Not The Barnet Times

Remembering Neil

2011-10-16T19:20:00.006+01:00

Tuesday 11th October 2011 was a very important day. Not simply because it was the third anniversary of the Barnet Eye blog; it was the day that the world said goodbye to Neil Mosesson, aged just 52. Neil fought a heroic battle against liver cancer with such fortitude that there was a time when it appeared as if he was going to beat it. He never gave up hope, and his brave fight will give inspiration to other people suffering from the same awful disease.

Neil was a huge supporter of this blog, and gave me an enormous amount of help and advice in my many battles with bureaucratic officialdom. He was the champion of the small guy fighting against the system.

Even when he knew that the end was not far away, and his physical strength was failing, Neil insisted on putting his affairs in order so that his wife would not have the stress and worry of having to deal with them. His mental strength was truly remarkable in the face of such adversity.

The world would be a much better place if there were more Neils around. It will be a far lesser place without him. He is survived by his wife, daughter (aged 5) and by his mother and four siblings.

Not The Barnet Times is dedicated to the memory of Neil.

This time is for real

2011-04-04T23:37:00.004+01:00

Don’t Call Me Dave has lost count of the number of times he has tried to retire from writing this blog. At least three. Perhaps more.

However, for personal reasons, this time it really is the last post for Not The Barnet Times.

Just out of curiosity, DCMD looked at the stat counter this evening - over 120,000 hits in the last two years. Thank you all very much for your support.

Call for a public inquiry into the relationship between MetPro and Barnet Council

2011-04-04T10:30:00.004+01:00

The following press release has been issued today by a number of Barnet’s prominent bloggers. Not The Barnet Times supports the demands for a full public enquiry into the council’s relationship with MetPro Rapid Response / MetPro Emergency Response.

Press release — 4 April 2011

Call for a public inquiry into the relationship between MetPro Rapid Response/MetPro Emergency Response and Barnet Council

Barnet Council has been engaging private security firms MetPro Rapid Response/MetPro Emergency Response to control residents’ access to council meetings, in particular the council meeting on 1 March 2011. One of the company directors claims the company has also monitored blogs by Barnet residents, and filmed Barnet residents at Council meetings.

Despite holding contracts worth several hundred thousand pounds with Barnet Council, MetPro Rapid Response collapsed recently owing around £400,000, including £245,000 to HM Revenue & Customs. The firm is now in the hands of liquidators; however, MetPro Emergency Response, a company recently set up by the same company directors associated with MetPro Rapid Response, continued for a while to be employed by Barnet after the collapse of MetPro Rapid Response.

As well as providing security for Council meetings, these firms provided security at several council locations, including some housing vulnerable people.

At the meeting on 1 March, it appears that MetPro security staff did not wear visible identification, breaching Security Industry Authority (SIA) regulations, whilst working for Barnet.

Statements made by directors of the company regarding the scope of their work for Barnet have been contradicted by executive officers of Barnet Council.

The full facts regarding Barnet Council’s contract/s with MetPro Rapid Response/MetPro Emergency Response must be revealed to the public. We need to know about the use of data collected by the company (with full consideration for data protection and human rights implications). We need Barnet Council to reveal the extent of the MetPro companies’ activities on behalf of the Council. Residents and Council staff have a right to know what activities their Council undertake. They have a right to expect the Council only to engage firms with a proven track record for such activities and to monitor such, ensuring, for example, that they comply with legislation, eg, SIA regulations.

The only way that trust can be restored in Barnet Council, following the MetPro debacle, is to hold a full public inquiry. We the undersigned call on Nick Walkley, CEO of Barnet Council, and Lynne Hillan, Council Leader, to immediately engage an independent investigator, enjoying the confidence of Barnet residents, to look into the relationship between MetPro Rapid Response/MetPro Emergency Response and Barnet Council. We demand to know what Barnet Council asked MetPro Rapid Response/MetPro Emergency Response to do and what Barnet Council has done with any information about residents it has had access to as a result of MetPro’s work.

Signed:
Alexander Clayman (N12)
Derek Dishman (EN5)
Adam Langleben (HA8)
Vicki Morris (NW9)
Theresa Musgrove (N3)
Maria Nash (EN4)
Julian Silverman (N12)
Roger Tichborne (NW7)
Adele Winston (EN5)

Coleman & Crow: Birds of a Feather

2011-04-03T23:04:00.006+01:00

Last year, on 1st April, Don’t Call Me Dave posted a spoof picture of Tory Councillor Brian Coleman’s head superimposed onto RMT Union Boss Bob Crow’s body.

The two men might be poles apart politically, but they do seem to have a lot in common. They are both political bullies who antagonise their own natural supporters as well as opponents.

They both earn obscene amounts of money at the expense of ordinary hard working people. Coleman earns in the region of £114,000 a year and Crow around £133,000. Both men additionally claim huge amounts in expenses.

Now it seems there is something else they have in common. Brian Coleman lives in a flat owned by the Finchley Methodist Church, where the rent is set by the rent officer. It has three rooms, kitchen and bathroom/wc and costs Cllr Coleman £546 per month. Bob Crow lives in a housing association property - a three bedroom end of terrace house in Woodford Green at a rent reported to be just £150 per week. Both properties were intended for people on low incomes.

Of course, neither Coleman or Crow have done anything illegal. They are within their rights to take advantage of a stupid system that allows people to remain in subsidised housing, even when their circumstances have changed. The government is now looking to close the loophole and remove this anomoly, so that cheap housing can be provided for those in genuine need.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps told the Daily Mail: “With nearly 5 million vulnerable people languishing on housing waiting lists, I would have thought a highly paid union baron would feel somewhat awkward taking advantage of publicly subsidised housing.” Someone should tell Mr Shapps about our Brian.

A statement from Nick Walkley

2011-04-01T22:42:00.001+01:00

Solicitors acting for Barnet Chief Executive Nick Walkley have asked us to broadcast the following statement from their client.

Nick Walkley Resigns

2011-04-01T01:04:00.003+01:00

Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Barnet Council, has sensationally resigned following the debacle over the use of Metpro Rapid Response at the recent meeting of the council. Not The Barnet Times understands that Mr Walkley had tried to ride out the storm of protest, but the latest revelation that innocent and law abiding residents were secretly filmed by Metpro’s henchmen made his position untenable.

A spokesman for the council said: “In any organisation, the person at the top must accept ultimate responsibility, not only for the decisions which are taken by that organisation, but also for the people who carry out those decisions.”

It was recently disclosed that Mr Walkley received a remuneration package worth £250,000 last year, but he has agreed to waive his right to compensation for loss of office. The spokesman continued: “There can be no reward for failure. At a time when loyal and hard working staff are being laid off, it would be entirely inappropriate for a Chief Executive who has presided over such an ignominious act to receive any further payment from the public purse.”

It is understood that the Council will now advertise for a successor, to be paid a salary below that of the Prime Minister, in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles.

Rocky

2011-03-31T17:34:00.002+01:00

Arsenal legend David 'Rocky' Rocastle died 10 years ago today, aged just 33.

Hat-tip to Richard Osley

A lifeline for libraries?

2011-03-29T16:46:00.002+01:00

According to a report in today’s Daily Telegraph, Victorian law could halt library closures.

Duff & Nonsense!

2011-03-28T13:37:00.008+01:00

Don’t Call Me Dave recently stumbled across the Duff & Nonsense blog, written by David Duff. Mr Duff had posted a comment on VickiM’s blog detailing the estimated increase in public expenditure over the next four years, before adding: Cuts? What Cuts? (A line which DCMD unashamedly borrowed for his last blogpost.)

Like Broken Barnet, Duff & Nonsense is a brilliantly written blog. It is sharp, incisive and witty. Politically, it is on the right side of centre (in all senses of the meaning of the word).

Undoubtedly, many of the swivel-eyed Trots who read Not The Barnet Times, will find Mr Duff’s blog not to their taste. But the truth is often unpalatable to those who do not want to hear it (or think that the world owes them a living).

Many a mickle makes a muckle

2011-03-26T14:33:00.005Z

Amidst the plethora of commentary about the budget, one little snippet of information caught Don’t Call Me Dave’s attention. The new budget box carried by Chancellor George Osborne was commissioned by the National Archives for a mere £4,000. Four grand for a briefcase!!

At a time when public spending has to be drastically cut in order to reduce the budget deficit, nothing epitomises the culture of state profligacy better than this.

In the grand scheme of things, £4,000 might seem a trivial amount. After all, public expenditure is actually set to rise to £744 billion in 2015. (Cuts? What cuts?) But for many - if not most - families in this country, £4,000 would make a significant difference to them.

This year, we will be paying £50 billion in interest alone on the national debt. That works out at £1,585.49 per second - a truly staggering sum which the nation ignores at its peril.

Politicians keep telling us that we’re all in this together, but they clearly have no concept of the value of money. Barnet council spent £14,000 buying 5 flat screen television sets for chief officers. That’s the equivalent of the full annual council tax bill for 14 band D households in the Borough.

The real problem is that the people who make these spending decisions are not spending their own money, and they simply do not care whether something is even necessary, let alone represents good value. It is very easy to ignore all these relatively small sums of public spending as being too irrelevant to worry about, but the old adage “watch the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves” applies as much to the state as it does to the majority of the population who live in the real world. Unless this country starts living within its means, we are going to go the same way as Greece, Ireland and now Portugal.

Oil’s well that ends well?

2011-03-24T14:57:00.003Z

In 1947, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Hugh Dalton, resigned after he let slip to a journalist details of a change to the tax system, before he had made his budget speech to the Commons.

These days, an army of taxpayer funded spin doctors regularly leak details of changes ahead of the budget itself. So it was no surprise when the current Chancellor, ~~Boy~~ George Osborne, announced a 1 pence per litre cut in fuel duty yesterday. We all knew it was coming, especially the petrol retailers. Or was it just a coincidence that the Shell stations at Apex Corner and Stirling Corner both put up their prices by 1p on Tuesday, only to reduce them again a day later once the official announcement had been made?

WackyLeaks

2011-03-20T02:24:00.005Z

At a business meeting this week, Don’t Call Me Dave was asked if he was a supporter of Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks web site. Given that DCMD has long complained about the obsessive culture of secrecy which permeates through every fibre of Barnet Council’s being, it might seem only natural that he should support the WikiLeaks ethos.

