Mill Hill Update from our local Assembly member Andrew Dismore

Dear Dr Offord, It is a little while since my last ‘Mill Hill Special’ e- update, and as there has been quite a lot going on ( as always in NW7 ), I thought I should write to bring you up to date, as this will be the last chance to do so as we move into the London election campaign proper: I am standing again to be your London Assembly member on 5th May. Land next to Mill Hill cemetery: developers’ appeal As I hope you know, the original scheme for the land- a mausoleum – was refused; as was the developers’ subsequent second application for  access points, a maintenance building, internal roads and so on, for a more traditional cemetery.  The developers have now appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. If, like me you objected to the scheme, I would urge you to renew your previous objections, or indeed make new ones, by emailing TeamPNI@pins.gsi.gov.uk. All representations must be received by 13 April 2016. and must quote the appeal reference: APP/N5090/W/16/3145010 I am working with local residents on this, and expect I will submit a further objection, which I will publish on my website in due course. Risk of Green Belt housing development While I am writing about a Green Belt site, under a recent Government consultation, planning rules protecting the Green Belt are set to be weakened:  ‘We consider that the current policy can hinder locally-led housing development and propose to amend national planning policy so that neighbourhood plans can allocate appropriate small-scale sites in the Green Belt specifically for starter homes, with neighbourhood areas having the discretion to determine the scope of a small-scale site.’ (para 49) I believe that if this change goes ahead, it will inevitably be the thin end of the wedge and would signal an end to the c ountryside round areas like and Mill Hill . Thameslink to be transferred to Transport for London - but not till 2021 I am sure you will have heard of the Government decision to transfer control of suburban rail lines to TfL as part of the Overground network, but questions remain as to why it will take until 2021 for Thameslink to be moved over. Thameslink is the most unpopular railway line in the whole country and I have been calling for such action for a number of years now, as the service has gone from bad to worse. A survey of residents I conducted last year showed overwhelming support for the plan. There was a golden opportunity to move Thameslink to TfL last year, when the f ranchise came up for renewal, but the Government franchise was awarded to Govia- TfL was not even allowed to bid. There must be a strong case to cancel the franchise due to such poor performance and I am supporting the local residents’ petition to this effect: – “Remove t he Thameslink franchise from Govia Thameslink now, not in 2021.” Click this link to see the petition and start sharing it: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/119480 Thameslink Mill Hill station Thameslink are planning to close down their ticket offices, much as the Mayor of London has been closing tube station ticket offices. They say staff will be more visible on the station concourse and able provide information and be available to help passengers with all aspects of their journey, including helping customers use ticket machines and selling tickets from a station hosting point and from their own handheld devices. They say no ticket offices will close immediately and they are now working with London Travel Watch and Transport Focus to review feedback and share findings. We shall see! Ticket barriers are also being introduced, apparently on the instruction of the Department for Transport as all revenue goes direct to the DfT. Because Mill Hill Broadway is known for fare evasion as there have been no barriers to date, the Government are putting the barriers in to protect their revenue. It seems passenger comfort and safety are not a priority for them as this will exacerbate the already massive congestion problems at the station, especially when passengers get off the trains in the evening. There has been no progress to report over step free access. Mill Hill East station I’ve regularly raised the need for an upgrade and especially step free access at the tube station. At the last Mayor’s Question Time before we shut down for the London elections, answering my question, the Mayor said: ‘There is already an identified scheme and funding strategy in place for step free access at Mill Hill East. The release of this third party funding is dictated by the Planning Consent for an adjacent residential development  and the supporting Section 106 agreement, which will only release funds according to development profitability thresholds. Discussions with the developer have indicated that this profitability threshold could be achieved by the early 2020s.’ Clearly this is a very long time to wait to see if there are any excess profits from the Millbrook Park development, which is the the third party funding source to which he refers. Last year, the City Hall Regeneration Committee on which I sit investigated the Mayor’s designated ‘Areas for Greater Intensification’, one of which is Mill Hill East, which we visited . In our report ,we said areas selected as I.A.s must have adequate transport infrastructure, referring to Mill Hill East as an example: The Mayor’s response was ‘I have not seen any evidence that the current level of transport accessibility is holding back development ‘ Which was not really the question, as the impact on the wider community was what we were concerned about. Finchley Central station lift works 12 April until late May From 12 April until late May, TfL will be undertaking maintenance work on the lift that serves the northbound Northern line platforms, (Lift 2) with services to High Barnet and Mill Hill East. During this time, there will be no step-free access to and from the northbound platforms. There will continue to be step-free access to and from the southbound platforms. During the lift works, they are advising customers who are starting their journey at Finchley Central to take bus 326 for step-free services from West Finchley, Woodside Park and High Barnet. Customers completing their journey at Finchley Central are advised to continue to High Barnet and take a southbound train to Finchley Central. Of course, if you were relying on step free, it wouldn’t help much when you get to Mill Hill East! Train/bus coordination at Mill Hill East (or lack of it). Yet again, I raised with the Mayor the unsatisfactory and unacceptable lack of train/bus coordination at Mill Hill East . Bus drivers  are expected to keep an eye out for interchanging passengers at all times and where it is clear  that passengers require the bus service they would be expected to accommodate them. The  Mayor said: ‘On high frequency routes such as routes 240 and 221, passengers who have just disembarked from the station are unlikely to need to wait very long for the next bus. A long dwell time at this stop will impact on passengers already on that bus. Therefore drivers are expected to use their discretion. However, I have asked TfL to raise this with the operator again.’ Bus services more generally Hertfordshire County Council have cut £390,000 of funding to Transport for London which helps run the 107, 142, 292 and 298 bus routes, on top of an even bigger cut last year. I have been pressing the Mayor and TfL to say whether these routes will see the funding picked up by TfL, to maintain these services. Neither the Mayor nor tfL have been prepared to give a straight answer other than to say ‘TfL will review all the possible options taking account of cross boundary travel and TfL's overall funding outlook.’ Any proposed changes will be subject to consultation. I have also raised the need for improved  public transport services for the future residents of Millbrook Park. At present, TfL say over 160 passengers per day use the route 382 service north of Mill Hill. TfL will continue to monitor demand on this service, including liaising with Barnet Council over the progress of the Millbrook Park development, to understand the scale of future demand in the area. I raised the location in Flower Lane of the bus stop that had been moved in front of the church in October 2012, so as  to enable developers’ construction work to take place. At the time it was expected that the stop would be returned to its old site when the building works were completed. Due to the siting of a service entrance to the new development this is now not possible and the bus stop will stay where it is. TfL did agree, though, to install a new bus shelter. Holders Hill Circus After much digging, I have now finally established that there are no plans for new zebra crossings on Dollis Road or Devonshire Road at the roundabout junction as there are no funds for them. We were originally led to believe that the Millbrook Park developer was to pay for them out of ‘excess profits’ ( again) , but this is not the case. They were required to pay for improvements to the existing crossings on Bittacy Hill and Holders Hill Road, but it looks like the council forgot to include these new and needed ones as well. Mill Hill Circus TfL is developing proposals at Mill Hill Circus to reduce congestion at the junction, which plans seem to have been pretty bogged down. A transfer of land between the London Borough of Barnet and TfL is required as part of the proposed road capacity increase. To enable this, LB Barnet has now made a statutory declaration to the Land Registry over a strip of untitled land. Subject to the land availability being confirmed, public consultation is planned to take place in late 2016. Stirling Corner I have been pressing the case for further improvements to Stirling Corner, especially for pedestrians. A design for a fully signalised pedestrian facility across the A1 on the southern side of Stirling Corner roundabout is currently being assessed through traffic modelling by TfL. Initial results indicate that the proposals will not cause adverse impacts on the operation of the junction or the A1. Public consultation is expected to take place in late 2016. Mill Hill Broadway and Sound Absorbing Solar Panels The programme to provide Sound Absorbing Solar Panels alongside the M40 at High Wycombe is making progress, so I asked the Mayor if he would lobby the Highways Agency for similar devices along the section of the M1 between Scratchwood Services & Fiveways Corner, because the motorway closely dissects Mill Hill Town Centre, with a high effect on noise and air pollution. The Mayor said he had asked TfL to check with Highways England whether it has any plans to implement similar measures on the M1 between Scratchwood Services and Fiveways Corner and would come back to me: he hasn’t so far! Millbrook Park When the City Hall Regeneration Committee visited Millbrook Park, I for one was very surprised about the slow pace of the development, with the current building of 2100 homes taking from 2012 until 2026, which averages about 150 a year – and then  with only 15% ‘affordable’ even under the Mayor and Government definition (which is not actually affordable to most people in housing need). The developers said it was down to the problem of finding sufficient skilled construction workers, but also let slip that there were some grounds for us suspecting that the progress is slow as it keeps the prices of the homes high. Such a slow build programme also means that those living near the development  will have to wait for the necessary infrastructure changes ( such as at the tube station) to be delivered, and suffer the construction traffic for far longer than they should. As the roads within Millbrook Park are not being adopted by the council, it remains the responsibility of the Management Company to installs a cycle lane on Inglis Way- though they show no signs of being willing to do so. Barnet Council could have required them to do so if it was in the original Masterplan- but it wasn’t. Planning: site to the west of Northway and Fairway Primary School This scheme is the council’s own plan for provide 120 residential units (Use Class C3) comprising 45 houses (2-3 storeys) and two apartment blocks (3-4 storeys). I spoke at the Planning Committee in support of my own objections and those of the Mill Hill Preservation Society, primarily about traffic, parking, the loss of trees and hedgerows, design and the scale of the plan. The Planning Committee approved the scheme despite objections. Planning: Edgwarebury Golf Course application Whilst not strictly in Mill Hill, I know that many Mill Hill residents were concerned about the implications of this scheme, to build an exclusive golf course on Bury Farm. I attended and spoke against the application at the Planning Committee, which for once I am pleased to say refused the application. Planning : Hasmonean High School Hasmonean High School are looking to merge their two sites onto one campus off Page Street. The plan is to sell the site of the Boys School on Holders Hill Road and build a new combined school on Page Street, though I expect they would have separate boys and girls schools within the campus. This does raise concerns  over traffic in Page St. and has implications for Green Belt development, but no planning application has yet been submitted. Planning : Pentavia On the existing Pentavia retail park site, developers are planning a scheme with up to 850 flats in buildings up to 12 storeys high. All the flats would be for rent at open market rates and there is no provision for affordable homes. I consider this to be a most undesirable scheme, involving the loss of retail and leisure uses on the site and consequent loss of jobs. The location is not conducive to such a residential development and would inevitably lead to an unstable community of short term renters. It would also have an impact on rent levels nearby too. Whilst the planning application has yet to be submitted, I anticipate submitting objections to it in due course. I hope you have found this update of interest: if you have any questions please let me know.  This will be my last ‘Mill Hill special’ this side of the London elections, where I hope to be re-elected as your London Assembly member, to enable me to resume normal service. Best wishes, Andrew Dismore AM Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden www.andrewdismore.org.uk

