The Friday Joke - The wit and charm of Mike "Numbnutz" Freer MP

For your enjoyment, the Barnet Eye publishes in full the exchange of emails between Mike Freer MP and the Bohemia protestors who were occupying the courtyard of his offices in protest at Freers role in making tens of thousands of people homeless, passing legislation to protect wealthy absentee landlords such as Colonel Gaddafi RIP.

Freer is well known for his charm and wit, having described the author of this blog as someone "coddled by family wealth" in a blog referring to the fact that I'd written a blog in memory of my mother who had passed away several days earlier. The reference was a reference to Freer's expactation that my Mum would be leaving me a nice little nestegg. As it happened, she'd already told the family that she'd left the cash to various charities, such as the Noah's Ark Childrens hospice, the Red Cross and the local Catholic Church. Personally I was proud of my mum for recognising that her offspring were financially secure and other people needed the money more. When challenged, Freer claimed his comments were "aimed at no one in particular". He later described the author of this blog as a "One Handed blogger" stating "you know what he's doing  with his other hand whilst he's writing it". He made this comment in an interview as Leader of Barnet Council. At the time I found the comment quite amusing. Our computer is in the front room and I don't think my wife and kids would be too impressed if Freers observation was true, but I suppose it did give some insight into his own nocturnal habits on the internet maybe? I mean usually we base our views on how other people behave on what we ourselves do?

Anyway for your enjoyment, here is the exchange of emails. It appears Mr Freer replied to "The Bohemians" rather than some mysterious character, perhaps in his office team.

From: FREER, Mike
Date: Wed, Nov 27, 2013 at 7:20 AM 
Subject: Re: Invitation for direct democratic 
To: Bohemian 

err no 
email told them to phone and we would follow our usual procedures. which they seem unable to do. 

I am mightily peed off at the Police. I feel like sending the BIll to the Commissioner saying your daft advice landed us with this Bill. 

of course this will inhibit every other demo as we will simply refuse to allow anyone onto our property. 

so tempting to say - you are all numb-nuts as i am not the owner of the property and it is they you should be dealing with about your presence!

Mike Freer MP Conservative Member of Parliament for Finchley & Golders Green
020 7219 7071 (Westminster) 020 8445 5875 (Finchley)
Sent from my iPad, working in the move On 26 Nov 2013, at 23:47,

"Bohemian" > wrote: 

Dear Mike 
We appreciate you taking the time to communicate with us, thank you for the permission from you and your office to conduct our peacefull protest on the front yard piece of land at 212 Ballards lane N12. The protest at your constituency office is a result of us trying to engage with the parliamentary democratic process in which we followed your procedures,for a public consultation. Lobbying campaigning and raising awareness,whereby 96% of the replies to the public Consultation said do not criminalise squatting. Including Judges, police and lawyers associations as well as homeless charities and housing NGOs requesting the law not be enacted. However your government chose to ignore their own public consultation and press ahead undemocratically to criminalise sheltering (squatting) in empty buildings. 

 We are further concerned greatly by Chris Grayling the justice minister saying he may once again undemocratically criminalise non residential squatting.Which is one of the last safety nets for many homeless and landless people who are not helped by the housing system. Part of serving your constituents is to represent all constituents including rich and poor this includes some of your homeless constituents currently evicted onto your front yard from a community centre around the corner the Bohemia. We have many points of importance to raise with you around the issues of the Housing crisis,the rise in street homeless,the bedroom tax,the further criminalisation of non residential squatting etc . The law you co sponsored sec 144 Laspo act is unfair, unjust, undemocratic, unlawful, unaffordable and unworkable,and is causing great misery by removing an ancient and basic human right to shelter. Also leading to an increased number of people freezing to death over winter.Many of your constituents are facing urgent housing/homeless and medical issues,which we hope you are willing to address.  

We have had numerous liaisons with the inspectors from Colindale police of the past days (which we have filmed recorded and logged ) who are happy for our protest to continue. Acknowledging that we are not breaking any laws and that we have rights to peacefully protest and assemble under ECHR articles 10 and 11. That at all times we are endeavouring to be polite, courteous,co-operative with police requests through regular Liason. We are keeping the area clean and tidy and are aiming to install some plants and window boxes to make the area more beautifull and attractive. We are keeping the main access way very clear to your doorstep all times. 

