Allowancegate : Barnet is Cutting Social Care to pay for Hillans pay rise

Late last night I received an email from a staunch Barnet Tory. This was from someone who's family have been involved with the Tory party in Barnet for years, hosted fundraising events, helping out at elections, the sort of stuff which makes the party work.

My correspondent was livid. They have a friend who is a social worker.The friend was telling them that they had received instructions from Barnet Council, their employer. The jist of these is that Barnet Council are now going to only fund backup services where it is critical. They are looking to reduce contact hours with clients, to the bare minimum legally permitted.

I have a few names to remind Barnet Council of Baby P, Victoria Columbie ..... All of these children died as a result of failures of social services. Whenever cost cutting collides with social care, the result is that people die. Vulnerable people. Children. The elderly. The sick. The infirm. Care packages are put together by medical professionals. When these are cut by officials with titles such as "reviewing officers" it is patently clear that the actual needs of vulnerable people are being neglected.

If a home visit is deemed necessary three times a day, if a reviewing officer cuts this and then the well being of the person is effected in a detrimental manner, Barnet Council is guilty of negligence. I urge the friends, relatives, neighbours of anyone who is receives social care from Barnet Council to ask for a written justification for any changes to the social welfare package. Agree to nothing until this has happened, threaten legal action if need be. If the changes result in accident, injury, stress related illness or death, then sue Barnet Council for negligence. I would also urge anyone who has a relative who is affected by cuts to contact BARNET UNISON. They will be most happy to help as well.

You know what makes me sick about this. Lynne Hillan used to be in charge of the Social Services portfolio at Barnet Council. She was there when they outsourced the Meals on Wheels contract to Sodexho, resulting in many elderly people, including my own mum, not getting their meals. She knows first hand what the effects of these changes are. She doesn't care at all.

What does she care about at Barnet Council. Well she cares quite a lot about increasing her allowances. She used the party whip to ensure that, not only were these protected, but they were massively increased. She's happy to vote herself a massive pay rise, whilst cutting care to the most desperately needy in Barnet.

I've been fighting these cuts as best I can from my blog. We've done well to make this a big issue locally. I can't do this on my own. I'm imploring all of you to really start fighting back. Keep sending the letters to the local paper, contact your councillors. If you work for Barnet join a Union. If you get your care cut, threaten legal action. If you are a blogger, write a blog today saying it's unacceptable. If you are a retired blogger, like Status Quo have one more reunion tour. I am imploring any workers of Barnet Council who have received letters telling them to cut services to the people of Barnet. If they contain no personal detail , then Scan them. Email them to me. I won't put any details that can identify you, but I will fight your corner. I've already seen a couple and they make me sick - CLICK HERE TO EMAIL ME. Please do not send any that contain specific information about individuals, only ones which detail non specific changes to the system. If the letters contain specific details, which are private and you want me to know, just send me a potted summary in an email. Together we can make a change.

These Tories aren't just Tories, they are Barnet Council Tories !

Below is the complete list of Barnet Tory Councillors. They all think that awarding huge pay rises to the Cabinet is the best way to spend your money (*Unless their surname is Salinger). If you click on the link, you can get their full details from the Council website and you can email them and tell them whether you think "They are worth it". Personally I think they are a cunch of bunts (did I ever tell you I'm Dyslexic). This is the mob who spent half a council meeting telling everyone times are hard and we'd all have to tighten our belts and the other half voting themselves huge payrises.

|Maureen Braun

|Hendon

Conservative

|

|Dean Cohen BSc

|Golders Green

Conservative

|Melvin Cohen LLB

|Golders Green

Conservative

|Brian Coleman AM, FRSA

|Totteridge

Conservative

|Alison Cornelius

|Totteridge

Conservative

|Richard Cornelius

|Totteridge

Conservative

|Tom Davey

|Hale

Conservative

|Barry Evangeli

|East Barnet

Conservative

|Anthony Finn BSc(Econ), FCA

|Hendon

Conservative

|Brian Gordon LLB

|Hale

Conservative

|Eva Greenspan

|Finchley Church End

Conservative

|Andrew Harper

|Garden Suburb

Conservative

|Helena Hart

|Edgware

Conservative

|John Hart

|Mill Hill

Conservative

|Lynne Hillan

|Brunswick Park

Conservative

|Sury Khatri BSc(Hons), MSc

|Mill Hill

Conservative

|David Longstaff

|High Barnet

Conservative

|John Marshall MA

|Garden Suburb

Conservative

|Graham Old

|Finchley Church End

Conservative

|Bridget Perry

|High Barnet

Conservative

|Wendy Prentice

|High Barnet

Conservative

|Sachin Rajput BA(Hons), PgDLaw

|Oakleigh

Conservative

|Robert Rams

|East Barnet

Conservative

|Hugh Rayner

|Hale

Conservative

|Lisa Rutter

|Brunswick Park

Conservative

|Brian Salinger

|Oakleigh

Conservative

|Kate Salinger BEd(Hons)

|Coppetts

Conservative

|Joan Scannell

|Edgware

Conservative

|Brian Schama

|Mill Hill

Conservative

|Daniel Seal

|Garden Suburb

Conservative

|Mark Shooter

|Hendon

Conservative

|Stephen Sowerby

|Oakleigh

Conservative

|Andrew Strongolou

|Underhill

Conservative

|Andreas Tambourides

|Brunswick Park

Conservative

|Joanna Tambourides

|East Barnet

Conservative

|Daniel Thomas BA(Hons)

|Finchley Church End

Conservative

|Reuben Thompstone

|Golders Green

Conservative

|Rowan Turner

|Underhill

Conservative

|Darrel Yawitch

|Edgware

Conservative

Barnet Tories : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly !!!!!!