Barnet Labour - They never forget and they never learn

Look at the calendar. The date is the 8th May 2015. By my reckoning it is only 1,825 days  until the next election. Things change. 1,825 days ago, the day after the last election, the Lib Dems were the kingmakers and the SNP were a bit of a joke. The Lib Dems entered the Coalition, on the promise of a referendum on electoral reform. The SNP festered on the subject of a referendum. Gordon Brown was still the leader of the Labour party for a few days. In politics things change a lot don't they?

Well not in the Barnet Labour Party they don't. In 2010 they had just lost two parliamentary seats and the Tories had tightened their seat on the Council. Andrew Dismore had lost the seat in Hendon to Matthew Offord and Alison Moore, who was both leader of the Council and parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green had overseen an awful campaign in both. Whilst Labour didn't do too badly in London generally, they put in an awful performance in the London Borough of Barnet. So what happened next? Whilst Labour has had two national leaders resign in that period, the Leader of the Council, Alison Moore, who went on to lose the council election in 2014, is still in charge. Whilst both Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband recognised that they should make way for fresh blood with new ideas, Alison Moore seems to think she should go on forever. When Alan Williams lost the council election in 2002 he resigned. After last years council elections, I had a meeting with a leading Barnet Labour Activist. He informed me that there was no one else who was up to the job. When I trotted out a list of far more charismatic and effective councillors, a  lame excuse was given time and time again as to why each was unsuitable. I stated that as far as I was concerned, if Moore remained, then it would seriously damage the campaign for Andrew Dismore in Hendon. This claim was ridiculed.

