Why did Barnet council give £30 million to Capita

Last night at the Barnet Council scrutiny committee Councillor Sury Khatri askedwhy Barnet Council had given Caputa £30 million. He got no satisfacrory answer. This is yet another sign that the whole One Barnet folly is starting to unravel. Sadly as this becomes more evident it is the Barnet taxpayer who is picking up the tab. There are also questions being asked about some unusual contract conditions. Read thishttp://spendmatters.co.uk/barnet-and-capita-some-unusual-contractual-conditions/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SpendMattersUK%2FEurope+%28Spend+Matters+UK%2FEurope%29

Just say Yes !

Years ago there was a big anti drugs crusade launched by the wife of the President of the USA called "Just Say No!". A horde of washed up rockstars, most of whom were wheeled out of rehab were featured telling the youngsters of the time to "Just say no" to drugs. At the time I thought it was a ridiculous campaign. The whole concept that credibility conscious teenagers would listen to the wife of a president or a bunch of washed up has beens seemed to me to completely ridiculous.

The most offensive thing for me personally about the campaign was the sheer negativity of the whole message. It seemed to be "If you are at a party and everyone else is having a great time and getting mashed, become a social pariah and refuse, because in 30 years time you won't end up in rehab". The reason such "crusades" fail is because they are negative and simplistic. They insult the intelligence of a generation of young people who are all too clued up about the issues of drugs.

There is no point "Just saying no". What has to be on offer is something better, something more attractive, something you can say yes to. I would hate to be a teenager today. My generation had free university education, we even had a grant if we wanted it. We were not stigmatised if we wanted to do arts degrees and we didn't leave University saddled with debt. When we looked at the future, it was realistic to imagine a future where we could buy our own flat without a bung from the bank of Mum and Dad.

I didn't go to Uni. When I finished school I absconded to Stockholm to play guitar and write songs. Given the price of alcohol and the puritanical views of my then girlfriend, I lived a totally absteemious life for six months. The point was that I had something far better to do with my time than get stoned and get pissed. Now we can't all get away from our woes by moving to Stockholm and shacking up with a beautiful babe, but if we are given no options and no hope, then we won't say no to a life of oblivion in a drink/drug fuelled nivana. Of course most kids won't go that route anyway, but a significant number are becoming extremely nihilistic at the moment.

We as a country are storing up trouble for the future. We need to address the issue of how we keep our teenagers on the right track and give them purpose and meaning in life. The current coalition who know the price of everything and the value of nothing made a huge mistake pricing an education so highly. Like all bean counters they can't see beyond the end of their nose. And what about the major firms who offshore work, so that they can save a few quid? What prospects are they creating for our youngsters.

We need to offer young people proper prospects. I want my kids to say yes to life affirming values and a healthy lifestyle. I want them to see the point of educating themselves and see that if you work hard, you will not simply spend the next 20 years repaying loans. There is a general election in 18 months time. We need someone, somewhere to start making a case for a future young people can say yes to.

OurBohemia - Open Mic night on Friday at 7.30pm - Your chance to see Rog T play guitar in the flesh

Last Friday a very successful open mic night was held at the reopened Bohemia Community Space. Nine acts raised the curtain and quite literally brought the house down. I had hoped to perform with my long time collaborator and vocalist Allen Ashley, but Allen was at a book signing (he's also a well known author and Poet and was supporting a pal of his).Myself and Allen played together in my Band, The False Dots in 1985. It was one of the most creative periods of my musical career. We will be reprising some of the songs from that era under the title "songs of love and war" at the Bohemia. If you've never seen The False Dots featuring Allen before, it is a treat of black humour, romantic love songs and stories of the woe of existence in troubled times. We have carefully selected a short set to highlight all of these themes.We will be playing as a duo (unless plans change !).

 We will be playing around 8:30pm, so please arrive early (and stay till the end !). You will also have another oppotunity to see the amazing Christine on piano, who was undoubtedly the star of the show last Friday.

Other acts are being lined up. I will list the program as it evolves through the week. Please support your community space. Make it happen. Lets make Barnet the culture capital of London. London is the culture capital of the world, so lets put our community at the heart of the scene. It is not often that such an opportunity presents itself. Lets not throw it away through apathy and sloth.

