Brian Coleman and Boris Johnson stick two fingers up at St John The Baptist !

"collect no more tax than what you have been ordered to"

This was the commandment John The Baptist gave to the tax collectors when they asked how they could go to heaven. Another piece of advice :-

"be content with your wages"

Given that this blog usually concerns itself with the machinations of Barnet Council, you may wonder why we've come over all biblical today? You may also wonder why there is a picture of a nice little bit of urban green space? What has this got to do with the price of fish (and loaves)? You may wonder.

Well this is the church garden beside the Church of St John the Baptist in Chipping Barnet. I was astounded to read that the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has awarded over £400,000 to "do this up", reported in the Barnet Times here -
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/9177454.Church_green_investment_to__bring_buzz_back__to_Barnet/

I must confess, my first reaction was total incredulity. We've seen sheltered housing wardens cut to save this amount. Church Farmhouse museum closed and is under offer for sale. We've seen childrens centres cut. We've seen the grant cut to the Barnet Museum, which is virtually next door. We've seen Friern Barnet Library under threat of closure. All for less than this amount. We've seen all manner of charities, doing fantastic work, losing their grants or having them cut. Trifling amounts compared to this huge sum, but amounts that make a huge difference to all manner of lives in crisis.

So why has this perfectly adequate church garden been given nearly half a million quid for a makeover? Over to our favourite councillor - who gives the game away (to quote the article).

Councillor Brian Coleman, London Assembly member of Barnet and Camden, said: “This investment is excellent news for Chipping Barnet. It shows that Boris was as good as his word when he said in 2008 that he was not going to be just a Zone 1 Mayor.”

Yup, there is an election next year and the Tories are chop, chop chopping budgets left, right and centre. Boris and Brian have done NOTHING for Barnet up until now. Can it be a coincidence that all of  a sudden, they're splashing the cash and Brian Coleman, who is seeking election next year is running around claiming the credit.

I rather like St John The Baptist and his philosophy. He had a rather inclusive view of heaven. Anyone could come in so long as they did their job, played their role in society and didn't take the piss.

What would he have made of Councillor Brian Coleman, who earns over £114,000 a year for a string of part time jobs. Who charges thousands of pounds for taxi expenses back to the taxpayer. Who lives in a flat owned by the Methodist Church on a controlled rent. A flat designed for families on low wages?  Given all the free dinners Brian Coleman has munched his way through,  what would St John, who famously lived in the desert on a diet of locusts and honey have made of Coleman and his plutocracy?

Barnet isn't short of schemes and charities that could make a power of difference for £400,000. Sadly Brian Coleman and Boris Johnson aren't interested in these, as they won't give photo grabbing headline opportunities.

Whether or not you've heard of St John the Baptist or agree with his teachings, can anyone in this day and age think £400,000 to do up a perfectly adequate Church Garden is a good way to spend public money. Is there any way that such extravagance at a church named after a man dedicated to a lifestyle of poverty, can be seen as anything but two fingers up at one of the most important biblical figures? Especially when it is purely being done as a cynical pre election bung for one of the wealthiest parts of Barnet.

The three types of Tory Councillors in Barnet

Last night I attended the Barnet Council Cabinet meeting. I realised that if you want to get on in the Tory Party in Barnet you have to be one of three types of people. These are :-

A) People who are very rude. We saw several fine examples of this last night. Top Cat for rudeness was Lynne Hillan. Sheltered housing resident David Young, who launched a legal battle with Barnet Council last year and got the decision to scrap sheltered housing wardens declared illegal by the High Court cam down to ask a question. Given that Lynne Hillan was the architect of the policy, which was declared illegal, having indulged in a lengthy legal battle against Mr Young who is 78 and should be enjoying his retirement, you would think Hillan would have a) Apologised to him for persuing an illegal policy. B) Extended him a modicum of courtesy, given that he'd given up his evening to participate in the democratic process. She didn't even give him the time of day. As Mr Young tried to ask a question, Lynne Hillan continually butted in and told him to hurry up. After two minutes and 36 seconds, she finally said "Have you actually got a question", to which Mr Young replied "How stupid are your Councillors". As Mr Young walked away he commented "Don't you realise that some of the residents have told me they will commit suicide if the wardens go". At this Lynne Hillan rolled her eyes. She was ably supported in the rudeness stakes by Brian Coleman, who managed to insult the local papers such as the Press and the Edgware Times. He was also rather rude to Councillor Dean Cohen, who was trying to be helpful in suggesting ways Barnet could improve it's response to bad weather (but I'll forgive him that).

B) People who are very spineless. Into this category falls Deputy Leader Andrew Harper, Councillor Robert Ramsbottom and Councillor Melvin Cohen. Harper and Ramsbottom both asked reasonable and sensible questions. Both got nonsensical answers and said "Thank you councillor Rajput for such a marvellous answer" or words to that effect. Ramsbottom asked "Are we going down the same road again" Rajput said "No of course not" and then went on to actually detail why we were. Yvonne Hossacks, who is the countries leading lawyer on sheltered housing, must have been laughing her head off (she was there with David Young). Harper asked an even more sensible question "Is it sensible to spend huge amounts on legal fees for these quite small savings" or words to that effect. Rajput responded "Yes of course it is, because, it is". As for Melvin Cohen. If Brian Coleman had talked to my son, in the manner Coleman spoke to Dean Cohen, I'd have probably stuck a ball point pen in his eye and said "Oops sorry Brian, my pen slipped" or at least said "Can it, knobhead, that's my boy !". Of course Melvin C is a gutless spineless lackey, so he just sat there grinning as pooe little Deano got squashed.

