What will the Barnet Council Labour regime of 2022-2026 be remembered for?

 I guess everyone goes into politics dreaming of leaving a golden legacy of success. But you can only achieve success with power. This was brought home to me last night. I was having a beer with my ex boss. He shocked us all by announcing that he had been considering standing as a candidate for Reform in Colchester.  He has always been a Conservative, but I never had him down as a reformer. He explained that he was very tempted as he believed that they have an excellent chance of winning Colchester Council and he fancied the opportuinity to run it and sort the problems in the Council out. It was nothing to do with their politics, it was access to power. What disturbed me most though, is that I know he is excellent at whatever he does, a superb boss, and I'd have put money on him doing a brilliant job running the finances. The conversation turned to Barnet. Another friend at the booze up is a Barnet resident and a Labour supporter. He was waxing lyrical about the achievements of Barnet Labour. I had to disagree, but he was claiming Barnet Council had been turned around and more potholes than ever had been fixed.

The sad truth is that Labour have not fixed the council and as far as I am concerned, their reign has been northing short of a disaster. On the night they won, Leader Barry Rawlings invited me to help formulate a culture strategy. Within a month I'd drafted one and circulated it to councillors and officers. I don't think any read it. Their vision was different. They believed the route to success was to employ expensive consutants, rather than follow my model of building a council of local arts organisations and building a collaborative network. My solution was almost zero cost and would have exploited all of the energy and efforts of people already doing good work. The abject failure of their efforts is best demonstrated by the failure to stage the Borough's biggest festival, The East Barnet Festival in an election year. My focus is always on arts, but across the Borough there is discontent. A terrible scheme in Edgware, albiet a legacy of the Tory regime, but one mired in failure. Labour promised to address the mess that is the Railway Hotel in Edgware. There was talk of a compulsory purchase order. Nothing has been done. Council taxes have gone up, services have not improved. I've not seen a leaflet from Labour in Mill Hill to see what they think they've done well. They do however have a website. Here is there manifesto

Labour launches ‘Ambitious for Barnet’ Manifesto

Barnet Labour have launched their manifesto for the local elections: ‘Ambitious for Barnet’ which sets out our programme to continue to improve services, our roads, pavements and green spaces, back the environment and support those struggling with the cost of living.

Council Leader, Labour’s Councillor Barry Rawlings said:

“The Conservatives ran Barnet on the snooze button for 20 years, with no real vision for the borough, and left a legacy of cuts, depleted reserves and run-down services.

“Labour has been ambitious for Barnet, delivering a far-reaching programme.

“That’s why we’ve filled over 16,500 potholes – 61 per cent more than the Conservatives managed when they were in power, upgraded and expanded a CCTV system that was broken more than half the time when the Conservatives were in charge, planted nearly 5,000 trees, improved or re-built 20 playgrounds and secured 1,000 new council homes.

“We have delivered this and much more, while keeping council tax lower than all our neighbours.

“We will continue to be ambitious in a second term, campaigning for our high streets, continuing to clamp down on crime and anti-social behaviour and building new affordable homes.”

As part of the Barnet Labour’s Manifesto, we are making six key pledges.

1)       Keep Barnet Moving: We will aim to cut roadworks times by 20 percent by charging extra penalties to dawdling utility companies for working too slowly.

2)       Keep Barnet Green: We will protect our green spaces, plant 4,000 more trees and create a ‘Regional Park’, making even more green space accessible.

3)       Keep Barnet Safe and Clean: We will continue to crack down on crime, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and litter to keep Barnet safe and clean by using our upgraded CCTV system with tougher enforcement and higher fines, whilst protecting the free community skips service.

4)       A More Affordable Barnet: We will secure a further 1,000 social rent homes, having already secured the delivery of 1,000 new council homes in our first term.

5)       A Healthier Barnet: We will campaign for greater powers to stop the increase of gambling arcades and fast-food shops.

6)       Keep Delivering Value for Money: We will always prioritise finding efficiencies and savings to keep costs down, ensuring council tax increases are minimised.

Councillor Rawlings added:

“These are difficult financial times and, unlike the Conservatives, who cut half of Barnet’s funding, we have worked with the Government to secure £37million more for local services.

“We have a roadmap to financial sustainability that invests in prevention to reduce demand for high-cost services.

“The Conservatives first priority is to propose raising council tax by 50 per cent over the next five years before doing the hard work to keep costs down.

“That’s the choice at this election.

“With a lot already done by a Labour council, and a lot more to be ambitious about, there’s a lot at risk under any other Party but Labour.”

They have a record to judge them on. The biggest achievement Barry can boast about is getting a £38 million bale out from government to shore uop finances. That is not sustainable. They have a record to be judged on. I suspect residents will not judge them kindly. Barry is a nice bloke, but Barnet needs someone who has the wherewithal to sort the finances out and I don't mean by getting baleouts. I mean by structural reforms and genuine efficiencies, which involves understanding where cash is being wasted. My view is that the management structure at Barnet Council is massively top heavy and they have set up all sorts of companies such as Barnet Homes, which have unnecessary boards and costs.  That is where I'd start. 

The Barnet Eye saves council tax payers from yet another expensive legal cock up over Church Farmhouse Museum

 As you know, this blog has been following the sad story of the destruction of the heritage of our Borough and the failure to protect important buildings. It came to our attention that Barnet Council had listed Church Farmhouse Museum for sale by auction. We reviewed the paperwork and also visited the building to see what state it was in. We were horrified by what we saw. This is a grade two listed building. Here is what we found, when we inspected with a retired expert.