See you on Friday. I will also be auctioning a painting by my mother to help raise money for an in house PA for the space. Please bring your wallet.

Mass redundancies as Capita takes over - Press release from Barnet Alliance (BAPS)

In a move that will dismay the community and distress the many individuals and families directly affected, Capita today announced its plans to relocate council services around the UK, making mass redundancies inevitable. Jobs lost to Barnet will go to Belfast and Bromley, Chippenham and Chertsey, Carlisle and Darwen, Sheffield and Swindon.

Barnet Alliance spokesperson Barbara Jacobson says: ‘This is just what the Barnet Alliance feared when it campaigned for the consultation that was unlawfully denied to Barnet residents. What Capita describes as “driving towards Barnet plc and a successful London suburb” completely ignores the facts that the people losing their jobs are part of the community, that the community is not a  public limited company, and that Barnet was a successful London suburb before the takeover. ‘

People who move to retain their job might feel compelled to do so despite the fact that their children’s schooling will be disrupted, they will have to move away from close family members and friends to an area where they have no connections, they might find it difficult to sell their home or find appropriate new accommodation, and they face a future of lower income and pension contributions.

The people who are made redundant because they cannot afford to uproot their families for these reasons will suffer the stress of finding new employment in the depressed labour market. If they remain unemployed, the money they would have spent in the community is lost, affecting local businesses. If they eventually need to receive benefits, they will suffer more hardship and not only will the state have to pay those benefits but the council will also lose their contribution to council tax.

No one wins, except Capita, who will employ cheaper labour elsewhere and cream off millions of pounds in profit at the expense of hard-working people and the local community, as it has been revealed they have done in Birmingham. Instead of ‘a successful London suburb’, Barnet will become an increasingly depressed area of angry and resentful residents. 

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The five harsh lessons of the One Barnet struggle

For the last five years, this blog has fought tirelessly to make our local politicians see sense over the One Barnet program. Now Barnet has been transformed into Capitaville and the axe has been taken to the tree of jobs that used to be Barnet Council. Functions are being chopped up and scattered to the far flung reaches of the country and all manner of revelations about the ineptitude of the council and how we've been taken for a ride are starting to emerge. Thus far we've found out that the carve up of jobs was printed on a map in the contract. We've found that Capita have appointed their own bailiffs to chase debts, despite Barnet having contracts in place. The existing companies are in the process of starting legal action against the council (guess who will pay). We found out that the investment in new systems is being paid for by Barnet taxpayers, not Capita and perhaps the most predictable cock up of all is that the Leader of the Council told the press this week that he expects the whole thing to be a  cock up. 

Sadly, I believe we should never have found ourselves in this position. I believe that if the people of Barnet had got the support of the people whos job it is to represent us, we'd never have found ourselves in this mess. I have turned a blind eye to all manner of things in Barnet that have disturbed me. What I am about to write will probably lose me a few friends, but it is the truth, so if people don't like it they can go forth and multiply. This is written not for the benefit of anyone in Barnet, but for anyone else stupid enough to try and stop such a juggernaut in their Town Hall.

1. You will fail if the opposition party don't give you 100% support. In Barnet, the main opposition group, the Labour Party have never come out against One Barnet. Despite hundreds of leaflet drops, wrap around adverts on the cover of local papers, two sell out films at the Phoenix, blanket coverage in the press for five years and countless public meetings, the Local Labour Party have never once committed to the fight against One Barnet. They have been lukewarm in their opposition. We've never seen a three line whip on turnout to protests. We've never seen a motion telling Capita that they will break the contract if elected. We've never seen a public proclaimation that they actually oppose the process. We've never seen leaflets saying they support the APSE alternative being delivered to every house in Barnet. We've never seen anything more than a motion for a referendum. If Labour had packed every meeting with supporters, challenged every dodgy paragraph of the contract and held the Tories to account, there is no way we'd be here. A few of the Labour Councillors have done their bit, but they are not in the majority. Labour has failed the people of Barnet in its opposition to One Barnet. That is a fact and if people don't like the truth then it is just too bad. The Labour Party in Barnet has been a comfy club for far too long. It is time that they started to fight for their principles with passion and vigour. During the GLA elections last year, the Barnet Alliance pulled out all the stops to support Barnet Labour and get Andrew Dismore elected. This was a huge success. Labour has not reciprocated with the One Barnet Campaign. The last Labour budget even accepted the dodgy savings detailed in the contract.