We have trained health and safety managers who are monitoring the situation. We politely ask you to meet with us to discuss matters of great national importance such as the housing crisis which we feel your sec144 is exacerbating. We would like to invite you to spend a few nights camped out with some of your homeless constituents to discuss these and many other issues,over a cup of tea, in an atmosphere of co-operative democratic discussion. Having been ignored by your so called democratic public consultation, we have taken this act of peacefull protest to facilitate direct discussion and to stimulate the debate in the national media. 

 We are, having met with you and shared our views with each other,and some of our conditions met, happy to discuss an end date to our protest in a reasonable and proportionate manner without recourse to the law. We hope to avoid unnecessary court time and expense. We shall be advised in all the matters by our good friends Bindmans solicitors. Looking forward to a discussion of solutions to the housing crisis that we can all work towards together. 

Yours sincerely 
Phoenix 
Daniel 
Mordecai 
Petra 
Peter 
Graham 
Dom 
Mark 
Bohemia Caretakers

The Your Choice Barnet whitewash scandal

Last night Barnet Council held a meeting to review a task and finish report into the financial failure of Your Choice Barnet. This private company was set up with taxpayers money to provide social care. It needed a million pound bale out after less than a year. Any other private company would be placed into administration and the people responsible sacked. Of course this didnt happen. The only logical conclusion is that the report is a whitewash and the people who siggned up to it are imbeciles. And that really is all there is to say.

Bunns Lane Mill Hill travellers removed by police

A large police operation yesterday evening saw a group of travellers removed from a site in Bunns Lane, Mill Hill.The site was then secured by workmen and large concrete blocks have been placed at the entrance to block vehicle access. Local MP Matthew Offord told the Barnet Eye on Friday that he considered travellers to be a major nuisance and that he would work with Police to evict them from any illegal site in his constituency. It is unclear whether Mr Offord participated in the Police Operation.

Your invitation to join the Our Barnet Community Choir - Join us for a day in the recording studio

Do you love singing? Do you love your community? Do you want to make a difference?

Now is your chance. We are looking to start the "Our Barnet Community Choir". Who says the devil has all of the best tunes. We will be holding a rehearsal and recording session on Saturday 30th November at Mill Hill Music Complex (Click Here for Directions)

Local Disabled rights campaigner John Sullivan has written a reworked version of the song Sixteen Tons by Tenessee Earl Ford

Have a listen to this. If you think you could handle the melody and learn the lyrics, then come on down on Saturday at 2pm. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a singer, why not come down and take part. To cover the cost of the studio and to pay for some refreshments, we are asking for a £5 donation (although this is not compulsory). It is a great chance to experience a commercial recording studio in operation. We are especially keen to have choir members who have been affected by the cuts and have a story to tell, so members from the disabled community and other affected residents are more than welcome.

If you are a male Bass voice or a female soprano, you will be welcome. We are particularly looking for singers to join in on the Chorus. If you are a budding choirmaster get in touch as we are looking for someone to take the Our Barnet Community Choir forward. It will be a lot of fun and we are videoing the recording session. Who knows, we may even get the choir to do an Xmas performance outside the Town Hall.

The 16 Mill

In Barnet Capita have taken control,

 They now control the residents body and soul

For many of us it's been  a bitter pill,

 To be forced out of  Barnet into Capitaville

Chorus

They hand over 16mil an what do you get.

Silence from  Tories and deeper in debt

St Peter don't you call us cos we can't go

They sold our soul  to the Capita Store.

Before the contract signing Capita were going to pay

But after the signing its gone the other way.

Capita were supposed to invest the mils

But now Barnet residents, are footing the bills.

Chorus

They hand over 16 mil an what do you get

Silence from Tories, and deeper in debt

St Peter don't you call us cos we can't go

They sold our soul to the Capita store.

The contract was hidden where the sun doesn't shine

Not read by Cornelius before he chose to sign

Now councillors are silent about our 16mil

They have recently  invested in Capitaville.

Chorus

They hand over 16 mil an what do you get

Silence from the Tories and deeper in debt

St Peter don't you call us cos we can't go

They sold our soul to the Capita store.

No consultation with Barnet residents

Has led to wide spread discontent.

And now we have to swallow another bitter pill

Cos their aint no questions allowed  in Capitaville

Chorus

They hand over 16 mil an what do you get

Silence from the Tories and deeper in debt

St Peter don't you call us cos we can't go

They sold our soul, to the Capita store

If you see Capita coming better step aside.