We also found defects in the legal papers that would have potentially opened the council up to lawsuits, for non disclosure of important legal details. I wrote to the council leader and the CEO to express my concerns.

Dear  Cllr Rawlings, Cllr Clarke and Ms Shaw

 

I am writing to you on behalf of an urgent legal matter that could incur a large financial penalty for Barnet Council. I have reveiwed the papers for the sale by auction of CHurch Farmhouse museum. I believe that the paperwork is materially incorrect and misleading to potential buyers and the council may be at risk should the property be sold on the basis of information the council has provided.

 

I refer specifically to the paperwork concerning the public right of way through the grounds. The law states, in relation to a legal right of way

 

A de facto public right of way in England is a route that is legally considered a public right of way (a highway) due to a presumption of dedication by the landowner, which arises from long, continuous use by the public. This is established under Section 31 of the Highways Act 1980 and requires the following conditions to be met: 

• Public Use: The path must have been used by the public generally, not just a specific group of people (like friends or employees of the landowner).
• Duration: The use must have been continuous and without interruption for a full period of at least 20 years. The 20-year period is calculated retrospectively from the date the public's right to use the way is challenged (e.g., by the landowner putting up a locked gate or a clear notice).
• "As of Right": The public must use the way "as of right" (a term meaning "as if by right"). This means the use must be:
  • Without force (e.g., not breaking down fences or gates).
  • Without secrecy (e.g., not using it only at night).
  • Without permission (i.e., the landowner did not give express permission, or there was no clear indication of 'permissive access', which would defeat the claim).

It is clear and documented that this right has been exercised for long in excess of the 20 year period legally required. The paperwork suggests that Barnet Council are not aware of a public right of way through the property. This is clearly incorrect.

Any buyer who attempts to block this will face legal action and may claim remedy from Barnet Council. I would strongly suggest that Barnet Council removes the building from sale at this time. 

 

My personal view is that Barnet Council should not be selling off the heritage of the Borough. However if this folly is to be persued, at least ensure that the paperwork is in order and the council is not likely to face future lawsuits. I am concerned that due diligence does not appear to have been done. In the event that Coucil was previously genuinely unaware of the right of way, you have now been informed. I can obtain testomony from numerous locals who have used this over the last 35 years and are willing to confirm this in writing.

 

I have cc'd the opposition leader as a courtesy for visibility

 

Regards 

Roger Tichborne

 

I have to say that the response from Barnet Council's head of property asks more questions than it answers. I won't comment, as I am sure readers of this blog are more than clever enough to make up their own mind.

Dear Mr. Tichborne,

 

Thank you very much for your email last week to Cath Shaw, the Leader Barry and councillors regarding the proposed sale of Church Farmhouse.  I want to assure you that we are already aware of the potential issue you raised and have been working with our legal team to ensure that an appropriate response is included within the Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE).

 

The information you have seen was therefore incomplete, rather than incorrect, because the associated CPSE had not yet been uploaded. However, as the legal pack is still being finalised and the auction date is now just over a week away, we have decided to pull the property out of the upcoming auction. Rest assured, the property will be entered into a future auction once the full marketing details are available.

 

Thank you once again for taking the time to write to us about this.

 

 

Kind Regards,

 

Sal Waheed MRICS

Head of Property and Portfolio Management I Growth Directorate

(Property Services, Facilities Management, Print and Mail Services)

 

London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, NW9 4EW

I will simply draw attention to the previous blog I wrote about the subject on 4th November and the letter sent to Barnet, which I received no response to - barneteye.blogspot.com/2025/11/breathtaking-dishonesty-and-hypocisy.html

It is clear to me though that the intervention of this blog has potentially saved Barnet Council taxpayers a fortune in legal bills. This is one reason I still write a blog. Of course I doubt any Labour Councillors will thank me for doing their job of scrutinising what the Council officers are doing. The only difference is I don't get a ten grand allowance for doing this. 

The Edgware Regeneration and the way politics works in The London Borough of Barnet

On Wednesday, Barnet Council will vote on whether to approve the massive Ballymore regeneration scheme in Edgware. This will change Edgware forever, if it is approved and comes to fruition. The developers, Ballymore will make a very large amount of money from the scheme. As for the existing residents of Edgware, the people who pay their council tax bills, lets be generous and say that the benefits will be far less obvious. Let me share with you the claimed benefits - My observations are in red italics

Town Centre

We intend to build a new Town Square - a destination where people can come together. It will form the centrepiece of the re-development, which will take its inspiration from local architecture, honouring Edgware’s character and heritage. - I am interested to see how shops underneath huge tower blocks 'honour Edgware's character and heritage'. I suppose you could claim that the large Green Sheild House has long been part of the Edgware landscape, but I am far from convinced that this rather dull piece of 1960's utilitarian design is necessarily something Edgware residents want to see used as a model for the rest of the town. I'm yet to be persuaded that this claim means anything beyond an idea in the mind of a marketing person, who obviously assumes the residents of Edgware are a bit dim and will fall for such old tosh.

Public Transport

To reduce congestion and to make crossings safer, we plan to move the bus garage underground, with the passenger terminal remaining at street level and sheltered bus stops dispersed along Station Road. This will support the future electrification of the bus network, reducing noise and pollution. There will also be new and improved connectivity to the Underground. - The idea of putting electric buses in an underground garage is insanity, given the problems with their batteries catching fire. The claim that the putting the gragae underground will reduce congestion is absolutely ridiculous. However you look at it, the existing garage is far safer. There is good interchange with the tube. Given the huge number of new flats, this scheme will clearly make congestion on the Northern Line worse, not better and to claim otherwise is simply dishonest. There are no new transport links.