2. You wont stop an outsourcing if the local Unions aren't 100% committed to the fight. There are two types of Trades Unionists. There are ones who stand up and fight for their principles and there are ones who cheer other people on if it doesn't cost them any money. Workers in Barnet are now losing their jobs. If they had flexed their collective muscle properly when this monster first reared its ugly head, the Council would have thought again. Which workers in the public sector have the best deal? The answer is those such as Tube drivers who are prepared to fight for their terms and conditions. If residents find their bins aren't being emptied and their roads aren't being gritted they will soon realise the value of council services and they might take a different view to the proposals. Barnet had a couple of token half day strikes, this was never likely to change the minds of the local Tories.

3.  Local activists need to cut the talk and step up the action. In my opinion there are far too many planning meetings and far too people out on the streets drumming up the support of local people. The one lesson I learned from the Friern Barnet Library is that actions speak louder than words. Direct action changes the landscape. Now of course there are some people I totally exhonorate from these comments, but there are far too many people who talk a good game, but when it comes down to standing out in the snow protesting, suddenly find an urgent appointment or have developed a cold. 

4. Politicians need to be shown what the consequences of ignoring popular sentiment are. This happened in the GLA elections to great effect. In six months time, we have the Council elections. When the politicians knock on your door, ask them what they have done to ensure that the people of Barnet did not get ripped off by Capita in the One Barnet Contract. Ask them if they read the contract and saw the map of where the jobs are going. Ask them if they objected to this attack on the local economy. Ask them how they manifested this opposition. If you belong to a local Party, seek to deselect any candidate that can't give you a sensible answer. Barnet needs people who care to represent us.

5.The harshest lesson of all is that most people really couldn't give a sh*t about what happens to anyone else in Barnet, so long as they are alright. If the project fails, as one in four major outsourcing projects fail, then we will get lousy services and a huge tax bill. Now given the efforts I've put in to fighting this process, I'll feel pretty P*$$*D off, but if a single person moans about it to me and has sat on their bum for the last five years doing nothing, I shall tell them where to go.

At the last council election, I stood for council and lost. I spent six months campaigning to no avail. About a year after the campaign people started coming up to me and saying "You stood for council, what are you going to do about..." (usually planning issues). I asked them if they voted for me. Invariably they said "No, we voted Tory because we wanted to get rid of Gordon Brown". I then pointed out I stood for council, which was a totally different election. I also pointed out that I lost, so unlike my victorious opponents, it ain't my job. I then informed them that I had resigned from the Lib Dem party over the coalition and I am banned from membership of the Labour Party, so I won't be standing again.  They then said "we need people like you at the council, stand as an Independent." The truth is that if they wouldn't back me with a party behind me and the excellent track record of the local Lib Dems prior to 2010, then they wouldn't back me as an Independent with no resources. I have better things to do than trudge round Mill Hill, knocking on doors in the rain. 

The harsh truth is that as far as I'm concerned, I think Barnet has been hugely let down. It's been let down by lazy politicians, lazy trades union members and activists who are too busy running talking shops when they should be out on the streets pulling out every stop. Most of all though, I think we've let ourselves down. The wraparound about One Barnet went out to virtually every home. People read it then used it to line the budgie cage litter tray. In the film Woodstock, made in 1969 about the music festival, there is a song called "I feel like I'm fixing to die" by Country Joe MacDonald. It is an anti war song. Half a million people were at the festival. The chorus was "and it's 1, 2,3 what are we fighting for, don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Vietnam, and it's 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates, there aint no time to wonder why, we're all gonna die". After the first chorus, Country Joe Berates the audience saying "I don't know how you ever hope to stop this F*ckin war if you can't sing any louder than that". When I look at what has happened in Barnet over the last five years, that is exactly how I feel. 

My father was a war hero who hated Great Britain as well !

Has the Daily Mail written the longest suicide note in history with its hatchet job on Ed Millibands father? I don't read the paper, I find its coverage to be stilted and completely bereft of wit, whilst being biased and often obnoxious. I have written before about its obnoxious behaviour, the last time, as I recall when it criticised the then teenage sensation, Kate Nash for the having the audicity to have spots.