A lot of services didn't and those services died

They have fists of iron to enforce their deal

And if the right one don't deprive you then the left one will

Chorus

They hand over 16mil an what do you get

Silence from Tories,  and deeper in debt

St Peter dont you call us cos we can't go

They so-----ld  our so----ul to the Capita store.

Exposed - The abject failure of Mike Freer MP's One Barnet folly

Back in 2008, Mike Freer MP was the Leader of Barnet Council. He believed that he could transform Barnet Council into a flagship of right wing ideology, by bringing in a large team of management consultants and by flogging off all of the services provided to private contractors. The logic for this was never financial. It was primarily designed as an exercise in Union bashing, with your money. Freer believed that Unions by definition kept wages and conditions good for staff, resulting in higher taxation for local people. His reasoning was that by bringing in private contractors, Unions could by and large be castrated and costs could be forced down. So millions (which have never properly been revealed) were spent on £1,000 a day consultants to design ways to pay people on low wages even less. After five years, we now see the results of their work

Parking - NSL Now run parking control. This has been a disaster. Fines are now seen as a cash cow and parking wardens buzz around like flies, looking for motorists to fine, rather than to do the traditional role of parking wardens, which was to ensure good flow of traffic. The special parking account has also not met the targets set.

Your Choice Barnet - Adult Social Care. Needed a £1 Million + bailout. This week the council issue a report on how to clean up the mess. It aint pretty, despite their attempts to apply a whitewash to the debacle. Huge cuts to services have been made to shore up the system.

Capita - Responsible for revs and bens and customer services. Current Leader Richard Cornelius announced in December that Capita would make a huge investment in systems for Barnet. He didn't mention the fact that the Barnet taxpayer would bung them the £16.1 million to invest. Hundreds of jobs have been exported and reports reach the Barnet Eye of multiple issues with the new systems, with taxpayers being unable to access services properly.

The truth is that tens of millions of our money has been spent on One Barnet. Barnet used to be rated as a three star council when it had in house services. Freer's folly has cost millions, that money has been flushed down the loo. Services have got worse and the local eonomy is suffering. When will its architect be held to account?

Guest Blog - Open Letter from John Sullivan to Councillor Hugh Rayner

From Mr John J Sullivan

Father of Susan Tracey Sullivan, along with my wife a combined 100 years of 24/7 coal face experience in this field.

Dear Sir,

I have now read the so called review and as expected it is a complete farce , a complete whitewash, a complete cover up. There is absolutely no intention  get to the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, the route to the truth is via the parents and family carers of the Your Choice Barnet      ( YCB ) clients, and absolutely no attempt has been made to consult with any of us that have demonstrated concerns from the outset. it is shameful and totally undemocratic, it highlights the justification for people referring to Barnet as a democracy free zone. The constant refusal of the council that you are a prominent member of to engage in open and honest consultation with local residents. It is more representative of a Stalinist Polit  Bureau strategy than that of a supposed democracy. You are all deaf dumb and blind to the concerns fears and opinions of Barnet residents, driven by ideology and dogma, and what you think is best rather than seeking to establish the truth, and what is really best. This so -called task and finish review is an opportunity missed, why are you Tory councillors so afraid to face the truth, to face the opinions of the family carers and parents, people who collectively have hundreds of years of 24/7 experience in this field, far more than any YCB board member or biased councillor. " WHY ".

My Overall comments on this farcical review.

1, The Review is myopic and is a classic example of how Barnet council considers evidence then completely ignores it.

2, The five-part terms of reference were obviously written in a way to ensure the scope of the so-called  "task & finish " review was restricted from the start, these terms of reference allow not for the exposure of the whole truth, but a cover up of the reality, which is sadly the Barnet councils way of doing business, so comes as no surprise.

3, The CADDSS reports prime focus  was on two issues-service user/carer engagement and the YCB financial crisis. the review completely ignored the evidence on user carer engagement and made no recommendations on this important issue. So it is business as usual at YCB.

4, The key finding ( Para 4.1) that the " high quality " is permanent and therefore the only matter of concern  is the long term viability of YCB is financial and will be resolved by cost saving measures and growth. What are these proposed cost savings ?. This is a damning indictment of Elected members and YCB management, it is short sighted and narrow-minded, and  potentially a danger to the long term well being of disabled people in Barnet.

5, The Group indentified " customer engagement " as one of the " challenging areas of performance facing challenges ", and then listed how the Operational  Plan 2013-2014 would address several "challenging areas ". However , the action list completely ignores " customer engagement ". Which is the standard double speak many people including myself have grown to expect from Barnet councillors.