There is no doubt that Governments around the world keep far too much information unnecessarily secret from its citizens. More often than not, the reason for the secrecy is to cover up embarrassing mistakes, incompetence or corruption. WikiLeaks is right to expose such practises.

But do we have an absolute right to know absolutely everything? If DCMD asked Barnet Council for details of its civil contingency plan in the even of a terrorist attack, he would quite rightly expect to be refused the information in the interest of national security. Arguably the council should confirm, if asked, whether a contingency plan actually exists, but to divulge the precise details of it could put lives at risk.

This is where WikiLeaks has crossed the line. It has failed to draw a distinction between information which should properly be in the public domain, and intelligence which could compromise national security and endanger the lives of our security and armed forces.

As for Mr Assange himself, he recently gave a very strange interview to the editor of Private Eye, reportedly blaming “Jews and the Guardian” for his current problems. Assange denies he is anti-Semitic. Some of his best friends are Jewish, apparently.

The Jewish Chronicle reports that last month Assange accused the BBC of trying to influence his extradition hearing on rape charges because the producer of Panorama had a “Zionist wife”.

The newspaper also claims that at a debate at the Cambridge Union last week, Assange allegedly accused Israel of permitting torture. Curiously for a man so keen on freedom of information, Assange refused to allow journalists to attend or record the debate.

So, to the question as to whether DCMD supports Julian Assange, his carefully considered answer is simply “no”. Assange is clearly two sandwiches short of a picnic, and he does the cause of freedom of information no good whatsoever with his incoherent rants and baseless accusations. The security of our nation is slightly more important than the deluded ramblings of an attention seeking publicist with a massive chip on his shoulder.

Happy Purim

2011-03-19T20:00:00.001Z

Don’t Call Me Dave wishes a Happy Purim to all his Jewish readers.

It is a tradition to celebrate Purim by wearing fancy dress. Former South African President Nelson Mandela is pictured right, joining in the festivities by impersonating one of Barnet’s most distinguished councillors.

Nothing to say Lynne?

2011-03-19T13:42:00.003Z

Don’t Call Me Dave received his council tax demand this morning, together with the usual explanatory booklet.

In previous years, this booklet has always contained a message from the Leader, with a glorious photograph beaming out at us. This year, however, it has been replaced by a bland “Message from the Council”.

It seems that every time there is controversial news to be given to the masses, Lynne Hillan is nowhere to be seen. Coincidence?

Mustard Pickles

2011-03-11T01:26:00.002Z

Don’t Call Me Dave has been struggling for 20 minutes to think of a good joke to welcome Barnet’s latest blogger, Mr Mustard, who writes a blog Keeping track of spending at Barnet Council.

DCMD feels sure that Eric Pickles would approve of Mr Mustard.

That’s the best he can think of!

Barnet Eye - The Movie

2011-03-10T21:17:00.003Z

Coming soon to a screen near you.

Courtesy of The Barnet Eye.

What the hell was he thinking? Part 2.

2011-03-07T19:05:00.005Z

When the story of the Westminster expenses scandal first broke, David Cameron was praised for his swift response. He insisted that money had to be repaid, that the worst offenders would be de-selected and any MP named by the Daily Telegraph would have to hold a public meeting to explain their actions to voters.

So how did that all turn out? Well, Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers was named by the Telegraph, but she never held a public meeting to explain to taxpayers why they should have to pay for her second home, even though she lives just 12 miles from Westminster. Her punishment for defying her party leader was to be made a Government Minister on a salary of £98,740 a year. That taught her a lesson.

It has now been reported that Douglas Hogg, who by name and deed epitomised the very worst of the abuse by claiming £2,000 to have his moat cleaned, was turned down for a peerage by the Lords Appointments Commission on the grounds that he was not a suitable candidate given his outrageous claims. But who decided to nominate this eminently unsuitable person for elevation to the Lords? Why, none other than Prime Minister David Cameron.

What the hell was he thinking? Did he think the public would not find out? Or does he really think that greedy parasites like Hogg actually deserve a place in the Upper House? This is not the first occasion when Cameron’s judgment has been called into question. He failed to sack George Osborne over the incident on the Russian yacht with snake oil salesman Lord Mandelson. He failed to sack the seriously deluded Vince Cable over his Murdoch rant which left taxpayers with a multi million pound bill as his department had to be reorganised.

In the forthcoming referendum, Mr Cameron is campaigning against any change to the voting system. On this point he is correct - there is absolutely no point in changing first-past-the-post when the fault lies elsewhere. It is not the voting system which annoys the public. It is the calibre of people who stand for election that is the real issue.

Until decent, honest, reliable and trustworthy people are elected to the echelons of power, the public will continue to have nothing but contempt for the political classes.

What the hell was he thinking?

2011-03-06T22:59:00.009Z

You do have to wonder what was going through his ~~pants~~ mind when Prince Andrew posed for a photograph with a girl young enough to be his daughter. If this wasn’t bad enough, HRH also maintained a close friendship with a convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein, after the latter’s release from jail.

Due to the general decline in moral standards of those who rule over us, the grand old Duke of York has not been removed from his position as a Trade Ambassador. Instead Foreign Secretary William Hague has been wheeled out to defend the man inexplicably nicknamed Randy Andy.

You remember Mr Hague? He’s the married MP who shared a hotel room with his special advisor. Not that there was any rumpy pumpy taking place, you understand.

Hillan gets tough!

2011-03-02T15:53:00.006Z

The Barnet Times carries an extraordinary quote from ~~dictator~~ council leader Lynne Hillan who is trying to blame the Mayor, Tony Finn, for the disgraceful antics of the black-shirted henchmen employed to stop the public from exercising their legal right to attend the council meeting last night.

As has been widely reported elsewhere, Hillan and her sidekick Brian Coleman are fighting a rearguard action to prevent residents from recording meetings, even though senior Conservative Government Ministers insist that this should be permitted.

Hillan told the paper: “I don’t think we were about to pick people up bodily and throw them out of the meeting unless we really had to.”

So force was clearly an option under consideration. Hillan should take a leaf out of Dennis Healey’s book. When you are in a hole, stop digging. The poor woman is utterly deluded, but clearly dangerous with it.

Record and be damned!

2011-02-28T23:48:00.013Z

Rog T has posted a video clip of a segment from Barnet Council’s Business Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting which took place on 28th February 2011. Cllr Hugh Rayner demonstrates his contempt for democratic accountability by trying to prevent the recoding from taking place.

Not wishing to be outdone, Don’t Call Me Dave has now posted an audio recording of the Cabinet Resources Committee meeting of 19th January 2009. Mike Freer was the leader at the time and he is discussing Agenda Item 11 which related to the proposed increase in burial charges.

It is self evident from this clip that there was no disruption to the council’s business whatsoever. Indeed, until now, the council was completely unaware that DCMD had even recorded the meeting. Lynne Hillan’s reason for opposing public recording is her belief that we cannot be trusted to do so responsibly. This is demonstrably not the case.

The issue of public recording is not new. In March 2008, DCMD asked Mike Freer for his opinion on this matter and he replied: “I do not support members of the public recording off their own bat - we would have no control over cutting and splicing. Recording by the council under correct supervision is fine.”

It is typical of the council’s bunker mentality that Freer should have replied in this way. There is no evidence to indicate that the public would want to use recordings improperly.

Freer’s suggestion that only the council could be trusted to make recordings is more in keeping with a Stalinist dictatorship than a forward looking and enlightened English democratic council. But if he was happy for the council to record meetings, why did he not allow it under his watch? Given that you can record about 8 hours worth of video on a DVD costing 10p, the council could easily record all public meetings. If a member of the public did try to improperly “splice” their own recording, they would quickly be found out - assuming that the council itself could be trusted not to selectively edit the disks.

Camden Council not only records its meetings, but makes them available for public download from their web site. So does the Government and the European Parliament, which begs the question as to why Barnet Council considers itself so important that it can operate a blanket ban precisely when other institutions are opening themselves up to greater scrutiny?

The public has an absolute right to observe meetings of the Council and there is nothing in law which says that public meetings cannot be recorded. Given that not everyone has access to the Town Hall, public recordings are entirely justifiable and beneficial for democracy.

At a time when the standing of politicians is at an all time low, especially in Barnet, restricting public scrutiny of proceedings will only add to suspicions that they have something to hide. It seems a poor state of affairs that local councils now have the power to bug our phones as a measure to prevent fly-tipping, but the public cannot make a recording of a public meeting.

A fundamental aspect of democracy is that politicians are our servants and not our masters. The moment they come to think of themselves as our masters, we are on the road to tyranny.

AV will get rid of Coleman

2011-02-18T19:24:00.007Z

On 5th May, a referendum is being held to decide whether to change the voting system for electing MPs to Westminster. The proposal is to decide between the ‘first past the post’ (FPTP) and the alternative vote (AV) systems. Nick Clegg supports AV and that in itself is a good reason to vote against it.

However, if the GLA elections were conducted using the AV system, it is highly likely that Brian Coleman would be defeated.

In 2008, Coleman was elected with a thumping majority of nearly 20,000. But he did so with only 41% of the vote. In other words, almost six out of ten voters did not want him as their representative.

Under the AV system, the votes of the smaller parties would have been redistributed amongst the other candidates until someone passed the 50% barrier. We cannot say for certain which candidate would have picked up the bulk of the second preference votes, but it is highly improbable that they would have gone to Coleman. Voters tend to fall into two camps - Conservative or Anyone but Conservative.

Whatever the outcome of the referendum, the GLA elections next year will be held on a combination of the traditional FPTP system for some seats and PR for the balance. Coleman is standing for a constituency which elects its representative on the FPTP system.

Therefore, if the opposition wish to defeat him, they need to have a coherent strategy to avoid splitting their vote. There is no point in the LibDems even putting up a candidate - they are finished as an electoral force whilst Nick Clegg remains in charge. Andrew Dismore is hoping to stand for Labour. He rather blotted his copy book with his petulant outburst when he lost to Manuel Offord in Hendon at the General Election. Don’t Call Me Dave thinks that Mr Reasonable would make an excellent independent candidate but he is probably not well known enough in Camden, which makes up half of the constituency (sorry Mr R).