In the latest spat, the Mail has criticised Ralph Milliband (father of Labour Leader Ed Milliband) for holding left wing views, which in the stilted world of the Daily Mail equate to hating Britian. As far as I can work out from what I know of Mr Milliband, he hated injustice and inequality, which are two totally different things. Mr Milliband arrived in Britain as a refugee and joined the armed forces. Unlike the sanctimonious editor of the Mail, Mr Milliband actually put himself at risk of death to preserve the good things we cherish, such as free speech and democracy. Mr Milliband hoped that victory over fascism would lead to a better world and a better Britain for all of the people who lived here, not just and elite few. 

As the debate has unfolded, my thoughts turned to my own father. Like Mr Milliband, he was not born in Great Britain. He was born in Queensland, Australia. He joined the Army and then joined the Empire Air scheme, which was set up to supply pilots for the RAF. After training my father qualified as a Pilot officer and arrived in Great Britain in 1942 to fly Wellington bombers. He was assigned to 40 squadron and was sent to North Africa to support Montgomery in the desert campaign. Much of 1942/3 was spent living in makeshift airfields in tents. Conditions were primative but as someone raised in the outback of Australia, not too harsh for my father. He joined the airforce as he thought it would be exciting and it would give him the chance to see the world. He was thrilled to see Cairo and the pyramids. He also got a fair share of action. As the campaign would down, he arrived back in England. He'd met my mother and spent some time at Moreton in the Marsh airfield, regularly trekking down to Burnt Oak to take my mother out. 

At the start of 1944, he was transferred back to Foggia in Italy with his squadron and a relentless pattern of missions was undertaken. Targets included ball bearing factories in Germany, shipping in Italy and sites in the Balkans and Romania. In June 1944, he was shot down on the final mission of his 40 operation tour, near Ploesti in Romania, whilst bombing an airfield. The rear gunner in his plane died and the rest of the crew were taken prisoner and ended up in a camp in Bucharest. 68 days later, they lead a mass escape and 128 airmen made contact with partizans in Yugoslavia. They arranged for the US air force to fly in and repatriate them to Italy. That was the end of the active war for my Father. The events scarred him and he had terrible health issues related to what we no call post traumatic stress disorder for much of the 1950's. 

He stayed with the airforce until 1946, then worked as a commercial pilot in the middle east. He thens et up MacMetals crash repair business in Mill Hill and ran the business until he retired. He was a man who was both religious and civic minded. As an active Roman Catholic, he joined the Knights of St Columba, a charitable organisation, the Rotary club and he played Cricket. At one time the firm employed 15 people and he took a patriarchal view of his staff. I still meet ex employees in Mill Hill who speak highly of him and customers who remember the service and the kindness he showed when they were stuck. He died aged 69 in 1987.

In short, he was a man who had made an enormous contribution to his country and his community. As I thought about him, I wondered how he would fare if the Daily Mail chose to do a hatchet job? My father was born in Blackall in the outback of Queensland. He'd not seen snow until he was transported to Boston in the USA in 1942. He'd never even been cold. He hated the British weather. He always claimed it would be death of him and it was. During the long English winters, he would get mildly depressed and curse the cold. His job involved standing in freezing cold workshops for hours on end. he couldn't stand it, but ha dno real choice. He had six children to home and feed.

Whilst my father was a Conservative, he also hated the British class system. As an Aussie, he had a complete disdain for the inbuilt inequality of our society. He would use any chance at all to get one over on the authorities. This started in the airforce and carried on into civilian life. I can remember him getting stopped by the police and pointing out six things on the police car which would constitute a nick. He reminded the officer that Police cars were as covered by the law as his own car. The speeding ticket was quickly forgotten. Through the rotary club and other charity work, he'd often attend charity dinners. To my mothers complete horror, he'd take great delight in stealing sausages from the mayors dinner plate. He had a complete disregard for many aspects of the law. On one occasion, our house was suffering from subsidence. A surveyor advised that this was caused by a neighbours tree. My father suggested that they chopped it down. They refused. He simply waited until they went on holiday and chopped it down himself. When they returned and confronted him, he suggested that the tree fairies had taken it to heaven. 