I was heartened to see that the "conscience" of the Conservative Party is still alive and well in the general membership. It seems that while all of their councillors (bar Kate Salinger) lack backbone, the wider membership is not afraid to speak it's mind. The Hendon Times reports that the Chairman of Hendon Conservatives, Adrian Murray-Leonard has branded Hillan and co "greedy vultures" following their decision to award themselves huge payrises at a time of national belt tightening. Read all about what Mr Murray-Leonard had to say here :-

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8297992.Conservative_association_member_brands_party_colleagues__greedy_vultures__over_allowance_hike/?ref=mr

It seems to me that we can divide the Barnet Tories up into three Groups when it comes to the issue of awarding  yourself huge payrises -

The Good -
Kate Salinger (who was the only Tory Councillor to abstain and got ritually humiliated for her trouble)
Mike Freer MP and Matthew Offord MP (both criticised the increase)
David Miller (former chairman of Chipping Barnet Conservatives)
Adrian Murray-Leonard (Chairman of Hendon Conservatives)
Every single Barnet Conservative I've spoken to who isn't a Barnet Councillor (and the many who've privately emailed me to express disgust)

The Bad
Council Leader Lynne Hillan who has shown herself to be a complete hypocrite on the issue
Councillor Graham Old who despite knowing Kate Salinger was right lacked the backbone to stand up for her
Councillor Barry Evangeli who used the opportunity to snaffle an allowance, when Kate Salinger lost a committee chairmanship
Councillor Hugh Rayner who was distributing a very brown nosed press release saying that the increase was a good idea, completely ignoring what could have been done with the money had it not been spent lining the pocket of the cabinet
The rest of the motley crew of Barnet Tory Councillors who gutlessly voted for something they know to be morally wrong

And the Ugly

Hard working Councillor Brian Coleman who trousers between £114,000 and £121,000 from the public purse (depending who you believe) and claims he spends 100 hours a week beavering away at his desk.

And last but by no means least

Well if it ain't old Tessie Viler than a blocked drain Villiers. The only Barnet MP to think it's a spiffing idea for her mates to line her pocket. Of course given that she' rather partial to a little bit of troughing herself it's hardly surprising is it.

Sadly all the troughing seems to be taking its toll !!!!!

Oh, by the way, let me share a little snippet of gossip with you. Apparently Mike Freer MP has been telling his friends that he's rather enjoying the experience of not being beholden to certain friends of his at Barnet Council - this is my interpretation of his exact words - I'm sure you get the gist.

Panic and mayhem in the Barnet Tories

So how have the Barnet Tories responded to becoming the latest example of a basket case council and the new right Militant Tendency? Well the leader who's impecable judgement is holding a a crisis meeting 'party' for 'new Councillors' at her house, Ashurst Road (made famous by her company Ashurst Direct Marketing Ltd, which went bust owing the taxman thousands of pounds), Finchley N12 on Monday night to try and shore up support. On Tuesday she's got an official Cabinet Briefing meeting. They will be holding an crisis / emergency political cabinet where, I understand, she'll be calling for a vote of confidence in her leadership (this info comes direct from sources within the Barnet Conservative party)

So you've got that. If on Wednesday morning, she's still in the job after the "Allowancegate Fiasco", that means that all of the Tories in the cabinet have "confidence" in her. Put it another way, they either lack the balls to tell her the truth for fear of losing their allowances or they genuinely think she's the most capable one of the lot of them (that's what a vote of Confidence means). Given the complete cock up she's made of the job, if they all think they are worse than her, lord help us as we've got four more years of them.

Of course Lynne, you could do the honourable thing. You could stand up and say "I've shown appalling judgement. We must restore confidence therefore I'm calling for a vote to reverse the allowance increase, I'm reinstating Councillor Salinger to her previous jobs and I'm resigning before I can do any more damage".

If you are a Barnet Tory and you want to save this shower from themselves, please get in contact and explain how important it is for them to do the decent thing. This link gives you all the details you need to contact any Barnet Councillor  -

http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/council/listcouncillorname.asp?intSubSectionID=13&intSectionID=9

Oh and don't forget to sign the petitions listed in the sidebar to register your disgust at their huge, self awarded pay rises.

Barnet Council Porky Watch : The Brian Coleman 100 hour week

Earlier in the week we investigated Barnet Trougher in chief Brian Coleman and his claim that he worked 100 hours a week and only had three days off since Christmas (presumably New Years Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday). We looked at what work he actually does for Barnet and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. We found that he's a member of a few committees which meet once a month and he meets the fire commisioner once every two weeks. I promised to return and investigate in more detail what he does for the GLA where he gets over £50,000. The Leader of the GLA Tories is Roger Evans. He's one of my favourite Tories in that he writes a good blog and generally appears to be a decent chap. I posted a question about whether Brian Coleman was working too hard for the GLA and whether this was the reason for Brian Colemans huge workload. Roger rather helpfully posted this response  :-

The recent SSRB review concluded that members work an average full time week, which is less than 100 hours of course. I assume Brian was including his work on the Fire Authority and Barnet Council to reach his total. The SSRB recommended no increases for AMs - a recommendation which we have implemented - so I do not believe we are 'underpaid'.