C) Completely useless. This brings us back to Dean Cohen. He was presenting a report about the chaos in Barnet when the Snow hit in January. Councillor Dean Cohen spoke for 5 minutes and 31 seconds on the subject. Guess how many times he said "er" or "erm" in that time as he read his prepared speech. Well I counted 46 times, including several "er, erm, er's". I'm sure big daddy Melvy sent him to the finest school, so where did it all go wrong. Having not allowed Mr Young, who spoke clearly and eloquently 30 seconds without interruption, Hillan was quite happy to let ineffectual Dean ramble on seemingly forever. In all my years (apart from injury time in the Manchester Derby last year) has 5 minutes and 31 seconds seemed so long. When he finally finished, Brian Coleman wiped the floor with him. Whilst I may not like Brian Coleman, I can understand why he would be so angry, wasting 5 mins and 31 seconds of valuable sponging time listening to him. Another one of the useless squad, Joanna Tambourides gave a fine cameo performance as Councillor Rajput spouted waffle about introducing a "menu of charged services" for adults with care needs. She asked Councillor Rajput "How much will these services cost". Now given that she's a Cabinet member and she'd read all of the papers, it was patently obvious that no one has a clue. Rajput replied "as affordable as possible". She responded "Marvellous, Marvellous". She must be easily impressed.

As I left, Yvonne Hossacks was waiting for a cab in reception with David Young. I passed on some information they had missed. I asked a couple of questions about the strategy she might employ and pointed out what I thought was a couple of major weaknesses in the approach Barnet are adopting. She smiled the smile of a cat watching as the mouse emerges from it's hole. In a perfect world, David Young wouldn't need to go to war with a useless and uncaring council. I was given some information, which I am not going to publish here, but yet again Barnet will lose. To use a football analogy, they are using a Ryman League legal team to take on the Premiership champions. Hossacks is an expert in her field. If I was Jeff Lustig, Barnets in house legal chief, I'd take Hillan and Harper into a quiet room and say "Just drop the whole scheme quietly, otherwise we'll lose again and look ridiculous". I spoke this morning to a Tory Councillor about the plan. He agreed with me that Barnet should just stop digging. He told me a shocking fact. The £300,000 savings that were quoted are entirely bogus. The new scheme will cost even more.

Oh yes, he also told me rather proudly that I'd like Barnet Councils new website. They are spending £50,000 on a redesign, to make it more funky. So there we go. Who loses in OneBarnet - The elderly, the disabled and the disadvantaged. Who wins - Committee chairmen (54% rise), Legal briefs, Consultants and website designers.

As I left the meeting I saw Councillor John Hart sitting there. I gave him a friendly smile. He smiled back and shook his head.

Where's Arthur Scargill when you need him?

Whenever I am faced with a situation which my brain can't really comprehend, I find myself having a reoccurring dream. When I wake up I see things with clarity. Having spent five months campaigning for a Lib Dem victory, only to see them deliver a Conservative government, I went to bed rather early and rather confused last night. I awoke this morning, seeing the brave new world with stark clarity.

Firstly, let me tell you about my dream. As regular readers may know, in the late 1960's I used to star in TV commercials. One of these was made in 1969 for Galaxy chocolate and was filmed at Queens Ice rink. In my dream, I'm back at the Ice rink awaiting filming. I am discussing the future (I was 7 at the time) with my first love (a young girl who was also in the commercial). We were discussing the forthcoming decade - the 1970's. We talk about how they will be great, how England will hold the world cup for ever and how the Beatles will rule the world of music forever. All of a sudden I realise that it's 2010 (or whenever). England haven't had a whiff of the world cup, the Beatles split, it all went wrong in the 1970's. In a panic, I realise that it actually all worked out alright and the world kept spinning. For some reason, I awake knowing what needs to be done.

So what needs to be done. 40 years on, what lessons can we learn? Well let me tell you the first lesson that anyone who works in the public sector should learn. Join a Union and get active. My mind turns to Arthur Scargill. Most people remember him for losing the war against Margaret Thatcher in the 1980's miners strike. Most people forget that he was the leading activist when they beat the Tory government of Ted Heath in the early 1970's. Scargill was a great activist but a lousy leader. He was the man who invented "flying pickets". I wouldn't advocate his style of leadership in the 1980's, but we desperately need his style of activism from the early 1970's.What the public service unions need now is a whole host of tireless activists to organise opposition to the forthcoming cuts at local level. I know we need to address the issues of public debt. I just don't believe that the way to do this is to slash services to the vulnerable. Don't expect any help from the Labour party. I believe that in an act of supreme cowardice and dereliction of  duty, they failed to engage the Lib Dems and other minor parties in a coalition to protect the weakest. I believe that for reasons of political expediency, they want the Tories to spend a few years weilding the knife. They lack the balls to do it themselves. Whatever the Tory-Lib Dem government does, they do it with Labour collusion.

We are now entering a phase where things will be harsh. Don't expect any favours from the politicians, because you won't get any. Here's my advice :-

* Join a Trades Union if you can
* Join a Residents association if you can
* Stop buying crap newspapers which are full of lies and owned by foreign moguls who only care about their own profits
* Get out on the streets and protest against the cuts when they come
* Support local people who organise local campaigns against policies which hurt local people

When I see senior politicians getting the bus rather than the chauffer driven limo, then I'll believe in new politics. Until that day, I'll just do what I can as best I can to stand shoulder to shoulder with those people who are trying to help the most vulnerable members of our society. Lets remind ourselves that people like solicitor Yvonne Hossacks and resident David Young stopped the Tory plans to abolish Sheltered Housing. It was a failure of local politicians such as me to kick them out which may have negated this good work. I apologise for that failure, but now more than ever it is vital we support people like David and Yvonne. I believe that the Tory plans for Barnet can still be stopped, it will just be far, far harder. The time for navel gazing has gone. What is done is done. We now have to start organising our opposition to this brave new world, both in Barnet and nationally.