The activist used the example of the 2012 GLA triumph for Dismore in Barnet and Camden. I stated that this campaign had little to do with Alison Moore. As far as I am concerned, that campaign was won by a coalition of local groups that myself and a few other people put a huge amount of effort into pulling together. These included the CPZ group, the Friern Library Group, Helen Michael and the Finchley Traders. All of these  busted a gut to campaign for Dismore. The fantastic five local bloggers threw our heart and soul into the project. We produced a documentary film before the election, A Tale of Two Barnets, which was shown to over six hundred local people at the Phoenix Cinema, explaining how the Barnet Tories were making a complete hash of the local council. I used every media contact I had, and it was featured on BBC TV and radio as well as ITV News.

All of this ensured that Coleman was deposed. So what conclusion did the Barnet Labour party draw from this huge community campaign? They decided that the 40,000 turnaround in votes from Tory to Labour was all the result of their hard work and nothing to do with community groups, BAPS (yhe group formed out of the local popular movement) or the bloggers. For the 2014 campaign, all of these groups were effectively excluded from the campaign. Rather than building relationships in the local community, they were cut. A suicidal policy of attacking the Lib Dems was embarked upon in Childs Hill and High Barnet. This alienated thousands of Lib Dem voters from Labour. It also cost the Lib Dems the Childs Hill ward. This shoddy treatment of Jack Cohen alienated many. Cohen had always supported Labour locally against the Tories and local voters new that if votes were leant across party lines at elections, victories for Labour in national elections and Lib Dems in council wards, which would otherise be Tories would follow.

When I raised the stupity of this policy with the local activist, I was given short shrift and told that this policy would ensure a Dismore victory, as Lib Dems were forced to choose Labour or Tory. Sadly for Dismore, they all chose Tory, punishing him for his antipathy towards Jack Cohen. No party wants to encourage opponents, but local Labour knew Jack was an assett and they tried to destroy him. The arrogant assumption that Lib Dems would back Labour after such shoddy behaviour was ridiculous. Despite being banned from being a Labour Party member for standing for the Lib Dems (although I resigned from the party, I forgot to cancel my standing order for subs and in an act of spite they invoked the rule saying you can't stand for another party whilst a member), they still asked me to deliver leaflets for Labour in the 2015 election.

I broached the subject of rejoining the party a few months ago with one of the local activists and was told in no uncertain terms that I wasn't wanted. A week later I got another call to deliver leaflets, which I did. I again asked if we could sort something out and was told "If you write a grovelling apology we'll consider it". At this I decided that I'd had enough and made excuses when I was again asked. I decided that I would write blogs in support of the Labour campaign, but from an independent perspective. After the Mill Hill hustings at the Hartley Hall, I went for a curry with some Dismore activists, Dan Hope of the Barnet Bugle, Alasdair Hill, the Lib Dem candidate and a few other locals.

I again raised the subject of my membership. Much to Mr Hope's amusement, I was given a lecture on why I couldn't rejoin. Mr Hope then suggested that we have a £5 wager on the outcome of the Hendon election. He stated he was convinced Dismore would lose. Now I have no idea whether the conversation between myself and the activists had any bearing on his taking the bet, but I suspect he twigged that they were not exactly on top of their brief when it came to running a campaign.

Now I am not a narcissist. I don't think that my membership of the Labour party made the slightest difference to the result in Hendon. But I think the whole thing is a prime example of why Labour is so completely useless in Barnet. Whatever you may or may not think of me as a person, I am sure that no one can doubt my work ethic. Yet Barnet labour avoid me like the plague. What about the other active Barnet bloggers. Mrs Angry is a fantastic blogger, with a real gift for writing and Mr reasonable is brilliant at forensically destroying the financial case for Tory Competence in Barnet Council. Mr Mustard has won countless parking appeals. Before the 2014 Council campaign, we met with Labour to see how we could help there campaign. The answer was "knock on a few doors for us please". I thought this was insane.  Barnet bloggers have issued many joint blogs on important subject, we are all well versed in tweeting, and have sizeable followings locally. Yet Barnet Labour never asked us to coordinate anythiong with their campaign themes. During the 2012 campaign, BAPS and the bloggers would regularly organise "twitter storms" where we all agreed to tweet like mad on a subject at a designated time. Barnet Labour weren't interested. Whilst on my own, despite the 1.5 million blog hits I've had, I doubt I could make much of a difference, between the four of us, we could have really done quite a lot.

I found it bizarre that no one from Barnet Labour ever asked us to help get a film together in the way we had for "A Tale of Two Barnets". Any of us could have listed dozens of reasons why Barnet Tories couldn't be trusted. They didn't ask Helen Michael. Even if they'd just made Youtube clips, it would have been something. Over the years, I've done a huge amount of PR work in the music business. For a couple of years I used this experience, free of charge to help oppose the Barnet Tories. I got 60's sensations The Foundations to play at a packed rally at The Arts Depot in Finchley, which was packed out. I organised smaller scale events with bands, for BAPS as well. These were well attended and helped draw in the community. I worked with the other bloggers to maximise the impact of these events, and BAPS gave stirling support tweeting and leafletting.

Yet for the 2015 election, Labour made no use of BAPS, bloggers or other community activists. Conversations about engaging with the Lib Dems were met with disdain and comments such as "I can't understand why they are bothering to even turn up".  The Dismore campaign never once made any effort to try and win the Lib Dems over. The campaign was simply about getting the Labour core out. This failed miserably, because it insulted the intelligence of the vast mass of people who were genuinely unsure. The Tories message was support us or get chaos. Labour should have been saying to Lib Dem voters, we made mistakes but we've learned. Sadly there was no humility, and even worse there was a degree of arrogance. The Hendon campaign thought they had the seat in the bag. Several local people have said to me that they were rather put off by this arrogance.

