Is Mike Freer MP really a Trotskyite agent provocatuer?

Don't Call Me Dave once floated the idea that Mike Freer was some sort of left wing infiltrator, hell bent on giving the Barnet Tories a bad name. I thought the idea was bonkers, not least because I couldn't really believe that people such as Maureen Braun and Brian Coleman were likely to be fellow travellers and these are the people who supported his regime. I still think it's pretty unlikely, but just suppose Mike Freer MP was some sort of Trotskyite mole, who had beavered away for years with the sole intentention of destroying the image and reputation of Conservatives in Barnet. What might he do as Leader of Barnet Council to make people decide that Tories were beyond the pale. Here's a few completely outlandish suggestions as to what an entryist may do to destroy the reputation of the Conservatives locally. All totally ridiculous of course.

1) Give a loud, foul mouthed, greedy buffoon a string of jobs where he could wind up local residents and bring awful press coverage for the local Tories (maybe someone like Brian Coleman perhaps).

2) Decimate Council finances by running up huge debt (Barnet Council Debt in 2002 £38 million, Barnet Council debt today approx £250 million).

3) Borrow money, then invest it in dodgy schemes in Banks with well known health warnings (Barnet Council lost £27.4 million in Icelandic Banks, all manner of warnings from credit agencies were ignored over a period of years).

4) Champion hugely unpopular mega building schemes to import tens of thousands of residents into Barnet and overwhelm schools, hospitals, roads and public transport.

5) Make sure these plans included hugely controversial health risks such as waste incinerators.

6) Ensure that all competent people in your own party are driven out ( Highly respected education chief Fiona Bulmar left at the last election in disgust).

7) Ensure that when you move on, your successor is someone with a track record of being completely useless (Freer's successor Lynne Hillan ran a company which went bust in 2006)

8) Launch a bonkers scheme to completely reorganise every department in the council, ensure that there is no proper project control and pay the unions to engage the finest expert in Europe to oppose the scheme and pick holes in it (Council Auditors Grant Thornton declared Future Shape had no proper project management in place. Freer launched Future Shape and then gave the Unions a grant to employ Dexter Whitlock, Europes leading expert on the matter to oppose it).

9) Declare war on the elderly in Sheltered Housing, alienating many voters who have parents in such accomodation.

10) Ensure your deputy, who was responsible for losing £11 million on a Bridge redevelopment project is selected for the constituency next door, ensuring that the general air of uselessness is preserved across the Borough.

Have you ever seen the film The Producers, by Mel Brooks. Max Bealistock discovers by accident that the way to make a fortune on Broadway is to preside over a complete cock up. Given the huge salaries and allowances many councillors and officials get, this is of course another option.  So when we look at the perilous financial state in Barnet, we are left with three possible reasons why Councillor Lynne Hillan had to go to Eric Pickle with a begging bowl. They are :-

a) Mike Freer is a Trotskyite entryist who set up the whole scheme to destroy the Barnet Conservatives and allow an Uber Left cabal to take over.

b) Mike Freer, Lynne Hillan et all watched The Producers and thought "We can do that with Barnet finances

c) Mike Freer, Lynne Hillan and the rest of them are not really that clever. In fact they are completely incompetent and have mismanaged the Boroughs finances to bring us to the current crisis.

I know which option I'd put my money on, but it is an interesting concept isn't it. If you can think of a better explanation, please leave a comment.

Save Barnets Libraries - sign the petition NOW

Just had a look at the on-line version of the Libraries petition. We have 961 signatures  - only 39 to go to the magic 1,000 !!!! Thanks to everyone who has signed and if you haven't please do so now. The aim is to get 7,000 signatures (or more) before the meeting on 29th March where the Cabinet will decide what to do about it.

The petition is in the sidebar, as are a few other petitions for important local issues.

(thanks to Josie for drawing our campaign picture)

East Barnet Library Video on Youtube

Has Harper got into bed with Mark Shooter?

Further to the crisis meeting reported here between Councillor Andrew Harper and Councillor John Marshall, a phonecall from a source within the Chipping Barnet Conservative Party gave some rather interesting extra details. It appears that a third Councillor was present. Who was it? Sadly the sourse declined to say, other than "it was one of the new intake of Councillors".