Now unless anyone corrects me, this means Roger Evans is saying GLA members work roughly 35 hours and that the £53,439 is a reasonable amount (ie they are not "overpaid").  We've quite clearly seen from Brian Colemans workload that both the LFEPA role and the Barnet Council role cannot possibly account for the "missing" 65 hours a week he is claiming. I also asked Roger was a slave driver and possibly working Brian far too hard. Roger helpfully added :-

I do not see myself as a 'slave driver' and my team would not recognise such a description.

You can see the full details of the assembly's grilling of Boris, my question and Rogers answer here - http://city-hall.blogspot.com/2010/07/mqt.html .Interestingly Brian and Roger both get paid the same amount by the GLA, even though Roger is a member of five committees whilst Brian is only on three (one of which is the LFEPA which he gets another huge allowance for).

• Member of the Business Management and Administration Committee
• Member of the Confirmation Hearings Committee
• Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA)

As we mentioned earlier, Brian Colemans last press release on the GLA site was on 17th June.I've made discreet enquiries about some of Brian Colemans work for Barnet in the last year. During his period as Mayor he was one of the laziest mayors in London, with his Deputy doing almost 1/3rd of his engagements (according to the press - http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/4648218.Mayor_Coleman_s_engagements_below_north_London_average/ ). In the first six months of his Mayorship, he performed less than one Mayoral duty a day (123 in total). Compare that to the Mayor of Camden, Councillor Omar Faruque Ansari,who performed 275 duties.

Roger Evans comment gives the game away regarding Brian Coleman and his "100 hours a week". At the GLA he tells them he's busy in Barnet and LFEPA, in Barnet he says he's busy at the GLA and LFEPA and at the LFEPA he says he's busy at the GLA and Barnet.

So the question for us all having reviewed the evidence is this. Was Brian Coleman telling porkies when he said he worked 100 hours a week. I helpfully added the illustration of Brian Coleman hard at work at the GLA (pictiure Courtesy of the Tory Troll blog). I rest the case for the prosecution. Brian Coleman is more than welcome to write a guest blog here to explain why "He's worth it". I could do with a good laugh !!!!!!

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and Parasites : Barnet Times Joins the Crusade

A week after this blog started the war on Spongers and Parasites at Barnet Council who award themselves huge payrises whilst urging restraint on everyone else, we are pleased to welcome our local paper, the Barnet Times to the Crusade. They have started a petetion. I urge you to sign this (as well as the Residents Association petition).

I am glad that the Barnet Times has joined the Daily Express, The Telegraph, The Evening Standard, Private Eye, BBC News and ITV in highlighting the Greedy Tendency which has taken over Barnet.

Details of their petition is here  :-
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8285009.Show_your_support_for_our_Reject_The_Rise_campaign/?ref=mc

The residents petition is here :-
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/barnetcouncilpayrises/

I urge all Barnet Residents to sign both of these petitions. Whatever you think of the wording, the people who started them or the local paper, just sign. It is too important an issue to split hairs on. We will only win this war if we send a message so strong that no one can ignore it. Bang on your neighbours doors, get them to sign it as well.

I truly believe we are winning this war, the ever increasing number of hits on the blog tells me this. If we win, all that will happen to my blog is I'll go back to writing about three legged dogs playing football. The Councillors at the top of Barnet Council will however know that they can't take the piss any more. Email all your friends, stick the petitions on facebook. If only 25 people sign them and you ain't one, the you are a troughers accomplice and you wouldn't want to be one of them, would you?

Councillor Barry Evangeli in the spotlight

They say that those who live by the sword die by the sword. We are judged by our actions. One of the new crop of Tory Councillors has come into the spotlight this week. His name is Barry Evangeli.  I think that it is only fair that we residents of Barnet know what sort of a man Mr Evangeli is. This blog already detailed his brown nosing of Councillor Brian Coleman to get himself nominated as a Councillor. Mr Evangeli has been a councillor since May 7th. In that time he's done two things which tell us what sort of a man he is.

Firstly the Barnet Council Senior Tories proposed a huge payrise for Cabinet members at a time of austerity and belt tightening in the country. Tory Cabinet Minister Grant Shapps urged restraint. What did Barry Evangeli do? He had a conversation, I can only guess, given what happened that it went something like this. He said "whats in it for me". The powers that be in the local Tories said "Kate Salinger is threatening to abstain. If she does, we are going to sack her from her chair post of the Chipping Barnet Residents forum. If we sack her, there is a nice fat allowance going for a new chair. She says that her principles prevent her from voting for a rise as we urge restraint on council workers. We are looking for someone with rather "more flexible" principles". Barry Evangeli said "Well count me in!" and copped a nice little allowance.

The only trouble is that a week later he had to face the public in the residents forum. The public wanted to know what the justification for the rise was. Mr Evangeli, who clealry had a vested interest should have said "I'm afraid to declare I have a vested interest in this, so I have to step back from the debate". Sadly he chose an altogether different approach. He announced (contrary to the rules of the forum) that he wouldn't take the question. Even worse, he then gave everyone a long and boring lecture justifying the rise.