I didn't see Matthew Offord winning either, I fell into the same complacent trap that Labour had. Whilst the activists worked hard posting leaflets and knocking on doors, ultimately they didn't sell an attractive proposition to the local floating voters. The Moore years at Barnet Council do not support the concept that Barnet labour knows what its doing. Appointing Andrew Dismore as candidate following his loss in 2010 was a mistake. I hadn't really thought about it, but as he was thrown out after three terms it Labour were effectively saying to voters "You made the wrong choice and we know best". If Dismore had simply lost on a huge national swing, then it may have worked. As it was, he lost because he had issues with his expenses that alienated many voters. The assumption was that this would simply be forgotten, but it was naive and stupid to assume the Tories would let this lie. Wheras Labour didn't use the Barnet bloggers at all, the Tories used theirs to blistering effect http://order-order.com/people/andrew-dismore/ and to be quite honest they were correct to.

By the time polling day came around, I'd decided that I couldn't give Dismore a wholehearted endorsement, so I said nothing. I cannot and will not lie to my readers. I felt completely different about Sarah Sackman, who I feel has been let down by the Barnet Labour machine.

I am left pondering the future. I have decided that I can no longer support local Labour, unless it radically changes. I am not a Conservative, so I have some serious thinking to do. But then, so do local Labour. Lets hope that they finally wake up, but it seems to me they forget nothing and learn nothing.  Now is the time to have these debates and try and learn the lessons,

Congratulations to Barnets three Tory MP's in retaining their seats

So I awoke this morning to the rather surprising news that the London Borough of Barnet has returned all three Tory MP's. I am one who believes in being gracious in both defeat and victory, so I would like to congratulate Theresa Villiers, Matthew Offord and Mike Freer. I would also like to congratulate Daniel Hope at the Barnet Bugle, who called not only the election result, but the Hendon result correctly. Following the Mill Hill hustings, Mr Hope predicted a small Tory majority and all three Tory MP's to retain their seats. So it appears that Mr Hope is after all the Mystic Meg of Barnet (Sadly this means I now owe him a fiver, but he ho, only birth, death and tax are truly inevitable in life).

Perhaps the most interesting thing about this election is that they show that opinion polls are a complete waste of time and money. Will anyone ever bother believing them again? I don't think so.

The results are as follows

Finchley and Golders Green
Mike Freer, Conservative, 25,835
Sarah Sackman,  Labour, 20,173
Richard King, UK Independence 1,732
Jonathan Davies, Liberal Democrat, 1,662
Adele Ward, Green, 1,357

Hendon
Matthew Offord, Conservative, 24,328
Andrew Dismore, Labour, 20,604
Raymond Shamash, UK Independence, 2,595
Alasdair Hill, Liberal Democrat, 1,088
Ben Samuel, Green, 1,015

Chipping Barnet
Theresa Villiers, Conservative, 25,759
Amy Trevethan, Labour, 18,103
Victor Kaye, UK Independence, 4,151
Poppy AM, Green, 2,501
Ray Marisha, Liberal Democrats, 2,381
Mehdi Akhavan, Independent, 118

These results are a stunning indictment of the Barnet Labour party. It gives me no great pleasure to say it, but the truth is that Barnet Labour are a disgrace and a shambles. Labour most certainly should have won in Hendon and had a good chance of taking Finchley. Why did they fail so miserably? It is clear that the country didn't want Ed Miliband as Prime Minister. I met Mr Miliband shortly after he was elected, with a delegation from the FSB, and it was clear to me that he wasn't Prime Minister material. I have not met anyone who felt Miliband was a credible man to take the keys to number 10.

But that is only a small part of the picture. In Hendon, we had Dr Matthew Offord, who even privately told me at the Mill Hill hustings that he expected to have "some time on his hands" after the election. Hendon Tory councillors told me that they thought Matthew was in trouble on many occasions. Following a Mill Hill neighbourhood forum meeting, I was discussing the matter with Val Duschinsky, a Mill Hill Tory Councillor, who played an influential role in Offords campaign. I told her that I thought that the only hope for Offord was to hoover up local Lib Dem votes, on the basis that the coalition had been successful. It appears that this is exactly what happened. Matthew Offord also did something none of the other Tory candidates in Barnet did He reached out to parts of the community which Tories traditionally ignore. His courting of the local Nepali community and evangilical Christians has paid off massively. I warned local Labour activist Adam Langleben of the "under the radar" work Offord was doing and sadly Adam dismissed this out of hand. This delivered a huge swing to Offord. One has to look at the Labour campaign. Andrew Dismore was rejected by the Hendon electorate in 2010. Mr Dismore was mired in the expenses scandal, which I believe did for him in 2010. Matthew Offord missed no opportunity to remind the public of Dismores expenses. When it comes down to it, people do not like such things. But the problem goes far deeper than Mr Dismore. Under Alison Moore's leadership at the Council, Barnet Labour have been shown to be naive, stupid and ineffective. There is a tight clique which control Barnet Labour and they have been thoroughly discredited time and time again.

The truth is that if you analyse the 2010 general election figures, you will see that the vast majority of the Lib Dem vote has defected to the Tories. I stood for the Lib Dems in 2010 and it was clear to me that the Labour party has completely alienated the Lib Dem voters. Between 1997 and 2005 elections, the Barnet Lib Dems and Labour had a cosy arrangement whereby they gave an implicit nod to each other to support the anti Tory candidates that were most likely to win. This resulted in Lib Dem councillors in Childs Hill, Mill Hill and High Barnet and Labour MP's in Finchley and Hendon.This is the end of the road for Andrew Dismore. Unlike his two colleagues in Barnet seats who added nearly 5,000 votes from 2010, Dismore added nothing much. It is time for fresh blood and fresh ideas in Hendon.