This is a unique opportunity. The coalition Government is trailing in the polls, Barnet Council is a laughing stock and Brian Coleman is widely despised, even within his own party. Nonetheless, overturning a 20,000 majority will not be easy - but it is not impossible if the opposition gets its act together. Unfortunately for democracy, the Labour opposition in Barnet are an utter shambles, incapable of organising the proverbial in a brewery. That will remain the case for as long as the very pleasant, but completely ineffectual, Alison Moore remains their leader.

Barnet’s non-jobs

2011-02-18T16:34:00.004Z

Local Government Minister Bob Neill has rightly complained about the proliferation of non-jobs created whilst Labour were in Government. For example, Angus Council hired a Bouncy Council Attendant at £13,000 a year and Falkirk Council employed a Cheerleading Development Officer.

Whilst some of these jobs are quite clearly unnecessary, Mr Neill has seemingly overlooked Conservative controlled Barnet Council which is also guilty of creating superfluous positions.

When Mike Freer was leader of the council, he created the new position of Cabinet Advisor, even though this ‘job’ was already within the remit of the Chief Executive’s duties.

The first person appointed to this supposedly non-political position was his friend, the former Tory Councillor Vanessa Gearson (she’s the delightful lady who stabbed Iain Duncan-Smith in the back when he was party leader). Her salary was a mere £59,860 a year.

Was the Chief Executive’s pay reduced by a corresponding amount as a result of Dr Gearson taking on some of his responsibilities? Hardly! In 2002, when the Tories took control, the Chief Executive was paid £113,000 a year. Today, his salary is over £200,000.

When Dr Gearson was promoted to the Communications Department to become the council’s chief spin doctor, her Cabinet Advisor position was filled by another of Freer’s friends, Richard Robeson, who was also a prominent Conservative Party supporter.

Robeson had previously been a political advisor to the Conservative Group on the council. Labour have a political advisor as well. Total cost to the taxpayer in 2009 was £85,360 (plus benefits).

Why should taxpayers have to pay for blatantly political appointments? These are precisely the type of positions that the council should scrap before making the sheltered housing wardens redundant, or putting up CPZ charges.

Unfortunately in Barnet we have a political leadership that would rather insult its residents and surround itself with taxpayer funded cronies than cut out waste and bureaucracy.

Blogging improves literacy

2011-02-15T21:51:00.006Z

As regular readers know, former Barnet Council Leader and now MP for Finchley, Mike Freer, could barely disguise his contempt for bloggers whom he suggested masturbated whilst writing about him.

Reports in The Independent and the Sunday Times have shown that blogging has significantly improved literacy rates amongst children at one primary school in Bolton. Something which the barely literate Mike Freer might wish to reflect upon before coming out with any more garbage.

The full story can be found on the Verbum Sapienti blog.

Original picture borrowed from the Daily Mash

One law for councillors, one for us

2011-02-15T13:57:00.002Z

Don’t Call Me Dave makes no apology for repeating a video clip he posted in December 2009, but an article in today’s Evening Standard highlights a problem in Woodfield Avenue where Barnet Council has started issuing fines to residents parking their cars on the kerb - as has been the practice for years due to the very narrow road.

A council spokeswoman told the Standard: “Parking on footways is against the Traffic Management Act unless there are clearly marked bays and signs. Parking on the kerb presents its own dangers by restricting access for pedestrians, wheelchair users and those pushing children's buggies.”

Fair enough you might think. Except when Cllr Andreas Tambourides was caught parking on the pavement, the council refused to take any action whatsoever, even though they acknowledged he was breaking the law.

Big Society Explained

2011-02-14T19:25:00.004Z

There has been considerable debate in the media over the weekend about David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ and what it actually means.

It is really a very simple concept.

In the past, the Government and Local Authorities provided citizens with a wide range of public services. These services were paid for through the imposition of income tax and council tax.

Under the Big Society initiative, public authorities will no longer deliver these services. Instead they will be provided by volunteers, free of charge, out of the goodness of their hearts.

The public will continue to pay the same amount of tax as before.

That’s it!

Stand and Deliver!

2011-02-11T22:25:00.002Z

Print this picture and put it in your car window today!

Why care about libraries?

2011-02-11T01:23:00.007Z

Professor David Crystal is President of the UK National Literacy Association and an internationally renowned expert on linguistics.

Last month he gave a paper to the Friends of Rhosneigr Library in Anglesey, North Wales which he described as one of the tiny jewels in the UK library system, desperately fighting for survival.

Prof. Crystal has made his paper available in support of the national library movement as his references to Rhosneigr and to Welsh could be replaced by similar local references elsewhere. DCMD reproduces it below unedited.

Why care about Libraries?

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with ... L.

It's a library.

L proves to be an interesting letter in English, because it introduces so many words strongly associated with the venture we are launching today: Literature. Language. Living. Loving. Lending. Learning. Leisure. Legacy. And also: Loss. Liquidation. Lament. Lunacy. We can tell the story of our enterprise by exploring the letter L. (We can do it in Welsh too, if you want: Llyfrau (books), Llenyddiaeth (literature), Llythrennedd (literacy), Lloerigrwydd (lunacy).)

Long before I was asked to give this talk, in Chapter 3 of my autobiographical memoir, Just a Phrase I'm Going Through, I had written about one of the magical worlds I experienced as a child: '...the world of reading. I learned to read very quickly and, according to my mother, I was always reading. We couldn’t afford much by way of books, but the local library was only two minutes away. I got to know every inch of its children’s shelves, and steadily worked my way through them, using my allowance of two books per person per week. ... And then there was the joy of ownership. A book was my book, even if it was due back at the end of the week. The words were mine. I was their master. Years later, when I came across Jean-Paul Sartre’s Words (Les Mots), I was delighted and amazed. This was my story, too: "I never scratched the soil or searched for nests; I never looked for plants or threw stones at birds. But books were my birds and my nests, my pets, my stable and my countryside; the library was the world trapped in a mirror. ... Nothing seemed more important to me than a book. I saw the library as a temple." A temple indeed, but so much more. A library is a refuge, a second home, a leisure centre, a discovery channel, an advice bureau. It is a place where you can sit and draw the shelves around you like a warm cloak. Those who threaten any library service with cutbacks and closures are the most mindless of demons.'

There is, indeed, something that literally takes away our minds when we lose a library. Or put it the other way round: when we gain a library we gain a source of wellbeing. The inscription over the door of the library at the ancient city of Thebes read (in classical Greek): 'The medicine chest of the soul'.

How best to capture the spirit, the ethos, the value of libraries? Over the centuries, people have marvelled at them. It doesn't have to be a huge establishment, such as the National Library. Even the smallest village library captures the magic described so well by the Scots poet Alexander Smith (1830-67): 'I go into my library, and all history unrolls before me. I breathe the morning air of the world while the scent of Eden's roses yet lingered in it, while it vibrated only to the world's first brood of nightingales, and to the laugh of Eve. I see the pyramids building; I hear the shoutings of the armies of Alexander.' And the American political writer Norman Cousins (1915-90) agrees: 'A library ... should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas - a place where history comes to life.'

The lauding of libraries crosses centuries and cultures. First and foremost they are seen as repositories of knowledge, windows into history. 'A great library', said Canadian scientist George Mercer Dawson (1849-1901), 'contains the diary of the human race.' And American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) echoes the theme: 'Consider what you have in the smallest chosen library. A company of the wisest and wittiest men that could be picked out of all civil countries, in a 1000 years, have set in best order the results of their learning and wisdom. The men themselves were hid and inaccessible, solitary, impatient of interruption, fenced by etiquette; but the thought which they did not uncover to their bosom friend is here written out in transparent words to us, the strangers of another age.' Women too, of course. Emerson's phrasing is of his age, but his sentiment is universal.

The metaphor of a library as a treasure trove is a recurrent figure. Here is British poet and journalist John Alfred Langford (1823-1903): 'The only true equalisers in the world are books; the only treasure-house open to all comers is a library.' And Malcolm Forbes (1919-90), the publisher of Forbes magazine, is in no doubt about the appropriateness of the wealth metaphor: 'The richest person in the world - in fact all the riches in the world - couldn't provide you with anything like the endless, incredible loot available at your local library.' But writers seem almost to be competing to find a metaphor that best captures the function of libraries in society. This is English clergyman William Dyer (1636-1696): 'Libraries are the wardrobes of literature, whence men, properly informed may bring forth something for ornament, much for curiosity, and more for use.' And, 400 years on, this is writer Germaine Greer (1939- ): 'libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy'. For Norman Mailer (1923-2007), a library was 'a sanctuary', for Francis Bacon (1561-1626), 'a shrine', for Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) it transcends life itself: 'I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library'.

I like the reservoir metaphor - a library as a source of knowledge, waiting for us to simply turn on a tap. Like water, libraries are essential to our wellbeing. As the American social reformer Henry Ward Beecher (1813-87) said, 'A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.' It is a means of self-improvement, of advancement. As American historian Arthur Meier Schlesinger (1888-1965) put it: 'Our history has been greatly shaped by people who read their way to opportunity and achievements in public libraries.' Or, as poet and humorist Richard Armour (1906-89) put it in 1954: A library...

Here is where people,
One frequently finds,
Lower their voices
And raise their minds.

And it brings together people from all walks of life. As 'Lady Bird' Johnson (1912-2007), former American first lady, commented: 'Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.'

Along with these brief observations, we must not forget the longer and more thoughtful recollections. Esther Hautzig (1930-2009), deported to Siberia as a child during World War 2, wrote an account of her time there, called The Endless Steppe (1968). This is what she says:

'There was one place where I forgot the cold, indeed forgot Siberia. That was in the library. There, in that muddy village, was a great institution. Not physically, to be sure, but in every other way imaginable. It was a small log cabin, immaculately attended to with loving care; it was well lighted with oil lamps and it was warm. But best of all, it contained a small but amazing collection from the world's best literature, truly amazing considering the time, the place, and its size. From floor to ceiling it was lined with books - books, books, books. It was there that I was to become acquainted with the works of Dumas, Pasternak's translations of Shakespeare, the novels of Mark Twain, Jack London, and of course the Russians. It was in that log cabin that I escaped from Siberia - either reading there or taking the books home. It was between that library and two extraordinary teachers that I developed a lifelong passion for the great Russian novelists and poets. It was there that I learned to line up patiently for my turn to sit at a table and read, to wait - sometimes months - for a book. It was there that I learned that reading was not only a great delight, but a privilege.'