So what sort of a councillor do we think Mr Evangeli is? A hard working public servant who is in it for the good of the people of Barnet or a greedy parasite who is on the make and prepared to walk over all and sundry in his quest for easy money? I have an opinion, I'm sure you have one too.

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and Parasites : Make yourself heard

Wipe the smug grins from their faces !

If you do one thing today .....

Please sing this petition to tell the greedy Tory Councillors of Barnet what you think of them awarding themselves a huge payrise.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/barnetcouncilpayrises/

All you need to do is enter your name and email.  I urge everyone of every political persuasion in Barnet to sign up.

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and Parasites : Villiers approves of troughing

There are three Tory MP's in Barnet. Two have one house and one has two. We used to have three MP's who all had two houses, but one got slung out and the other retired. All three of them claimed a second home allowance. Theresa Villiers is the one who is still there. Despite the fact that she can get from Barnet to Westminster in less than an hour by public transport, she thinks she needs a second home subsidised by the Taxman nearer Parliament. To their credit the new Tory MP's Freer and Offord, have said that they are quite happy commuting (see boys, I do say nice things about you when you deserve it).

It seems that wheras Freer and Offord are preapred to criticise the troughing in Barnet Council, Theresa Villiers MP, the one with the second home, thinks it's fine. She thinks its up to councillors to decide there own pay and if they decide to take the piss, that's fine.

http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8282873.Villiers_fails_to_condemn_council_pay_hike/?ref=mr

Her statement :-

This issue is for the Council to determine. As an MP, I have no say in decisions made by elected councillors on pay and allowances. This is a matter for local, not national, decision-making.

 Lets get this right then. A minister of government (yes she is amazingly enough) thinks local Councillors can do what they like? There is a rumour that this statement was made because Lynne Hillan and Brian Coleman reminded her that they said nothing about her troughing. That's how it works. You turn a blind eye to my troughing and I'll turn a blind eye to yours.

She is a disgrace and not fit to be a part of the government. In fact the only job she's fit for is putting out the pigswill for the porkers to feast on. Let me remind you Tessie, that you are an MP, you are meant to show a bit of Leadership. You have failed the voters of Barnet

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and Parasites : Barnets biggest Brown Noser gets his payoff

I must confess I haven't meticulously studied the names of all of the new intake of Tory Councillors. That is why today when I read the report in the Barnet Bugle of how Barnet Councillor Barry Evangeli (one of the new boys) shut down debate at the Chipping Barnet residents forum, I was surprised to hear that he was a councillor. It seems Mr Evangeli wouldn't let residents speak (rather oddly for a residents forum) about the allowance rise but was quite happy to bore them with his long and dull self justification.

Now the Barnet Eye had heard of Mr Evangeli before. We have a little black book where we meticulously log the details of everyone who we think has "a contribution" to make in Barnet. Mr Evangeli's entry in our little black book is that of Councillor Brian Colemans leading "supporter" in the press. Here is one example of his stout defence of Brian Coleman


http://www.times-series.co.uk/opinion/letters/4725172.I_applaud_his_frank_speaking/

Here is what he had to say :-

I applaud his frank speaking

12:28pm Friday 6th November 2009

I applaud Brian Coleman for speaking his mind.
I was present in the public gallery recently during Mayor’s Question Time when Labour Assembly Member John Biggs was continuously berating the mayor.
His constant interruptions were both irritating and obnoxious and nothing short of a feeble attempt at political point-scoring.
Perhaps Brian Coleman’s description of him as an “odious toad” should be regarded as a compliment, as I would have described him more akin to something a little more primate.

Barry Evangeli, Monkville Avenue, Golders Green

So there you go. Mr Evangeli's idea of a good day out is to go and watch Brian Coleman in action. It seems that if you want to be a Tory Councillor, having a rather brown nose is a good way to get through the selection panel. Anyway congratulations to Mr Evangeli on his election as a Councillor. It seems he has a bright future in the Barnet Tories (at least as long as his hero Brian Coleman has anything to do with it).

As Mr Evangeli seems to applaud plain speaking, I have some for his benefit. I hope he likes it.

Councillor Barry Evangeli, you are a complete disgrace. The sooner the people of Barnet are rid of you and your ilk the better. You've only been in the job five minutes yet you are already in the trough up to your neck. The purpose of Residents forums is to listen to the residents rather than to bore them to death. Do us all a favour and crawl back into whichever hole you emerged from. You clearly are not cut out for public service.

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and parasites : A Coleman Porky prime cut?

Poor old Brian Coleman. The stress of all the troughing must be getting to him. He claimed in todays Evening Standard that he works 100 hours a week and he has only had three days off since Xmas (presumably New Years Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday).

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23857940-councillor-on-pound-118500-a-year-says-im-good-value-for-money.do

I suppose, the nub of the matter is what constitutes work. Lets see what he does for Barnet :-

He's on the following committees :- 

Annual Council - Member -  Next Meeting May 2011 (annual)

Cabinet - Member - Once a month

Cabinet Resources Committee - Member - Once a MonthChipping Barnet Area Environment Sub-Committee - Substitute - Once a MonthChipping Barnet Area Planning Sub-Committee - Substitute - Once a monthCouncil - Member - Next meeting November 02 (approx every 2 months)

Then there is his ward surgery (which presumably he shares with the other two councillors) :-
Third Saturday of the month 10.30am-12noon. Barnet House, 1255 High Road, N20.