6,The group made absolutely no attempt whatsoever to examine the potential consequences and impact of the changes in staffing levels and skills/experience on the quality of service, that will be further impacted upon with the proposed introduction of the benchmarking decisions due in the near future. The Group accept YCBs policy and do not even raise concerns or questions about the impacts, it is absolutely unbelievable. This area coupled with the long term provision and viability of service provision  for our loved ones is one of the main concerns of parents and carers repeatedly raised by both us and CADDSS, yet this farcical review just took the word of YCB ignored the opinions of family carers and moved on, it beggars belief.

7,The financial analysis of YCB merely identifies the changes in YCBs financial forecast and financial reality once it was operational, but does not identify the lessons learned. UNISONS reports on the business case and LATC business plan spelt out the non- sustainability of the financial forecasts, but these were ignored by Elected members and officers of the Council at the time. Failure to learn lessons through rigorous and honest assessment, "which this so-called review does not even attempt" means the sorry saga will be repeated elsewhere in the council, and at some later date expose this whitewash of a review as an important opportunity missed.

 This review was an opportunity to get to the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth, to ensure the long term viability of service provision for all YCB clients, and I firmly believe that truth was ignored. Because it would have established the only serious way forward for secure  long term provision would be to take all YCB  services back in-house, which was the original undertaking in the event of business failure.

Had this review looked into the financial circumstances of YCB in greater depth, I believe it would have been established clearly and without any doubt which is a reality this review was determined to avoid at all costs. The only way forward to ensure the long term viability and provision of "high quality support services " for all YCB clients, is for all YCB services to be brought back in-house The long term future viability of the provisions of "high Quality " support services for YCB clients is highly questionable, and therefore represents a real worry for parents and family carers worried what will happen to their loved ones when they die.This review could have provided us family carers with the peace of mind we crave, but yet again right wing  ideology and dogma has won the day.

8, The financial analysis is , in effect, a standstill analysis that does not consider financial issues beyond the current year. It does not attempt to identify how the £1million loan will be repaid and other forecasts. My concern and that of other parents and areas I repeated is regarding the long term future provision of "high Quality " support services for my daughter that were secure when service were provided in house. The  question is, if the long term future is so sound so secure, why is no reference made to the vital issue of the financial stability of YCB beyond this year.

Councillor Rayner , I am going to ask the Barnet Eye to post this letter as an open letter on the Barnet Eye blog, in order I hope to wake the residents of Barnet up to the fact, that transparency and honesty along with democracy no longer exist in Barnet. Most of all to alert people of the whitewash meeting this Wednesday the 27th November, in the hope they will attend the meeting to defend the disabled folk of Barnet , that this ideological and dogmatic council have no real intention of doing.

Councillor Rayner you chastised me for condemning this review before the report was made public, sadly  my fears have been confirmed, this review was never meant to seek the truth, because the truth is that in-house provision of services for all YCB clients, is the only secure way forward, subjecting these vulnerable folk to the vagaries of the market place on a highly questionable and risky business plan,  is immoral and plain wrong.

I appeal to the people of Barnet to attend the so called Safeguarding Committee meeting at the Town hall this Wednesday 27th ,before we experience our own Winterbourne View in Barnet.

Sand in my joints

Many apologies to my readers. I do try and post to this blog regularly and keep you up to speed with the news in Barnet. Sadly I also have work and a family to look after and I am hellishly busy at the moment.

Last Friday I went to see Matthew Offord at the meet the MP session he'd arranged at the Eversfield Community Centre. I was disappointed that the turnout was low. The audience was in good spirits. There were a few questions from "Colin". He's  a local character and a  barrister. He's a Tory and he wanted to know what Matthew could do to thwart UKIP. Matthew had a great solution. "Vote for me! That will thwart UKIP". He said that if you vote UKIP in Hendon, then you will get Labour. I am not sure how that is supposed to work. I always thought that if you got the most votes you won? I think Matthew thinks that there are only a couple of hundred UKIP voters and given that he won by 105 votes he needs them all to see off Andrew Dismore. I suspect that he is probably right. I suspect he'll need every UKIP vote plus most of the Lib Dem vote next time.

I made a few suggestions to him. Strangely he agreed with me and said they were far more sensible than anything on my blog. I suggested a disabled access at Mill Hill Broadway Station on Platform 4. He agreed that this was a good idea.

George Jones, a local resident asked him why he'd ignored the huge local campaign against the Etz Chaim school. Matthew said he'd ignored it because the campaigners used horrible tactics and there was an urgent need for the school. George wasn't too impressed.