Meanwhile, pedestrians will find it easier to get around with more paths and safer crossings. And those on bikes can look forward to over 500 short term cycle parking spaces across the scheme. - Given that the new 'safer' crossings are a key benefit, I am surprised that there is no real information on the website explaining how these will be safer. 

Homes

We want to deliver 3,365 new homes of different types and sizes. Up to 35% of homes will be affordable - subject to GLA grant funding - making a significant contribution to Barnet Council’s housing waiting list. These homes will be designed for everyone, from students, families, and those later in life, in an array of tenures including market sale, rental, shared ownership, and affordable rent. We also want our new homes to look contemporary while being sympathetic to other buildings in the area. - The wording here troubles me. It doesn't say 35% of homes will be affordable. It says "up to" meaning far less may be actually delivered, and this is contingent on public money supporting the scheme. Given that the developers will make a lot of money, I am not entirely comfortable with the fact they are getting a bung from taxpayers (most or whom are opposed to the scheme). Anyone familiar with other schemes in Barnet know what happens in the real world when the buildings start going up.

Shops & Restaurants

At the centre of the town will be a new, larger, Sainsbury’s (without a day of trading lost during construction), accessible by the new Sainsbury’s  car park and transport links. We'll have big high street brands plus independent shops and restaurants, so there is choice and variety for everyone. - When they talk about transport links, these are the buses and tubes that already exist. Sainsburys already has a car park. This is not a new benefit

Leisure

We’re pleased to announce that Edgware will get a new cinema. We have pop-ups and a food market planned. And there’ll be community leisure spaces to enjoy - including playgrounds, a new library, gym and swimming pool for families and beyond to enjoy the area. - Excuse my cynicism. I asked Google where the new swimming pool would be. The answer "The new swimming pool, part of the Edgware redevelopment project, will be located at the expanded leisure center near Edgware. The redevelopment plan also includes a gym and fitness studio according to Minuteman Press. The project will also deliver new homes and green spaces, including a nature park according to Ballymore. "

Healthcare

We’ve set aside 20,000 sq ft for health and wellbeing, which could include GP surgeries and dentists. We’re also talking to the NHS about their requirements. This will result in an offering bespoke to the needs of Edgware and its residents. - What exactly does this mean? I note the "could include GP Surguries and dentists" a long way from a firm commitment.This should be a ring-fenced condition of planning.

Open space

We want to make Edgware a greener place with better air quality. We will create 4.8 ha of open space, plant 400 more trees, introduce a new public park with pedestrian-friendly routes linking neighbourhoods, and reinvigorate the nearby Deans Brook Nature Park, opening up parts which have been closed for 100 years. - When they talk about 'creating 4.8ha of open space' this does not mean that there will be a net increase of 4.8ha in undeveloped land. I accept that there will be some improvement in quality and usability of some green space, but I am rather less convinced that this is actually what it is being sold as.

Office space

Besides being a great place to live, we want to make Edgware a great place to work. That’s why we are also planning a mixed-use building with over 50,000 ft sq of flexible offices, workspaces and hotel rooms - perfect for small businesses – right in the centre. - I know a fair few businesses owners in Edgware. They tell me that Edgware is a great place to live in and work in, but they are less than convinced that this will be improved for them, existing residents and business owners, who have paid their taxes for decades.

In short, many of the most important benefits, such as new affordable housing are not guaranteed. The underground bus station is a bonkers scheme that the Fire Brigade have expressed concerns about. I am not anti development. If this whole scheme wasn't riddled with if's, buts and convenient get outs for the developers for important commitments, I may support it. The truth is that if there own PR material is riddled with claims that don't stand up to scrutiny, what chance is there that this scheme will actually be good for Edgware?

But what concerns me more than the scheme is the way it has shown the uttwer hypocrisy of our local politicians. Prior to 2022, when Labour won in Barnet, they were very sceptical about this scheme. The Tories, on the other hand, where totally behind it. As soon as they lost, the position reversed. There has been absolutely no change in council policy towards the scheme and Ballymore as a result of regime change. 

Let me ask you this. Who elects our local politicians, who pays their 'allowances', who are they meant to serve? The answer is us, the voters. They are meant to be on our side, and they are meant to ensure that council officials work for us, as residents and tax payers. What we actually have is a bunch of people, who seemingly despise the voters. When I attended a recent Council cabinet meeting, I was truly shocked at the way things are under Labour. They are not rude and revolting to the public, as the Tories used to be. They are polite, but they made it absolutely clear that they had no interest at all in the views of the public. So who's views are they interested in? Well they seem very interested to cosy up to big developers. I do not think that the relationship should be hostile, we are all grown ups and we know that we need more housing. What, however, we should expect is for councillors to be our advocates. They should be on our side and be making sure that when developers submit schemes, they take account of existing residents and minimise impacts on them, as well as maximising benefits.

It's all rather sad. I won't be going to Wednesday's meeting. I have tickets for a concert. One thing I learned at the cabinet is that Labour 'sort business out' before the public are involved. 

The Barnet Tories - Imploding and scraping the barrel at the same time!

Just when I thought Barnet politics couldn't get anymore depressing, the Barnet Tories prove me well and truly wrong. The Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives have just announced that they've elected disgraced, convicted woman beater Brian Coleman as their deputy chairman.