Let no one forget that. If you want to truly appreciate the value of reading, imagine it being taken away from you. Imagine a Siberia with no library. Or a Rhosneigr.

Of course, we are not the first to ponder the implications of losing a library. Listen to the claim made by American cardinal Terence Cooke (1921-83): 'America's greatness is not only recorded in books, but it is also dependent upon each and every citizen being able to utilize public libraries.' Listen to American astronomer Carl Sagan: 'The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.' Listen to science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-92): 'I received the fundamentals of my education in school, but that was not enough. My real education, the superstructure, the details, the true architecture, I got out of the public library. For an impoverished child whose family could not afford to buy books, the library was the open door to wonder and achievement, and I can never be sufficiently grateful that I had the wit to charge through that door and make the most of it. Now, when I read constantly about the way in which library funds are being cut and cut, I can only think that the door is closing and that American society has found one more way to destroy itself.' And in Britain, listen to Victorian critic John Ruskin (1819-1900): 'What do we, as a nation, care about books? How much do you think we spend altogether on our libraries, public or private, as compared with what we spend on our horses?'

Have you noticed? I've just quoted from a Roman Catholic cardinal, an art critic, a scientist, and a science fiction novelist. All sending out the same message. There can be few subjects like libraries to unite such disparate and distinguished minds. And the reason is clear. Libraries are truly special. As American writer Lawrence Clark Powell (1906-2001) put it: 'To be in a library is one of the purest of all experiences.' The point has long been appreciated here in Wales. In 1916 the Welsh Department of the Board of Education published a booklet, A Nation and its Books. On page 11 we read: 'The future of our people depends largely on our books and on our libraries. No teacher is more helpful or more candid than a book, no friend is a better friend than a good book, no school is so inexpensive as a library. ... Every town should have ... its library... Every village ought to have a library.' And if it already has one, it ought not to lose it.

Once a library is gone, it is gone. It cannot suddenly be resuscitated. As the British politician Augustine Birrell (1850-1933) once said: 'Libraries are not made; they grow.' That takes time. Behind each library, no matter how small, is a history of growth, watered by the professionalism of the library's caretakers and the enthusiasm of its readers. It is not an enterprise that can be measured by numbers. It is quality that counts, not quantity. No political body should fall into the trap of judging the success of a library solely in terms of the number of its visitors. That lone reader in the corner: who knows what personal potential will be realized in the future because of today's library experience? As American poet Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) said: 'What is more important in a library than anything else - than everything else - is the fact that it exists.' If it exists, it will be used. And French writer Victor Hugo (1802-85) sums it up: 'A library implies an act of faith'.

A century ago, in 1911, a king and queen symbolized that faith. They visited Aberystwyth to lay the foundation stone of the National Library of Wales. In 2011, a future king and queen will come to live nearby. In my poetic imagination, I hear Prince William looking towards Rhosneigr - down on it, even, from his helicopter - and repeating my I Spy rhyme. 'I spy, with my royal eye...' - but will he have to end it with 'nothing beginning with L'? It is a scenario that I trust our political leaders will ensure we will never see. It is time for them too to make an act of faith.

Freer uses Parliamentary privilege to ‘out’ retired teacher

2011-02-07T21:31:00.005Z

Finchley & Golders Green MP, Mike Freer, has abused Parliamentary privilege to ‘out’ retired schoolteacher Christopher Jefferies. Speaking in the debate on the Anonymity (Arrested Persons) Bill, Freer said:

“…often, the points that are reported are facts. The gentleman in Bristol was gay, he was eccentric and he was a teacher, but it is the insinuation that is wrapped around such facts that causes the damage.”

Don’t Call Me Dave has known Christopher Jefferies since 1975 from his student days at Clifton College. Many Cliftonians suspected CJEJ (as he was known) of being gay. Perhaps he is. But he also happens to be a very private person who does not ever discuss his sexuality publicly on the reasonable grounds that it is nobody else’s business but his.

Freer complains about the damage caused by insinuation, yet is guilty of committing the very same offence.

CJEJ has already suffered the ignominy of being arrested and publicly humiliated in front of the whole country. To compound his misery, a self aggrandising upstart like Freer has decided to stick the boot in again.

Last month, Hendon MP Matthew Offord used Parliamentary privilege to accuse a political opponent of being anti-Semitic, despite there being not one shred of evidence to support his claim.

Both Freer and Offord have only been MPs for 5 minutes, yet they are already abusing the privileges which go with their position. They are both utterly shameless.

Never Knowingly Underfed

2011-02-07T13:52:00.005Z

London Blogger Adam Bienkov reports that the cabbie’s friend, Cllr Brian Coleman, spent £2,338 of taxpayers’ money hosting a luncheon for 30 people.

At a time of swingeing public sector cuts, it’s good to see Brian sharing our pain. Esprit de Corps and all that.

New laws to ban farting

2011-02-04T12:48:00.007Z

Don’t Call Me Dave thought it was April 1st when he read an article on the BBC website regarding new laws to outlaw farting in public in Malawi.

The Local Courts Bill, to be introduced next week reads: “Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

DCMD thinks this is an excellent law which should be introduced in Barnet without delay. After all, if vitiating the atmosphere becomes a criminal offence, then we will hear a lot less from certain Councillors.

The Barnet Mash

2011-01-23T00:45:00.004Z

Don’t Call Me Dave is fed up again! Most readers probably realised as much with his last blogpost. Reporting the truth is tiresome. As all of Barnet’s responsible bloggers will testify, it takes an enormous amount of time and effort to research and report the news accurately.

Although DCMD enjoys blogging (with both hands), he is very busy with his work and studies (and occasionally trying to have a life) and simply finds it too difficult to find enough time to write the type of articles which used to attract 500+ readers per day.

In a Eureka moment, DCMD realised that there was a simple solution to this dilemma. Instead of researching the news, it is much easier to simply make it up. There are many national newspapers which have been doing this for decades. So, without further ado, please change your bookmarks and visit Barnet’s latest entrant to the blogosphere - The Barnet Mash. Never a true word will ever be spoken!

No Left Turn

2011-01-21T02:43:00.001Z

Free Parking!

2011-01-19T18:34:00.006Z

Much has been written in the local press and blogosphere about Barnet’s punitive hike in ‘Pay and Display’ fees and charges (click the table below to enlarge).

At the Cabinet Resources Committee meeting on 13th January, Members agreed to increase the cost of Residents’ first permit from £42 to £100 - an inflation busting rise of 138%.

The second permit cost will rise from £75 to £125 (up 66%) and for a third permit from £75 to £150 (a nice round 100% increase).

Doctors permits will increase from £160 to £200 (up 25%) whilst essential service vouchers go up from £12 for a book of 10 to £20 - a mere 66% rise.

But it is not all bad news. Residents will be delighted to know that three vulnerable groups will continue to receive free parking permits:

Carers Permits
Designated Disabled Bay Permits
Members Permits

That’s right folks. Essential service vouchers go up by 66% whilst councillors continue to park absolutely free of charge. This must be what Lynne Hillan meant when she said that we were all in this together.

Mark Shooter Sacked!

2011-01-18T21:39:00.010Z

Reliable sources have informed Don’t Call Me Dave that Conservative Councillor Mark Shooter is to be sacked as Vice Chairman of the Budget and Performance Overview & Scrutiny Committee and also replaced as a member of the Business Management Overview & Scrutiny Sub-Committee.

His crime was to insist on referring committee reports back to the Cabinet for further consideration. He had the temerity to suggest that there were better ways of saving public money that those proposed by the Executive. Such is their commitment to democratic accountability, Lynne Hillan and her cronies do not take kindly to having their authority challenged in this way, and Shooter is to be fired.

Mark Shooter joined the council in May 2010 and soon discovered that Lynne Hillan is a piss-poor leader who cares only about stuffing her boots at the taxpayers’ expense. Unfortunately, the corrupt system of local government which operates in this Borough, thanks to Tony Blair’s Local Government Act 2000, meant that Hillan was able to survive a no confidence vote by offering highly paid positions to fellow troughers like Andreas and Joanna Tambourgreedy.

Boris slams Coleman & Freer

2011-01-17T20:36:00.006Z

In his weekly Daily Telegraph column, Mayor of London Boris Johnson supports the rights of bloggers, saying:

“There are some people who wonder whether we need to tame the blogs, to sandpaper them, moderate them – perhaps even to censor them. And as soon as you put it like that you can see what twaddle it is. What we are seeing on our websites, for all its exuberant roughness, is a uniquely healthy and democratic process.”

As regular readers know, former Barnet Council Leader and now MP for Finchley, Mike Freer, could barely disguise his disdain for bloggers whom he suggested masturbated whilst writing about him (he should be so lucky).

Brian Coleman’s contempt for blogging led him to become the first serving Mayor in Barnet Council’s history to be found guilty of breaching the Members Code of Conduct following his vitriolic attack on blogger Rog T.

In these continuing times of shame for the political classes, Messrs Freer and Coleman would do well to remember who is the servant and who the master.

Back to School

2011-01-08T15:15:00.003Z

The new University term starts for Don’t Call Me Dave on Monday. His homework has been completed on time. His pencils are all sharpened. Lunch box at the ready.

Seasoned observers will have noticed that the output of this blog increased dramatically in recent weeks. However, with the world of academia once again calling, it will now revert to its previous state of semi-hibernation.

Blogging will continue in earnest at Verbum Sapienti.

Bloggers say goodbye

2011-01-07T19:30:00.006Z

Left wing blog, Political Scrapbook, has produced a video featuring some of the high profile political bloggers who threw in the towel last year.

Missing from this list is one of Don’t Call Me Dave’s favourites, Constantly Furious, which came to an end in June.

Iain Dale claims that the reason he stopped blogging is because ~~he’s a media star now darling~~ he has too many other commitments. But DCMD wonders whether we are just observing a shift to localism. If people want national news and opinion, they can obtain it from a wide range of free sources. Good quality local news, however, is much harder to come by. The traditional investigative reporter is fast becoming an icon from a bygone age as local newspapers look to cut costs in the face of falling advertising revenue.

The Barnet Blogosphere is currently in good health - with several new blogs appearing in 2010 - providing an invaluable service for the community with an astonishing depth of coverage. The question is, for how long can this continue? If professional newspapers are losing money and cutting back their coverage, how can amateur bloggers provide the same service for free for the long term?