Then there's the the reports he has to read as Cabinet member for Environment (3 since April as far as I can see) :-
http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/dp/meetinglist1mthcom.asp?intSubSectionID=25&intSectionID=4&meetingtype=Officer%20in%20Consultation%20with%20Cabinet%20Member%28s%29

You get the idea. Given that his former boss Mike Freer once said that the Council officers do all the work, there isn't a 100 hours a weeks worth of work here, is there?

Then there's his work for the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (he's chairman).

Forthcoming Meetings

• 16 September 2010
• 18 November 2010
• 27 January 2011
• 24 March 2011
• 23 June 2011 - Annual meeting

That's what I call a highly taxing schedule of work.
It seems he attends a few other committees - check if you like -
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/CommitteesAndPanels.asp

Here's his full list -
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/MemberProfile_BrianColeman.asp

There's the appointments committee (last meeting in February)
There's the Finance and Procurement Committee (four meetings a year?)
The urgency committee (last meeting in March)

And here's some idea of what he was up to (his expenses) for Feb & March when he was "working 100 hours a week without a day off)

30/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with Fire Commissioner and Mayor at City Hall	£11.44
30/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner and Mayor at City Hall	£8.00
25/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - LFB Long Service Awards at Southwark Training Centre	£11.44
25/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - LFB Long Service Awards at Southwark Training Centre	£8.00
23/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with John Barton, General Sec of RFU at City Hall	£11.44
23/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with John Barton, General Sec of RFU at City Hall	£8.00
16/03/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£11.44
16/03/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£8.00
08/03/2010	Other  Expenses	Subsistence - Dinner at Hilton Hotel, Manchester	£15.00
24/02/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Lunch with John Ransford, CE, LGA	£11.44
24/02/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Lunch with John Ransford, CE, LGA	£8.00
11/02/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Opening of Harold Hill Fire Station	£24.51
09/02/2010	Travel	Members' car mileage - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£11.44
09/02/2010	Travel	Congestion Charge - Meeting with Fire Commissioner at Union Street	£8.00

And what about the GLA - Well this is approx half his income at Barnet and LFEPA. Do you see 50 hours a week here? I will have a look at what he's up to for the other 50 hours at the GLA later in the week. In the meantime you may be interested to know that his boss at The GLA, Roger Evans says on his blog today that they are all off now till September, which gives you some idea of the heavy work load there.


http://city-hall.blogspot.com/2010/07/mqt.html

All I can say is this, Mr Coleman claims that he works 100 hours a week look a tad dodgy to me based on this. A few sporadic committee meetings, a few dinners and a meeting every two weeks with the Fire Commissioner. We'll look at his "work" for the GLA later this week. You can check his profile here. You would expect a flagrant self publicist like Coleman to tell us all about his work in his press releases. According to his profile the last one was over a month ago


http://www.london.gov.uk/profile/brian-coleman


For a man who works so hard, he seems to have a lot of spare time for outside interests :-

http://www.london.gov.uk/profile/brian-coleman/register-of-interests

• Representative on the Queen Elizabeth Grammar Schools Endowment Fund
• Ravenscroft School Charitable Trust
• Standing Advisory Committee for Religious Education
•  1 Friern Park Management Committee (Chairman)
•  Darlands Lake Management Committee (Chairman)
•  Representative on Totteridge Manor Association
•  Vice President of Totteridge Residents’ Association
• (Parliamentary) Committee of the Friends of Cyprus
•  Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
•  Freeman of the City of London
•  Member of the Guild of Freeman
•  Member of Barnet Rotary Club
•  Member of Finchley Methodist Church
•  President of Edgware & Hendon District Scouts
•  Old Elizabethans (QE Boys Old Boys Association)
•  Hampstead Garden Suburb Residents’ Association – Associate Member
•  Liveryman of Worshipful Company of Farriers
• Patron of the Larches Trust, Larches House, No.1, Rectory Lane, Edgware Middlesex, HA8 7LF 

So does Brian Coleman really work 100 hours a week for Barnet, The GLA and LFEPA for his £114,000 a year? I'll let you decide. I'm off to be sick

Tuesday Update : Barnet Eye war on Spongers and parasites : Words of Wisdom ?

In my war on the Spongers and Parasites of Barnet, I have enlisted a rather surprising ally. Read his words of wisdom from The Spectator :-

Some council leaders now receive up to £65,000 per annum and, for being an executive member, the average in London is about £30,000. To keep the backbenchers happy so-called 'Special Responsibility Allowances' now have to be paid for all sorts of minor, functionary positions: £2,500 for being vice-chair of the Trees and Cemeteries Scrutiny Committee or for turning up at a Licensing Committee once a year. In short big money for local politicians. The danger of this, of course, is leaders now win or lost their positions on the strength of who they had promised well paid jobs to. And I fear getting to form an administration in local government has more to do with how all the allowances are distributed than which councillor is best for which job.

Any idea who wrote these words of wisdom - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT - yes that's right. It's Tory Barnet Councillor Brian Coleman. The man who told the Telegraph on Saturday

I don't have to justify what I earn. Councillors are worth every penny they earn. I'm not interested in this tittle tattle.

