In September this blog started campaigning against Barnet Councillor Robert Rams proposals to decimate the library service in Barnet and to sell off the buildings. I happen to believe that Barnets libraries are a treasured part of the local community. I believe that reading is the key to education and libraries are the cornerstone of literacy. Let me deal with a couple of arguments that have been raised against libraries (we've collected approx 4,000 signatures and had about a dozen people make negative comments to us).
"I don't use libraries, why should I pay for them" - This is a simple argument. We are a community and we need to support one another. Just because you personally don't use a service, that service may enable the people you will need today, tomorrow and in the future to educate themselves and perform the jobs and pay the taxes which will maintain you, when you need help. Libraries provide a quiet space for study. Many poorer families do not have space for quiet study for children. Libraries offer the opportunity for children from such backgrounds to improve themselves and break the cycle of poverty.
"Books are cheap and you can buy them in Tescos". Whilst books may be relatively cheap, families on benefits with 3-4 children could not afford to support the reading habits of their children - £15-£20 a week on books would be beyond their means. The same is true of pensioners. My mother used to read 3-4 books a week when she retired. She would have soon exhausted the supply of suitable books in most branches of Tescos. Generally these shops don't have a good selection of classics, concentrating on the popular genre such as "The Jordan Life Story".
"We could sell off the Libraries and spend the money on front line services". Barnet Council is spending millions of pounds on consultants who merely generate paper. There is plenty of scope for cuts here. The library service is a lifeline for many elderly, lonely people. I believe that the mental wellbeing of many people will suffer if they can no longer borrow books. For many elderly people a walk to the library also provides exercise and a reason to get out. It is also true to say that if children can't develop their potential, they will be far less likely to get good jobs and pay tax. Benefit dependency is the biggest waste of money and lives. Libraries are a proven way out of the cycle.
I have also criticised the "On Line Library Consultation", provided by Barnet Council. What exactly don't I like about it and why do I say it's rigged. The answer to this is simple. It doesn't detail any real improvements to the provision of books. It is all about "what new things can we use the space for". The issue of getting more people into libraries is not mentioned. There is no details of how much these crazy cuts will save. I doubt many people would support chopping their library if they only saved 25p per week. I'd like to see Barnet llibraries have specialised sections. If each library had an area for it's speciality eg History, Sci Fi, Classics, then I believe that we'd see more footfall. I don't believe that libraries should be turned into mini council offices. They should be libraries and they should be engaging with the community. I'd like to see authors and small exhibitions held as well, related to literary themes. I'd also like to see late evening reading groups and guest visits from local authors.
What did I expect when I launched the petition? I had hoped for 500 signatures. We got eight times that. We have now handed the petition in, so that it can be considered as part of the consultation. We will however carry on collecting. We had many things against us. The local press have EMBARGO'd the petition and refused to give it a single mention, despite the fact that it's been mentioned in national press and even on the BBC. I am truly disgusted with their attitude. I have come to the conclusion that our local papers are desperately jealous of the blogs of Barnet and this policy is sheer spite. I can see how many visits they make to my blog and I know the same is true of other bloggers. They can't stand the fact that this blog has launched one of the most popular campiagns ever in Barnet. Shame on them.
I must thank the Barnet Alliance for Public Services for their support in organising stalls. They have done the donkey work. I have set the direction of the campaign and they've done much of the hard work. I stated from day 1 that our primary target was Conservative voters in Conservative wards. That's why we've had stalls in Edgware, Mill Hill, High Barnet, East Barnet and Finchley. As I have always suspected, the Tories of Barnet love their libraries as much as anyone, often more so. Many old ladies have been horrified at the proposed cuts. When we held a stall outside East Barnet library, when Councillor Rams was doing a ward surgery, he resorted to telling the old dear that "This library is safe". I suspect that every library he chops will result in the loss of a Tory ward. Matthew Offord won Hendon by 106 votes. I can guarantee that Labour will get those votes back if they cut a single library in Hendon constituency.
From what I am hearing Councillor Rams has developed a "squeaky bottom" in regards to the library consultation. I can tell him and his Tory colleagues what will happen once the actual closures are announced.
1. We will doorstop Theresa Villiers MP for Chipping Barnet, Mike Freer MP for Finchley and Matthew Offord MP for Hendon. We will video them answering the question "Do you support the closure of this library by the Barnet Conservative Council" and we will post the answer on Youtube. That way the world will know what their MP thinks.
2. We will leaflet every home in the area of closed libraries and make sure they know that this a Barnet Conservative policy and we will explain where they are happy for money to be wasted that could save their library.
3. We will redouble the campaign to force a rethink. We had the resources and plans to collect 3,000 signatures in the last 2 weeks, but the inclement weather prevented our plans. On average we collected 250 signatures per high st stall. We had 12 stalls cancelled over the last few weeks with snow. We were also unable to run stalls outside local carol services as I had planned. I am cast iron certain, we'd have got a minimum of 3,000 paper signatures and another 250 online (this went up massively with the leafletting).
4. We will engage some high profile supporters of the campaign to make public appearances to bolster our campaign. We have plans to get a few celebrity residents to ask public questions at Council meetings. We have received significant national media interest in this. All we need is Councillor Rams to wave the start flag and say where the libraries are closing.
I have lots of behind the scenes homework to do. There is a public side to the campaign and a behind the scenes side. We are currently forensically picking over the Council budget and the Future shape expenses. We are looking for obvious waste and savings and we are working on a strategy to present this to the people of Barnet, showing that the library cuts are just the last thrashings of a failed policy by a very below average council.
Councillor Robert Rams has a stark choice. He can go back and work out a way to save our libraries and improve the service or he can be the man responsible for ending the Tory rule of Barnet Council. Our focus prior to the consultation has been solely on trying to get signatures on the petition. We have tried to stop Rams from making a very bad decision. If he carries out his plan, the next phase will be to ensure that every Tory voter in Barnet knows who is responsible for the cuts and also that they are not necessary.
As we approach Christmas, I will be backing off the blogging on politics and Barnet. It is not good for the soul to be so mired in such stupidity at a time of peace and goodwill. Normal coverage will resume in the New Year (unless Barnet do something really sneaky in the meantime).