Coleman was thrown out of the Tories over a decade ago for vicious assault on local cafe owner Helen Michael, on Finchley High Street. Coleman was then a senior member of the Barnet Tory administration. Helen Michael had noticed he was illegally parked and using the ATM and started filming him. Coleman attacked her, injuring her wrist and bruising her breasts. Coleman denied the assault, claiming he was "set up". However, when the CCTV footage was played in court, he was damned both as a thug and a liar. He said at the time "That is not how I remember the events" when confronted with the evidence. He changed his innocent plea to guilty shortly before the start of the trial, in the hope of getting a lighter sentence in the face of incontrovertable evidence. He was convicted of "Assault with beating".  Helen Michael suffered anxiety attacks after the attack and eventually moved he business to Oakleigh Park Station, where she felt more safe and secure. Helen called me immediately after the assault and I was absolutely mortified to see the state she was in. Immediately after the assault, Coleman drove to Barnet Police station and claimed she had assaulted him. Luckily there was a CCTV camera that exposed his lies. This is all a matter of public record.

The CCTV footage is here. Is this really a man who demostrates the standards we want to see in public life?

Of course, it is up to the Barnet Tories to elect who they like as their deputy chair, but for the rest of us, seeing a man who is happy to assault women in the street and then lie about it, to try and get himself off the hook, being afforded a senior role in a local political party is sickening.

I have no idea whether it is connected with Colemans elevation, but yesterday, Coleman posted the following tweet.

It seems the former leader of the Barnet Tories and council leader between 2018 and 2022 has defected to Reform. Councillor Dan Thomas sits for the Tories in Church End. There was no love lost between Coleman and Thomas. After Coleman was convicted of assaulting Helen Michael, Thomas privately phoned me to express his utter disgust with Coleman and to assure me that Coleman was finished in the Barnet Tories. He revealed that he'd actually made a complaint to Barnet Council's standards body about Colemans behaviour. Myself and Dan Thomas were not on good terms and I was quite surprised to receive a call, but it became clear to me that he was actually pleased that the Tories had an excucse to boot Coleman out. 

There are a new generation of Tory Councillors and other wannabees, who probably don't know the full story about Brian Coleman. They are probably unaware of the scale of the assault. He has probably told them that she was a lefty agitator. She is not. She was a staunch Conservative until Brian Coleman's tenure as Borough Parking Officer. Coleman abolished pay and display completely. This lead to a huge drop in takings for many local high street businesses (and was reversed once Coleman was booted out). After Coleman was booted out, Helen returned to the Tory fold and was a keen advocate for Boris Johnson. If you check out Helen's twitter, you will see that she is anything but a lefty!

The Barnet Tories have now lost their former leader Dan Thomas and former Mayor Mark Shooter to Reform. It is pretty clear that the party is imploding. I cannot see how scraping the barrel and bringing convicted felons in to run the party will help this. But hey ho, what do I know. When Coleman stepped away from public life, this blog forgot about him. He's back and his actions will be under intense scrutiny and we will use our platform (which is massive) to ensure that the people of Barnet know what the Tories think is acceptable. 

I suppose I should say a few words about Dan Thomas. Firstly here is what his colleague Mark Shooter, a fellow Barnet Tory defector to reform said......

Cllr Mark Shooter, Reform UK Barnet Chairman, said:
I am delighted to welcome Cllr Dan Thomas into the newly formed Reform UK Barnet Group. Dan brings with him over 20 years of experience in local government and previously served as Leader of Barnet Council, giving him a wealth… pic.twitter.com/6JyYpi09lD

— REFORM UK (BARNET) (@ReformUKBarnet) June 30, 2025

Dan Thomas organised a palace coup in the Barnet Tories shortly after former leader Richard Cornelius won a stunning victory in the 2018 council elections. Barnet had been tipped by all to swing to Labour, but the Tories made huge gains and had one of the largest Tory majorities ever. The thanks Richard, who was a very decent man, got from Dan Thomas was a knife in the back. Thomas came in with a plan. He wanted to make Barnet the place where big property developments happen. In 2020, he launched huge plans for redevelopments in various areas. His pet project was the Edgware Redevelopment, which was enable by the SPD passed under his regime in 2021, which gave Ballymore the green light for the current plans. Thomas was politically inept. To ensure his coup worked. he ousted long time, hard working councillors such as Joan Scannell in Edgware and replaced them with development friendly lackies. The inevitable happened. In 2022, Labour swept the board. Thomas stepped down and has moved to the West Country, still claiming his juicy councillor allowance. 

Mark Shooter may well welcome Dan Thomas into Reform. All I can really say is that I hope Thomas does for Reform's electoral prospects, what he did for The Barnet Tories. If he gets in anywhere, they can expect monster developments to start appearing. I am sure that there are plenty of nice leafy streets in the west country that will benefit from 32 storey skyscrapers!

Barnet Council - The land where everything is opaque

 I have just reviewed the minutes of the Barnet Council Cabinet meeting on the 17th June.

I asked the following question

In the paperwork, the following comments appears "The new Culture Strategy was launched as part of the ‘Art in Barnet’ campaign and a prestigious public art trail ‘Barnet Legends’ was commissioned with specialist public art agency Create London. The trail unveiled 20 commemorative artworks recognising historical figures who made an impact on the borough. 140 45 events were hosted across our libraries team as part of the UKSPF funded Creative Communities Programme. Activities included intergenerational events for ‘Grandparents Week’, green activities, a creative writing course, dance, crafts and an improvisation show for children." As the owner of Mill Hill Music Complex, London’s oldest independent music studios, which has hosted artists such as Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Flo and Raye, seeing all win prestigious Brit Awards, can I ask why local arts providers have not been contacted with regards to this initiative. Surely the musical history of Barnet should be properly celebrated and the contributions of these amazing artists, with strong Barnet links should have been recognised. I am also interested as to whether local artists were engaged to produce the art works. 

