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.

The truth about Corporal Punishment

Earlier in the week I came across a truly fascinating document. It is entitled "The End of Corporal Punishment at Finchley". This document is posted on the Finchley Catholic High School website in the archive section of the old boys association. It details entries for the final ten years of corporal punishment at the school. I challenge anyone who believes that Corporal Punishment has a place in the education system to read this. Just to give you some idea of the scale of use as a remedy, look at this graph from the document.

As you can see in the 1979-80 term, 140 pupils received the cane (or other such punishments). That is more than one every two days. So what sort of heinious crimes were the boys caned for. Here's a small selection :-

Now I attened the school from 1974 to 1978 (I completed my education at Orange Hill Senior High School, where I can't remember a single instance of corporal punishment and behaviour was certainly far better - especially mine). At the time it seemed quite normal to receive the cane for trivial offences, if caught by the wrong teacher. I got it once for "pushing in on the dinner queue" (I didn't want to be late for a lunchtime detention). I didn't give it much thought until I moved to Stockholm in 1981 for six months. There my friends were shocked that such practicises were still allowed. They'd been banned in Sweden decades before. In fact they thought I was lying about it and only believed me when a friend from FCHS showed up and confirmed the story.

Bad behaviour at Finchley at the time was met with a completely random and arbitary approach. It all depended on which teacher caught you. The better ones such as John Shutler would sit you down and talk to you about your behaviour. He caught me writing obscenities about his wife on the toilet wall (she was also a quite attractive teacher). His remedy? He arranged for me to redecorate the toilets at half term, paying for the paint out of my own pocket. He knew that I would have been expelled and I am eternally grateful for the sensible lesson he taught.

I wonder how many of the boys caned for gambling, smoking or talking in class were cured by a sound thrashing. I don't recall anyone saying "thats it for me". A couple of the teachers took a far more pragmatic view to smoking and would just pinch your fags (I suspect certain teachers contracted lung cancer entirely at the expense of the pupils).

I have one observation. The peak years for canings appear to be the Neil Kelly era - 1975 - 1979. Several years ago, my company took a boy on work experience from FCHS. As we were making the arrangements, I told the school secretary that I was an old boy of the school. She enquired when. I replied 1974-1978. She glumly announced "Oh we call that the dark period". She went on to assure me that the school was much better now.

Does Corporal punishment work? When I transferred to Orange Hill and realised that things were dealt with in sensible balanced and rational way, I concluded no. Reading this document has not changed that belief. I got my children to read this document. Suffice to say that in the age of childline they were truly shocked

The Barnet Eye war on Barnets spongers and parasites - Update No 1

Dearest Tory Councillors of Barnet,

What are you all famous for? What do the people of Barnet know you for? What legacy will you leave?

Let me let you in on a little secret. The blogs of Barnet are the source of information of choice of the vast majority of the people of Barnet when they wish to find out about what their local councillor has been up to. Let me just illustrate something. Firstly let me explain, in laymans terms, the way Google searches work. They make the first choice of item displayed, the one which is the most popularly selected choice. This blog has highlighted the shenanigans of many Barnet Councillors. Take for example the head of the Hendon & District Planning Committee, Maureen Braun, the woman who passed the Brent Cross development plan. When people do a Google search for Our Mo :-

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=councillor+Maureen+Braun&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=270cd07514528d23

What is the first page they are presented with? Try it. Yes my friends, history is being written by the bloggers of Barnet. That is Councillor Brauns lasting legacy to the people of Barnet. Of course, Dear Mo as I like to call her is a small fish, what about a big fish, what about the biggest, stinkiest, most oily fish of the lot in Barnet? Try this search

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=councillor+Brian+Coleman&aq=f&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=270cd07514528d23

Sadly Wikipedia and the GLA website has relegated Cuddles Coleman's Barnet Eye entry to only the third most popular page about him. Not bad out of 16,700 results is it.

Then there is the beloved Leader of the Council, Lynne Hillan. Well, pipped to the post out of 5,200 posts by my old rival Not The Barnet Times. Mind you David is welcome to her. For that you have to go down to fourth for a Barnet Eye blog - oh the shame and indignity. At least we're above all her tame blogs though.

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=councillor+lynne+hillan&aq=0&aqi=g1&aql=&oq=councillor+Lynne+&gs_rfai=&fp=270cd07514528d23

One other Councillor of note. One who made a bit of a name for himself at the meeting where the Tories awarded themselves a huge payrise. Tom Davey.

