A Proper Newspaper for Our Barnet !

What do you do when you're sick to death of the press not telling the truth about what is going on? Well if like myself, Vicki M and the rest of the Barnet Alliance for Public Services, you are not prepared to let the Council get away with spouting porkies for the press to slavishly reprint verbatum, you write and distribute your own newspaper setting the record straight. I have written a column in the paper detailing why it I started the libraries campaign and why we haven't been told the truth. Click on the link to read it. We are delivering it to homes all around Barnet this week and it is also available at key places. Please look out for it and take the trouble to read it. If you can help deliver it or want to know more about the campaign, please email us at barnetalliance4publicservices@gmail.com

The worst recent example of this uncritical press coverage is this justification of the cuts by Councillor Daniel Thomas.
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8783837.Fees_increase__in_line__with_other_boroughs_says_councillor/

Surely the press should contact an opposition councillor for balance? Here is one porkie which he spouted which was completely unchallenged :-

Councillor Daniel Thomas, cabinet member for resources, said the increases will help plug the £43m hole.He added: “The enormous financial challenges we are facing at the moment mean we are having to look in detail at every aspect of the services we provide to residents.

So you may ask, what is wrong with this. Well, I couldn't let it go unchallenged so here's the comment I left

Please can the Hendon Times stop slavishly stop spouting Tory propoganda and tell the truth. The financial mess was caused by the failed Icelandic investments which lost £27.4 million, the Aerodrome Road overspend which cost £11 million and the freemantle court case which cost £6 million. If you add all of these up, you will see that it's exactly the amount Daniel Thomas claims has been withdrawn - £43 million. The Times is meant to investigate and inform. It is not meant to repeat propoganda for lazy, useless and incompetent Tory Councillors who have mismanaged the Boroughs finances.

Given that all of these issues are widely known and have been reported many times, why didn't the Times pull up Thomas for his blatent porkmeistering?

Here's a few links to prove that unlike Thomas, I'm not bulls***ing.

Icelandic Investments
http://www.times-series.co.uk/your_local_areas/4169656.Council_may_lose___27_4m_of_Icelandic_deposits__says_minister/

Aerodrome Road
http://www.times-series.co.uk/your_local_areas/4346831.Aerodrome_Road_runs___11m_over_budget/

Fremantle/Catalyst (I got this wrong, the claim is £8 million, not £6)
http://www.times-series.co.uk/your_local_areas/3685068.Care_home_firm_demands___8m_from_council/

That is why we wrote the newspaper. That is why it is vital that the residents of Barnet read it. I believe that if people know the truth about these cuts and the councils incompetence, they will take a very different view of what is going on. Once we realise that the £43 million of cuts is directly down to Barnet Tory Incompetence, maybe we'll ALL do something about it