Dr Aashish Bansal also asked a public question. I received the following response from Barnet Council.

Further to the email below, you are welcome to attend the Cabinet meeting this evening. At the meeting, the Chair will provide a response in relation to your question. Following which, you may if you wish ask a supplementary question in respect of the response given. Further details about the meeting can be found here: https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1010&MId=11718&Ver=4

I hadn't realised but this was the first time I have asked a question of the Labour administration, elected in 2022 and the first question to Cabinet since Richard Cornelius, former Tory Leader abolished the Cabinet system over a decade ago, in an attempt to improve transparency at Barnet Council. The Tories, for all their faults, would always provide a written answer, and you could decide whether to ask a follow up question. You also had time to compose it. I was shocked to learn that if I wanted to know the answer, I had to turn up in person. I also had no time to compose a thought out response. 

When I approached the chair, I specifically requested that responses from the committee be properly minuted and recorded. I was under the impression that this was agreed. However, when I reviewed the link above, there was no mention of what the member (Councillor Anne Clarke) who responded said. 

I have long been critical of the Cabinet system in local government. It means that decisions are made behind closed doors, without proper scrutiny from councillors. It makes councillors who are not in the cabinet largely redundant (not that their allowances reflect this). When Labour were elected, I suspected that they would have a few faults and make a few mistakes, but I did not anticipate that the would make the previous Tory regime look like a model of transparency and accountability.

It is clear to me that the reason that we no longer get proper responses and what we do get are not properly minuted is because the Barnet Labour Party have no interest in public accountability. To me it reeks of contempt for the public. I am most disappointed that my fellow Barnet Bloggers have seemingly lost interest in holding the council to account. All I can say is that I will continue to do the job that has fallen on my shoulders. If we want good governance in Barnet, we need citizens who are engaged in the process. The reason Councillors of both Tory and Labour persuasions don't want engagement is because it is nice and comfy for them if we take no interest. Ten years ago, the Barnet bloggers were setting the pace in the UK in terms of public accountability. The requirement for this is stronger than ever, but no one seems interested (apart from me) in doing it. If I wasn't so bloody minded I'd give up, but sadly for our councillors, in Barnet, the land where everything is opaque, I will make the case for transparency until they listen or I can't anymore. Barnet residents deserve better, but they won't get it unless they get off their arses and put some work in. 

Barnet Council Cabinet review Edgware Redevelopment and give the Barnet Tories a does of reality

 It's been an odd week for me, as regular readers will know. Digging up ancient memories from long ago. Monday, visiting the hospital where my Mum was treated for cancer, yesterday visiting a Barnet Council Cabinet meeting, where I made my name as a blogger, attracting national interest from press, TV and all sorts of other social media. I stopped going a decade ago, as the then Leader, Tory Richard Cornelius agreed with me that the Cabinet system did not work in local government, and abolished it. Labour had brought it in, under their previous administration in 1999. Whenthe Tories were run by Maoist style leaders sucha s Mike Freer, they loved it as it avoided public and council scrutiny. When Cornelius took over, he went back to a committee system. Whatever you may think of Cornelius, he was by far the most open and reasonable leader of Barnet Council. He believed in transparency and openness and would attend public meetings to put forward his case. As a result, he was shafted after he won a stunning victory, when Labour thought they had it in the bag, in 2018 and Dan Thomas, who was more in the Freer mold came in. The dodgy, secretive ways of time gone by started to come back. The first act, when Labour won, was to bring back the Cabinet system.

Since I last attended one of these, there's now a big row of tables, stuffed with council officers, all looking bored, playing with pencils and presumably getting overtime. This space used to be reserved for the public. You can see them all looking bored, behind me in this crafty selfie!

I've had np cause to visit the Cabinet since, but last night I had a question on the arts strategy. I turned up and the public gallery was full. The Edgware redevelopment was being discussed. The room was packed, I was eyed suspiciously by a security guard who challenged me as to my motives. When I explained, he opened the door. After the usual pleasantries, we had opposition questions. Three Tories made their way to the front. These were the Leader Peter Zinkin, The deputy Lucy Wakely and a third one, who I must confess I didn't know. Now I have to say that I actually like Peter and Lucy. They are decent people. Unlike the old guard of Freer, Thomas, Rams, Coleman, etc all have only ever been reasonable and decent to me. On the night when Labour won, in 2022 at the count, I saw Peter Zinkin looking dejected at loosing his seat. I bought him a cup of tea and we had a chat. Despite what people say, most councillors are actually decent people, who want to do well for their community. It is sad that the Barnet Tories became a repository for people with dodgy agendas after they won the council in 2002. The like of Coleman had a very bloated idea of their own self worth. A (long) spell in opposition will hopefully cure the local Tories of this tendancy. 

Peter Zinkin strode up and did his best to channel his inner anger at the beastlyness of Labour, who are " ignoring local people in Edgware and not consulting". Peter's trouble is he is a reasonable man. When greeted with reasonable replies from the likes of Ross Houston and Barry the Boss, he reverted to type and was reasonable and sensible. Lucy Wakely had a go and did no better. Ultimately, the redevelopment was the Tories baby under Dan Thomas. They know they are chancing their arm and I suspect that they didn't want to push their luck in front of a bunch of residents who were keen supporters. Labour made perfectly reasonable responses (something that never happened when the Tories had a cabinet, they were obnoxious to all, especially bloggers, so we wound them up no end. The meetings had packed public galleries, that would howl with derision). It all felt rather odd to me. 