DCMD does not profess to know the answer to this question, but fears that local political blogging is unsustainable in its current form.

Howzatt!

2011-01-07T17:09:00.003Z

Q. What do you call an Aussie cricketer with 100 by his name?
A. A bowler.

Q. What do you call an Australian who is good with the bat?
A. A vet

Q. What is the most proficient form of footwork displayed by Australian batsmen?
A. The walk back to the pavilion.

Q. Who has the easiest job in the Australian squad?
A. The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.

Q. What’s the Australian version of LBW?
A. Lost, Beaten, Walloped.

Q: What did the spectator miss when he went to the toilet?
A: The entire Australian innings.

Q: What is the Australian version of a hat-trick?
A: 3 runs in 3 balls

Q. Why don’t Australian fielders need pre tour travel injections?
A. Because they never catch anything.

Q. Why are Australian cricketers cleverer than Houdini?
A. Because they can get out without even trying.

Q. What do you get if you cross the Australian cricket team with an OXO cube?
A. Laughing stock.

The Australian bobsleigh team have asked the Aussie cricket team for a meeting.
They want to ask their advice about going downhill so fast!

Q. What’s the difference between Ricky Ponting and a funeral director?
A. A funeral director doesn’t keep losing the ashes.

Q. What do you call an Australian with a champagne bottle in his hand?
A. Waiter.

Q. What’s the height of optimism?
A. An Aussie batsman putting on sunscreen.

Q. Why did the Aussie break his leg throwing a ball?
A. He forgot it was chained to his foot.

Q. What’s the difference between an Aussie batsman and a Formula 1 car?
A. Nothing! If you blink you’ll miss them both.

Q. What do Aussie batsmen and drug addicts have in common?
A. Both spend most of their time wondering where their next score will come from.

Q. What did the spectator miss when he went to the toilet?
A. The entire Australian innings.

Billy was at school this morning in the outback and the teacher asked all the children what there fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came out, Fireman, Policeman, Salesman, Captain of industry etc, but Billy was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father. “My father is an exotic dancer in a gay club and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes if the offer is really good, he’ll go out with a man, rent a cheap hotel room and let them sleep with him.”

The teacher quickly set the other children some work and took little Billy aside to ask him if that was really true.

“No” said Billy, “He plays cricket for Australia but I was just too embarrassed to say.”

Money before safety

2011-01-05T16:07:00.002Z

The myth that speeding fines are all about increasing road safety was finally quashed yesterday with the conviction of Michael Thompson whose ‘crime’ was to alert other drivers of a police radar speed trap.

Mr Thompson was charged with wilfully obstructing a police officer in the course of her duties. Is it really the duty of the police to catch and fine motorists? Whatever happened to the old axiom that prevention is better than cure?

As lawyer David Green writes in his excellent report in the New Statesman, Michael Thompson now has a criminal conviction because he encouraged others to stay within the law.

It is time for the Government to stop using the Police Force as uniformed tax collectors and instead let them get on with their job of catching crooks and villains.

Life lessons from an ad man

2011-01-05T13:03:00.000Z

Former classics teacher and currently Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Advertising, Rory Sutherland makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider “real” value. His conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life.

Mock The Week

2011-01-05T01:20:00.005Z

As shown on Dave over Christmas.

How the Archers should have ended

2011-01-03T16:57:00.003Z

Hillan’s Epiphany

2011-01-03T02:47:00.006Z

Don’t Call Me Dave was surprised to read Lynne Hillan’s Christmas message to her loyal subjects in the Barnet Press this week, under the heading: ‘We’ll have to follow the example of volunteers and work together if we are to make Barnet better in 2011’.

Is this the same Lynne Hillan who, six months ago, tried to award herself a pay increase of £20,000 only to back down after a public campaign led by Barnet’s Bloggers (but not before she had awarded the cronies who kept her in her job an inflation busting increase of 50%)?

Ethics of Journalism

2011-01-01T19:55:00.014Z

Don’t Call Me Dave has been shocked at the media reporting of the arrest of his former English teacher Christopher Jefferies on suspicion of murdering architect Joanna Yeates.

Murder is the most horrific crime possible and there is a natural public interest in this story, but under our tried and trusted system of justice, suspects are innocent until proven guilty. To date, Mr Jefferies has not even been charged let alone convicted. As the Attorney General has pointed out, there is now a real risk of any trial being prejudiced by this relentless coverage.

Whilst we expect the gutter press to dig up as much salacious material as possible, it is regrettable that even the self styled quality papers have decided to follow suit, rather than restrict themselves to factual reporting of the case.

Former colleagues and pupils have been quick to lend, or possibly sell, their names for a quote. “He was a bit eccentric” they all say. Well yes he was, but many teachers are. Being eccentric, however, does not make you a murderer.

“He dyed his hair blue.” Why is this relevant?

“We thought he was gay.” It is true that many of us did think so and perhaps he is but, again, why is this relevant? The Police have not stated whether there was any sexual element to the murder and, even if there was, it would not preclude gay men from suspicion. It is just a rather pathetic effort by lazy journalists to spice up a story rather than deal with the facts.

“He was a strict disciplinarian who would lose his temper in class.” Ask any parent prepared to spend £9,000 a term educating their children if they would like it any other way.

It is now being reported that Mr Jefferies bought the flat from a teacher of the nearby preparatory school who is currently serving a prison sentence for molesting a child. Well that’s it then. You’ve got him banged to rights. If you buy property from a convicted criminal, you must be a criminal yourself.

A huge emphasis has been placed on the fact that Christopher Jefferies once taught at nearby Clifton College. That he retired nine years ago is seemingly irrelevant for a media still fighting a class war. Every opportunity has been used to mention that it is a prestigious English public school. If a long retired teacher from a sink comprehensive was accused of a similar crime, would his former school receive such attention?

There is not a scintilla of evidence to link Clifton College to the crime, and it is manifestly unfair to undermine the school in this way and create an atmosphere of fear for parents and pupils.

If Christopher Jefferies is charged and convicted of the crime of murder, he will properly face the full force of the law and will deserve no sympathy from anyone, including the media. But until then, a slightly more responsible attitude to reporting would not go amiss.

Grumpy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:10:00.004Z

Don’t Call Me Dave wishes all his readers a Happy New Year. At the same time, he intends to have a moan at the £1.8 million cost of the firework display organised by Boris Johnson.

The event was financed by the London Development Agency and the office of the Mayor of London - or taxpayers to use the correct term.

We are in the midst of a financial crisis. Due to the profligacy of Gordon Brown and his discredited Labour regime, the current government has been forced to implement the most severe austerity measures of a generation. Local Authorities the length and breadth of the UK - including the GLA - are similarly being required to make massive budget cutbacks.

There is no question that it was a most fantastic and well organised display, but public servants who face redundancy in the coming weeks, and residents facing the loss of vital front line services will not be impressed that money can none-the-less be provided for a giant party which, quite coincidentally of course, portrays the Mayor in a good light.

We expect our political leaders to lead by example. The Conservative Prime Minister has pointed out that we face tough times in the year ahead. The Conservative Mayor of London, meanwhile, appears to be singing from a different hymn sheet.

Separated at birth?

2010-12-28T20:02:00.008Z

Has anyone else noticed the remarkable similarity between LibDem Vince Cable, beleaguered Secretary of State for Business, and Conservative Brian Coleman, Barnet Cabinet Member for canapés?

Both have a highly inflated ego and sense of self importance.

Both have a reputation for indiscretion and opening mouth before engaging brain.

Both allow their prejudices to interfere with the smooth running of their departments. Coleman’s contempt of the Fire Brigades Union held up negotiations over revised working practices, whilst Cable’s undisguised hatred of Rupert Murdoch was incompatible with his quasi-judicial role to rule on the proposed News International/BSkyB merger.

Neither men allow principles to stand in the way of holding down a public position carrying a high salary. Coleman opposes high density housing but has consistently voted for it in Council. Cable opposes university tuition fees but actually introduced the Bill which will treble them to £9,000.

Perhaps this is a coalition of equals after all?

Children's book funding fiasco

2010-12-28T18:06:00.000Z

Read all about it here.

Another bloody repeat!

2010-12-19T19:15:00.002Z

Don’t Call Me Dave extends the compliments of the season to all of his readers.

Not The Barnet Times is now closing down for the festive season, although DCMD will continue posting on his other blog, Verbum Sapienti.

Christmas Repeats

2010-12-18T01:02:00.001Z

Every Christmas it’s the same - nothing but repeats on the telly. In honour of this festive tradition, Don’t Call Me Dave is proud to repeat one of his most popular video clips from last year.

Mr Bumble in a pickle

2010-12-17T17:36:00.006Z

A key aspect of the Government’s new Localism Bill is to transfer power from the centre back to the people. In theory, a welcome and long overdue proposal. In reality, all that will happen is that power is devolved from Westminster bureaucrats to Town Hall bureaucrats. We, the people, won’t get a look in. As Mr Reasonable points out today, Barnet Council will try every trick in the book to avoid any democratic scrutiny by the electorate.

The Localism Bill is being promoted by Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Local Government. For him to allow inept local authorities to have even greater powers without making them more accountable to the people they are supposed to serve, proves that politicians care more about platitudes and sound bites than real genuine democracy.

£100 million. The real cost of BT Vital Vision?

2010-12-16T23:43:00.009Z

As astute readers will have noticed, Don’t Call Me Dave has been blogging more frequently of late, despite having retired several times. He previously stated that he did not wish to comment about Barnet Council any further; partly because of his studies, partly because he felt there was nothing more he could usefully add to the debate, but also because the Borough is more than adequately represented in the blogosphere. Mr Reasonable, for example, has recently exposed some breathtaking incompetence by the council in its reporting of the costs of the Future Shape project (or whatever it is called this week).

But DCMD has been alerted to a report in The Grauniad regarding a matter he has written about previously which is of material concern to local taxpayers. It has been alleged that Suffolk County Council overspent by £100 million on its outsourcing contract with British Telecom and ignored repeated warnings from its former head of supplier relationship management, Michael Gower.

In 2009, Suffolk’s Chief Executive Andrea Hill twice accepted hospitality from BT to attend their Vital Vision ‘conference’ in America and Gower alleges that she personally blocked his attempt to change the contract as costs spiralled out of control.