He also told the Hendon Times this

We have to look at allowances every four years and have done what 20 other councils have done. They recognise the changing role of the executive and services provided.

The cabinet is getting nothing like its entitled to according to Sir Rodney Brook (report author). I will take the money I'm entitled to. No more, no less.

This is the same man who, to quote his New Statesman article said

The repeal of the 2000 Local Government Act, the ending of executive powers for councillors and a return to proper, accountable, local democracy would be a first step to ensuring that service rather than salary was the driving force for Local Councillors.

Political service should be a calling not a career!

Mr Coleman told the Standards Board of Barnet Council last year that I had unfairly called him a hypocrite. Does it surprise you that they rejected his defence for his bad behaviour and found in my favour. I urge all the Tory Councillors who voted for the rise in allowances to read their beloved mentor, Mr Brian Colemans column in the New Statesman. Is this what he told you when he was asking you to vote for a pay rise. Maybe you feel happy indulging such hypocricy.

Mr Coleman knows exactly what is wrong with the system. Sadly, rather than setting a good example, he uses the very tools he knows to be wrong, for his own twisted ends. I can see no greater reason for sacking him than his own words. David Cameron should summon him, read him his own words and then strip him of the Tory whip for causing such a great embarrassment.

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and parasites : Daily Express says warden cuts pay for allowance rises

It seems like we've started quite a bandwagon rolling here in Barnet. We welcome the Daily Express on board the war on spongers and parasites. They gave the whole of page 12 over to the cause today - http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/187698 -  The best bit of the article was this statement -

The council has also done away with full-time wardens at old people’s homes, instigating instead a system of roving wardens who cover the whole borough. Councillors defended the scheme by promoting it as pioneering and an efficient use of money.

But now it seems some of the money saved will simply be disappearing into councillors’ pockets instead. It is extraordinary that at a time of severe financial constraint a council which promotes itself as a super-efficient flagship authority can be awarding itself pay increases.

The Express is right to highlight the moral bankruptcy of a regime which punishes the old and vulnerable, whilst lining their own pockets. It is a sign of the depths which the Barnet Tories have sunk, when the two most sympathetic papers, the Telegraph and the Express lambast them. David Cameron cannot ignore the issue any longer.

The Guardian has also joined in with the war - http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/davehillblog/2010/jul/19/london-barnet-conservative-councillors-allowances-rise-controversy - Dave Hill was one of the first to rally to the cause with a tweet last week. His more considered post today hits the nail on the head pretty well.

It is heartening to say that we had hits on the blog from both the Telegraph and the Express prior to their articles. I actually emailed Don't Call Me Dave on Friday to inform him of the hits and that the ball was rolling.

There is one feature of all of these articles and all of the comments they've attracted. A general disgust at the obscene level of troughing. I suspect that Brian Coleman is actually enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. He is gambling that David Cameron lacks the balls to do anything about it. Coleman  (reportedly) told a colleague that all of the bad press just increases his vote and makes him better known. I doubt it will have the same effect on colleagues who have marginal seats. I was informed Coleman was silenced in the months leading up to the Election. He was actually forbidden from canvasssing outside of Totteridge, according to informed sources.

There are some rather interesting letters being sent internally within the Conservative Party. Sadly I've been sworn to secrecy about the contents of these, but I suspect that Coleman & co may get a nasty shock some time soon. One thing which has heartened me is the fact that this awful display has united the people of Barnet. Life long Tories have privately emailed me. You would be amazed at some of the private correspondence I received.

There are a few emails I'd like to publish but can't. The Tory Councillor who voted for it "because it was recommended by a committee" is probably the best. Sadly if someone emails me in strictest confidence and has provided useful snippets in the past, I won't break their trust.  I am sorry to report that Councillor Graham Old hasn't responded to my request for the compelling reason he changed his mind and voted for the increase. I must therefore conclude that the reason is that he lacks moral fibre and can't justify it. I'm also sorry to report that Theresa Villiers has thus far refused to comment, lending weight to the rumour that she'd been lent on by Coleman and Hillan.

My message to all Barnet Councillors such as Graham Old. It isn't too late. Just call an emergency meeting and reverse the decision. Say you made a mistake and on reflection realised that the rise was inappropriate at the current time. That way the you'll kill the story. Sure us bloggers will crow, but you can say you have proven a willingness to listen and the story will die. As it stands it is likely to snowball and wash you away. Just remember what happened in Liverpool to the Labour vote after the Militant Tendency troughing was exposed?

You may think people have short memories. This isn't always the case, especially when the national press are involved. Oh yes, I'd like to remind Boris that whilst Coleman is his top crony at LFEPA, he's tarred with the same brush.

Barnet Eye war on Spongers and parasites : Huge public interest in Barnets sponging Tory councillors

Welcome to Monday Morning at the Barnet Eye. Here in sunny Mill Hill I had a wonderful weekend. Friday night, my band the False Dots did a really good gig at The Water Rats in Kings Cross. Saturday I watched a bit of my boy playing Gaelic Football at Copthall, for St Keirnans, had a great Chinese meal at Hees, Dropped a faulty mixing desk off in Surbiton. Sunday, had a lie in till 9.45 am, took the dog for a walk, cooked a barbeque lunch, went to 6pm mass, then played football at Powereleague.