I tweeted about the Tories Chutzpah in claiming they were good at consultations, Cllr Zinkin replied

We probably did less well at the beginning but over the years we learnt and by the start of work it was almost a continuous dialogue not always appreciated but fewer misunderstandings

— Peter Zinkin (@pzinkin) June 17, 2025

The main beef seemed to be that the public hadn't had a chance to comment or ask questions. I found this rather odd, as there was a committee item and a competent opposition would have tipped the Save Edgware Campaign off and given them a hand drafting some killer questions, had they been doing their job properly. It seemed a bit strange to me listening to the leader of the Barnet Tories moaning about the way public questions are handled, when they brought the rules in that made it difficult for the public to ask questions. I remember the good old days, when there were dozens. At one time, us bloggers would liaise and share our questions, just to make sure we got everything covered. It did us no good at all, the Tories took no notice, but it was jolly good fun watching them embarrass themselves, as they thought their clever antics in giving non answers were mightily clever. 

Another beef of Councillor Zinkin was lack of consultation. Barry the Boss pointed out that this process didn't begin until planning applications were being debated. Until that point there was 'nothing to debate' Councillor Zinkin stated that in the good old days of the Tories, consultations were done properly. For anyone familiar with One Barnet, this was hilarious. The judge found that Barnet hadn't consulted properly, but that we, the people, could do nothing about it, becase we'd been too late submitting our legal objection. The formula used to calculate the date meant that a perfectly good legal challenge to a very bad administration, failed as The Tories had, by luck or design, managed to string us all along so that we'd missed the date. Our contention that it was impossible to have submitted in the alloted period as it was not clear at the time that the consultation had been botched, sadly was ruled inadmissible. And here we were, ten years later, with the Tory Leader lecturing Labour on how to do good consultations. 

The Tories did make a couple of good point, perhaps the best was that putting a garage for electric buses, that have the habit of catching fire and exploding, under massive blocks of residential flats was a bad idea. Labour seemed to agree, which rather took the wind out of Cllr Zinkins sails. The current big bugbear of the Tories is that Labour are planning to give the developers £41 Million back from the Community Infrastructure levy.  Tory Hale Councillor Gurung posted this on Facebook earlier yesterday.

Barnet Labour Backs Developers Not Residents

Tonight, Barnet Council is being asked to approve a shocking proposal: to hand back £41 million of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds to developers Ballymore and TfL money meant for local infrastructure, schools, and services.

Even more alarming, Ballymore admitted their Broadwalk development was financially unviable yet instead of holding them to account, Barnet’s Labour-run Council is working hand-in-hand with them to return money they were obliged to pay.

This is £41 million that should be invested in our community

not handed back to developers to meet infrastructure obligations they always had.

From the start, Barnet Labour has been on Ballymore’s side. This latest move proves it once again.

We deserve a council that stands up for residents not developers. As your local councillors in Edgware and Edgwarebury we will always stand up for our residents.

I had a word with my mole in the Labour Cabinet before the meeting. I asked about this. They told me they couldn't possibly discuss the matter,given its commercially sensitive nature. I then explained that the Tories were giving them a public pasting and they really should, maybe not to me right now, but as soon as they possibly could. To my surprise, I got a full answer at this point. There are strict rules that govern such things, and the council legally has to repay the money. Keeping it and telling Ballymore to sod off, would simply mean Ballymore would sue Barnet, who would lose, have to pay the £41 million, as well as compensation and damages. Oh yes, and the Tories know this (or they should if they have done their job) and are simply making mischief. As to the development being 'not financially viable', this was simply the fault of the Tories who'd done such a rubbish job drawing up the SPD and now Labour were having to sort it all out and Edgware residents were truly lucky to have such a wonderful Labour Council, even though they'd elected useless Tory Councillors. I was then told all of this was priviliged information and if I said I word of this to anyone, I'd be locked up in Gaol for six months for breaking the local government act.

After three seconds deliberation, I decided to share this with you all. If I get sent to the slammer, I expect protest on the streets of Barnet. A free pot noodle for the first reader to guess which cabinet member broke the rules of the Papal Conclave The Local Government Act. 

They say that history repeats itself. Once as tragedy and once as farce. That certainly seems true of the Cabinet system at Barnet Council. If ever you've wondered how I feel blogging about Barnet Council, Tories and Labour, read the Greek myth of Sisiphyus. 

Barnet Labour doesn't know what art is!

 Barnet Labour recently launched its "There's Art in Barnet Campaign" (with your money). When I saw their offering, I nearly cried. How on earth could they get it so wrong? As someone who has spent their life trying to create a music scene in the London Borough of Barnet, this is a really painful debacle for me to watch unfold. When Labour were elected, their Leader Barry Rawlings asked me to help him draw up a Strategy. I did one for free. I took two weeks out of work and sent a draft to officers and councillors. I had not one comment back and eventually they all admitted that they hadn't bothered to read it. I have discussed this on the blog before. I also predicted what they would do. I said they'd bring in outside consultants, spending huge fees, to produce something that was completely useless and irrelevant. There is nothing I'd have preferred than to be proven wrong. But sadly, even the low expectations I had have not been met. 