Readers will recall that former Barnet Council leader Mike Freer also flew off to America with BT at a cost of over £5,000 to taxpayers. Freer, who is now the MP for Finchley & Golders Green, cheekily tried to claim that he had been awarded an MBA for attending this ~~junket~~ conference. Not wishing to be left out, Leo Boland, Barnet’s former Chief Executive now running the shop at the GLA for a mere £215,000 a year, also treated himself to this little jolly at our expense.

The decision to spend Barnet taxpayers’ money attending Vital Vision was never scrutinised by councillors. Freer was given ‘permission’ to go by the unelected Chief Executive. Boland, who went the year after Freer, didn’t need permission from anyone because nobody in the council had the cojones to question any of his decisions. Neither Freer nor Boland produced any public report explaining what, if anything, they learnt from these conferences, why it was necessary for both of them to attend or how their attendance benefited taxpayers.

In a further twist to the tale, Suffolk council currently employs Max Wide as director of organisational change, on secondment from BT. Wide was previously working at Barnet in a similar role, also on secondment from BT. It begs the question just how much time he spends working for his employer and how much in councils which just happen to have high value BT contracts?

DCMD wonders if Mr Wide has ever worked on secondment at Liverpool City Council who would, according to the Gruaniad article, be £23 million a year better off if they scrapped their £70 million per annum contract with BT.

All Barnet’s contracts with BT must now be independently scrutinised to ensure that everything is above board and that the council is receiving best value for money. As the council professes to believe in openness and accountability, DCMD trusts that his forthcoming FOI request for details of its BT contracts will be answered swiftly and fully. Anything less will simply increase speculation that the process for awarding high value contracts is rotten to the core.

Can we have the one with the banana?

2010-12-14T14:32:00.003Z

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, ~~Stupid Boy~~ Ed Miliband explained why he thinks David Cameron does not understand the views of ordinary voters: “Because he’s a Tory.”

Well that’s a really mature and constructive comment from the leader of the only major political party to officially have no policies.

Is it too late to have the more sensible Miliband at the helm?

MPs know what they are talking about

2010-12-14T13:36:00.002Z

MPs have criticised as “unacceptable” the salary package for Andy Duncan, Chief Executive of Channel Four, which last year amounted to £1.5 million.

These are the same MPs who, for years, robbed the taxpayer blind for completely fictitious allowance claims.

Whilst this looks like a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, when it comes to ‘unacceptable’ pay, perhaps we should bow to ‘honourable’ members' superior knowledge and expertise?

We are all Thatcher’s children

2010-12-14T01:50:00.004Z

Two weeks ago, the leader of the Opposition, Teddy Miliband, accused the Prime Minister of being a child of Thatcher. David Cameron replied that he would rather be a child of Thatcher than a son of Brown.

According to the annual British Social Attitudes report, Britain is now a more Thatcherite nation than when the Blessed Margaret was Prime Minister. After 13 years under Labour rule, many adults now believe that economic inequality is down to “individual laziness on the one hand and hard work on the other.”

Interestingly, and perhaps surprisingly in light of the above, the research also showed strong support for increased public spending on health and education - the latter about to be slashed the new Government.

Cue the usual anti-Thatcher Socialist drivel from the usual suspects.

F.A. no better than F.I.F.A.

2010-12-12T16:08:00.001Z

At the risk of upsetting patriotic readers, Don’t Call Me Dave was pleased that England did not win the right to host the World Cup in 2018. It is not that he thinks we couldn’t do a good job, because patently we could. Nor does it have anything to do with cost, because the support for football in this country almost ensures we would run the contest at a profit.

It is simply that we had no business taking part in the bidding process. Panorama and the Sunday Times both exposed corruption within F.I.F.A. but the F.A. is no paragon of virtue. It is neither democratic nor accountable in any shape or form to the hundreds of thousands of ordinary football fans who fund this archaic organisation from the money they pay week in and week out to watch their favourite team.

It has been reported that England have now cancelled a friendly game in Thailand which had been agreed in order to secure the vote of the Thai F.A. Boris Johnson has withdrawn hospitality previously offered to Sebb Blatter for the Olympics. How can we complain about corruption within F.I.F.A. when we are not averse to making grubby deals of our own?

The simple truth is that the F.A. is stuffed full of crusty old farts who seem to be rather partial to all the corporate hospitality that goes with the job. Football is of secondary importance to them. They knew full well what F.I.F.A. was like and yet they were willing to play them at their game - until it all went tits up. It is far too late for the F.A. to now adopt the moral high ground and we should never even considered submitting a bid knowing that the system was rotten.

We blew £15 million on a bid which had absolutely no chance of winning. Just think what a difference that amount of money could have made to schools football?

Our country has been humiliated through the deluded vanity of a bunch of self-serving troglodytes. If we want to reclaim the game for its real supporters, fans should boycott International games until all the ruling bodies get their houses in order. Until then, it is time to say F.O. to the F.A.

War & Peace

2010-12-11T22:37:00.003Z

Don’t Call Me Dave has received an e-mail suggesting that his support for the students in their campaign against the increase in tuition fees is support for the violence which has accompanied the demonstrations. Such a suggestion is completely unfounded. DCMD does not condone violence in any shape or form and has written previously to that effect.

It was deeply depressing to see pictures of Charlie Gilmour climbing the Cenotaph and the Royal car being attacked. Such scenes only serve to demonise all students, notwithstanding that the majority were intent only on peaceful protest. Thanks to the actions of a few mindless idiots, the Government now occupies the moral high ground in the eyes of many of the public.

Under the last Labour Government, the rules relating to demonstrations were drastically altered to the detriment of peaceful protestors and recent events are likely to see them tightened further.

Organisers need to plan better in future to minimise the likelihood of trouble makers hijacking demonstrations for their own nefarious aims. Likewise, the Police need to develop better tactics so that miscreants can be swiftly identified and removed from the scene without affecting peaceful demonstrators and innocent bystanders. The process of containment known as kettling herds and confines the innocent and guilty together with no means of escape. Such a tactic causes panic and increases the risk of innocent people being hurt.

This country has a proud history of peaceful protest and the Police are, more often than not, able to control proceedings without interfering with the demonstrators’ rights. That a small minority break the law is not a reason to curb the rights of the majority. The Police simply have to improve their intelligence and tactics. It is not in anyone’s interest if the younger generation grows up resenting the Police instead of respecting and trusting them.

We don't need no education

2010-12-11T00:31:00.005Z

The Government’s argument for increasing tuition fees and reducing the education budget has been made entirely on economic grounds. The budget deficit has to be reduced and nothing else matters. But despite the perilous state of the nation’s finances, the health budget has been ring-fenced, as well as the overseas aid budget. Clearly education is not considered as important.

This is the root cause of the problem with higher education in this country, in that society does not value it as being as beneficial as other countries do.

Americans see education as a life-long journey and, indeed, DCMD’s American friends are always interested in knowing how he is getting on with his university course and want to know what texts he is studying. The response of his British friends has generally been along the lines of “What do you want to do that for?”

As many readers know, DCMD runs a successful business. He won’t be able to use his degree (assuming he graduates!) to try and gain promotion, but the idea of improving himself just for the sake of it seems to be a concept lost on many of his contemporaries. DCMD’s late grandfather read history books into his 90s and his mother graduated only last year with a Masters degree at the age of….well it would be rude to say! The day we stop learning is the day we stop living.

DCMD is a huge fan of the journalist Simon Heffer, both of his masterful style of writing and his incisive political wit. But on the subject of tuition fees, Heffer is completely wrong. He talks of education being a privilege, whereas DCMD considers it to be a right. It is true that you do not need a degree to operate the checkout tills at Tesco, but if the checkout operators wish to improve themselves through higher education, we should welcome their decision and encourage their aspirations. To suggest that only certain people should go to university is a type of educational apartheid that we should consign to the history books.

There is enormous snobbery attached to the education system. Former polytechnics are considered to be inferior to “real” universities and people with “real” degrees are always complaining about the proliferation of so-called “Mickey Mouse” degrees. An arts degree does not qualify a student to carry out brain surgery but if it turns students into better people, who is to say that that is not a socially desirable outcome?

We do need more doctors, engineers and scientists, but that should not be to the exclusion of everything else. DCMD acknowledges that society will not benefit from him gaining an English degree - he will be far too old to do anything with it - and there is a case to be made that he should pay more of the cost, notwithstanding that he would have been entitled to a fully taxpayer funded education when he left school 30 years ago. But the majority of younger students will be able to use their degrees, even if not directly, and there is a quantifiable benefit to society in that.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has developed a well earned reputation for buffoonery, but on the matter of restoring Latin education he is 100% correct. DCMD studied Latin to ‘O’ Level standard and can still recite the whole of “Show me the way to go home” in Latin which he was once able to put to practical use!

In its leader column yesterday, the Daily Telegraph suggested that the alternative to raising tuition fees was to load the cost on to taxpayers who do not benefit from a university education. This was an entirely false premise because society as a whole benefits from a highly educated workforce. Given that we don’t manufacture very much any more, we will be dependent upon a knowledge based economy for our future prosperity.

Nobody disputes the need to reduce the deficit but students did not cause this recession, yet they are being asked to suffer the consequences and pay for the profligacy of others. The government should cut waste and bureaucracy before mortgaging our children’s future without their consent.

DCMD despairs of the politicians and bean counters who know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Students are right to be fearful for the future of higher education, but it is the whole of society which will lose out.

Lies, damned lies and politicians

2010-12-10T01:44:00.007Z

Don’t Call Me Dave has just watched ~~Boy Wonder~~ Ed Miliband on the news criticising the Liberal Democrats for breaking their election pledge over tuition fees. He said that this kind of action damages trust in politics.

Is this the same Ed Miliband whose party promised not to introduce tuition fees in their 2001 manifesto only to do so three years later? Or promised a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in the 2005 campaign only to renege on that pledge as well?

The simple truth is this: politicians are all just opportunistic hypocrites, and nothing short of a revolution will rid us of the cancer which is destroying our country.

Maggie & The Knights of the Round Table

2010-12-10T00:24:00.005Z

A 14th century painting of Margaret Thatcher, known as the Rochefoucauld Grail, sold for £2.4 million at Sotheby’s this week. Click to enlarge image.

The Party's Over

2010-12-09T00:39:00.011Z

Today marks the end of the Liberal Democrats as a serious political party - assuming that they were ever thus.

