Barnet Labour Party official statement on election of Barry Rawlings as group leader

Cllr Barry Rawlings was elected Leader of the Labour Group at last night’s Labour Group meeting following Cllr Alison Moore’s decision to stand down after being selected as a London Assembly list candidate.

Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Barry Rawlings said: "It is a real privilege to be elected to serve as Leader of the Barnet Labour Group – I am grateful to my colleagues for their confidence and support – and I look forward to working with them to build on our strong position as a group of 30 councillors – only one seat short of defeating the Conservatives.

“We are Labour councillors first and foremost to make a real difference to the lives of Barnet’s residents based on our values of fairness and social justice, and we will continue to take the fight to the Tories by working with and for the local community, and by being their voice in the Town Hall.

“The Conservative government’s programme of austerity, willingly supported by the Tories on Barnet Council, is reducing our ability to tackle poverty and disadvantage, and to ensure that we do achieve that fairness and social justice. I believe we need to build an alternative to the marketisation of public services which involves an enhanced idea of civic society –working closer with the community sector to instill a public service ethos, we need far more integrated local services with neighbouring authorities, health and the police, and we need to implement practical solutions to tackle the escalating problem of the lack of affordable housing – an issue that now affects middle as well as lower income families.

“I would like to thank Ross for the honourable way he conducted his campaign in this Leadership election, and for his on-going work on developing our very strong housing policy platform. We will continue to work together as friends and colleagues for the benefit of the people of Barnet.

“I would also like to pay tribute to Alison who, in her 10 years as Leader of the Labour Group, has led the Group from strength to strength – building our number from 20 to almost seizing control of the Council. Her commitment and dedication to public service, to the people of Barnet  and to the Labour Party has been phenomenal.”

Cllr Ross Houston, who also stood in the Leadership election, said: “I congratulate Barry on his successful election – he was a very comradely opponent, and we both share the same passions for social justice. The Labour Group is united behind him, and getting him elected Leader of the Council in 2018.”

Outgoing Leader of the Labour Group, Cllr Alison Moore said: “We had two very able candidates in this leadership contest – which is a testament to the strength and talent within our Labour Group. They both fought a good-natured campaign on the issues that matter to the residents of Barnet: the cuts to our public services, including our valued libraries; the on-going challenge of providing care for our older residents; the chronic lack of affordable housing and the ideologically driven privatisation of council services by the Tory administration.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate Barry on being elected Leader. I know he will take the fight to the Tories and be a strong and passionate advocate for all residents and communities across Barnet. I wish him every success in taking the Barnet Labour Group forward to victory in the Local Elections in 2018.”

Barnet UNISON Rep John Burgess stitched up in dodgy union election Shenanigans

  The text below is from the blog of John Burgess. John is branch secretary for Barnet Unison and is standing for the post of general secretary of UNISON. It appears that some of the Unions officers are in cohorts with the current leadership and have been indulging in highly suspicous activities to try and stitch up the vote and nobble the challenging candidates. 

The Barnet Eye has some good friends in UNISON and are most disappointed to hear that a Union can see practices more associated with dodgy South American fascist juntas being used in a UK Union election. This sort of thing damages the credibility of the whole trades Union movement. It is clear that an independent inquiry is required. In the event that Mr Prentis wins, in light of the allegations, it is only right and proper that he is suspended until such time as all of the allegations have been investigated. 

The Barnet Eye has spoken to one of the UNISON staff members addressed in the meeting, who has strong associations with Barnet and was present at the meeting. I was told "there has been a lot of pressure to support Dave's campaign. Many of the staff support him and those that are not comfortable with what has been happening have felt it wise to keep their views to themselves". I asked whether he felt this was acceptable and he replied "No one wants to find themselves out of a job right now". The individual I spoke to wishes his identity to remain anonymous, but stated that in the event of a fair investigation by an impartial authority would come forward to speak, if his anonyimity was guaranteed. As he stated "I still have to work with the rest of the team". I asked whether his co workers were aware of his views and he replied "They haven't got a clue, and I want to keep it that way".

Of course staff members are more than entitled to hold views, but it is clear that they are using paid time to support a candidate. This cannot be deemed a fair and free election and by definition the results of it cannot be seen as representative or honest in light of this. In Council elections, officers are by law compelled to be impartial and the same is true of the Civil service in general elections. The concept that staff may feel that there jobs are under threat if they do not support a specific candidate in a Union election is disgusting. 