So lets start with their video. I suggest you watch it, so you can get a flavour of what I'm talking about

If you make a video that asks the Question "Did you know there's Art in Barnet?", you'd think that there would be an answer to the question, with some examples. What do they give us? A bloke walking around the RAF Museum, which is a culturally important site, but its primary role is not as an arts venue. Now I am into music, I would have thought that the Council would use this opportunity (created with your cash), to look at genuine arts venues and examples of great art. 

As a musician, here's a list of venues I've personally played at in the Borough in the last three years.

2022

11th June, Mill Hill Music Festival, The Adam and Eve, Mill Hill

19th August, The Bohemia, Finchley

2023
17th February, The Edgware Services Club, Burnt Oak 
6th May, The Mill Hill Services Club
28th The Bull Theatre Centre, Barnet 

2024  
13th April, The Bull Theatre, Barnet

17th May, Mill Hill Music Complex Studios
29th June East Barnet Festival 
4th September, Mill Hill Music Complex Studios 

2025
12th April -The Builders Arms, Barnet

That's eight different venues, all of hich have regular live entertainment, including two local festivals. They are just the venues my band have played at. Theres plenty of others that I've been to, all of which I feature in my regular Friday Fun round up of local music. This week, we listed 26 gigs in the Borough. This is just a normal week in the London Borough of Barnet, but there is no mention of this in the video.

There are other forms of art apart from music. I am less well qualified to comment on these, but they are equally as important. We have some amazing public art in the Borough, which I was amazed to see was not featured. A great example is the Handley Page memorial Mural, that I made a video to celebrate the launch of in 2020 (just before Covid)

I also found it bizarre that there was no mention of Barnet's wonderful libraries. There are all manner of fascinating events at these. I was amazed that there was no mention of the Barnet Libraries literary festival in May.

Of course it is easy to moan and groan. I suppose you could say something is better than nothing, if we weren't paying through the nose for such sub standard rubbish, I may have kept my mouth shut. But that is not my style! So I am going to make Barnet an "Art in Barnet" video absolutely free. And if they like it they can have it. When it's done I'll give you all the opportunity to say which one you think is better. 

Updated 29/4/2025 - I had missed the fact that there is a whole swathe of "There's Art in Barnet" videos. Oddly, it seems Barnet Council thinks Tennis is Art?

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Why Barnet will turn blue in May 2026

 Back in May 2022 there was a massive, seismic shift in the London Borough of Barnet. The Tories, who had governed the Borough for 20 years, were uncermoniously and most devservedly booted out. The Labour party took control of the Borough for the first time in it's history (they governed in coalition with the Barnet Lib Dems from 1994-2002). They got a record majority and the Conservatives were stripped back to their absoluet core base, in the pleasant, leafy wards across the Borough. 

Having known the key players in Barnet Labour, I was not exactly convinced that they would be a stunning success, but it was pretty clear what they needed to do to get things back on track and having watched the Tories in action, it was also clear that they would be hard pressed to make a bigger mess of running the Borough. 

So here we are, well over half way through their administration. The finances in Barnet Council are in a full blown crisis. Although things were difficult, there were some easy wins. Barnet under both Tory and Labour regimes have somehow managed to make Barnet the most bureacratic and least accountable Borough in London. This has lead to massive inefficiency. Whereas most boroughs have one CEO running the show, Barnet has had three since 2020. Each one of these is on a massive salary. These are as follows.

Barnet Council Chief Executive - This is the CEO who runs the council and has a salary of £201,456 £212,685 (Source: https://www.barnet.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pay_policy_statement_2024_2025.pdf ) 

The Barnet Group Chief Executive - This is the CEO who runs the Council owned housing stock, for the wholly owned company caled "The Barnet Group" which was set up to ensure that democratic oversight of Council housing was difficult, if not impossibe, and they are on a  salary of £218,643 (Source: https://thebarnetgroup.org/download/the-barnet-group-financial-statements-2023-24/ ) 

The Barnet Group was originally set up as Barnet Homes. This is what they say about themselves - In 2004 Barnet Homes was established as an Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO) for the London Borough of Barnet (LBB) to manage approximately 15,000 council-owned properties within Barnet. In 2012 Your Choice (Barnet) was created to receive the transfer of Adult Social Care services from LBB, and The Barnet Group, a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC) was created as the parent company to both Barnet Homes and Your Choice (Barnet). Later in 2012 the Council’s Homelessness service, Housing Options, transferred to Barnet Homes.

This was done to receive government grants to refurbish the housing stock, over two decades ago, under the Blair government. For some reason, they believed that a private company could manage council housing more effectively than councils and offered bungs to councils to do this sort of thing. In short, it hasn't worked. I know a lot of people who live in housing managed by the Barnet Group and what they have shown me is truly shocking ( a theme we will be returning to later this week).

This is born out by their own website which says this about "stage 2 complaints" 

Stage 2 complaints 

Most of the Stage 2 complaints were about service failure, quality and customer care. In Quarter 1, 19% of complaints were escalated to Stage 2. Our Repairs service received the most Stage 2 complaints with 23, and we also received 6 about Housing Management, 6 about Housing Options, 6 about Gas and 1 about Property. Our performance in time declined compared to the previous quarter and did not meet our target of answering Stage 2 complaints within 20 working days. This remains an area of focus for improvement.