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=councillor+Tom+davey&aq=&aqi=&aql=&oq=councillor+Tom+davey&gs_rfai=&fp=270cd07514528d23

We've only just mentioned him a day ago and we're already up to the 6th most popular page people look at when they seek him. We're just below his LINKEDN  entry. I was curious to find out about his work experience. I was keen to see what life experience he'd achieved to enable such a young man to speak so forcefully about why it is the fault of the poor for being poor and how they lack ambition. Well it seems he was at the London School of Economics from 2005-2008 and since then he's been a management trainee for a tobacco company. Interestingly the Linkedn profile lists Barnet Council as a government agency which employs 11-50 people. I'm sure that this will come as a shock to the hundreds of Council workers on the paryroll. I wonder if Mr Davey only counts people on salaries of over £50K per annum as the rest really aren't his sort of people at all - http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/tom-davey/15/180/3aa 

I think we should rename Little Tommy Daley as Thomas of Hale, Scourge of the Poor. It is a far more impressive title for such a wise and noble soul.

So, my Dear Barnet Tories, I just wanted  to share with you the fact that when people want to find out what you've been up to they come to this blog first (or second on occasion if David got there first). That is your legacy.

Barnet Eye Exclusive - Barnet Council unveil new Corporate logo

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.

The Barnet Eye war on Barnets spongers and parasites

Today the Barnet Eye declares war on the spongers and parasites of Barnet. Those people who's whole existence seems to be one of taking the piss at the expense of the taxpayer. We at the Barnet Eye believe that the taxpayers money is meant to be spent on providing good public services to the people of Barnet. We believe that taxpayers money should not be wasted on paying unnecessarily large allowances to people such as Brian Coleman (a man who earns over £100,000 per year for a string of part time,tax funded jobs and lives in a house provided by the church on a controlled rent, designed for people on low incomes).

We believe it is outrageous that Barnet's Tory Councillors have voted for huge payrises (100%) and we are committed to ensuring that all spongers and parasites such as these are put into the public spotlight. I must at this point commend Conservative Councillor Kate Salinger. Whilst I disagree with her politics, she has shown herself to be decent, honest and principled. It is sad to note that all of her colleagues took such exception to her refusal to abandon her principles that they sacked her from all her positions on committees. Presumably they couldn't trust her to do the right thing for the people of Barnet.

I have been informed that one of the committees she's been removed from is the one responsible for fostering. This committee has the power to have a major influence on the lives of young people. How on earth can our local Tories believe that refusal to sanction a payrise for your colleagues, on grounds of principle, means that you lack the judgement to advise on such issues. This matter above all others displays the complete lack of judgement of our current Tory cabinet. A report has reached me of a "last minute deal" to secure the vote of Graham Old. I believe that Graham Old has a moral duty to tell us what this deal was.

I am not alone in my campaign. I call on all bloggers in Barnet to join the war. I call on all Conservative party members to join the war. I call on all Councillors of the Labour and Lib Dem group to join the war. I call on all members of these parties as well the Greens and the Residents party to join the war. You may ask what you can do?

Well if you click on this link - http://committeepapers.barnet.gov.uk/democracy/council/listcouncillorname.asp?intSubSectionID=13&intSectionID=9 -, you can find out the name, email address, telephone number and address of your local councillor. I suggest you contact them and tell them they are a disgrace. If you voted for them before, tell them that they have let you down. You are paying through the nose for them, so you have every right to contact them. They are your elected representative and it is there job.

You will be pleased to know that a Barnet Eye fifth columnist at Barnet Council has very kindly put up pictures of these spongers all over Barnet so you can recognise them. Of course the Barnet Eye would never advocate such childish actions as defacing these posters with the words "sponger", "Hypocrite" or "Parasite". This would be extremely naughty and we'd have to tell you all off. What we would do is encourage you to look very closely at the pictures so that if you see them out and about, you can take the opportunity to do what our posters say and tell them what you think of them. Brian Coleman has said publicly that you will be pleased that he's doubling his pay. I think you'd be doing Mr Coleman a grave disservice if you allowed him to carry on under this delusion.

Finally one word about the spongers and parasites of Barnet. One of  Barnets most idiotic and wet behind the ears Councillors, Tom Davey (who incidentally has not exactly ever sweated on a building site to earn his daily bread) suggested that poverty is the fault of the poor (rather odd for someone with a wealthy mummy to put him through college - how would he know?). Well as far as I'm concerned, the worst spongers and parasites are ones such as Mr Davey and his colleagues. They are well off, well educated and well connected. They don't need to ponce. They just do it out of complete bone idleness. They are in no position to lecture anyone on anything  (with the honourable exception of Kate Salinger, who has given us all a lesson in honesty, courage and decency).

************* Update **************
I've just noticed that former Edgware Tory Councillor Richard Weider has left a comment on the Not the Barnet Times blog stating that he's upset and disappointed with his former colleagues (apart from Kate Salinger). I've also had several more communications about Graham Old and his sudden conversion to troughing, having originally opposed it. None of the comments portray Mr Old in a good light. I am going to email him for a comment  - I will update on what I get back.