Canvassing in Mill Hill - Concerns for the elderly Jewish residents

On Saturday I was on the Lib Dem stall in Mill Hill Broadway. One conversation has stuck in my memory. One guy came up and introduced himself as a reader of the Barnet Eye. Like many people who read the blog and enjoy it, he doesn't agree with my political outlook. I asked him "Will you be voting for me?". He replied "I've always voted Conservative. I will be voting for David Cameron, but locally I will be voting for you". I enquired why. He said "It is simple, you wrote a blog eleven months ago highlighting the risk that the warden cuts pose to the elderly Jewish residents of sheltered housing". In this blog I raised the issue that Barnet has the highest number of Jewish residents in sheltered housing of any London Borough. He fully agreed that the removal of wardens left the frail and elderly in a position of vulnerability. Many of these elderly tenants suffered at the hands of the Nazis. They lost family and friends. Sadly there are plenty of people who see them as "fair game". An on site warden can keep an eye out and will see if there are undesirables lurking.  They are on hand if a resident has a concern. The gentleman I spoke to said "I think all elderly residents deserve safety and security. As Jewish residents are particularly threatened, it makes the issue even more important". He went on to remind me that  people who defile gravestones clearly have no morals.

He told me that whatever reservations he had about the Lib Dems were insignificant when it came to protecting the old and frail members of his family. He also told me that he'd drawn the attention of his friends and family to the blog on many occasions.  I was intrigued. I checked my stats and sure enough, this particular page has had a massive number of hits.

If this issue concerns you, please read the blog I posted eleven months ago

http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/06/time-for-barnets-jewish-community-to.html

Now let me just make one point about this blog. When this was posted, I wasn't a member of the Liberal Democrat party. I had no intention whatsoever of standing for council. I was just campaigning against the cuts. I joined the party and have stood, only because I was asked to, by people such as the guy I spoke to on Saturday. People who want a council that stands up for it's vulnerable.

Barnet Council Elections - Lets go viral and save the Wardens

This is the first real internet election. We all have email now. If you live in Barnet and want to stop Barnet Council terrorising elderly and vulnerable people, please email this message to everyone you know. The Barnet Conservatives in the Town hall plan to scrap all onsite wardens. The only way they can be stopped is to vote for candidates who oppose this policy. Regardless of how you vote in the general election, please vote for a candidate committed to preserving wardens for our sheltered housing tenants.

David Cameron upsets Hendon Blue Rinse brigade

There was a story in yesterdays Evening Standard which made me chuckle. It seems that the President of the Hendon Conservative Party Mrs Elizabeth Sparrow, aged 70 was featured in the famous 1979 "Labour isn't working" Poster campaign when she responded to a call to party activists to turn up at a location to be photo's as part of a "queue of people". She wasn't told that the queue she was going to be photo'd in was a "dole queue" and she would be depicted as a "benefit scrounger" on posters up and down the land (Amusingly, if you look closely at the picture, they are a "dole queue" all dressed up in their Sunday best, not a hoodie in sight - no 1979 punks, skinheads, goths or rastas). Now that David Cameron has rehired Maurice Saatchi, creator of the original poster in a last desperate attempt to revive his flagging campaign, Mrs Sparrow can keep silent no longer. She told the Evening Standard that she did not like “distasteful” electioneering. She said: “It's all spin, and in a way that's what advertising is.”

No doubt we'll soon be seeing truthful election leaflets from Mrs Sparrows association, detailing how the Barnet Tories lost millions in Iceland, how their candidate presided over a the Aerodrome Road fiasco which cost Barnet Taxpayers £11 Million and how they are abolishing sheltered Housing wardens against the wishes of 85% of the elderly and vulnerable people they consulted. Mrs Sparrow is always welcome to write a guest blog here telling us the truth about what a cock up her party have presided over in Barnet.

The Important questions for the Barnet Council elections in May - Number 1

Here at the Barnet Eye, we don't believe in telling people how to vote. We believe in giving you the evidence. What you do with that evidence is up to you. Between now and the 6th of May we are going to run a daily series of important questions. Every one of these questions can be influenced by the way you vote on May 6th.  With each of the questions, I'll give a brief summary of the positions of the three main parties in Barnet.

Question No 1.
Barnet Council are currently trying to abolish the warden service for sheltered housing residents. This policy was first introduced when current Council Leader Lynne Hillan held the responsibilty for the social serviceses portfolio. The policy will save the Council approx £400,000 (less than the cost of the salaries of three senior council officials). They will replace the existing on site wardens with a service provided by telephone, where wardens will drive from site to site on request. For every four on site wardens, they will replace them with one mobile warden. In the consultation for the change, over 85% of the residents strongly opposed the changes. The residents have taken the Council to court and had the changes declared illegal. The Council are now trying to reintroduce the changes. Do you believe that stripping the elderly and vulnerable of the security of their on site wardens is a policy you agree with or not?

