services were threatened, which they clearly were not. And it presents a financial decision taken to increase a budget in a hugely political light, in the Purdah period prior to an election. I cannot possibly understate just how "disappointed" I am with the behaviour of Councillor Rams in posting this blog. It is a complete distortion of the truth. I really find it sickening and I hope that as meany people as possible who live in Mr Rams East Barnet ward are made aware of what happened and how Mr Rams chose to present it. I am also extremely disappointed at Richard Cornelius. He did the right thing to use his executive powers to sort out the mess his CRC created. He has not done the right thing in making totally misleading statements.

Mapledown School - an open letter from Reuben Thompstone (as fisked by the Barnet Eye)

The Cabinet Member of Barnet Council, responsible for the budget cut to Mapledown School for the Disabled, has sent an open letter to the Times Newspaper, following their critical coverage of the Council cut. One migh think Mr Thompstone, who didn't even bother to visit the school to discuss the cut, may have had more sense than to keep this vote losing policy in the press but hey ho, if he's that stupid, we would be negligent in our role as Barnets leading blog if we didn't help him in his mission to destroy the credibility of his party. Our bit is in red italics

Dear Sir,
I was surprised to read your article outlining the opposition apparent from the Labour party’s local council leader and parliamentary candidates with respect to the reduction in funding for short breaks at Mapledown School - You were surprised? Really, what do you think the role of a Labour Opposition is, if not to oppose heartless cuts. My surprise stems from the fact that the Labour Group on Council put forward an alternative budget this year which mirrored precisely these reductions in funding despite being given the opportunity to participate in the consultation in this matter last year where not a word was heard from Cllr Moore or any of her colleagues - As you well know the Labour budget (wrongly in our view) had the same headline figure, but individual items within it were radically different. The funding for the school was maintained by a reduction in the number of committees, reducing allowances for well paid fat cat councillors such as yourself. Did you not know this or are you playing fast and loose with the voters and the truth?.
This funding formula was temporary and as central government has now closed this funding stream, we are pleased that we were able to retain a significant service locally with the close support of Headteacher Steve Carroll and in consultation with local parents - This is a bit dishonest, Rubes (you don't mind me calling you Rubes do you),  as you admitted you'd not visited the school to discuss the £45,000 cut. Some reporting appears to mislead, to clarify, the school’s budget (through the dedicated schools grant) is and remains protected - The reporting was accurate, it referred to the £45,000 cut to after school services and respite services for parents of disabled children. Furthermore, with over £100,000 in Mapledown School’s reserve account, it is for the school to determine how best to use their resources for those they serve - This is Rubes at his worst, spinning and being very crafty with the facts. A disabled school needs a large cash reserve, because all manner of situations can arise which require sudden, unexpected calls for cash. Unlike a regular school, failure to meet these cash calls could significantly affect the ability to provision service for very needy people. To suggest that the school fritter away this reserve just to keep going is like saying that the Queen should sell the Crown Jewels to pay for the redecoration of Windsor Castle. Furthermore it shoews Rubes doesn't understand his portfolio.
Perhaps the Labour group might work out how they could show they are ready to lead, instead of standing on the sidelines throwing stones - Rubes, I think that by highlighting this, they already have. You however have shown you don't have the intellect to hold down this important portfolio. Instead, they appear determined to show that opposition is where they belong nationally and locally, as they continue to be part of the problem and not the solution - Rubes, it appears to me and to 97% of Times Readers, there is only one problem - You!
Regards,
Regards,
Reuben Thompstone
Cabinet Member for Education, Children & Families,
Councillor for Golders Green

Rubes Letter was originally published on his fellow traveller, Little Bobby Sheepsjacksie's Insomnia cure blog http://robertrams.wordpress.com/

Thanks Bobster for exposing this plonker for what he clearly is !