As you can see from the 2010 results, the Lib Dems had 5,734 voters

	Conservative	Matthew Offord	19,635	42.3	+5.2
	Labour	Andrew Dismore	19,529	42.1	−3.0
	Liberal Democrat	Matthew Harris	5,734	12.4	−1.7
	UKIP	Robin Lambert	958	2.1	+0.5
	Green	Andrew Newby	518	1.1	−0.7

Only one in five of these went to Andrew Dismore, the rest went to Offord. The reason is quite simple. Dismore has spent the campaign insulting Lib Dems and blaming them for the ills of the country. It is also quite clear that these Lib Dems looked at what he had to say and decided that they'd rather see Matthew Offord, who was quite nice about the coalition than Dismore who kept calling them every name under the sun. I haven't spoken to any Labour members yet, but I expect a lot of blood letting. The truth is that clique who run Labour are completely out of touch with ordinary voters and they simply talk to each other, convincing each other that they are on course to win. They simply expected the Lib Dems to vote Labour, despite having nothing good to say about them. Dismore only added just over 1,000 voters to his 2010 total, wheras Offord added 5,000

In Finchley and Golders Green, Sarah Sackman was always going to have an uphill task overturning Freers majority. It is clear that with the national swing (the real one, not the "opinion pollsters verdict"), she was always going to fail. Comparing the swing in Finchley with the one in Hendon, it soon becomes clear that Sarah put up a good battle.

Check the 2010 results

	Conservative	Mike Freer	21,688	46.0	+6.2
	Labour	Alison Moore	15,879	33.7	−5.4
	Liberal Democrat	Laura Edge	8,036	17.0	−0.1
	UKIP	Susan Cummins	817	1.7	+0.6
	Green	Donald Lyven	737	1.6	−1.0

Sarah put on nearly 5,000 votes, which is hugely impressive. I hope that in the cold light of day, she sees that this is a fantastic achievement. Again it appears that Freer hoovered up many Lib Dem voters. I believe that the key to this was Barnet Council Labour leader Alison Moore's decision to attack the Lib Dem stronghold of Childs Hill. This alienated a key area that has always swung behind Labour at general elections. I told Labour before the council elections last year that this was suicidal and so it has proven. Sadly I think Sarah has paid a heavy price for Alison Moore's arrogance.


Finally a quick look at Theresa Villiers in Chipping Barnet. Despite no support from the local Labour Party, Amy Trevethan added nearly five thousand votes to the total polled in 2010. Again though, the Lib Dems jumped ship to the Tories. Again I believe this was due to the way Labour disrespected the ordinary Lib Dem voters. High Barnet had been a target seat for the Lib Dems in last years council elections, they had a popular local councillor, Duncan MacDonald until 2010. Labour threw the kitchen sink at the Lib Dems in Barnet. This simply drove Lib Dems to the Tories.

Check the 2010 results

	Conservative	Theresa Villiers	19,744	46.6	+0.2
	Labour	Pauline Coakley-Webb	13,784	32.5	–7.5
	Liberal Democrat	Sean Hooker	6,671	15.7	+2.1
	Green	Audrey Poppy	1,199	2.8	+2.8
	UKIP	Victor Kaye	924	2.2	+2.2
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Rainbow George Weiss	59	0.1	+0.1

The sad truth in Barnet is that Labour have to learn that arrogance never pays off. They have been arrogant in council, with little to be arrogant about. They have to learn that the art of seduction has nothing to do with lecturing people and telling them they are idiots. You have to tell them they are marvellous, but just this once, maybe can we have a quick kiss, whilst the life partner is looking the other way. That is why Barnet Labour failed and until they learn this lesson, they will go on failing.
In life, you get what you deserve in the end. Barnet Labour deserve nothing, because they are foolish, arrogant and lazy. Not the activists who worked tirelessly, but the people with their hands on the levers of power in the party. This blog has been broadly supportive of the Labour Party since its inception in 2008. In this time we've had over, 1.5 million hits. In the whole of this election campaign, despite posting at least one blog a day for the last year, we have not had anything from Barnet Labour to enable us to make the case for them. We asked for their candidates to support the #SaveLondonMusic campaign, which we've been running since February, but none signed up or even mentioned it with a retweet. We asked them to give us info on local stories, we got nothing, we asked for feedback on canvassing, we got nothing. All we got was press releases from Andrew Dismore that went to every other news organisation. I take no great pleasure in seeing the Tories back in, but it would be dishonest to fail to admit that when it comes down to it, they are far better at connecting with the real voters of the Borough. Until Labour realise that and come out of their Ivory towers, we are doomed to see this story repeated again and again. This process can only start with the resignation of Alison Moore. I sincerely hope she goes today. I hope Amy Trevethan takes over, because the one lesson you can learn from the above stats is that she can connect with voters and she has fresh ideas and a fresh approach.

And the other parties. It was a dismal night for the Lib Dems. If you jump into bed with your next door neighbour, don't be surprised if your partner throws a paddy when they get home and catch you. The Lib Dem voters have been none too keen on coalition. They seem even less keen on Labour though, which is why we have three Tory MP's.

UKIP have simply proven what we knew all along. They have nothiong to offer in Barnet and nothing to offer nationally. I suppose the only good thing is that they've emptied the pockets of a few billionaire backers. It's a shame these greedy opportunists backing UKIP didn't give the cash to Battersea Dogs home instead. At least that would have been a shaggy dog story with a happy end. 

On Barnet politics, finally a word about the Green party. If anyone can look at the above results and tell me that the Green party are anything but a useful way of splitting the progressive vote, they are clearly smoking something far stronger than Benson and Hedges. Thank God the whole thing is over. Much as I am disappointed with the result, if nothing else it appears the country will have stable government.

One last word on a personal note. I was pleased to see my friend Jane Ellison, a former Mill Hill and Hale Tory Councillor, reelected as MP for Battersea. Jane founded the Mill Hill Music Festival 20 years ago, before moving to Battersea. Unlike most of her colleagues at the Council, this is a fantastic legacy from her time here. Jane is no longer involved with the festival, but it is still going strong. Click the banner at the top of the page to find out more details.

Thameslink - The train company from hell strike again

Yesterday I was up in Edinburgh. As usual I flew Easyjet from Luton Airport, as this is easy, cheap and convenient. I took the 17.55 flight back and by 19.15 I was back at Luton Airport Parkway station. Sadly whilst the flight was seamless, I arrived to find a scene of chaos at the station. The notice boards were simply saying that there were problems. There were no announcements and people were completely in the dark as to when or even if a train was coming. I waited for nearly half an hour and eventually I went back to the office. I spoke to a Thameslink employee who informed me that there would be a train to London in three minutes (19:46), so I made my way back to the platform. Sure enough at 19:46 there was a train to London. It sped straight through at 100mph despite the indicators saying it would stop. At this I gave up and got a cab back, costing me £35 despite having a ticket.