Barnet Education and Learning Skills Chief Executive. For some bizarre reason, the last Tory administration also set up another CEO post with a salary of £138,303 + other benefits of £33,368 (Source: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12724128/filing-history)

Barnet Education and Learning Service (BELS) is a limited company wholly owned by Barnet council. They are in a strategic partnership with the council to provide its education services. This is what they say about themselves "Educational progress and achievement have improved consistently in recent years in Barnet.  97% of Barnet schools are good or outstanding and Barnet is now in the top 10% for almost all measures of achievement in schools and the top 5% for many of the measures. Barnet Education and Learning Service delivers the council’s statutory education services, including school improvement, special educational needs, admissions, school place planning, post-16 education and skills.  BELS also provides traded services to schools and settings in Barnet, equipping them with the latest tools, training, and programmes to improve school standards and pupil outcomes."

In short though, it just does what Barnet Council always used to do with one less CEO.

There are too many examples of such wasteful bureacracy in Barnet to list in a short blog, having three CEO's and all of the infrastructure to support them is just one example. The scandalous aounts of money that are still being payed to Capita by Barnet Council as they try and extracate themselves from the contracts is truly staggering. A recent post on the Barnet Unison website laid this bare

1. Capita spend.

In 2023 one of the big, outsourced Capita contracts ended (Re)  with staff returning to Barnet Council on 1 April 2023.

In September 2023 Capita Estates service came back in-house.

The few remaining services delivered by Capita for Barnet Council are as follows:

• IT services
• Customer Services
• Revs and Bens

Barnet UNISON understands that all the above services will cease to be provided by Capita by March 2026.

Barnet UNISON was shocked to discover that Barnet Council paid Capita in one financial year £24 million. That works out as £2million in payments to Capita every month.

As you can see from the table provided by Barnet resident and local Blogger Mr Reasonable, Capita has received £670 million from Barnet Council since payments first began in 2013.

What is disturbing about the £24 million is that Capita is only being paid to deliver three services.

The sad truth is that Labour administration has not got to grips with the financial crisis. It had the opportunity to end this madness two and a half hears ago to get rid of the bureacracy and waste.  

Labour swept into power on a wave of disgust at the shenanigans of Boris Johnson in Downing Street and chaotic government. The local Tories were in disarray and completely botched their campaign. The wind will be blowing in a very different direction in May 2026. The only weapon in their armoury will be their record and how they've run the Borough of Barnet. The sad truth is that they've botched the running of the Borough for the last two and a half years and they've only got eighteen months to get their act together. Sadly for Labour, they wasted the goodwill they had to take tough decisions and fiddled whilst Rome burned, as the saying goes. Now they have to make harsh choices and they probably won't be around to reap the benefit even if they do,

Tweet from Hendon Labour candidate exposes failure of Sadiq Khan's management of TFL

Nothing irritates me more than people claiming that putting sticking plasters over deep wounds caused by incompetence are huge victories. We are seeing plenty of this at the moment with the government claiming that they are doing a great job, by simply returing the economy to where it was before they lost control of it. If we are all worse off than we were when they were elected, they have failed. This is becoming endemic in UK politics. People claiming they are marvellous because they have had something to do with things just running as they should. 

When I looked at Twitter this morning, the first tweet I saw was one from the Labour candidate David Pinto-Duschinsky. Don't get me wrong, I quite like David. He strikes me as a decent enough chap, but I was gobsmacked that he was silly enough to post a boastful tweet, which probably seemed clever enough when posted, but simply showed that the Labour Mayor is failing massively with his management of TFL. This is what David posted

Thanks to our lobbying, @anne_clarke and I have secured a replacement bus service for Colindale.

The Deputy Mayor has just confirmed that TfL will lay on a free shuttle-the NL6-between Colindale station & Hendon Central during the station closure. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/mqYQOEJ49b

— David Pinto-Duschinsky 🇺🇦 (@DavidPintoD) May 21, 2024

I read the attached letter, and I was horrified. The closure of Colindale Station has been planned for years. TFL was created to manage London's roads, buses, tubes and trains. It's brief is to get Londoners around as efficiently as possible. When any station, road or rail line is undergoing a planned closure, the first thing that TFL planners should do is to plan alternative arrangements, to minimise the impact on people who use the services. What Mr P-D is claiming is that without hard work by himself and Anne Clarke, TFL, which is run by Sadiq Khan, would not have made proper arrangements for a station used by 5.5 million people a year5.5 million people a year. That is an absolutely shocking claim. 

I've no doubt that David D-P and Anne Clarke are decent, hard working politicians. However there are only two possibilities here. The first is that their friend, Labour Mayor is completely incompetent in his management of TFL or alternatively, TFL was doing it's job perfectly well and David and Anne were trying to hoodwink us into thinking they'd done lots of hard work on something which the non political TFL staff had in hand and had dealt with. 

So what is it? Is Sadiq Khan incompetent or is David Pinto-Duschinsky a bit of a bullshitter? Although I'm no fan of the local Tories, I do hope they make hay on this issue. It might serve as a lesson to our local political types that the people of the Borough of Barnet are not mugs. 

BTW The picture I used is from David P-D's latest leaflet. It pictures David walking past Greggs on Mill Hill Broadway with former Conservative councillor Sury Khatri. In the leaflet David states "I work in the private sector and goverment experienceto really deliver for you and get things done in our community". I was intrigued. I had a look at his Linkedin profile Linkedin profile (as any diligent blogger does). The only job he has listed is at a business consultancy called EY-Parthenon, where he has worked since 2021. I am not entirely sure that if I only had three years of business experience that I felt comfortable putting on my Linkedin profile, I'd make such a claim. On his 'My promises to you' section of the leaflet, number 4 states "I'll work had every day to earn your trust and show that Labour has changed". I am sorry to say that his recent Tweet has done nothing to convince me that this is true.