The Friday Joke and ten ways to tell there is an election coming

Guess what? There is an election in the offing. Here are ten tell tale signs to look out for

1. Politicians in ill fitting suits suddenly appear in pictures in the press planting trees - http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11037224.New_trees_to_brighten_high_streets/  - those of us who've dug holes for a living will note the lack of ability to hold a shovel properly

2. MP's who've been invisible for the past four years start popping up in pictures at schools http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11100081.Children_impress_MP_with_climate_change_knowledge/ 

3. MP's pop up in the press taking credit for decisions they had no role in http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11083746.Barnet_set_to_receive_extra___200_000_for_its_school

4. Tax cuts are announced for the first time in years http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11053015.One_per_cent_council_tax_cut_as_new_budget_is_set/

5. Smiling councillors you've never seen before suddenly start doling out 'community awards' http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11037160.Library_volunteers_awarded/ to Grannies and young children.

6.Councillors you've never seen in daylight start appearing concerned about the local health service, doling out small grants http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11029030.Councillor_in_ambulance_ride_along/

7. Leaflets start arriving containing all manner of misleading information http://www.edgware-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=10180&headline=Conservative%20campaign%20leaflet%20causes%20a%20stir

8. Councillors suddenly become concerned about all sorts of petty bureaucratic charges, announcing they've suddenly been abolished http://www.edgware-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=10547&headline=It’s%20party%20time%20as%20fee%20is%20axed

9. MP's suddenly get terribly concerned about the local jobless http://www.edgware-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=8544&headline=MP%20hails%20positive%20feedback%20from%20his%20recruitment%20fayre

10. Councillors you've never heard of before suddenly start pretending truly appalling stats about education figures are marvellous http://www.edgware-today.co.uk/News.cfm?id=7652&headline=Seven%20out%20of%2010%20win%20place%20at%20first-choice%20secondary%20school so a story which says "Thousands of local schoolchildren are not getting a suitable school place" Becomes "Seven out of 10 win place at first-choice secondary school" with a picture of a smiling councillor.

You may or you may not think all of that is starting to make democracy a bit of a joke. If you don't the here is this Fridays joke !

   'Viagra' is  now available

in tea bags.
 

It doesn't enhance your sexual performance

but it does stop your biscuit going soft.

Guest Blog - Barnet Council declares war on the disabled by John Sullivan

By John Sullivan,

I read this article in the Times this and wept





 http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11100600._They_re_putting_votes_before_the_vulnerable____Fury_over_council_cuts_to_school_for_disabled/?ref=var_0 If you are of the Leader of Barnet Council,  Councillor Richard Cornelius mindset and one of his ardent followers  who support what he says in this article then wear your badge with pride. Because pride comes before a fall, and I look forward to watching you fall into disgrace swallowed up by your perverse envy and greed, your grabbing at a couple of pence per day cut in your council tax no matter the damage it inflicts on the disabled the vulnerable and others.

It is not to late for you to challenge the claims of Cornelius wherein he in effect implies that the majority of the residents of Barnet do not give a tuppeny feck about the disabled, and support the cutting of support services in order to provide you with less than the price of a cup of coffee per week.

The Cornelius council hate campaign against disabled people has been raging for the past few years devastating cuts have been made to support services for handicapped adults and their support workers incomes, with more planned if he gets back into power, and now this pernicious sick minded soulless  man has started on the disabled kids. What sort of pernicious sick minded envious ideologue can possibly believe that the majority of Barnet residents are as sick minded as him and his fellow councillors, what is it that drives this perverse envy of the disabled this shameful attack on those that cannot fight back.

My own daughter attended Mapledown school back in the day when even a Tory administration treated disabled people and children with compassion and warmth, I remember mixing with Tory councillors at open days and on one occasion a sports day I organised, but they were a different breed of Tory. The Les Pym's of the then Tory administration would be turning in their graves to witness the evil being bestowed on disabled people and children in Barnet, by the vindictive sick minded Cornelius and his cronies at the town hall.

It has long been obvious that Cornelius and his gang have the Lady Porter mentality at heart, their campaign of ethnic cleansing continues at a pace and every harsh act of evil permitted within the law is being foisted on the disabled the sick and the poor to force them out of Barnet with an enthusiasm and glee that exposes a very dark side to their mindset. But the Owen Paterson(former Conservative Councilor who claimed disabled people should be gullotined for their own good) mentality has only shown its ugly head over the past four or five years, when Cornelius and co have  actively  without thought consideration or consultation set about destroying support services for disabled adults that he and his gang have managed to keep hidden, or got away with lying about what they are doing by claiming they have meaningfully consulted with all affected parties, when in fact no such consultations have taken place.