The government has passed many laws governing the way Trades Unions are run. It seems quite perverse that they have not passed one that outlaws the gerrymandering of votes for jobs in Union elections. Sadly if Unison can't show that they can conduct their business in an honest and fair manner, then it is likely that even more legislation will follow.

Please remember this article is just a blog. People tell us things for all sorts of reasons and sometimes we find out that we've been lead up the garden path. You sort of get to have a pretty good sixth sense for when something dodgy is going on. On many occasions we've called for independent inquirys when we've seen evidence of wrongdoing. This is one case where I'd be amazed if an independent inquiry gave the process a clean bill of health. In the event there is one and I'm proven wrong, I will publicly donate £100 to Colindale Foodbank. 

I believe UNISON members deserve better.

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This has been a terrible week for our union and the wider trade union movement.

The release of the this audio tape which you can listen to here 

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/HTYMDTN-ce/unison.html and the transcript which you can view here https://uniondemocracyblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/the-transcript-of-the-meeting-on-21-october/ are clear evidence of serious breaches of our union rules, but when you listen to the tape and hear the laughter then it is clear there is a much more serious problem.

The evidence above appears to be an audio recording of what appears to be an official meeting in UNISON offices and time of over 60 officials of the unions Greater London Region where they are briefed  by Regional Secretary in the presence of the most senior officials of the region on how to intervene in the election.

Advice offered such as “don’t get caught out” and “make sure any witnesses are friendly”, make it clear that these officials are well aware that their actions are in breach of UNISON rules and election procedures.

The tape reveals the storage and distribution of election materials in UNISON premises using the time of UNISON officials, who are advised to set aside “three or four days” for the purpose at a time when UNISON members who pay their wages are crying out for support at work.

Members are now saying that we need to clean up our union. Whilst internal investigations are taking place, the question of what impact such matters may have had on the current election for General Secretary is a question for the Returning Officer rather than the Union.

In the meantime any UNISON member who has concerns about alleged malpractice in connection with the General Secretary election should raise these concerns with the Returning Officer by email to unison@electoralreform.co.uk (Before the deadline of 11 December).

Finally and most importantly in order to start work and restore confidence within our union there also needs to be an independent inquiry by a suitable figure from within the Labour and Trade Union movement and it needs to happen now.

#Unisongate

#IndependentInquiry

New Labour Leader elected in Barnet

After ten years, Councillor Alison Moore has stepped down as Labour Leader in Barnet. She has been replaced by Councillor Barry Rawlings. Barry is an affable chap who has been the deputy Leader for some time now. He is an experienced councillor who has served on many committees and was viewed by most in Barnet circles as the continuity candidate, being close to Moore.

The job of being Leader of Barnet Council opposition is a very tough job. The upper echelons of the Barnet Conservatives are a very hard right and politically motivated bunch. Many decisions have been made that have been catastrophic for the Borough, purely to serve a hard right agenda. This has resulted in the catastrophic outsourcing of much council function to Capita. This huge deal is proving a disaster for the residents of Barnet. Only yesterday the latest catastrophic failure was highlighted in a series of tweets by the Council

Barnet Council Verified account ‏@BarnetCouncil 16h16 hours ago

Our call centres are experiencing technical difficulties & are unable to receive any phone calls (1/2)

Barnet Council Verified account ‏@BarnetCouncil 16h16 hours ago

We are working to fix this issue ASAP. We apologise for any inconvenience (2/2)

In short, due to the catastrophic outsourcing, no one in Barnet could communicate with their council. You would think that with such an open goal, Twitter would be awash with Labour councillors berating the Tories for putting up with such useless service. It is an open goal and it is undeniable that the people of Barnet are being let down. It is vital that Barry gets to grips with the torpor that has overcome the local Labour party for many years. In this day and age it is quite ridiculous that Councillors don't engage with constituents via twitter. It is also mind boggling that they fail to use it as a campaign tool. Barry needs to get all his councillors on board and to get them to raise hell every time the effects of the Tories disasterous policy hit residents. That is what an opposition are supposed to do. It is simple. All they have to do is get one of the 30 Councillors to monitor the twitter every day and then text the rest of the group if there is a cock up and see Tweet about this now. It would take councillors a minute to retweet a message from the Labour group and a minute to add their own comments. Barry has nearly five hundred follows on Twitter. If that is a representative number of followers that a councillor should have, then if they all did this, the message would get out to 15,000 people straight away.One would presume that Labour supporting friends would also retweet such messages. This would soon transform public awareness of the state of the council