Colin asked why Tories couldn't have their own Tory MP in Labour seats. Even Matthew was perplexed by this idea.

A nice Lib Dem council candidate asked him why he was so beastly to charities who wanted to do political lobbying. Matthew replied that he though charities should do charity work, not political lobbying.

A couple of other locals asked a few questions about other local issues and we all went home happy.

Whatever you think of Matthew Offord, I applaud him for making himself available. He did a pretty good job of answering questions and didnt' duck the hard ones. Sadly there weren't enough of them, but that ain't his fault, is it?

The Saturday list - One Barnet special - The list of shame

Just for the record, here is the list of shame for the key players in the One Barnet debacle These mens actions are causing the loss of hundreds of jobs in Barnet. 1. Mike Freer Mp - Council Leader who Championed One Barnet now Finchley MP 2. Matthew Offord Mp - Freers loyal deputy and now Hendon Mp 3. Max Wide - BT employee who set up One Barnet project 4. Nick Walkley - ceo brought in by Freer to do the dirty work. Now ceo at Harringey 5. Jeff Lustig - Barnet Head of Legal. Oversaw prohect. Retired 6. Andrew Harper - effectively Freers replacement and One Barnet Evangelist. Sidelined and leaving council. 7. Richard Cornelius - Leader of Council who signed contract despite 'doubts' 8. Andrew Travers. Walkleys replacement and One Barnet Evangelist. 9. Daniel Thomas. Deputy Leader of Council 10. Paul Pindar. Ceo Capita. Announced retirement recently

The Friday Joke -

A teenage boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss his use of the car.

His father said he'd make a deal with his son: 'You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then we'll talk about the car.'

The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he'd settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.

After about six weeks, his father said, 'Son, you've brought your grades up and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I'm disappointed you haven't had your hair cut.

The boy said, 'You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I've noticed in my studies of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair ... and there's even strong evidence that the Lord Jesus had long hair.'
The Dad replied:

'Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?'

Doomsday for London Underground

************ Note - On Thursday Morning the Lead story on BBC London was that TFL would be announcing driverless trains and closure of all London station ticket offices. This blog was written in good faith based on the fact that this was lead story. The announcement didn't mention driverless trains. We therefore assume that someone was feeding TFL misinformation. Now there have been comments that we should await formal confirmation. Now yes we should, as this was presented as a fact, so apologies for that, but hey ho, if you can't trust the BBC news..... *************

Mark the 21st November 2013 in your diary. Today is the day that Mayor Boris Johnson declared war on the people of London. Today is the day that he announced plans to devastate safety on the London Underground network. Today is the day that he abandoned all pretence of caring for ordinary Londoners who daily use the system. Today is the day that he decided to sacrifice the network to Tory dogma.

He has announced plans to

a) Shut every ticket office on the London Underground

b) Make all trains driverless.

I am sure that I'll have a few right wing pundits who never use the service leaving stupid comments. I use the network on an almost daily basis and it is clear to me that the plans are wrong headed.

Ticket offices.

1. How will elderly/disabled people who have difficulties using machines manage?

2. How will tourists with difficulties manage?

3. What will happen if your Oyster card packs up?

4. How will you renew your season ticket?

5. What will happen if you have a problem?

6. Who will you ask for travel guidance & assistance?

Driverless trains.

1. What will happen if there is a safety issue in the tunnel, such as the 7/7 bomb?

2. What will happen if there is an incident on the train or an ambulance needs calling?

3. What will  happen if the emergency chord is pulled?

4. Who will report intruders on the line or in tunnels?

5. Who will inform passengers if there are delays/problems?

6. Who will clear doors etc of obstructions?

The above are just a few points I thought of. I rarely see a ticket office without a large queue, especially at busy times. On journeys, it is rare for there to be no interaction with the driver. Usually because people are blocking doors, but I've seen drivers calling ambulances when people have had heart attacks. I shudder to think what would have happened on 7/7, a day I used the tube, without the drivers and the station staff. 

This plan has clearly been dreamed up by a management team who hold the needs and safety of passengers in total contempt. I have one question. If as George Osborne says, the economy is in rude good health, how come London needs to cut £80 million from the budget of London Underground. Doesn't George and Boris realise that London is the engine of the London Economy. If these savage cuts occur, people will get injured and killed. Boris and George clearly couldn't give a toss (or is that ATOS).