So who would Harper and Marshall invite to a crisis meeting to discuss a cataclysm of this scale? Well logic would suggest that there is only one person who fits the bill - could it be Mark Shooter, who lost the leadership election by one vote last year. It cannot be beyond the wit of Harper to realise that if he defected, Shooter would take over and he'd be able on to his job as deputy Leader. Apparently they can have another Leadership contest in May.


Expect a change soon

Doh - it's Matthew Offord MP again

Manuel Offord MP - Parliaments fave soup waiter has been at it again - the latest in a long line of Twitters showing his brilliant mind (More hilarity at http://twitter.com/HendonMP) :-
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HendonMP

1. Good discussion with Boris on my amendments to the Police Bill last night. Certainly have his support. about 7 hours ago via Twitter for iPad 

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Sorry to break the bad news Cap'n, but Boris is the Mayor of London, he doesn't actually have a vote in the commons when it comes to getting your amendment through. Tip - try lobbying people who can actually vote next time.

An open letter to Secretary of State Eric Pickles regarding Lynne Hillans mismanagement of Barnet Finances

To: settlement.consult@communities.gsi.gov.uk

Cc: Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative ; Hillan, Cllr Lynne Conservative ; Coleman, Cllr Brian Conservative

Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2011 6:32 PM

Subject: FAO : Mr Lock & Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP Re Barnet Settlement

Dear Sirs,

 

I am writing to you as a Council Taxpayer in Barnet, a Business Rate payer and a long standing resident of the Borough. As I am sure you will be aware, the Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan wrote to you on the 17th January making the case for the Government to give Barnet additional funding, to meet its statuatory requirements. Whilst Councillor Hillan is correct to state that there is a massive shortfall in funding, she has been far less forthcoming about the causes of this. As the coalition government is keen to promote "Big Society" and engagement with local citizens, I felt it would be appropriate to give you a fair perspective on the background to the shortfall.

 

Barnet Council has quite demonstrably been mismanaged for the last 8 years by the incumbent Conservative administration. Borrowings have risen from £38 million in 2002 when they took over to a tad under £250 million today. Barnet council embarked on a reckless policy of borrowing money, to reinvest in schemes such as Iceland, which resulted in a total of £27.4 million being lost. On top of this capital amount, there was a budget shortfall due to the interest they expected to receive not being paid. I believe this figure to be in the region of £3.5 million. I am of the opinion that Councils should only borrow for capital projects with a verifiable return or short term bridging needs, under specific tight rules. Public sector employees lack the training and business skills to play the market in this way.

 

On top of this huge loss, Barnet Council also overspent £11 million on a bridge replacement project with an original budget of £12 million. This clearly demonstrated a complete lack of basic project management acumen. Another huge loss of £8 million has been incurred as a result of legal disputes with Catalyst, an outsourced supplier of care. As you can see, these sums alone add up to more than the shortfall Councillor Hillan has described. Let me just detail a few other areas where there has proven squandering of Taxpayers money.

 

* Approx £1 million on legal and other fees spent reopening Partingdale Lane to through traffic.

* Approx £1 million spent on legal and other fees regarding an inquiry into the botched sale of Barnet FC's ground

* £1.4 million on obsolete laptop computers, hundreds of which were immediately put into storage (with fully paid up warranties)

* The CEO salary for Barnet has risen from £114,000 per annum in 2002 up to £200,000 in 2010. Additionally several deputy directorships have recently been created with salaries in excess of £100,000 per annum

* A Council Tax freeze in 2010, despite the knowledge that the accounts were seriously in the red

* Huge rises in allowances for committee chairmen in June 2010, despite a pre election review being agreed at a lower rate

* Possibly up to £10 million spent/allocated for consultants reports etc, for the Future Shape/One Barnet project, with no savings delivered after 3 years of running the project

 

It appears that there are no qualifications required to run a Council, other than the endorsement of 51% of your political group on the council and an effective party whip. Councillor Hillan ran a company which went into liquidation in 2006, owing tens of thousands of pounds (much of it to the taxman). I would have thought that this would set alarm bells ringing within the local Conservative group, but they clearly feel she is the best qualified person for the job, having won two leadership contests.