Did I forget something? Oh yes, I dealt with a deluge of emails about our sponging parasitic councillors. I've never known anything like it. I've been swamped with info about what went on (from the most unlikely of sources as well). I've had the most disturbing reports from the most diverse of sources corroborating all sorts of funny business. In short I've got enough material for a years worth of blogs on the subject. The past week has been by far the busiest on the blog. I had a huge spike of hits during the election week, but this week has far surpassed that. I am saddened that there hasn't been more coverage by our local papers, but what they have said has been dynamite. One major omission from the Hendon Times is that they've said nothing about what our Third Barnet MP, Theresa Villiers ahas to say on the matter. She's posted nothing on her blog - http://www.theresavilliers.com/ -  I urge the Times and the Press to contact her and get her views. She is not a trappist Monk, she owes it to the people who voted her in to tell us what she thinks. If she refuses to comment, then we deserve to know. Come on guys, do the job properly, this is a huge story.

The most interesting thing is that the Barnet Tories seem happy to go to war with the national party (of which Villiers is a minister). I have had one email from a very trustworthy source which reported the most extraordinary comments by a certain Barnet Councillor, well known for his shenanigans, which are well documented in many a blog. Now it is not my job to tell the Leaders of the Conserrvative Party how to run their affairs, but I'd suggest that they call him in (they can email me if they can't guess who he is) and have a chat about what his priorities as a politician are. No one is bigger than the party they belong to. He says he is keen on Party discipline. Well he has publicly insulted a minister. Surely that in itself is grounds to have a quiet chat. If David Cameron and Grant Shapps allow such people to undermine them, they will fail. Sorting this out will be good for them, good for the people of Barnet and ultimately good for British Politics. We are just starting to recover from the MP's expenses scandal. Does David Cameron really want to send out the message that the pond life in Barnet can get away with tricks which he's doing his best to squash in Westminster? Over to you Dave.

The Barnet Eye war on Barnets spongers and parasites - The Empire Strikes Back !

The Barnet Council allowance scandal has taken a new turn. Rather unbelievably, the Leading Barnet Tory trougher, Brian Coleman has taken a swing at successful businessmen. In yesterdays Telegraph Brian Coleman appears to suggest that Grant Shapps, a self made millionaire, has no right to criticise Mr Colemans troughing at the public expense.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/7896482/Tory-minister-condemns-bumper-pay-of-Conservative-councillors.html

To quote Mr Coleman, rebutting Mr Shapps criticism of the self awarded huge increase in allowances

"Is that the multi millionaire Grant Shapps? The one with the private plane? The successful businessman? I don't have to justify what I earn. Councillors are worth every penny they earn. I'm not interested in this tittle tattle." 

So the Barnet Tories are against entrepreneurs? They resent people who have worked hard to build up a business and are reaping the rewards of their efforts. Mr Shapps launched a website & marketting business aged 22 and made a fortune (incidentally Barnet Council Leader Lynne Hillan did the same, except her company went bust in 2006 with huge debts to the taxman). Mr Shapps generated his wealth through hard work, vision and imagination. I have absolutely no objection to such people being rich. Mr Coleman? Well we all know how he got his latest payrise. He voted for it himself, used his position of seniority in the Conservative Party in Barnet to bully his colleagues into going along with it (even though bullying is specifically banned in the Councillors code of conduct). he has enforced the the threats under the guise of "party discipline", neglecting the fact that huge increases in his pay are not national Conservative Policy, were not in the manifesto from the election two months ago and have been derided by two of our local Tory MP's. There are rumours that the reason for the complete silence from the third local Tory MP, Theresa Villiers is that Lynne Hillan and Brian Coleman reminded her of their silence during the storm of criticism over her second home allowance. Theresa Villiers needs to speak out and let us know her position of the expenses scandal as a matter of urgency, to squash these rumours if they are untrue. She is welcome to post a guest blog here, detailing her views (without comment from me).

According to the Telegraph, Brian Coleman is the second highest paid Councillor in the country on a total of £114,322 (before the latest increases). He lives in a property with a subsidised rent, designed for low income families. He has had more gifts and hospitality than any other member of the GLA -

http://www.london.gov.uk/pls/apex/f?p=135:2:5616695545762709:fsp_sort_2_desc::RP&fsp_region_id=10248804584908268

Then theres his publicly funded taxi service to all the dos (despite having a free travelcard) (£345.83 not including travel card (over £1,000) - 2009-2010)

http://legacy.london.gov.uk/assembly/members/expenses/docs0910/b-coleman.pdf

and more gifts and hospitality than any other member of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority

http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/gifts_all.asp

and his free taxi service and subsidised congestion charge (total - £4,676.24 - 2009 -2010 )

http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/Brian_Coleman_2009_2010.asp

No wonder Mr Coleman is so keen to suppress any debate on the issue. Now before he criticises Mr Grant Shapps too much, maybe he should consider this. Mr Shapps pays a huge sum of tax on his private wealth, money generated through hard work. Mr Coleman generates no wealth and any tax he pays, is just giving back to the taxman what he has received. I rather suspect this is why Grant Shapps gets it and Brian Coleman doesn't.