In the Commons vote on tuition fees this evening, some LibDems will vote for the increase, some will vote against and some will abstain. All things to all people.

You cannot be considered a credible political party if you cannot make up your mind on a matter of such national importance.

The problem for the LibDems is that they are so used to being in opposition, they never actually considered the possibility that they might have to honour their promises.

If Nick Clegg had any principles, he would resign. But the way he reneged on his personal manifesto pledge proves that he has none. He sold his soul for a ministerial car and a red box.

It is hard to imagine anything other than total electoral wipe-out for the LibDems at the next election and that can only benefit the Labour Party.

Happy December!

2010-12-07T17:20:00.002Z

As posted on Verbum Sapienti blog

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all … and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make England great, (not to imply that England is necessarily greater than any other), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

- DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTABILITY -

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

Gordon is a moron!

2010-12-04T22:18:00.010Z

Brian Gordon, Tory councillor for Hale Ward, has exceeded DCMD’s low expectations of him with a typically ignorant letter to the Barnet Times criticising the student protests against the increase in tuition fees.

Perhaps Cllr Gordon was hoping that his letter would detract attention from the hypocrisy of the Conservative Party which bitterly opposed tuition fees when introduced by former Prime Minister Tony B Liar, only to triple them once in office.

Nobody disputes that the country is almost bankrupt thanks to Gordon Brown’s insane financial mismanagement of the economy but, as Whitney Houston put it so eloquently, children are our future. We should teach them well and let them lead the way out of recession.

Education is a right, not a privilege, and to save money by putting up tuition fees or reducing the education budget is a false economy. Given that we don’t actually make anything in this country anymore, our future prosperity lies in a skills based economy. Perhaps this is a concept that Cllr Gordon, who receives £25,930 per annum in allowances from the taxpayer, is unable to grasp.

One thing can be said with 100% certainty. Students did not cause this recession, yet they are being asked to suffer the consequences and pay for the profligacy of others. It is their futures we have mortgaged without seeking their consent. In a free and democratic society, we should welcome peaceful protest and it is to the students’ credit that they recognise the iniquity of the Government’s policy. There is not a shred of evidence that any of the recent troubles were caused by Barnet Sixth Formers.

Brian Gordon complains about “a lack of natural respect for authority.” Given that the council, of which he is a member, lost £30 million of taxpayers’ money in dodgy Icelandic investments, overspent £11 million on the Aerodrome Road bridge project, and brought ridicule on the Borough with the recent Allowancegate scandal, it is not entirely clear on what basis Cllr Gordon thinks he is entitled to any respect from students, or anyone else.

Poacher turned Gamekeeper

2010-11-27T13:29:00.006Z

Don’t Call Me Dave hears that Barnet Press reporter Nick Griffin is to join the council’s press department. Whereas real Conservative councils across the country are cutting unnecessary jobs, in Barnet we can’t get enough of them.

Local newspapers have not done a very good job in recent years in holding the council to account, but it did appear as if there was a turning point with the Allowancegate scandal. Mr Griffin wrote several excellent pieces highlighting the shameless behaviour of his new employers. What better way to silence your critics than to give them lots of public money?

It is surely only a matter of time before Mrs Angry is put on the payroll as Brian Coleman’s personal masseuse.

Easy as ABC!

2010-11-27T12:43:00.002Z

Politicians are preparing for the referendum next May to decide whether to change our voting system from ‘first past the post’ to the alternative vote system, which redistributes votes from losing candidates to ensure the winner has more than 50% of the votes cast.

The referendum will be a complete waste of time and money because the problem is not with the electoral system but with the calibre of people who stand for election. Changing to AV, AV Plus or indeed any other system will not make the slightest bit of difference.

If MPs were genuinely interested in improving democratic accountability, they should allow for positive abstentions to be recorded and to include a write-in box on the ballot paper so that we the people can decide who we want, rather than having a brainless party apparatchik foisted upon us.

Politicians talk of reforming the electoral system so that your vote counts. DCMD believes we would be better off with a return to the feudal system where your Count votes!

In the mean time remember the simple rule of ABC. Anyone But Coleman.

Mitzvah Meshugass

2010-11-22T11:10:00.004Z

The Barnet Times reports that Mike Freer and his former Barnet Council comrades painted a lounge and hallway at one of Norwood’s Supported Living homes yesterday as part of Mitzvah Day.

There is something quite distasteful when politicians publicise their good deeds through the media. By all means, do the Mitzvah but if you are sincere, you will just get on with it without the need to tell the whole world.

Of course, politicians will argue that what they are trying to do is gain publicity for the charity rather than themselves (perish the thought) but if Barnet councillors really wanted to help Norwood, they would stop trying to slash its funding.

University Fees Scandal

2010-11-04T03:05:00.014Z

It was Rog T who once wrote that Don’t Call Me Dave has made more comebacks than Status Quo. This is not a comeback! As regular readers will recall, DCMD decided to quit the blogosphere in preparation for his new life as a part-time University student. Over the course of 422 postings, he said pretty much everything there was to say about the greedy self serving parasites who run the Town Hall and the equally useless and ineffective Labour opposition.

Indeed, there is nothing that Barnet’s discredited Tories could ever do that would either surprise DCMD or induce him to resume writing about the council. Rather, this one-off posting has been prompted by the coalition Government’s announcement to hike University tuition fees to between £6,000 and £9,000 per annum.

The decision exposes the Liberal Democrats as the shameful two-faced hypocrites and liars that most of us already knew them to be. Perhaps they had simply become accustomed to making populist pledges in opposition without actually considering that one day they would have their grubby mitts on the reigns of power. They do not need to worry about voters making the same mistake again.

But worst of all, there is something deeply unpleasant about a group of privileged MPs, many of whom have benefited from a taxpayer funded University education, removing the very same privilege from future generations.

Now DCMD is well aware that the nation’s finances are in a perilous state thanks to Pa Broon’s near destruction of the economy, but when Tony Blair introduced University fees (having explicitly promised not to) the Conservatives bitterly opposed the plans - and for good reason. Put simply, it is surely better to have students in higher education than languishing on the dole with no prospects?

Of course, even in good economic times, not every degree leads to an automatic job, but it is certainly true that when times are hard, job applicants need every bit of assistance available and a degree gives students a far better chance than having no qualifications whatsoever.

In the run up to the last General Election, David Cameron said, correctly, that the country was living beyond its means and borrowing had to be brought under control. A generation has been raised on the concept of cheap and seemingly endless credit. Yet the very same person who was preaching financial prudence, is now telling students they have to rack up bills of tens of thousands of Pounds, to be paid back at a rate of interest above inflation.

Is it really wise or desirable to allow students to start out their working lives already up to their eye-balls in debt? Furthermore, students with the temerity to pay their loans off early will now have to pay punitive mortgage style redemption fees. Apparently, this proposal is a sop to the LibDems but it is hardly likely to encourage financial responsibility in later life.

A Government spokesman on the radio explained that during the review carried out by Lord Browne (he who lied during a court case a few years ago) it was discovered that when fees were first introduced, it had no noticeable effect on admissions. Well no shit Sherlock! School leavers have no concept of money or debt. They haven't had to pay a proper bill in their lives. But by the time they have to start repaying their student loans, it will be too late.

Many young students will be unable to pay the higher fees. These are the same people the country desperately needs to generate the future wealth necessary to pay the gold plated pensions for MPs and civil servants. It will be nothing less than a scandal of incalculable proportions if our best talent is excluded from higher education for short term financial savings.

The Education Minister, David Willetts, told the Commons that the proposals are in the best interest of Universities. It is not immediately clear how it can be of any benefit to society if only the richest students can afford to attend in future.

Labour celebrate as Hillan wins by one vote!

2010-09-08T00:13:00.012+01:00

There were astonishing scenes at the Town Hall last night as Lynne Hillan narrowly beat off a challenge for her crown from new boy councillor Mark Shooter. Labour councillors were visibly and audibly delighted at the news because they know that the longer Hillan remains leader, the greater their chances of electoral success in 2014.

Don’t Call Me Dave has received reports that many Conservative councillors were physically intimidated by Hillan’s Henchmen who stood at their shoulders to make sure they voted the right way. Robert Mugabe would have been proud of such tactics.

But whilst Hillan may have won the battle, she has clearly lost the war. That a councillor who has only been in the job for five minutes can come within one vote of victory proves how loathed and despised Hillan is within her own ranks. By rights she should have thrashed Shooter into oblivion. Instead, she scraped home by 19 votes to 18.

Older readers will recall when Michael Heseltine challenged Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1990. Although Thatcher won in the first round, her margin of victory was so small that two days after the ballot she was forced to resign because it became clear to her that she did not have the confidence of her MPs to continue. But Heseltine was not some new kid on the block. He had been a senior member of her Cabinet for many years. Let nobody be in any doubt that the result last night was nothing less than a catastrophic and humiliating verdict on Lynne Hillan and her discredited policies.

Next week Hillan faces a vote of no confidence tabled by LibDem Leader Jack Cohen. It requires just 8 Conservative councillors to support this motion for her political career to be consigned to history. No doubt Brian Coleman will employ his usual bully boy tactics to threaten any Tory councillor minded to support the motion, but there is no reason at all why Conservatives should not support a motion which has been tabled by their LibDem coalition partners.

This is the last chance for the Tories to do the right thing by the people of Barnet who elected them to office. Hillan and Coleman must realise that with 18 councillors voting against them, they would be unable to invoke group rules to try and discipline any councillors who continue to oppose their rule.

A delegation of dissenting councillors should demand a meeting with Hillan later today to declare that they will support Jack Cohen’s motion unless she resigns immediately. This will give her a final opportunity to leave office with dignity. If she refuses, she should be dragged out, kicking and screaming if necessary. To allow Lynne Hillan to remain in office will consign the Conservatives to electoral defeat in Barnet in 2014.

The Last Post

2010-07-23T15:52:00.000+01:00

This time, I really mean it!

Coleman's Official Portrait

2010-07-23T11:38:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Doug for the portrait.

Reward for Failure?

2010-07-22T21:35:00.006+01:00

In December 2008, long before Don’t Call Me Dave retired from blogging, Barnet Council did something quite remarkable. They sacked an officer - Mike Freestone - for his incompetence in the Aerodrome Road Bridge project which ran £11 million over budget.