But now we have it in bold print in the Times newspaper, thank you Times group reporter Chris Hewett for finally doing what a local paper is supposed to do and tell it as it is with no frills and escape route for local councillors. How in the name of everything that is holy can Cornelius claim to be striking a balance, how can giving Barnet residents an electioneering few pennies a week cut in their council tax compare with the unimaginable devastation these cuts will bestow upon these innocent children and their families. What sick minded pervert can possibly consider a cup of coffee a month for some balances out against the destruction of the lives of others, the man is sick he is unwell  his comments are in no way those of a rational balanced human being.

 His Owen Patterson mentality has overtaken his rational, because I for one do not and will never believe that the majority of Barnet residents support this act of evil at Mapledown school and the misery it will bring the pupils and their families.

What is even worse Cornelius and his crew do not base their activities on the outcome of meaningful consultation because they do not consult, they have refused to consult with the Your Choice Barnet families whilst destroying the support services for adults with a learning difficulty, and I have no doubt they have in no way meaningfully consulted with the families and parents of Mapledown pupils.

As the parent of a fifty year old disabled daughter I know how important these support services and clubs are to both the students and the parents, the respite they afford the family carers and parents are invaluable no vital, it allows them to build up their energy levels to cope when their children come home. 

Can I ask you to try to place yourself in the position of these Mapledown family carers, the impact these cuts will have will absolutely destroy their lives. Can you imagine yourself dealing with a disabled child 24/7 day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year with little or no support from your fellow man your local community or local council. Have you any idea how tough a task it is when you received the support of your local community as we did in the past, that is now made a thousand times worse by the contempt shown towards you by this vicious and pernicious council leader and his crew of councillors. can you for one second understand the devastation these parents and family carers must be feeling, knowing the leader of their local council places a few pennies a day for the haves in front of their quality of life and that of their disabled child. let me tell you from my own 50 years of experience at the coal face I cannot imagine the horror these families are feeling, they have been effectively abandoned by their community , how debilitating and soul destroying a feeling must that be, even I cannot imagine what horror they are going through. 

Decent parents love their children unconditionally no matter the level of disability life has presented their child with, and I believe they have a reasonable right to expect support in their endeavours from their community, for me that is a human right and the responsibility of a decent humane society, a society Cornelius and co are determined to destroy. So how in the name of decency and humanity can Cornelius claim this is striking a balance, there is no way this act of evil this shameful act of perverse envy can in any way be described as striking a balance, when any rational human being can see no such balance exists. Let us not forget that Councillor Cornelius was one of the crew who's first act on taking power in 2010 was to vote themselves a payrise.

These Mapledown folk and Your Choice Barnet folk are nor benefit scroungers. They are unfortunate souls born with serious disabilities that they never chose to be born with. The fact that Cornelius and his bunch of sick councillors place these chronically disabled children and adults in the same category as benefit scroungers exposes a fatal flaw in their makeup. They are so blinded by ideology dogma, greed and envy, they cannot differentiate between the minority scrounging off the system, and those that have the human right to be  afforded a decent quality of life in front of tax cut electioneering gimmicks.

This is a shameful act of evil delivered with glee from this pernicious and sick Barnet leader and his administration, and he is branding you the majority of the people of Barnet as his allies in this pernicious act of evil. If you support what Cornelius has to say I repeat wear your badge with pride, if you do not align yourself to this pernicious shameful act of evil then you should stand up and be counted and let Cornelius know in no uncertain terms you do not support what he is doing at Mapledown school in your name.

The fact has to be faced Owen Patterson is not the only Tory with his views, four or five years ago a Tory councillor in another borough implied  euthanasia  of disabled people who contribute nothing to society in financial terms would be a constructive cost saving exercise.  This sick bastard tried to laugh it off as a joke, and let's be honest there are other members of the Tory fraternity that have voiced similar opinions over the years.