Barnet Conservatives : Strongly committed to abolishing the Warden Service

Barnet Lib Dems : Strongly committed to retaining the Warden Service

Barnet Labour : Strongly comitted to retaining the Warden Service
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REMEMBER  - WHETHER THIS CHANGE HAPPENS IS DOWN TO HOW YOU VOTE ON MAY 6TH

A pledge to the pensioners of Barnet

The pensioners and tenants who live in Sheltered Housing were out protesting at the headquarters of the three main political parties on Monday. It is a scandal and a disgrace that these folk, who have paid their dues to society many times over, need to fight a protracted campaign, when they should be sitting safely and comfortably at home. The policy of scrapping wardens for the the elderly and vulnerable was the brainchild of Councillor Lynne Hillan. She used to have the social services brief. The council had hoped that they would have implemented it by now, but they botched it up. The pensioners fought back, launched a legal challenge and it turned out that the Council hadn't even done the basic groundwork to check whether the policy was legal or not. The High Court squashed the Councils decision.

How did the rest of the local Tory group react to this fiasco? Their social services policy had landed them in court, they'd lost and they all looked like a bunch of plums. Their beloved Social services chief, Lynne Hillan had proven to be useless and incompetent. Well they sat down and decided to promote her. She's now the leader of the Council. In a free election of Tory Councillors, they decided that the person who had made the lives of the Boroughs pensioners a misery, the person who'd landed the Council in court, costing tens of thousands of pounds, was the best person to lead their group. Councillor Lynne Hillan has done all of this to save less than half a million pounds. In the recently passed budget, she's allowed for a sum TEN TIMES BIGGER to fight legal challenges for her policies. It seems her mantra is "STUFF THE PENSIONERS, WE'VE GOT TO LOOK AFTER THE LAWYERS".

In Mill Hill, we have Tory Councillor John Hart who told the Guardian the following, during an interview :-

With council tenants, and I'll admit I am putting it crudely, it has been a lot of 'my arse needs wiping, and somebody from the council can come and do it for me.

Mr Hart seems to resent the fact the infirm and the disabled have to rely on Council services to perform these tasks. This statement was the most crass, repulsive thing I think I've ever heard said by any politician. What made it especially upsetting for me on a personal level was that less than two years ago, my dear father in law died. He was 89 at the time. He'd become very infirm and for the last year of his life, he relied on a team of carers from the council to wash, dress, bath and clean him. He lived at home with my mother in law, but she could only manage helped by a team of young, fit carers who visited twice a day. He was one of the people John Hart was talking about, who needed a carer to wipe his arse. He didn't like it, but he was stuck. Was it right for Hart to stigmatise him?

I urge the pensioners of Barnet to throw out on their arses the likes of Hillan and Hart and all of the other heartless Tories who care nothing for the vulnerable, who care nothing for the residents of sheltered housing. The Barnet Lib Dems have made a solemn pledge to the pensioners and the vulnerable of Barnet. If we take control of the Council on May 6th, we will immediately scrap all plans to destroy the Sheltered Housing Service and the wardens. We will guarantee that this will not be cut as long as we have any say in it's running.

I have a special reason to want to defend and preserve the Sheltered Housing service. My cousin who is the same age as me, lives in Sheltered Housing in Barnet. She's independent but needs a bit of help. The picture at the top of this page was taken last year in Gavarnie in France, I took her their on holiday - she's the good looking one on the horse !

Another Barnet Council Hypocrite

There is an interesting new press release on Barnet Councils website - Councillor Daniel Thomas, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said:

"Encouraging our youngsters to get to and from school using healthy and sustainable forms of transport is a great idea for so many reasons. It teaches the importance of keeping fit and healthy from a younger age while helping to reduce the level of carbon emissions from cars."

Forgive me while I foam at the mouth with rage. One of the Borough of Barnets largest schools is Mill Hill County High School. Many of the children who attend the school live at Poets Corner in Mill Hill. If you look at the map (click on it to enlarge) The school is shown at the top towards the left. Poets Corner is the block of roads towards the bottom right. As you can see, children have to cross Lawrence Street to get to the school. There is no safe crossing on this road.  During the rush hour, when children are crossing, it is a dangerous scrum of traffic, where they cross to access the quickest route via Uphill Road. I've held meetings with Conservative Councillors and the Highways department, but they say "no one has been killed, so it's not a priority". They also said "No children are crossing". Durr, why do you think that is? Because no sane parent would let them. The route is also used by children passing the other way from West of Lawrence Street to Goodwyn School, St Pauls C of E and St Vincents Primary Schools as well as Mill Hill Public. It's all very well for the likes of Councillor Daniel Thomas to urge parents to abandon the car, but they won't spend a penny to make such a move safe.

Now you may be surprised to know that the person who tipped me off about this ridiculous press release wasn't complaining about how the Council can come out with this, when their policies are completely the opposite of what they say. No they were quite rightly drawing attention to the crass hypocricy of a member of Barnet Council claiming they want to get people out of cars, when their own policy is to force the Wardens who look after the elderly of the Borough to have to drive from location to location. As you may know, the High Court declared this policy illegal. Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan hasn't given up and she's starting the consultation again.

Why is it great for Lynne Hillan to strip sheltered housing residents of their wardens and force them to drive from site to site, but terrible for parents to drive their children to school, when no safe corridor exists. There is a pattern in all of this. Safety - be it that of Children crossing roads, or the elderly in Sheltered housing - it is the least of the Barnet Councils priorities. Car Journeys are great when it is a warden saving the Council money, but awful when it's a normal resident.