The cause of the problem was a fatality at Hendon. Now I understand that such things happen and the line may need to be closed. What I don't accept is that companies such as Thameslink, which make millions of pounds of profit, should be allowed to leave people high and dry. There is no excuse for the lack of announcements. As the blockage was at Hendon, why couldn't they run a  shuttle to Mill Hill and then let people transfer to buses to get to the Northern Line? This would not be great, but it is better than nothing at all, which is what we got. That would also allow people travelling from London to St Albans and Luton to get home.

There seems to be contingency plans of any sort for any problems. the network simply grinds to a halt and people end up being stuck.

I had hoped to attend the hustings in Mill Hill. I made it for the last few questions. The last one was about Thameslink. Andrew Dismore proposed that the line become part of the London Underground. This is a sensible suggestion. Matthew Offord who previously has been a fan of privatisation and Govia accepted that the service is awful, although did not seem to have a plan.

The chaos is a direct result of the John Major Conservative government and its crazy rail privatisation program. Sadly neither the Labour Blair/Brown govt or the Coalition have done anything to fix the problems. All that happen is that foreign companies rake in huge profits and passengers suffer. When considering your vote, consider Thameslink. If we can get it sorted out, thousands of commuters will benefit. Dismores plan to bring Thameslink under the London Mayor and London Underground will at least give some democratic accountability to the network. Since taking over the North London Line, services have improved considerably. Matthew Offord needs to get a plan together urgently if he wants to be considered a credible candidate.

Barnet Council blocks GLA Members consultation on policing

In a highly political and desperate move, Barnets Conservative Council has blocked local GLA member Andrew Dismore from holding a consultation about police station closures at Hendon Town Hall tonight. Apparently he was only notified late on Friday evening by council officers. The Met Police authority (controlled by the Mayor and GLA) are proposing to close Barnet and Whetstone police stations. Mr Dismore hoped to hold the meeting to gauge public feeling andreport back to the Mayor (ie to do his job).

Mr Dismore for Labour, replaced Tory Brian Coleman in May 2012. Mr Coleman was subsequently suspended from the Conservative party and is currently awaiting trial for the alleged assault of a woman in North Finchley. The council claim that the open meeting is politically motivated, a claim disputed by Mr Dismore who insists he is just doing his job. Mr Dismore emphasised that anyone could attend the meeting and if they supported the Mayors proposals to close the police station, he would report this back to the committee responsible. Mr Dismore felt that it was clearly a politically motivated decision, driven by the unpopularity of the Mayors cuts to the police service.

The Barnet Eye feels that the move is highly anti democratic and is yet another example of a botched PR fiasco by Barnet Council. The action makes the Council look petty and shabby and draws attention to Mayor Johnsons police station closure program. Mr Dismore will get far more and far better publicity for being banned from having the meeting than he could ever have hoped for had the meeting gone ahead. Not only that but local residents democratic rights have been infringed. In all a complete cock up.

Our Barnet - Barnet unites to reject an uncaring council

NSL traffic warden tickets car whilst parked on yellow line

What a day it was. It started for me at Cafe Buzz in Finchley. I had the role of organising the music side of the days entertainment. I had arranged to meet the bands and finalise arrangement at Cafe Buzz. I had barely rolled up when an NSL parking warden arrived, parked on a yellow line and proceeded to ticket a car (whilst still wearing his helmet which is a contravention of the rules). You can see Barnet blogger Mrs Angry watching with disbelief in the foreground. Amazing that the outsourced parking firm seem to think they are above the law, which applies to the rest of us.

The death of trust in Barnet Council

Outside Santander Bank on Finchley High Road, traders had set up a symbolic display to mourn the death of the High Street. A coffin adorned with posters explaining the effects of Barnet Council policies on local trade and adorned with the number plate "DEATH" greeted shoppers. The band HAMPTONS, serenaded the parade from this location as it passed. Rather bizarrely, someone asked me if the coffin was a PR stunt for the new Batman film as the bus rolled past?? Clearly there is more work to be done getting the message across.

The protest bus rolls up to victoria park

The bus was adorned with messages and slogans

Having watched the parade and the bus pass through North Finchley, myself and Charles Honderick, who was filming the parade for the follow up to"A Tale of Two Barnets" jumped in the car and made our way to the entrance of Victoria Park to await the arrival of the parade and the bus. The sight was magnificent. The one thing you cannot ignore is an open topped double decker bus, resplendent with balloons and posters. Especially when it is lead by a march of hundreds of people. Barnet Council may lead the way in stupid unpopular people, but they are losing the battle to win the populations trust.

The parade arriving

Hamptons entertain the crowd at Cafe Buzz afterwards

The bus was decorated with all manner of placards, posters and slogans. The entire back of the bus was covered with a Save Friern Barnet Library banner. This was a graphic demonstration that the protest was not simply about protecting the jobs of Union members, but rather a rally of the whole community against a sustained attack. A whole host of speakers addressed the crowd. We had Rabbi Newman, explaining that as a community we have to ensure the council supports the weaker members. We had Stan Davison, a Barnet pensioner, explaining how the council are making life impossible for local pensioners.

GLA rep Andrew Dismore explained how his election and the removal of Brian Coleman had allowed the London Fire Authority to reverse 

Colemans ban on the public addressing the authority and how he is working for the people of Barnet and Camden. Youth Parliament member Elliot Forlan explained how young people are bearing the brunt of the policies of the government.  I also spoke and explained how Barnet bloggers were cooperating with the Parliamentary committee to end the practice of highly paid executives working as consultants to dodge tax at Barnet Council. Afterwards one disabled old lady told me she thought this was disgusting at a time of cuts. Quite true !

After the rally finished, many of those in attendence made their way to Cafe Buzz in Finchley High Street, for music, food, drink and entertainment. Music from Hamptons, Radfax and Keith Martin and delicious food from the Cafe (with Councillor Andreas Ionnedies jumping in to assist with the cooking as crowds grew) was a suitable end to a tumultuous day.