Another aspect of British society that appalled him was the institutional racism inherent in our society at the time. Although his language was colourful towards various ethnic minorities (as was usual at the time), he would not tolerate any unfairness. He would employ staff based on ability and pay accordingly. He insisted that people were treated with kindness and respect. In the Roman Catholic tradition, I received the name of a saint as my middle name. My Dad chose Martin, after St Martin De Porres, who was the first black saint. My Father suggested that this would always remind me that we are all equal and brothers. 

Towards the end of his life, my Dad bought a boat in Florida. He loved the climate and the lifestyle. He wanted to live on the boat. My sister lives in Florida and he moored up next door to her. My mother hated it. In the end she gave him an ultimatum, me or the boat. He chose my mum. That was the only reason he stayed in England. As a compromise, they'd spend the worst of the winter in Florida and the rest of the year in the UK. In January 1987, they were in Florida when my mothers sister died. They flew back and 24 hours later, my father had an anuerism brought on by the cold. 

When I read about the comments in the Daily Mail, I was reminded of a situation a couple of years ago where a local BNP activist started leaving comments about my Father in comments on various websites. Now this man had never met my father and made comments about his war record (which is available on line), implying he was a coward. How anyone could say that about a man who flew 40 bombing missions in an obsolete aircraft I don't know, but I was infuriated. Had I met the said person in the street, I would not have been responsible for my actions. I was absolutely livid. The purpose of the comments was a cowardly, spiteful attack, designed purely to upset me. I did not take it lying down and when challenged the BNP activist backed down and apologised, accepting that he'd made an error of judgement. 

In light of this experience, I have a great deal of sympathy for the Milliband family. I don't think "anything goes" just because I disagree with there politics. I am sure all manner of people I don't like have dead uncles, dads, mums and grannies who could be "exposed". The point is that it would be revolting to do such a thing. This blog has campaigned long and hard against One Barnet, but if we published a blog slagging off a dead relative of Barnet Council Leader Richard Cornelius or the MD of Capita, I'd hope we'd be shunned. The case could be made that in certain circumstances, there is a public interest in digging up such stories. Perhaps to show the hypocricy of the owners of the Daily Mail, who attacked a British veteran when their forefathers supported the Nazi movement in print is a case. There was a nasty public spat between the owners of the Mail and the Daily Express a few years back, where the Mail attacked the Express owner for publishing porn mags. The Express responded with a series of exclusive front page stories about the sins of the Rothemere family who own the Mail. The Mail owners suddenly found themselves on the wrong end of the hatchet job and didn't like it. They backed down and have since laid of the Express owners. Sadly the Millibands don't own a national paper, so don't have the means to fight fire with fire. 

It is truly incredible that the Mail newspaper cannot see that their comments were out of order. We don't have to agree with Ed Milliband, we don't have to agree with Ralph Milliband's brand of Marxist politics. I do however think that any decent and honourable human being would do two things. Firstly they would respect the fact that Mr Milliband served in the armed forces and put himself at risk.Secondly we should respect the fact that Mr Milliband had relatives who cared about him. He was not a monster who hurt other people, he was simply an honest man with deeply held views. I didn't agree with many of Lady Thatchers politics, but when she became infirm and then passed away I felt that we should respect her as a mum and a human being and respect her family. If the dead relatives of anyone in public lives become fair game for the national press, purely for spiteful attacks on politicians, then I despair for our society. 

I have always supported a free press and even with the actions of the Daily Mail I have not changed my views. If people want to publish such tripe, then that is one of the costs of living in a free society. More to the point though, every single person who continues to buy the Daily Mail endorses the editorial line of the editor and owner and the refusal to back down. If you want to be thought of as someone who has no respect for their fellow man and who sees politics as a field where anything is justified to achieve an end, by all means buy the Daily Mail. If you don't then give the horrible rag a holiday until the owners see sense and do the decent thing. You don't have to buy it and they won't learn if you simply carry on. Who knows who they may pick on next. 