Sheltered Housing update : Barnet Council Cabinet review

Barnet Council is discussing the High Court decision to overturn its heartless policy of abolishing sheltered housing wardens on Wednesday 3rd Feb (CLICK HERE for the full report). There are a couple of rather interesting snippets

Now given that many residents of Sheltered Housing are disabled (that is why you need wardens), are you as shocked as I was that "due regard" hadn't been given to the "disability discrimination act 1995". How did the conversation go? Did Lynne Hillan say "As we are getting rid of wardens who look after the disabled, it is unlikely that the disability act applies to us". It isn't that hard to figure out that they have to follow the law, is it?

The next section which caught my eye was this one :-

The first bullet point is the one which shocks me most. This clearly states that the Council has no training program at present to train their staff to do "equality impact assessments". If like me you've followed this whole sorry saga from day one, it now becomes clear how all this mess happened. It happened because the council hasn't got a clue what it's doing and no one has been properly trained.

Consider this. Barnet Council spent £23,000 on fighting a high court case, when they hadn't bothered to train their staff to do the job. They also launched a case against Yvonne Hossacks, the lawyer representing the tenants. The cost of this hasn't been disclosed. In other words tens of thousands of pounds have been spent on cases, which were doomed to fail.

At the cabinet meeting where Barnet Council approved the policy, I asked whether a risk assessment had been performed on the impact of the decision. The then Tory Council Leader said "Yes". I asked a follow up question "How long is this". He replied "3 paragraphs". That was for every site, every scenario and every tenant. It was clear to me that they didn't know what they were doing. As the Leader gave his response, there was hysterical laughter from the public gallery. The cabinet, to a man, looked horrified.

Council Leader Lynne Hillan was the architect of this policy. How can she justify trying to implement sucha  change, without even having properly trained staff. It is clear from reading these papers that the Council plan to abolish the Wardens just as soon as they can. Lets just review the story so far

Those who think it's a good idea :-

The 33 Conservative Councillors who voted for the policy, led by Lynne Hillan and Andrew Harper
The Lawyers who have taken Barnets cash to fight hopeless cases

Those who think it's a bad :-
The residents of Sheltere Housing who overwhelmingly opposed the plans in the consultation document (over 85%)
All of the Labour and Lib-Dem councillors on Barnet Council
All of the groups representing the Elderly and disabled in Barnet
The High Court
This blog and everyone I've spoken to about the issue (including many elderly staunch Conservatives)

Get yourself up to the Town Hall on Wednesday to oppose this policy.

Tony Blair and Lynne Hillan - two sides of the same coin

Ask yourself this. Tony Blair led Labour to three election victories. Which of these policies were in his manifesto? :-

Capital punishment
Unlimited detention of suspects without trial or judicial process
Circumvention of international law

Regardless of whether you agree with these policies or not, they were all introduced under Tony Blair. You see under the British mandate in Iraq all of these things have happened. Whatever you think of the invasion, whatever you think of Tony Blair, all of these things have happened in Iraq. We were part of the coalition which deposed Saddam Hussein, we wrote the new rulebook and constitution. We did the same thing in Germany at the end of WWII. Even this week, Chemical Ali was hung. We put together the new Iraqi constitution. We are responsible. You may think he deserved it. That isn't the argument. The point is that we deposed a government, imposed a new one and allowed things to happen there, which we banned long ago in this country.

The problem with Tony Blair is that he didn't think "the law" applied to him and his little adventures. He totally believes he was right, so the law didn't matter. Having read the comments by the Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan, with regards to national law applying to local authorities, sadly it seems she's afflicted with the same syndrome. She's lobbying to make an incoming Conservative Government let Council Leaders make up their own laws.

It seems to me that the most dangerous disease on the planet is "Leaderitis". This is where you decide that because you are leader, you know best. The unfortunate symptoms range from invading Iraq, to scrapping sheltered housing wardens. The most unfortunate effect is that people suffer. Other people.

Rejoice, Rejoice - Barnet Council drops sheltered housing appeal

The Hendon Times reports that Barnet Council Leader, Lynne Hillan, author of the Sheltered Housing warden cuts, today announced that the Council has abandoned its plans for an appeal. Furthermore, the full cost of wardens will be met by the Council.

I cannot tell you how pleased I am for the elderly and disabled of Barnet. Hats off to David Young, who launched the appeal. On the night of the Cabinet meeting where Barnets Tory Council decided to scrap the wardens, I trudged dejectedly outside, after the decision had been announced. I bumped into Mr Young and his solicitor. They informed me that they were launching the court case and gave me a copy of the letter they had served on Barnet Council informing them of the intention to launch a judicial review. I promised Mr Young that I would place that letter on the blog that night.I pledged to do everything I could for the campaign. I was given renewed hope by Mr Young, that all was not lost.

That letter is the most downloaded item on this blog. Mr Young has set a shining example to all of us as to what you can achieve if you are prepared to fight. Whilst Mr Young deserves all of the credit, there was a huge campaign across Barnet. We marched through the Council Leaders ward, bringing traffic to a halt. We held rallys at Council Meetings. We wrote blogs, letters to the local paper and left comments.

Make no mistake though, the reason Lynne Hillan has dropped the appeal is because there is an election this year and she knows it will damage her bedrock support. She has killed the issue, for this years budget. If you read the article carefully, you will see that she quite clearly indicates that she's planning to try it on again in future.

Pensioners in the twighlight of their lives such as Mr Young, should not have to launch court cases against their own council. When you put your vote in a box, to elect a new council in May, be sure that if you select a Conservative Councillor, you will be voting for Warden cuts, more court cases, due to botched policies, more slapdash management, more potholes in the road, where budgets are cut. If you think Mr Young has had enough aggravation, give Hillan and her cronies a wide berth when you vote.