After everyone had gone home, I was left in Cafe Buzz finishing my beer with Helen Michael, the owner. Helen told me she was off to dinner with Tirza Weisel, the BAPS organiser of the rally. As I looked at Helen mopping the floor of her cafe, a strange thought occurred.

It is only a year since Barnet bloggers found out that Councillor Brian Coleman was about to abolish pay and display parking in Barnet. I wrote a blog detailing Colemans sneaky plans to nobble the local High Streets. Just suppose I was Dr Who and I had a Tardis? If I went back exactly one year and had walked into Cafe Buzz and said "Helen Michael, how will you be voting in the GLA elections next year", she would have replied "Conservative of course, I've always voted Conservative".

If I had then said "Helen, exactly one year from now, you'll be a hero of the anti Conservative movement in Barnet, you will have appeared on national TV (ITV Tonight) denouncing the policies of the local Council, you will have been interviewed by the anti terrorists police for your activities against the local Conservative GLA representative, your business will have been nearly brought to it's knees by their policies, you will have featured in countless press and blog atricles, your will have had a coffin displayed outside your cafe, with a picture of the local Conservative Candidate on it and in One year's time you will be speaking from the top of a bus, adorned with slogans supporting Trades Unions, addressing a large crowd of members of the Labour Party, the Green Party, Trades Unions as well as hundreds of local residents, to tumultuous applause", I'm sure she would have kicked me out of the cafe and called me a lunatic. That is what the policies of Barnet Council have done to Helen and many other local traders. 

In fact the story is so completely bonkers, that I wouldn't believe it myself if I read it in a book or saw a film of it. Maybe Helen Michael should ring her cousin George (you know the one who likes a bit of a sing song and sometimes falls asleep in his car when he's tired) and see if he fancies backing the production of a film about it? I think it's a great story (unless you happen to be Helen who simply wants to run her business).

Barnet Eye Exclusive : Interview with A. M. Poppy Green Party Candidate for Barnet and Camden GLA

Interview with A.M. Poppy, Green Party candidate for Barnet and Camden. 



Editorial comment :

This video is the edited highlights of the interview with Poppy. A section was removed containing footage of a Barnet Council official delivering a letter to the proprietor of the Cafe Helen Michael. This was removed because we felt it would detract from the interview with Poppy who kindly agreed to give up her time to appear.

We will point this out. If you watch carefully, you will notice that there are far more people in the Cafe than the 2 people Councillor Barry Evangeli claimed in his letter to the Leader of the Council, Richard Cornelius. Helen Michael also wishes to categorically state that she does not keep a cat at the cafe as alleged by Councillor Evangeli.

The Barnet Eye was highly impressed with the views of Poppy and believe she would make a great councillor or GLA candidate. We do however urge all Green voters to cast their GLA vote for Andrew Dismore as we believe that it is vital that everyone who wants to see Brian Coleman replaced votes for the candidate most likely to unseat him. I would strongly urge every Green Party voter to make sure they vote come hell or high water. The best way to ensure Green representation is to vote green on the orange top up list. The Greens have a real chance of increasing their representation by this means. If you want to make real change in Barnet, vote Dismore for Camden and Barnet and Green in the Top up list.

Any other candidate wishing to be interviewed by the Barnet Eye is welcome to get in touch.

Why every Jewish voter in Barnet must vote for Andrew Dismore

The Jewish community in Barnet is sleepwalking towards a disaster. Sadly, it seems to me that through cowardice on the left and misguided loyalty on the right, they are failing the community on a grand scale. What am I talking about? The forthcoming GLA elections. The two credible candidates are Brian Coleman for the Conservative Party and Andrew Dismore for the Labour party. Both of these politicians have a long history of excellent relations with the mainstream Jewish community. In a normal election, party preferences would mean that a Jewish voter would cast their vote purely on the party preference as they would be comfortable that both men would support the community.

This however is not a normal election. It is for the role of GLA rep for Barnet and Camden. Most Barnet voters have no clue of the role of the GLA. It was created to "oversee" the Mayor. This is where the issue becomes relevant to the Jewish community. Who is going to be the next Mayor of London? The vast majority of Jewish people in London hope that it is Boris Johnson. They do not trust Ken Livingstone and many perceive him as anti Israeli and anti semitic. I've spoken privately to many local Jewish Labour activists who are horrified at the way Ken Livingstone has seemingly gone out of his way to insult the community. Sadly, any who have spoken out have been given a ritual stoning by the wider Labour movement. In normal circumstances, this would alienate the community from the whole Labour movement (with ample justification).

The issue is that sometimes, you have to consider the wider picture. The budget has been a disaster for the Tories. George Osborne's attack on pensioners could well be the magic bullet for the Labour party that brings down Boris. The Jewish community has to face up to the very real prospect of a Ken Livingstone mayoralty. This is where the identity of the GLA rep becomes important. If Barnet swings behind Brian Coleman, it will clearly be down to the Jewish community. Coleman is highly disliked and distrusted by virtually everyone else. How will Livingstone react? Lets just be charitable and say that looking after a section of the community which hates his guts will not be top of his agenda. He cant stand Coleman, his Union backers can't stand Coleman and it will give him every reason to stick the boot in where it hurts. The more Coleman will bleat, the more Ken will enjoy it.

But what about if Andrew Dismore is the GLA rep? He will have a slender majority and Livingstone will be obliged to listen to his colleague and not antagonise his supporters. Labour want to win back the marginal seats of Hendon and Finchley. They believe that the Lib Dem vote will collapse at the general election and that they have a fantastic chance. Livingstone is a party man and he have no choice but to give Andrew Dismore every chance of helping this revival. However you look at it, with Livingstone as Mayor, there is no way at all that the Barnet Jewish community will get anything from the London authorities unless Dismore is elected. Livingstone hates free schools and academies. With Coleman as rep, these will be under massive threat. There are huge areas of policy the Mayor controls and an impotent Coleman would just look on, no doubt screaming in high pitched anger, as measure after measure is passed attacking his closest supporters.