The Bohemia Music Night - Friday 4th October

Hamptons live at the Bohemia music night

Regular readers of the blog may have noticed we've been less prolific in our output than normal recently. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for our readers, we have other work commitments and have been exceptionally busy of late. This means that the time for researching various themes we normally cover has been restricted. Much as I'd love to spend all my hours working on the blog, I have to pay the mortgage and buy food for the kids & dogs. I have several big projects on the go. Perhaps the biggest is the new documentary film about Capita. For the two films we made last year, we simply got a stack of people of interest locally to come in and talk about subjects that they care about. For the new film, we need to do a whole stack of research and the interviews are located around the country. The logisitics of what we are doing are ten times greater.

I also have my other business interests and work to do. This is busier now than any time in the last couple of years. In all of the juggling of interests and work I have to balance, the thing which has suffered most is my music. I have had little chance to pick up a  guitar, let alone spend time writing songs. This has been a source of much grief to me. Since the age of 15, I have dedicated the vast majority of my spare waking hours to making music. To have no time to do this is a huge strain.

On Monday I received a text from my friend Helen Michael, who runs Cafe Buzz in Finchley. The new tenants in the Bohemia had decided to have a music night. Could I provide a sound system and lights? As my business is a music studio and hire business, dedicated to promoting the local music scene, I could hardly refuse. Helen also asked if I could supply some musicians. I would have dearly loved to have played myself, but having no time to rehearse, niothing prepared and most of my regular collaboraters available, I had to sit it out.

Instead I took on the role of sound man/stage manager for the night. I arrived at 6.30pm  with a PA, lights and a Dj station to get the show on the road. I arrived to meet Pete Phoenix, the organiser and work out the program. Due to the lack of lighting, the first phase was to set up the stage lights. Local green activist, Mike Gee had built a stage and so the area was well prepared. Having set up the lights, the nest thing to do was set up the PA and get some music on. For such events, I find that some chilled out reggae is a pretty safe bet. Having got the music going, I quickly soundchecked the mics and we were ready for the acts.

As I was working and pretty busy all night, I didn't have the luxury of a pen and paper to write notes. I was quite excited to find out that one of the performers was Charles Shaar Murray  who was a writer at the NME when I was a young punk rocker. Seems like he's a big friend of the team at occupy who reopened Friern Barnet Library. I'd have loved to have had a beer and a chat with Charles about rock and roll, but I had to keep busy and keep my mind on the job. 

As with many such "Open mic" arrangements, the evening evolved. It started off with Pete Trip, a bluesey song writer, We then had Ellie, a 12 year old singer who gave a stirring performance, much to the delight of the large contingent of friends and family. Next up was Anna Chen, poet and collaborater with Charles Shaar Murray. Carole gave a few readings which chimes with the crowd. For her final reading Charles joined her, on his dobro slide guitar. Charles then played a few solo numbers, reminiscent of his finest hours with Blast Furnace and the Heatwaves.  As an officianaodo of such music, it was a rare treat. Next up was the real star of the show. This is where the lack of a notepad etc came in. I didn't catch her name (wait for Mrs Angry's blog I am sure she won't make the same schoolboy error as me). Anyway, for her act, a piano had been provided. She gave a barnstorming set of music, despite an out of tune piano and a whole host of other problems. How to describe? Well if Little Richard was a white female from the London Borough of Barnet, with a sprinkle of filthy humour, you'd be pretty near the mark. 

Rock and Rokll Sons live at the Bohemia

Next up were the Rock and Roll Sons. They played an acoustic set of fine rock and roll music, with a slight flavour of country rock thrown in. I must add that this is not their normal set which is full on rock and roll. I thought that the acoustic treatment gave the songs a real edge and a great feel and showed the depth and strength of Fil Ross as a songrwriter.

Then we had another guy who I didn't catch the name of, who is a star of the Occupy/ssquatting network. He gave us a diverse and humourous set, getting across a few important points in the mix. He shot off after three numbers as he had to "be in Deptford".

The penultimate band were "Hamptons", featuring Charlie Honderick, who gave a rousing acoustic renditition of some of their finest numbers. Last up were a new band, so new I didn't catch their name, but they gave us a good sing along to a few recent hits. 

All in all it was a great night. Arranged at short notice, no alcohol on sale (but food and drink available at Cafe Buzz over the road), well over 100 people turned up and everyone had a great night. 