Sadly there was not a single tweet from Labour councillors yesterday to highlight the problem. Every one of them gets an allowance of a minimum of £10,000 a year to do the job. As an opposition councillor, they are supposed to hold the administration to account and ensure we get good service. As far as I am concerned this means screamking from the rooftops when the council fails and raising hell to get it to improve.

Barry has not been in the job 24 hours yet. I have been disgusted by the way Labour MP's have failed to support their democratically elected leader Jeremy Corbyn. It seems that not a day goes by without one or another high profile Labour MP sticking the boot in. Yet the public see a different picture. Last night in Oldham, there was a by election and a seven percent swing to Labour. If this happened at the next general election Jeremy Corbyn would be Prime Minister. Given that a high profile, long serving and well liked MP, Michael Meacher, who would presumably have a large personal vote was the previous encumbant, logic suggests that Labour should have seen a net loss of support. It is time for the Labour party to wake up and stop fighting itself. Corbyn is the Leader in the Country and Barry Rawlings is the leader in Barnet. Both have been through a democratic process to elect them. It can only be good for the Labour party and the country if Labour supporters get wholeheartedly behind both of them and start campaigning for a Labour victory. Now is not the time for "if onlys" in relation to our personal views as to who the best leader could be. Now is the time to get working again to try and make a difference. Given the swing in Oldham, it is clear that all we need in Barnet is a convenient byelection in a Tory marginal and Barry Rawlings could be leader of the council. Surely that is a prize worth putting in some work for? I suggest that the numerous bloggers and tweeters in Barnet who would like to see this catastrophic Tory regime replaced put aside their differences and give the new Labour leader all of the help and encouragement he needs to do the job. In return, all I ask is that Mr Rawlings does his job to the best of his abilities and gets his 29 colleagues to do the same. This means working harder.

I am not a Labour party member, but good administration needs strong opposition. Even if you are a died in the wool Tory, it is good if the opposition does its job properly. The Tories have had an easy ride in Barnet for the last ten years. That is why they've made so many costly mistakes and the Borough is in such a mess. It is time for us all to turn a new page. If Labour ups their game, so will the Tories. Presumably that can only be good for us all. So we wish Mr Rawlings success as leader and hope that it is the start of a new and beter chapter in Barnet Politics.

 

The Friday Joke 4/11/2015

If bombing makes us safer, why has Cameron cut our capability?

Next time a Tory canvasser knocks on your door, ask them these two questions

If bombing makes us safer why has

A) Cameron scrapped our Sea Harriers, removing a significant strike capacity?
B) Shrunk the RAF?

If what he said yesterday was true, isn't this negligent?

I've lost all faith in politicians

As I write this, MP's are voting on bombing Syria. Unless there is a massive shock, we will be dropping bombs on Syria in the morning. The whole thing has been the most disgusting debate I've ever witnessed. Firstly Cameron has prevaricated because he didn't want another defeat as he had two years ago. What no one has said is that if Cameron had got his way two years ago, we'd have bombed Assad. If this had happened, ISIS would probably be running Syria. They are clearly the most organised of the opposition parties. Sadly no one has made this point. The Labour MP's are clearly out of tune with the majority of the people who make up the parties. Then there are the Tories. No one has mentioned that there are enough rebels to prevent Cameron having a majority. Yet despite this huge split and the fact that Cameron lacks authority in his own party, no one mentions Tory splits. When Cameron castigates MP's for being friends of terrorists, is he referring to those on his own benches. Then we have the Lib Dems. Under Farron they have moved from the honourable position of Charles Kennedy in 2001, of principled opposition to war, to one of slavish warmongering. Labour wonders why the SNP have usurped them in Scotland. Anyone watching this debate would understand why. I think the SNP are probably the only party who emerge with credit from this process.