Tonight, I'm taking my wife and children out to celebrate. We'll toast David Young and his feistyness. I am over the moon for him and all of the other residents in Barnet.

Barnet Council is full of Grit

I thought that any Barnet Residents may be interested to see what Barnet Council spends your Council Tax on. Here is a video they made explaining what a marvellous job they did gritting roads and footpaths during the recent bad weather. Strangely all of this seemed to completely bypass my road and many in Mill Hill.


As you may recall the Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan and her Deputy, Andrew Harper were on holiday during the worst of the bad weather when the grit ran out. I suppose that they watched this from their luxury hotels in the sun and thought "We're doing a fine job". Strange how they can find the money to make videos saying what a marvellous job they've done, but they can't find the cash to pay for Sheltered Housing wardens for the elderly

Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan and a culture of negligence?

I have just read the most unbelieveable press release from a Council that I've ever seen. Barnet Council have just announced their intention to appeal against the High Court ban on their  policy of abolishing wardens for Sheltered Housing tenants. This press release contains the following statement :-

The council expressed concern on publication that: the judgment suggests that a council has to demonstrate that every member,  not just officers, involved in the decision making gave full and stated consideration to all relevant legislation and guidance. This raises profound issues for the working of local government.

Lets get this right. The Council thinks that people making decisions on important issues such as removing wardens from the old and vulnerable shouldn't take account of the law? They shouldn't listen to guidance? How does Council Leader Lynne Hillan think decisions should be made?  There is a word for making decisions without giving due consideration to the law. It's called negligence. If members of committees can't demonstrate that they have given consideration to the law and the appropriate guidance, then they shouldn't be on the committee.

Let me explain how this process should work in a well run council, where committee members discharged their duties with a degree of diligence. The Borough would make their proposals and the legal department would then check them for compliance with the law. The legal department would then set up a briefing session for the decision makers and provide them with a pack detailing all of the relevant points to consider with regards to the law. Councillors would then read this and would confirm their understanding as a minuted item at the meeting where the decision was made. Members of Council committees get a large cash allowance for being a member of the committee. This is to compensate them for the time they spend reading briefing notes. If they don't want to do this, then resign and let someone who is prepared to do the job properly step up. We should note that Hillan herself receives a Special responsibility allowance of £33,000 (I wonder what she thinks "special responsibility allowance" means)

There is another, rather misleading statement from Lynne Hillan contained in the press release :-

Councillor Hillan added: In developing our service we will, as always, consider the needs of disabled people in the borough, but we do need to make sure we are making services open to all disabled people in the borough, not only those in one type of accommodation.

What Hillan doesn't mention is that for every 4 existing site based warden, they are replacing them with only 1 "travelling" warden. Hillan is trying to con us that a quarter of the existing workforce can not only service the needs of the existing tenants, but can cover the entire community outside of Sheltered housing accomodation as well. Does she really believe this? Well her own mother was in a Council operated Sheltered Home. Hillan arranged for her to be moved to a different site where the warden would be retained. Do you trust Lynne Hillan as Council Leader? Do you think that her actions and statements reveal her to be up to the job or out of her depth? Do you think Barnet Councillors should bother to read their briefing papers before making decisions? Do you think that life changing decisions for the elderly and disabled should be made without taking proper guidance?

Let me tell you why Lynne Hillans problems with the law are no surprise to me. I asked a question at a Barnet Council Cabinet meeting. I asked whether a risk assessment had been done for the abolition of sheltered housing wardens for the elderly and disabled. The Council Leader simply replied "Yes". I then asked how many pages long was it. The Council Leader replied "Three paragraphs". Sums it really.

This press release tells me everything I need to know about Lynne Hillan

The poster David Cameron won't be putting up in Barnet

Do you remember Tony Blair announcing that he was a "pretty straight sort of guy". Let's see how straight with us David Cameron is. Lets see how many posters he puts up in Barnet saying how Lynne Hillans Tories are destroying the Sheltered Housing Warden System. Lets see how many he puts up saying how much the Tories have lost in Icelandic Banking scandals. Lets see how many he puts up telling us how badly they managed the Aerodrome Road project. Lets see how many they put up telling us why they have so many "secret squirrell meetings" where the public are excluded. Lets see how many they put up telling you that if you are a rich property developer, you get a premium service with your planning applications. Lets see how many posters they put up telling us that Councillor Brian Coleman is the first Mayor of Barnet to be found guilty in office of breaching the standards code. You may think that David Cameron has nothing to do with any of this. He came to give his support to the Barnet Conservative Council in a meeting in Hendon recently. The Conservative Central Office look at this blog (and I believe Not the Barnet Times) every day. They know what is going on in Barnet. They sent David Cameron down here. Lets see if they were looking for poster sites to highlight the issues I've raised.

I'll donate £20 to the registered charity of your choice for the first person in Barnet to send me a leaflet delivered to them by the Conservatives that mentions any of these cock ups and apologises for being so useless.

Lynne Hillan on Radio 4 today - Deeply disturbing interview

Lynne Hillan was on you and yours on radio 4 today - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pwppf/You_and_Yours_18_01_2010/ (If you visit the IPLAYER website above you forward the player to 37:00 minutes into the broadcast, it ends at 41:12 or just click on the clip below and go straight there).

If you forward the player to 37:00 minutes into the broadcast (it ends at 41:12). There are a couple of things I found rather disturbing. Lynne Hillan was boasting about Fairview Homes getting a "premium planning service". It seems they've paid for their own "planning officer". I don't know about you, but to me this whole concept stinks.