Let's not forget Owen Patterson was not evicted from the Tory party for calling for the guillotining of disabled people at birth.  That was apparently deemed acceptable within Tory circles, he was evicted from the Tory party because he was also a member of UKIP.  In other words his fellow Tories did not object to his call for the guillotining  of disabled children at birth, that was apparently  deemed acceptable, in the same way Cornelius and co deemed it acceptable for Councillor Coleman to attack a woman half his body weight in the street, because she did not support the party line and took no action against Cllr Coleman.

Cornelius and co are right wing fanatics that hate the disabled and the have not's in Barnet and refuse to represent them and or provide homes or support services that afford them any quality of life just an existence. Their collective hatred of the disabled is on record and  is there for all to see. They have lied and misrepresented the truth repeatedly, covered up the reality, refused to consult and then lied some more. In their pursuit of quietly destroying support services and the quality of life of disabled and sick people in Barnet. A truth and a reality now spread across the front page of our local Time newspaper for all to see, and the cowering despicable pernicious council leader Cornelius claiming that this unbalanced shameful act of evil at Mapledown School, in some sick pernicious and perverse way strikes a balance.

What it proves beyond any reasonable doubt is Cornelius and his fellow councillors are unfit for office, it is the duty of every elected councillor to act in the best interests of all of their  residents no matter their politics, and not simply in the interest of those that support them to the detriment of those that do not support their party which is the current attitude of our local Tory councillors.

This Times article exposes just how perniciously evil  Cornelius and his crew are, what is even worse is they firmly believe the majority of Barnet residents would stand by and see the lives of these disabled youngsters and their families destroyed for less the a cup of coffee per week in a decent coffee shop.

We should not forget in all of this the redoubtable Kate Kennally (who is in charge of adult social care in Barnet) who is paid a huge salary to protect the disabled from these sort of inhumane attacks, yet has to date gone along with every act of evil bestowed on disabled people in Barnet since her arrival, the only person she protects is herself. This is a woman that is unfit for purpose to concern d with self interest, and a woman that has done everything within her power to deny parents and family carers of disabled adults and children in Barnet the human right of consultation.

If you are a Cornelius supporter and support this act of evil against the peoples of Mapledown School can I ask you to think of me when you invest your ill gotten gains in that cup of coffee, and believe without any ambiguity or doubt that I am praying on behalf of the students and family carers of Mapledown School, and as the parent of a disabled daughter you choke on that coffee.

This morning the Times Newspaper has published another story, detailing how Cornelius crony, Reuben Thompstone, cabinet member responsible for the cut has admitted that he has never even visited Mapledown School (http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/11101494.Cabinet_member_has_never_visited_school_for_disabled_facing_hefty_cuts/?ref=var_0). He has claimed that the school should be more 'creative' in fundraising. Clearly the man is completely out of touch with reality. Does he not realise how exhausting and draining it can be to simply care for a disabled child? Does he really believe that the people begrudge the disabled at Mapledown school 3p a day? Mr Thompstone dishonestly claims that the council had its hands tied. They did not have their hands tied when they voted themselves a huge pay rise, did they? They did not have their hands tied when they passed a budget giving everyone a 3p a day pay cut. Sadly the only people who have their hands tied are the parents of the disabled children at Mapledown school. They can't award themselves a payrise. They can't vote to cut their own tax. All they can do is lie back and take the beating that this administration is giving to them and their beloved children. Mr Thompstone told the Times "“These are austere times and we want to show we are on the side of tax payers." So who is on the other side according to Mr Thompstone? Who is the enemy who he is against? The answer is quite clearly that the disabled are the enemy of Mr Thompstone. These were his words. He was the one who decided that the battle lines in Barnet were between the taxpayer and the disabled. This destroys the lie of Camerons big society. We are not all in it together in Barnet, according to Cornelius and Thompstone. The likes of Cornelius, Thompstone and Kenally have had no pay cut only the Council tax cut. So it is clear in this battle who the losers are and who the winners are.