I am not an apologist for terrorists. If Cameron had presented a coherent plan for Syria, with a strategy for putting an end to ISIS, with a political strategy and money to rebuild the war stricken country, then I would support the policy. What we actually have is a vote to bomb Syria. No one knows where this will lead. No one can explain what will fill the vacuum when Raqqa becomes a cratered moonscape of bomb craters. Will Assad move back in and massacre the last remaining citizens. Do we care about the poor citizens who've been terrorised and bombed to submission. MY Dad was an air force pilot in WWII.  He once told me that whatever anyone tells you, there is no such thing as "precision bombing". The reason for this is because no one in a plane really knows what is on the ground. If you blow up a tank or an oil refinery, this clearly has a military or an economic purpose, but when you bomb a building, who knows who is in it. There has never been an ariel bombing campaign where innocent people have not been killed. When the former Syrian ambassador states that the bombing campign will achieve nothing, surely the likes of Cameron should listen.

The sad truth is that in the next few days, we'll see a few pictures of smart bombs blowing things up. The half dozen planes we'll send will blow up a few things. They will probably kill a few terrorists. They will also kill a few innocent people. If anyone wants to take a bet, I'll bet them £100 to a charity of their choice that in a years time, we will be no less safe from fundamentalist terrorists than we are today. No one has asked Cameron if we will be safer in a years time if we bomb. No one has asked him to explain how.

All in all, there was one of the longest debates in the house for years, but no one really believes that whatever happens, anyone will be made safer by this action. No one has even asked Cameron for a guarantee that his plan will work. The only guarantee is that people will die.

'Damning evidence’ of abuse of union resources by paid officials in Unison’s general secretary election in fight against Barnet UNISON challenger

A damning audiotape has emerged that provides evidence of senior officials of Britain’s biggest public service union, Unison, acting in blatant breach of the union’s rules to secure general secretary Dave Prentis’ re-election.

The 23-minute tape appeared on an anonymous Blog here https://uniondemocracyblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/rogue-unison-regional-secretary-breaking-unison-rules-in-election-rigging-scandal/

The audio file can be downloaded online here  

http://www.4shared.com/mp3/HTYMDTN-ce/unison.html.

and a transcript of the conversation here https://uniondemocracyblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/the-transcript-of-the-meeting-on-21-october/

Earlier today all Unison general secretary candidates were copied into an email complaint to the Electoral Reform. The general secretary election closes this Friday (4 December).

The Anonymous Blog reports that it is a recording of: “a briefing for Regional Organisers at UNISON’s Greater London Regional Office which took place at Congress House in London. Those attending were paid UNISON staff, attending in the time for which they were paid by the Union (at 2pm on Wednesday 21 October)”

The audio recording features heavily the voice of Unison’s London regional secretary, Linda Perks, who can be heard repeatedly thanking paid union officials under her management for their work in securing branch nominations for the three-term incumbent Dave Prentis.

At one point, Ms Perks says that ‘Dave’ [presumably Mr Prentis] wishes to convey his personal thanks, adding ‘Dave is very very grateful.’

The recording includes derogatory references to Mr Prentis’ three opponents (Roger Bannister, John Burgess and Heather Wakefield) and their supporters along with a detailed discussion of what London regional officials can do to bolster the Prentis campaign in the days running up to the start of the postal ballot on 9 November. There is also an explicit warning not to get ‘caught out’, while mention of the union’s election rules provokes widespread laughter.

The use of full-time officer resources by any candidate in any Unison election is a serious breach of electoral rules and regulations, and potentially unlawful.

John Burgess, one of the four standing for Unison general secretary, has heard the tape and said:

‘I quickly recognised voices and felt angry that some of our union’s senior officers could behave in such a disgraceful way. It was really infuriating to hear them repeat that they know that they are breaching UNISON rules, but laughing about it. This recording reveals a dangerous and worrying systemic contempt for the rules of our union.

I am calling for an immediate independent investigation led by a highly credible labour movement figure as it appears this malpractice could go to the very top of Unison. I also want to call upon those who value union democracy to come forward if you have any other evidence of this sort of behaviour. There must be no cover up.’

You can find the above statement on out Campaign Blog below.

‘http://johnburgess4gensec.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/damning-evidence-of-abuse-of-union.html

Jon Rogers has also posted the following story:

Worrying news of electoral malpractice - let's hope this is addressed appropriately!

http://jonrogers1963.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/worrying-news-of-electoral-malpractice.html