There was also some good news from Phoenix. The landlords are working on a custodian deal with the occupiers, whereby they are granted leave to stay on agreement that if and when suitable tenants are found they agree to leave amicably.

Many local right wing pundifiles have made all manner of disparaging comments about the occupiers. Most of these are ill informed. Firstly the occupation is not illegal. The occupiers have not broken the law. They are meticulous in their observance of it. Secondly, it has been suggested that the occupation would make North Finchley less attractive. This is nonsense. The worst thing for a town centre is empty shops. A community run centre with activities and entertainments is a boon. There has also been a string of comments about "taking other peoples property". This is again nonsense. All along the occupiers have said they would vacate upon a suitable tenant emerging. They are just making sure an empty building does not go to rack and ruin. Having people in a building safeguards it. Pipes don't burst, fires aren't started by rats chewing through cables. The new tenants are meticulous in their concern for neighbours. In the course of the evening, Pete Phoenix took regular sound readings and was keen to ensure neighbours were not disturbed. My guess is that of all the places having music and events in Barnet last night, the best one to live next door to was the Bohemia.

My hope is that Mitchells and Butler, the owners find a great tenant. In Mill Hill we've a couple of excellent pubs, such as the Adam and Eve and the Rising Sun, run by management who know what they are doing and who have enhanced the area. If we can make Barnet a place where there are good pubs and great communities, we all win.

Music at the Bohemia Finchley tonight

Please join us at the Bohemia tonight for an evening of music. We have several great acts including Hamptons & The Rock and Roll sons. There will also be an open mic spot, so if you have a guitar or can sing, come on down

Former Hendon Tory Parliamentary Candidate Richard Evans cleared of Fraud

Today the former Hendon Tory Parliamentary Candidate Richard Evans has been cleared by the High Court of fraud in relation to allegations linked to the administration of Copland School. The Barnet Eye sincerely hopes that all of those members of the local Tory establishment who have spent the last couple of years studiously snubbing Richard and his wife Lesley at every possible opportunity (having previously been only too happy to be indulged with hospitality by the couple) apologise for their lack of support and try and make amends for failing to uphold that old British legal principle "Innocent until proven guilty". Oddly enough, the Evans's were completely dumped by the vast majority of the local Tory hoi-polloi, whilst certain other members of the local Tory Party, who were actually found guilty have been indulged by all and sundry.

I know Richard and his wife Lesley from the Mill Hill Music festival. Richard is a talented teacher who has dedicated his life to the educational system. The charges have caused a horrendous strain on Richard and his wife. I am delighted that they have been cleared and it is truly appalling how judgemental people have been.

I sincerely hope that everyone who has spent the last couple of years whispering behind the back of the couple now respects the judgement and the fact that Richard has been cleared. I daresay the story will get negligible coverage, as it is far less sexy than the original story. It vindicates the stand of the Headmaster of Mill Hill County High, Geoffrey Thompson, who gave Mr Evans a job when no one else would. As a result Mill Hill County High School children have had the services of an excellent teacher.

A reputation takes years to build and seconds to trash. As far as Mr Evans is concerned, the slate is wiped clean now. Lets respect that.

Capita - The Movie - Update

As regular readers may know, we are in the process of putting together a new film called Capita - The Movie. The film examines the role of the company in the public sector at local and national level. At present we are doing three things.

1. Writing the storyboard & researching the companies activities.
2. Identifying interviewees
3. Raising funds to produce the film

We have put together a great team and we are busily working hard. One of the biggest tasks recently has been reading the One Barnet contract with Capita. This has whole sections boasting about how Capita have "unique access to policy makers at national level" and talking of their role on policy think tanks. It also implies that the company will use this role for the benefit of Barnet Council. As far as I am concerned the main beneficiary will be Capita shareholders, but is it right that a company boasts about its power and influence in  a contract with a local authority. Clearly the implication during the negotiations was that if Barnet didn't sign up, they would be at a huge disadvantage in regards to policy decisions made at national level.

Is this right? It becomes ever clearer to me that there is a huge conflict of interest. We don't need a multi  national company in Barnet to provide services, we did this well enough already, but Capita say they offer so more. Does Barnet Council need this? I think that the whole thins is corrosive. We will keep you informed.