Finally remember when you blindly put your tribal cross against the name of a current Tory councillor in order to re-elect them in May, without concerning yourself with the consequences, you will be consigning hundreds of disabled people and their family carers and parents in Barnet  to a life of abject misery, all for a fistful of pennies. I have no doubt that for many of you. it will make you feel proud.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Sullivan is a Barnet resident and a carer. Guest blogs are always welcome at the Barnet Eye

Tory Councillors with blighted CV's

Councillor Tom Davey,
Councillor Daniel Seal,
Councillor Darryl Yawitch,
Councillor Sachin Rajput,
Councillor Stephen Sowerby,
Councillor Andrew Stongolou,
Councillor Reuben Thompstone,

All of these Councillors have one thing in common they are (compared to the rest of the Tory group) fairly young. Presumably all of them will have to work for a good few years. Presumably, at some point they will all want to change jobs and get better jobs. In this day and age, what is the first thing prospective employers do? Yup, that's right they fire the name into Google and see what the candidates have been up to. It's quite likely, given the ranking of this blog, that this will be fairly near the top of the rankings.

So what have these young men been doing? What should a potential employer take into consideration? Well they are all members of the Barnet Conservative group. They all have over a years experience of watching the way the group operates and they all have (as of the time of writing this blog) the opportunity to change the direction in which the council policy is going, when they take part in an election for the new leader later this month.

So if you are a potential employer, what sort of person are you looking for? Are you looking for someone who sits on their hands, knowing that the council is embarking on a disasterous policy. Are you looking for someone who totally ignores the fact that the council cannot manage external contractors, yet is dead set on massively ramping up the outsourcing program without even having proper controls in place for the existing contracts (READ THIS BLOG). Are you looking for someone who is more concerned with "following the party line" and simply collecting generous allowances?

In the past five years, Barnet Council has been dogged with scandal after scandal. Warnings about problems are habitually ignored and massive financial disasters have plagued the council, with no one prepared to take responsibility. Anyone familiar with Barnet Council would know that a semi competent politician with any degree of political nous and management ability could easily resolve many of the self inflicted wounds. Windsor and Maidenhead Council, which is a Conservative Council, have lead the way with transparency policies, which have saved taxpayers millions and put an end to all manner of potential abuse. Some of these Councillors will not even allow their register of interests to be placed on line

http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/council/listcouncillorinterests.asp

What  does this tell you about them? Whilst I have no doubt that all of these councillors stood for the best possible reasons, what aptitude have they shown since they were elected? In the last year, a massive scandal concerning the Metpro Group of Companies and the contracts awarded to them has befallen Barnet Council. Over a million pounds was paid to one of these companies, despite the fact that it didn't have the required license and went bankrupt, owing hundreds of thousands of pounds. The Council only found out when local bloggers alerted them. How many of these Councillors demanded an independent inquiry? Not one. Every single one of them voted in favour of an "internal audit" undertaken by the same people who allowed the cock up to occur.

Now as I write this, I have no idea who will win the Barnet Conservative Leadership battle. At present the two main contenders are Councillor Andrew Harper, who has been in effective control for the last six months and has presided over the Metpro Disaster. He is widely recognised as being a bit of a pushover for council officers and amounts to the "more of the same" candidate. The other candidate is the infamous Councillor Brian Coleman, who has turned expense claims into an art form. Now another candidate may emerge. If they do, then I'm sure that the whole of Barnet will breathe a sigh of relief.

It may be these councillors rescue their reputations and elect a decent leader who institues real change in Barnet, banishing the secrecy culture for once and all. If after you've read all of the other news about Barnet Council, you still feel like interviewing them, ask them what they personally have done to implement transparency at Barnet. Ask them what they think of colleagues who refuse to allow their register of interests on line. Ask them what they think of colleagues who claim excessive expenses. Finally ask them what they would do if they had the chance to change piss poor leadership in an organisation they were involved with.

I'm sure that they will all be most chuffed to answer these questions. The people who elected them, in Barnet would also like to know, after all, we pay the juicy allowances.