 

Up and down the country, there are many well run councils of all political hues. I have been particularly impressed with the transparancy rules of Conservative Councils such as Windor and Maidenhead and believe this is a model for good governance. Sadly Barnet is at the opposite end of the scale. Recently details of Barnet Council invoices were published with details of payees redacted. This was done on the grounds that they were to private individuals. One such payment was later shown to be to a large waste disposal contractor.

 

Whilst I urge you to agree to a bale out of Barnet for the good of local services, I cannot possibly agree that money can be thrown at an authority as incompetent as Barnet Council without strings attached. In education, schools which fail are put into special measures. I believe that such legislation should also be available for failing councils. I would suggest that Barnet Council would be an excellent place to start. I would suggest that these measures are taken on explicit financial (not political) grounds and for a fixed period of time, to mend the budget. Councils should be able to avoid such measures by selecting a new team and enacting a suitable recovery plan.

 

The problems in Barnet could have been avoided by proper financial management and sound husbandry of taxpayers money, Transparency as implemented by Windsor and Maidenhead would go a long way to preventing Councils such as Barnet playing fast and loose with Taxpayers money. Whilst I agree with the concept of localism, it cannot possibly work if councils shroud themselves in secrecy. As such I urge you to use your powers to agree to meet Barnet Councils defecit, on condition that they appoint a new cabinet made up of people who actually know what they are doing. I would also insist on a fully open and transparent policy of management to be enacted to ensure that "difficult problems" cannot by hidden in the books in future.

 

Regards

Roger Tichborne

The Political Element in the suspension of Barnet Teacher

You may well have read one of these reports about a Barnet Teacher, Sue Caldwell being suspended

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/07/teacher-suspended-protests-tuition-fees

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12383132

You may have wondered if there was a more sinister political angle or whether any "pressure" was brought to bear, to "help" the school make the decision

I think this may help you make your mind up :-

From Council meeting 14 December http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/reports/reportdetail.asp?ReportID=9995

Question 11 Councillor Brian Gordon

There has been considerable public discussion about pupils in High Schools being allowed to participate in protests against the Government’s increase in tuition fees, and other public spending cuts. Do you agree with me that as far as Barnet is concerned, the sanctioning of such political activism in schools should be strongly discouraged?

Answer by Councillor Andrew Harper

Yes.

Supplementary Question 11 Councillor Brian Gordon

Councillor Harper I am very pleased that you agree with my criticism of pupils being involved in political protests during school hours. We have all seen violence and disorder that had occurred in various parts of the country over the last few weeks. It was absolutely disgraceful, and those involved should be ashamed of themselves. Could this Council please, perhaps, issue a directive to all High Schools within this Borough, especially those under State Aid, that we, the Council, urge that students be forbidden during curriculum hours from participating in external political demonstrations that are totally inconsistent to what they should be doing in school?

Answer by Councillor Andrew Harper

Thank you Mr Mayor. I, of course, absolutely condemn the behaviour in the recent public protests that Councillor Gordon has described. I am not at all sure that either I or the Director of Children’s Services, who is sitting just over there, is actually empowered to do what Councillor Gordon has just asked. Nevertheless, we can of course do our best to guide schools, influence them and tell them what it is that we would expect of their behaviour.

Barnet Council Latest : Lynne Hillan admits Tories have bankrupted Barnet Council

We've published a letter from the Leader of Barnet Council, Lynne Hillan to Eric Pickles, the Local Authorities minister on the Future Shape website. This in effect states that Barnet Council is insolvent. Hillan states :-

We have received only £9.5m of capital grant for school places investment against our requirement of £51 million over the next three years. We have no option but to provide additional school places for our growing population and urgently need additional government support to enable us to meet our statuatory requirements

Lynne Hillan could not be anymore specific if she tried. The council has not got enough money to meet its legal requirements. There is a word for this "Insolvent". That is why Hillan has the begging bowl out. It is time for the Barnet Tories to come clean with the taxpayer and tell us the truth. We need an honest externally audited assessment of the mess. We need an action plan to resolve it, with a fresh team that has some level of financial competence. I have been told that Deputy Leader Andrew Harper and Barnet Party Boss Councillor John Marshall had a crisis meeting to discuss the contents of Hillans letter. I am told that they were unable to draw any positive conclusions from what was discussed. They must now tell us the truth.

How did we get here? Later in the letter she talks about the money lost in Iceland.