Hillan also made a truly breathtaking statement. Being asked about the Sheltered housing Warden cuts, she said it was "frustrating that Local Authorities are governed by National Law". What does she want? Is Barnet under Lynne Hillan angling to become a banana republic with it's own laws.

It sounds to me that in Lynne Hillans perfect Barnet, rich property developers get preferential treatment, the sick and elderly would be stripped of the protection of the law and you'd only get your bins emptied if you pay extra. It is one of the most disturbing things I've ever listened to. I do urge you to check it out yourself. The first bit of the piece is the former leader explaining the background to the bonkers scheme.

I don't know about you but I am very, very disturbed that a Council Leader can think like this.

Note : Thanks to Dont Call Me Dave at Not The Barnet Times for the clip

Lynne Hillan to revamp Leader Listens

I received an email from leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan yesterday. I had emailed her congratulating her on her new job as Leader of Barnet Council and enquiring what her intentions were for Leader Listens. I'd been used to rather curt responses (when I got them at all) from the previous regime at Barnet Council.

It seems our new leader is at least good mannered in her style of email. She tells me she's currently reviewing the whole Leader Listens scheme, both meetings and blog. She tells me that she'll be publishing her expenses when she incurs some. I'm sure Councillor Hillan is no more kindly disposed towards this blog than the previous regime, but it's only fair to say that the tone of the email made a pleasant change.

I've had my doubts about the value of certain aspects of Leader Listens from the start, most notably the blog. I will say that I attended one of the Leader Listens business breakfasts and found this to be very interesting and informative, especially the talk given by the MD of Brent Cross. I also attended a residents meeting in Mill Hill with a former deputy Leader. Sadly this was rather less effective. Many residents raised concerns about the danger of traffic in Mill Hill Broadway. I had previously asked for action about illegal turns from Goodwyn Avenue on to the Broadway. The Council confirmed that over 300 cars per day were breaking the law, but they planned no action as it was "not a priority". They also completely ignored all comments about the dangerous changes to pelican crossings in the Broadway and the lack of a safe crossing for children on Lawrence Street. I also noted that they did some rather silly sessions such as the one in Golders Green on a Saturday morning.

My advice to Lynne Hillan is this regarding Leader Listens. If you are going to keep the blog, update it regularly. If you are going to continue with the meetings, actually listen to what the people who come along tell you. I suspect that listening rather than lecturing may be a far more productive way to go. If the meetings are to continue, I'd suggest that Hillan does a special Leader Listens with the residents of Sheltered Housing about the warden cuts. Nothing would make me happier than if Lynne Hillan listened to them.

Barnet is no place to grow old if you are poor and alone

Sadly for some people, old age does arrive rather suddenly. For my mother, it arrived on the 15th December 2000 when she had a stroke. She was 75 and had been living the life of riley until that moment. I was shocked and angered when it was announced that she was going to the geriatric ward. I didn't see my mother as a geriatric and I was sure she'd "get better". She'd beaten cancer so how could she fail?

After 3 months she returned home and started living independently again. Trouble was she needed massive amounts of support, not least for the depression dealing with the loss of her old self.  Her major issue was her dysphasia which prevented her from communicating effectively. She had been extremely eloquent and intelligent. Being intelligent and being treated like an idiot is hell on earth.

I passionately believe (although I can't prove it) that if my mother had been given intensive rehabilitation for 3-6 months, especially with her speach, she'd have had a much better time. Eventually in 2004 I persuaded her to go to Lourdes with HCPT, a group which takes handicapped adults to a hostel in Bartres. Having a week of social interaction made a huge difference. Prior to the trip, she'd been having daily panic attacks about the most minor issues, after she recovered her confidence enough to get my sister to take her round ASDA.

Sadly, though the clock was against her and osteoperosis caught up with her, making her last two years hell. I will always believe that the day she lost the will to fight was the day Barnet outsourced her meals on wheels to Sodexho and her lunch never turned up. She felt that her "independence" was an illusion and she was just an encumberance.

This is why I oppose the warden cuts so passionately. I am sure that the loss of the warden will have the same effect on many elderly people in Barnet. My mother had 6 children who rallied around her and supported her. She was wealthy and could afford to pay for private carers, who actually cared about her as well as for her. She had moments in her last few years when she enjoyed life. She drank a couple of pints of Guinness every night until she died. Whenever she was taken into hospital (this happened regularly), we'd smuggle her a beer in. Towards the end of her life she was told that she needed to go on warfarin to thin her blood or she'd have another stroke. This meant stopping boozing. She told the doctor that she'd rather die than give up the one pleasure she had left. We all supported this decision. In August 2008, five days after returning from Lourdes, she had another stroke and died. She, as ever had her Guinness and her glass of scotch. I wasn't around, I'd gone of to San Francisco with the family. My sister was over from the States and was caring for her.

Why am I writing about this in my blog? Just to explain why I feel so passionately about care for the elderly in Barnet. I loved my mum dearly and there isn't a day when I don't miss her terribly. In the year before my mothers stroke she's been on 4 lengthy cruises. She had a new partner, a lovely man and was comfortable and happy. She looked 10 years younger than her 75 years and was the life and soul of any party. None of us know how long we'll live. None of us know whether we'll see out our final years in health or illness. With todays financial climate, it is possible that those of us who today are wealthy will live out our final years in abject poverty.