Barnet Council - David Camerons Militant Tendency moment

Do you remember militant tendency in Liverpool in the 1980's. A group of renegade councillors took over the party. Ordinary Labour members, people of conscience, were targetted, forced out and humiliated. Seemingly super left wing policies were implemented, but in reality these were just "jobs for the boys" posts, providing nice cushy numbers for party cadres. Councillors such as Derek Hatton lived the high life at the taxpayers expense, using the system to the maximum. Tony Blair won middle England by showing that he had the balls to deal with the hard left. It was surgically removed (along with most of the rest of the left).

Move forward to 2010 in Barnet. There is a new Militant Tendency. This time it's not hard left but the parasitic right. Ordinary Tory councillors such as Dan Hope were deselected to allow cadres in and set the stage for the Mike Freer/Brian Coleman coup in 2006 against then Leader Brian Salinger.Now we are really seeing the chickens coming home to roost. Just as Militant in Liverpool set out to destroy well respected sensible working class socialists, the Tory Parasitic Tendency have started the same sort of repulsive action against the sensible right in Barnet. When Councillor Kate Salinger opposed the huge increases for Tory councillors, she was stripped of all responsibility in a vile dressing down. In the Barnet Tories house blog, a cabinet member was reported as saying the following about Salinger

"already a marginal figure and her actions have ostracised her entirely and she is now history"

If I'd written an article about militant tendency and used that in the context of how they treated normal Labour members, you wouldn't have been surprised would you? Another aspect of the Barnet regime is the "Future Shape" project. Liverpool Council launched many hard left initiatives which were designed merely to provide jobs for party cadres. Future Shape is Barnet Councils five year plan to ensure that all opponents of the regime are surgically removed at every level of the council. I suspect it is the cadre system under another name, but wheras in Labour cadres are "loyalists to the regime", the cadres in Barnet will be fat corporations and their directors who can provide "generous support" (or maybe free dinners) to the local Tory Party bigwigs.

The question for all members of the Tory Party is this. At what stage to you treat this cancer? Do you follow the example of the Labour party and wait until it's too late, so that the secondaries (Tony Blair/Peter Mandelson) can come along and gobble you up? If I was David Cameron, I'd take action now. If he really is a firm decisive leader, he will get on the phone to Lynne Hillan and tell her to go. He will get on the phone to Boris and tell him to sack Brian Coleman as the head of the LFEPA. He will put out a statement saying that any Conservative Councillors which put greed and personal before the interests of the people of Barnet wll be harshly despatched. He should write to all Barnet Conservative Councillors and remind them of their duty to the people of Barnet and tell them to elect  a new Leader, one who can restore the respect of the people of Barnet.

We are all in for a torrid time in the next five years. This Government is going to make huge cuts to the public sector and this will cause job losses across the economy. Two out of three seats in Barnet are marginals and flipped from Labour to Tory, one by only 106 votes. If there was an election in Hendon today, Matthew Offord would lose because of this trousering. Former Labour MP Andrew Dismore has been quick off the mark - http://www.dismore4hendon.com/conservative-council-pay-rises - to start a petition against the rise. Mr Dismore believes that the Coalition government will fail within six months and he'll be back in his job. There are already rumours of hard right Tory unrest.
I can guarantee that if this happens, Dismore will win in Hendon following the stories from Barnet this week. As to Finchley and Mike Freer. That will be harder to call, but Freer knows it is a massive problem which is why he's come out strongly against the increase.

So the question is this. Does David Cameron have the balls to squash this cancer of parasitism and troughing in Barnet now or will he just sit back and let it spread. There are two reasons Labour lost the last election. The words Gordon and Brown. He's gone. They will have David Milliband at the next election and will be up for the fight. There are over 700 schools affected and this will have an enormous effect in the marginals. There are several in Barnet.

There are three sound reasons why David Cameron must act now

1) Because Barnet Councillors are undermining his personal authority and making him look stupid
2) Because it is good politics and may save him two marginal seats
3) Because it is the right thing to do

And Mr Cameron would do well to remember this. Tony Blair massively enhanced his personal reputation by dealing with such elements in the Labour Party.

By the way, I can see from my stats that someone who lives at Mr Camerons house reads this blog. If you are reading Dave, there is one more thing I'd like you to do, as a special favour to me and everyone else with a conscience in Barnet. Please give Councillor Kate Salinger an OBE at the first possible opportunity. I believe that of all of the Tory Councillors in the UK this morning there is no one who is more deserving, has shown more courage and decency and no one who deserves it more. She is the only thing in Barnet which says the local party is not completely beyond redemption in its current form.

Barnet Council and the war on greedy parasites - The wise words of Councillor Kate Salinger

I urge everyone to read this article on the Hendon Times. It is an interview with Councillor Kate Salinger, who has been humilated for her principled stand against the Greedy Parasites of the Barnet Tory Party who have voted a huge increase in allowances, whilst telling everyone else they must show restraint.


http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/8277468.Outcast_Tory_councillor_says_she_has_received_widespread_support_from_constituents/?ref=mc

Here is an extract from the interview. 

She said:”I am a Conservative and I was following national leadership, which I am happy to do.“I have not been criticised by any constituents and I can only imagine my actions met with their favour.“I will continue to serve my constituents the best I can and I can only in a way I have always tried to.”

In a democracy, it is vital that we recognise and respect people of principle and people who are prepared to make a stand at personal cost and risk. Kate Salinger deserves our support.
I imagine her constituents are most pleased.