Let us quickly recap on a few Barnet Conservative financial atrocities, which have brought about this situation :-

£27.4 million lost in dodgy Icelandic Bank Investments (+ another £3 million in lost interest)
£11 million overspend on the badly managed Aerodrome Road Bridge project
£8 million (and rising) overspend on Catalyst outsourcing project

When the Tories took over the Council from Labour in 2002, borrowing was £38 million (and derided by the Tories as "a scandal"). It is now approaching £250 million according to the latest accounts. How have the Tories tried to cut this?

They have spent millions on consultants working on the future shape project, which has delivered no savings at all.

They have replaced thousands of perfectly good lamposts in the borough at huge cost.

Employed contractors to senior posts within the council (eg Deputy CEO) on salaries circa £15,000 a month.

They have spent tens of thousands of pounds on staff jollies, such as trips to Sandbanks hotel for awayday conferences.

They bought plasma screen tellies for senior staff (and installed a satellite TV receiver)

They spent £1.4 million on redundant Laptop computers, then put hundreds of them into storage (having taken out warranties).

Knowing that there was a huge deficit, they froze council tax last year, purely as an election bribe.

They hiked wages for senior council executives - the CEO salary has risen from £114,000 a year to £200,000 a YEAR (Excluding pensions & perks)

They rasied allowances for chairmen of committees (personally appointed by Lynne Hillan) by 57%

You can read the whole letter here -
http://barnetfutureshape.blogspot.com/2011/02/hillan-begs-eric-pickles-to-save-her.html

The bottom line is that in eight years, the Barnet Conservatives have destroyed the council finances and now have to go cap in hand to Pickles for a baleout.

Brian Coleman is Horrified

Today we publish an email on our Barnet future shape website where we detail how Brian Coleman claims to be "horrified that residents were being charged less than £2 a week to park outside their own homes.

http://barnetfutureshape.blogspot.com/2011/02/brian-coleman-is-horrified-that-parking.html

To quote old Tubbs D'Lard

I was frankly horrified at the state of it when I took over in May and at £100 our permits are less than £2 a week and will still be cheaper than Westminster , Camden , Hammersmith and Bexley

So you've got that. A Conservative politician who's ambition is to be the most expensive Borough in London!
Coleman goes on to state :-

I do not imagine these proposals are going to be politically popular but we  are going to have to face far more flack than this in the next couple of months !!

Well yes Brian, you will if this blog has anything to do with it. You are a disgrace and it's time for you to go. You were elected to look after residents, not to rob them.

Time to Kick Out Coleman

I am going to make an offer which will go back on every principle I've ever held today. I am doing this because sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if it's wrong. The biggest cancer in the political scene of the London Borough of Barnet is Councillor Brian Coleman. He has made it abundantly clear that he doesn't give a stuff about the people who elect him. He recently announced that he "never knowingly undercharges residents". I am afraid that I've had quite enough of the man. The time has come to get rid of him. Unfortunately he is a Councillor in Totteridge Ward, which is as safe and true blue as it is possible to get. There is no prospect of any non Conservative Councillor beating him, no matter how appalling he is.

I have therefore decided to launch a "Kick Out Coleman" campaign to replace him WITH ANOTHER CONSERVATIVE. The plan is simple. If there is a single decent Conservative in Barnet who realises that Brian Coleman has got to go, I call on them to announce that they are standing as an "Independent Conservative" for the next Council election in Totteridge. We need someone who is a member (or was until very recently). They will state that in the event that they beat Brian Coleman, they will accept the Tory whip and work as part of the team as best they can. They will announce that they are standing for the good of Barnet, because Barnet deserves better than Brian Coleman.

The Barnet Conservatives must learn that they can't take the people of Barnet for granted. My choice for the job would be Adrian Murray Leonard. If there is a single principled Tory who will take the plunge, I will offer the full backing of my blog to them and deliver leaflets and assist in any way I can. Although I fundamentally disagree with Conservative Politics, it is time for all of Barnet to Unite and get back to decency in Politics. Only then can we move on. The Barnet Conservatives need a huge shake up. I've been told this by Councillors, Activists and ordinary voters. They would never vote for another party, but surely they will vote for an honest and decent individual who shares their principles? If they won't, God help us all