I will never forget how upset my brother was when he visited my mother at Barnet General shortly after her stroke and she'd messed herself and been left for hours in bed. He caused a huge fuss and she was properly cared for after that. How many old dears have no one to fight their corner? She broke her hip in 2005 and nearly died during a C-Diff epidemic whilst supposedly recuperating in Finchley Memorial hospital. My sister had flown in from the States. She's a trained nurse and sat by my mother for days, ensuring she was looked after and hydrated. Many elderly people in beds next to her died during the infection and the hospital was effectively isolated. At the time, I got the distinct impression that there is a feeling within the medical profession that the elderly didn't warrant the same standard of care as a young person would get.

Barnet Council under Lynne Hillan has been at war with its elder and vulnerable tenants who live in sheltered accomodation. Barnet Council are trying to get rid of the warden service and rob many people of their independence. If my mum was still alive, I'd be too wrapped up with her care to do much about it. As it is she's gone, but I hear her telling me "Don't let them get away with it". This is the main reason why I've agreed to stand for the Lib Dems in Mill Hill ward. I believe that Barnet Council needs a conscience. I believe that it needs a voice for those who can't speak for themselves. Most of all I believe that the likes of Lynne Hillan should be ejected from office and replaced by people who are standing for Council to give something back to the community. Not a single Conservative Councillor has voted against the Warden cuts. Every single one of them is tainted by this decision.

Over the coming months, I'll be explaining other reasons why I wish to stand, but if it wasn't for the Sheltered housing warden issue and it wasn't for my experiences with my Mum, I'd never have got involved. Whatever happens in May and whatever I do in the Council, there is one thing you can be sure of. If there is any way that I can save the Warden service I will do it. Not least because I passionately believe that if I didn't my mum would come back and haunt me.

Man and Woman of the year 2010 - David Young & Yvonne Hossacks

I can't let the year pass without a mention of the Man of the Year - David Young, who took on the might of Barnet Council and won.  The BBC lists all of the recipients of honours this year - Jensen Button, Status Quo and Patrick Stewart to name a few. All fine candidates, I'm sure, but how many of them have saved a life? How many of them have removed a climate of fear in which hundreds of people were living? How many have shown huge personal courage in their twighlight years. For those of you who don't know of David Young, he's the guy who lives in sheltered accomodation in Barnet and took the council to the High Court when they passed the decison to remove the wardens. Barnet tried every trick in the book, including trying to have his solicitor Yvonne Hossacks struck off (again thrown out by a wise judge). Which leads us nicely to the woman of the year, Yvonne Hossacks. I hope and pray that in some small way this blog has helped them in their fight.

Her Majesty the Queen should summon the dynamic duo (Young and Hossacks) to the Palace and bestow the highest honour she can on them forthwith. I'd personally like to see her Maj also send the author of this awful policy, Barnet Council Leader,  Lynne Hillan, to the Tower for a period of reflection

As an Elderly lady who receives an excellent warden service at the taxpayers expense, I'm sure our good Queen can appreciate why these two are my man and woman of the year. Massive hat tip here to VickiM for reminding me of the compelling need to bestow this award (for what it's worth).

The Barnet Eye wishes all of it's readers a fantastic New Year. Lets all make a New Years resolution to fight injustice in this world in all it's shapes and forms.

Barnet Council latest - Motorists more important than hospitals

I was shocked to read this press release from Barnet Council. It includes the following insight into the thinking of Barnet Council. This designates their strategy for road gritting and keeping access open
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• priority one routes include principal roads and main roads. These routes are treated prior to adverse weather conditions and in times of snow, continuously until the route is safe.
• priority two routes include town centres, transport hubs, hospitals, public buildings and schools

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It seems that in the priority list of Barnet Council, car drivers are a higher priority than hospitals and schools. Surely keeping hospitals safe should be the no 1 priority for the council. Brian Coleman has often stated that motorists come first in Barnet, but I hadn't realised that this was taken quite so literally.

On the subject of the weather generally, I have a helpful tip for the CEO of Barnet Council and  also to new Council Leader Lynne Hillan. If you click On This Site it Tells you can see the weather forecast for Barnet.  Why do I mention this? Well the Barnet Times leading story is about an emergency gritting operation throughout Barnet. If they'd bothered to check the weather forecast, they'd not have needed an "emergency operation". They'd have had a "planned operation to deal with forecast bad weather". It's not rocket science. You keep an eye on the weather forecast and you plan action accordingly.

I've lived in Mill Hill most of my life and I remember the good old days when Barnet Council used to grit sideroads and pavements. Now correct me if I'm wrong but we pay more council tax than ever. What for? It certainly isn't to have the sideroads and pavements cleared. My guess is that when I was a boy, the council didn't have office upon office full of senior managers, managers and undermanagers. I doubt that when it snowed there were teams of senior management on over £100,000 per year holding emergency strategy meetings to decide gritting strategies.

The system then was far simpler. When it was icy or snowed, they'd allocate the gritters an area and they'd go and grit them. The foreman would make sure that the crews got out and an ample supply of salt and grit was held at council depots as it doesn't go off. I've heard  talk that the Council are "quite pleased with how they handled the conditions" and that "The lessons have been learned". The mere fact that all of the old people in my road and surrounding roads are stuck in, for fear of slipping on icy pavements doesn't matter.

Just one other little sidenote. In Sheltered Housing blocks where the wardens can put a bit of slat down. If Lynne Hillan gets her way and sacks these, what will happen during future icy spells? This is why David Young has persued the case through the courts.

All in all this whole fiasco sums up the attitude of "I'm all right jack Barnet". They'll happily spend a million pounds reopening Partingdale Lane, originally shut for safety reasons, but they wont spend a sum of less than half that to keep sheltered housing wardens for the elderly, the infirm and the disabled. It's there in black and white what their priority is. Scandalous.