1. Unacceptable rise. We find the increase to top Councillor's pay unacceptable, especially in the light of the public sector pay freeze.
2. No publicity for proposal. We agree with the GMB Union that the way the Council proceeded to alter the allowances was disgraceful, publishing the proposals just one day before the meeting.
3. Whipping was wrong. We agree with Matthew Offord MP that it was wrong that Conservative Councillors rigorously whipped to support the Leader's proposed pay rise but also that a Councillor was publicly stripped of her positions for abstaining in the vote.
4. Support opposition. We support the views expressed by Conservative MP Grant Shapps who roundly condemned the Council's move that have been endorsed by Mike Freer MP, Matthew Offord MP, Councillors Alison Moore and Jack Cohen.
5. Allowance rise must be reversed. We call for a special meeting of the Council to be called, with appropriate publicity, to consider either nullifying the decision of the last meeting of the Council and / or reverting to the March scheme of allowances with a 5% reduction to show leadership at this time.
What do we want?
The increase reversed!
When to we want it?
Now!
The increase reversed!
When to we want it?
Now!
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Thanks to Anon for the poster. Thanks to Former Tory Councillor Dan Hope for drafting the Barnet Declaration. As Dan has rightly pointed out, these principles are supported on all sides of the political divide. It is, rather sadly, only the greedy senior councillors in Barnet Council who are marching out of step - The declaration was originally left by Dan as a comment, but it sums up our campaign and has been drafted in such a way that only a greedy trougher could possibly disagree.
7 comments:
Good, but: there is a word missing, non? Tory? And of course all Tory councillors bar one voted for this, not just the senior ones. The senior ones were guilty of the sin of greed, but the others were guilty of cowardice and betraying the residents of this borough.
Well, all Conservative councillors are guilty, but some are a lot more guilty than others.
We can leave it to the other parties to throw mud at the ruling party - the "Barnet Declaration" (as historians will call it) is something everyone can support, without party politics getting in the way.
I hope DCMD will not mind me lifting the comments he put on the Barnet Times's web site, a couple of weeks ago:
These people are not Conservatives. They are simply a collection of self-serving parasites who have hijacked the local Conservative Party as a means to stuff their faces with taxpayers money. Real Conservatives have left the party in droves or been pushed out/marginalised. It is really now up to David Cameron to decide whether to step in and help restore democratic accountability in Barnet or whether he will ignore the problem and risk an electoral catastrophe in what should be safe Conservative territory.
But I find the attitude of Theresa Villiers just as reprehensible as that of the councillors. For all his faults (and he has many) at least Mike Freer has the political nous to realise that this increase is totally unacceptable - however much Coleman and Cornelius try to spin it as being “within budget”. Mrs Villiers simply says that it is a matter for the council. That’s not good enough. Even if MPs can’t force the council to reverse it’s decision, she can say “I don’t think this is right in the current climate” which both the other Barnet Conservative MPs have said. Her silence suggests that the rumours of a Faustian pact between her and Hillan/Coleman are true (they said nothing about her second home claims last year) or she is breathtakingly naiive and simply doesn’t get the mood of the nation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5305038/Theresa-Villiers-claimed-stamp-duty-on-second-London-home-MPs-expenses.html
I have to admit to liking the sound of the Barnet Declaration ... as long as people remember come next elections that one party was to blame ...
Support the Peoples Opposition, not the 'crocodile tongues' of Mickey'take'Freer and his MOfford who engineerd all that Hillan and her toady Coalman have implemented. Do we think Freer, would not have supported the increase had it not been elected an MP? As for the 'millionaire' Schapps who openly echoes the Future Barnet, if the working poor can't get rich as Hillan and her Toad, then get out of Barnet and move where there are no jobs in the first place. If you can't move, Be Good, we'll make you 10%home owners for free.Hmmm
As DCMD stated "It is really now up to David Cameron to decide whether to step in and help restore democratic accountability in Barnet or whether he will ignore the problem."
No damned surprise Cameron has kept wide gob shut on Barnet's problems, given Cameron's espousals of Britain's Future shape. He echoes the ideas of three Tory stronghold Boroughs, one of them is Barnet, where Freer and his Mofford presided or was it Cassius and Brutus whom did so?
Mrs Angry thanks for ensuring we don't miss the point, Collective Responsibility of Tories.
Nevertheless, we want grass-roots Conservative opinion to side with the reformers, not the money-grabbers.
So we should fight a "Popular Front for the Liberation of Barnet" campaign.
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