So what, I hear you ask, would happen if Boris gets in and Dismore is elected? Well first, Boris is never going to attack the Jewish community. The Tory strategists would put the loss down to Colemans own problems caused by parking. They would say that Colemans anti motorist policies caused his downfall. They would actually take note. This would be good for all small businesses and shop owners in Barnet. Dismore has shown himself to be an effective operator for all sections of the community. Rumour has it that Boris would be none to upset to see the back of Colemans buffoonary and excess. Coleman is a ticking time bomb. A Dismore victory would diffuse it and the reasons would be clear. Boris would be viewed as blameless for Colemans downfall. If Coleman loses and Boris wins, it would clearly be attributable to the parking policies, which Boris has no truck with.

It is high time that the leaders of the community pulled their heads out of the sand. If anyone believes Ken would do anything other than punish Barnet and make Coleman look impotent, they are deluded. Even if you think Boris has it sown up, just remember that Osbornes granny tax has even been denounced by the Tory supporting Daily Mail. Whilst the Jewish community in Barnet is large, in London as a whole it isn't, which is why Ken Livingstone is quite happy to upset it. The only protection will be an Andrew Dismore victory.

If Coleman gets elected alongside Ken Livingstone as mayor, I think it's inevitable that a chill wind will blow through Barnet for the Jewish community. Being a community leader means sometimes telling people things they don't want to hear. It is time for the local community leaders in Barnet to spell out to those they lead, exactly what the likely out comes of this election will bring.

Andrew Dismore give Brian Coleman a parking ticket !

The Barnet Eye always appreciates a cunning stunt  (I had to check that statement six times being dyslexic). Andrew Dismore pulled off a corker. He issued a parking ticket to Councillor Brian Colemanm the man responsible for the parking carnage in Barnet. Here is Mr Dismores press release
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When out campaigning with Labour Councillors and activists against Barnet Council’s monstrous parking charges on Saturday 28^th January, Labour’s London Assembly candidate for Barnet could not resist the temptation to “ticket” Barnet parking supremo Cllr Brian Coleman’s car with Labour’s “parking ticket” campaign leaflet (photo and copy leaflet attached)

Mr Dismore said:

“It was too good an opportunity to miss.

When I saw Brian Coleman’s car parked on his off street parking space outside his church owned flat, it seemed to me grossly unfair that while others in his street needed parking permits for which he has jacked up the charges, he did not, so I “ticketed” him.

It’s a pity we can’t levy a fine on Cllr Coleman just  as his parking wardens fine so many residents and business customers  as they struggle with his outrageous charges and convoluted payment systems. But our parking ticket leaflets make the point  by  demonstrating  the unfairness and asking  people to sign labour’s petition against the charges.

He is now planning even higher charges with a proposed increase of 5% from April this year.

People power forced Westminster Council into a humiliating climb down over their proposed night time and weekend charges in the West End. We need people power to stop Conservative Barnet Council’s unfair charges too, so that’s why we are encouraging people to sign our on line petition, which has thousands of signatures already.”

For further details call Andrew Dismore 07957 625 813

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I hope that the people of Barnet make their point in a manner which Coleman really will have to take notice of by shunning him at the GLA elections. Does he deserve his £52,000 a year allowance to represent us? I dont' think so.  Well done to Dismore for an amusing stunt. I think many Barnet residents will agree wholeheartedly with his sentiments.

Boris launches the Brian Coleman charm offensive

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

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

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

Dear Editor,

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

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

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

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

Andrew Dismore

Labour London Assembly candidate for Barnet and Camden

Brian Coleman's magic bullet to kill Andrew Dismore in the GLA Elections

I had a very interesting conversation with a Jewish friend yesterday. The subject of Brian Coleman's run for the GLA in May came up. He told me about a rather interesting conversation he'd had regarding Colemans campaign. As he has previously supported the Conservative party financially, it was suggested that he may like to help out. Now my friend is no friend of Brian Coleman. He replied that there is no way he could possibly support Brian Coleman. The response came back "Brian is a staunch supporter of our community. If his campaign is not successful, it may have serious consequences for Boris in the mayoral election. We all know what a Livingstone mayoralty means, so it is vital that we support Brian to the hilt".

My friend responded that he would open his wallet on the day they deselect Brian Coleman. He also suggested that if it is so important for the community to keep Ken out (which he heartily agrees with), that Coleman should fall on his sword for the "good of the community". Andrew Dismore knows that Brian Coleman is his biggest assett. Both Andrew and Ken are praying that the Tories keep him as he's a liability. Private conversations with local Labour activists tell me that they think the Coleman factor is worth at least 10% to their campaign. As to the financial side, I doubt it will hurt the Tory campaign too much. Some of their supporters have very deep pockets. They will make up any shortfall. When I stood against the Conservatives in Mill Hill last May, certain wealthy locals gave huge donations for my rivals campaign. They did this despite the cast iron knowledge that I would stand up for the green belt far more strongly than my Tory Candidates, I was promoting a pro small business parking policy for Barnet, that I work tirelessly to try and ensure that Barnet Council is run openly and transparently and that I was born and raised in Mill Hill and care passionately about the area. Of course it's their cash, so they can do what they like with it, but I have taken a grim satisfaction in hearing how fed up they are with the policies their cash ensured could be implemented.

The one thing I learned last May is that cash talks. Whilst we campaigned tirelessly on the doorstep, spent hours ensuring we got our message out that we cared about Mill Hill, the Tories had cash, printed thousands of glossy leaflets, paid for them to be delivered. These leaflets were full of porkies, such as the one that the Lib Dems were planning a huge football stadium for Kentish Town FC (average crowd 30), for Copthall Stadium. They also said they were bringing in business friendly parking charges.

That is Brian Colemans magic bullet. He has the big money in Barnet behind him and his cronies. As the mayoral and GLA election draws closer, we'll see more glossy brochures and more people will get telephone calls from people they don't know telling them all manner of old crap, which they will bitterly regret listening to, if they fall for it.

In the run up to last May's council elections, we campaigned tirelessly for a better parking policy for Barnet High Streets. This was supported by the Federation of Small Business. In light of what the Tories have done, you probably wouldn't be surprised how many people have told me they bitterly regret their decision to vote Tory. Brian Coleman may have the expensive silver bullet to kill Dismore's GLA campaign. He still has to make sure that they hit Dismore's campaign in the heart to kill it.