A few days after this momentous event, DCMD received an anonymous brown envelope with details of a reported £250,000 payoff for the hapless Mr Freestone. If true, this would represent an astonishing reward for failure.

According to the figures, he allegedly received:

£61,000 severance payment
£75,000 in lieu of notice and holidays
£106,000 lump sum pension
£36,700 annual pension

And for good measure the council apparently wrote off a car loan of £7,000.

DCMD does not know if these figures are genuine or whether he was sent them by someone trying to cause trouble. A spokesman for the council refused to confirm or deny whether the figures were accurate, citing sections 40(5) and 41(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which exempts certain categories of personal and confidential information from publication.

However, the Information Commissioner’s Guidance Notes relating to exemptions states:

“It may also be relevant to think about the seniority of staff: the more senior a person is the less likely it will be that to disclose information about him or her acting in an official capacity would be unfair.”

In a case three years ago, the Commissioner added:

“The Commissioner recognises that there may be circumstances where it would be legitimate to release information of this nature relating to the unexpected retirement of a senior official at a public authority.”

Despite this, the Information Commissioner has now decided that Barnet Council does not have to confirm or deny whether Mr Freestone received this payoff, or indeed any payoff. In a similar ruling, the Commissioner also stated that the council does not have to reveal how much former Chief Financial Officer Clive Medlam received, if anything, when he walked the plank.

Readers will recall that Mr Medlam was the officer who borrowed millions of Pounds from the Public Works Loan Board for the schools rebuilding programme and then deposited the money in Iceland at a higher rate of interest. Money that the taxpayer is unlikely to ever see again.

The Commissioner argues that to disclose the details of any payoffs made to these officers would infringe their right to privacy under the Data Protection Act. DCMD believes that the public’s right to know how much is being paid to senior council officers who are sacked because of work related issues should take precedence.

DCMD can appeal the Information Commissioner’s decision, but he does not believe that it is worth the time or effort. He has never yet met a government body which reviewed its own decision and then changed its mind.

Like Barnet’s greedy councillors, our Chief Officers seemingly treat residents as their personal cash machines. We exist for no other reason than to stuff their faces with our hard earned money. But whereas councillors are grudgingly obliged to tell us how much they cost us, officers do not have to reveal the size of their trough and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.

The computer says no!

2010-07-16T15:10:00.000+01:00

In 2002, when the last Labour Administration controversially sold land at Underhill, the council failed to publish the Delegated Powers Report which would have alerted the then opposition Conservative councillors as to what was going on.

The reason given for the failure to publish the report was a fault with the council’s computer system. “Very sorry” the council said, “it won’t happen again”.

In 2006, when the Conservative Administration controversially awarded legal indemnities to certain councillors and officers at a cost which eventually reached £250,000, the report which was supposed to have been presented to the Cabinet Resources Committee for approval, was not published on time.

The reason given for the failure to publish the report was a fault with the council’s computer system. “Very sorry” the council said, “it won’t happen again”.

In 2010, when the Conservative Administration controversially awarded themselves massive hikes of up to 100% in their allowances, the report with details of the increases which was supposed to have been made public three days before the meeting, was not published on time.

The reason given for the failure to publish the report was a fault with the council’s computer system. “Very sorry” the council said, “it won’t happen again”.

Isn’t it amazing how the computer system always seems to break down when there is something controversial to report. Don’t Call Me Dave is sure that it is just a coincidence.

DCMD thanks all his readers for their kind e-mails, phone calls and text messages this week. Given that the allowances scandal is now fully covered by the local and national media, he is returning to his previous state of hibernation.

Rog T Declares War!

2010-07-16T14:59:00.003+01:00

The Barnet Eye has declared war on the “parasites and spongers” who run Barnet Council.

Whatever your political affiliation - even if you have no affiliation - please join the campaign to have these odious reprobates removed from office as soon as possible.

Enlist here!

A sinner repents!

2010-07-15T17:29:00.003+01:00

Not The Barnet Times salutes “Saint” Michael Freer who has condemned his former council colleagues for their rampant snout-in-the-troughism which has brought Barnet Council and the Conservative Party into disrepute.

Freer said: “It is not justifiable for hikes in councillor allowances when public sector workers are facing a two-year pay freeze. We're all in this together, and those who hold public office need to lead by example.”

When Leader of the Council, Mike Freer was responsible for changing the rules allowing all the greedy piggies to stack up multiple Special Responsibility Allowances in direct contravention of the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel.

But, as it says in the New Testament, Luke 15:7

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

The measure of Lynne Hillan

2010-07-14T18:34:00.004+01:00

In an interview on Radio 4 this afternoon, Grant Shapps, Government Minister for Local Government said of Barnet’s decision to award councillors obscene rises in their allowances:

“They've just got it wrong. I mean which planet are they living on?”

He then added that Lynne Hillan was insane!

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, former Hendon Times reporter Marcus Dysch said the decision was: “…surely one of the most disgraceful episodes in the proud history of the borough…” before adding “Absolutely nothing, nothing that those councillors do could ever possibly justify pay rises of such a nauseating level.”

Describing Hillan's abilities, Marcus said:

“Since taking over from Mr Freer last December she has proved herself wholly incapable of running an authority of Barnet’s size.”

Quite.

Patience is a virtue

2010-07-14T15:57:00.007+01:00

After hearing the news last night that the Tory councillors had all, bar one, voted to fill Hillan’s and Coleman’s trough to overflowing, Don’t Call Me Dave was tempted to post a blog expressing his disgust at their contemptuous behaviour.

However, it is always best to pause and reflect in such situations in case you say something you might later regret.

Having now given the matter careful consideration, DCMD’s opinion is this. What a bunch of greedy cunts.

Apologies to Mrs Angry for that slight vocabulary malfunction.

Self-Serving Money-Grabbing Parasites

2010-07-13T03:13:00.012+01:00

On 19th May 2010, Don’t Call Me Dave wrote what was supposed to be his final ever blogpost, in which he described Barnet’s greedy councillors as self-serving money-grabbing parasites. A number of senior Conservative Party members told DCMD privately that they thought his words were a bit harsh. Judging by a report in the Barnet Bugle yesterday, it seems that actually they were a gross understatement.

Lynne Hillan is trying to force through a policy change which would see her allowance as leader of the council increase by nearly £20,000 from £34,909 to an obscene £54,227 - a rise of 55%. Other Cabinet members would see their allowances rise by almost 100% from £17,454.50 to £34,780.

This is in addition to the basic allowance which will rise to £10,597.

Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Local Government, and Grant Shapps, Minister of State, have both said that in these austere times, councillors must not award themselves any increases in their allowances. Given that public sector workers have been told that their pay will be frozen for two years, this was not an unreasonable request. Lynne Hillan, however, has decided to stick two fingers up at senior members of the Government.

Leaving aside the morality of her wanton greed, there is also a question as to the legality of the proposed changes because, as The Bugle reports, the papers announcing the increase were only published by the council yesterday, one day before the meeting. Local Government law requires three full days prior notice.

But Lynne Hillan is not the only councillor to hit the jackpot. Last week, Rog T and Mr Toad both reported that shy and retiring Brian Coleman’s allowances were £113,735. This is a stonking increase from the paltry £102,965.50 he received in 2008/09. If Hillan’s proposals are passed tonight, Coleman will see his total pay packet rise yet again to more than £130,000 - a 27% increase in just two years.

Other big winners are the husband and wife team of Andreas and Joanna Tambourgreedy who will see their combined taxpayer funded income rise from £56,000 to £70,500 - a massive hike of nearly 26%.

Residents living in sheltered accommodation who are facing the loss of their warden service because Lynne Hillan wants to save money will no doubt be jumping for joy at this news.

In addition to her council allowances, Hillan used to receive an allowance from the London Councils quango - as did former leader Mike Freer before her. Freer used to receive £10,248 for attending just one meeting a month until Hillan replaced him. After the elections in May, Labour took control of London Councils and, needless to say, awarded themselves all the best paid positions! Lynne Hillan no longer receives any allowance from them. No wonder she wants to push up her Barnet allowance to help make up for this terrible loss.

Many people have contacted DCMD over the last two months to ask him to return to blogging and, indeed, there are still 200+ people a day who visit this site to read archived articles. Such attention is very flattering, but one of the frustrations and limitations of writing previously was the self imposed requirement to use moderate language when, more often than not, something stronger was justified. DCMD fears that if the ruling Tory cabal on Barnet Council votes through these unjustified and unjustifiable increases in their allowances, another vocabulary malfunction might ensue. Councillors must therefore throw out this report and return DCMD to peaceful hibernation.

Thanks to Mr Toad for the picture.

The End

2010-05-19T23:18:00.009+01:00

After 1 year, 9 months, 23 days and 412 entries, this is my final ever posting.

Top blogger Rog T has generously described me as Barnet’s most sensible Tory, but I can now reveal that I am a Tory no longer. I resigned my membership earlier this year, deeply unhappy at the direction in which David Cameron was leading the party. I made no public announcement at the time, in the hope that a new Conservative government would prove my suspicions unfounded.

Sadly, events have merely demonstrated that Mr Cameron is as much a Conservative as Tony Blair was a Socialist. He has hijacked the party that I was once proud to support and serve, for his own ends.

Confirmation, if indeed confirmation was needed, was the undue haste in which Cameron got into bed with Euro Federalist Nick Clegg and then ditched many of the party’s key manifesto pledges. To join together with a party which has refused to remove the whip from the repulsive Baroness Jenny Tonge is something which I cannot ignore or forgive.

As I have written previously, the new government has no democratic legitimacy. The public did not vote for coalition government. Indeed, throughout the election campaign, whenever any of the party leaders were specifically asked what they would do in the event of a hung parliament, they refused to say.

Cameron is now proposing a major Constitutional change (the 55% rule) which was not included in either party’s manifesto, and the public are to be denied their right to vote on this change in a referendum. The only purpose of the new rule is to prevent the coalition government from falling within a five year term. Not even Stalin had the audacity to try something as undemocratic as this!

Cameron and Clegg say the coalition government represents a new type of politics but it looks and smells very much like the same sleazy politics that we have endured for the last 13 years under Labour.

And if Cameron is successful in his attempt, reported today, to change the rules of the 1922 Committee of back bench Conservative MPs, allowing him and his favoured ministers to have a vote in its proceedings, his lust for power will be complete.

In 1887, Lord Acton famously remarked: “And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” His words remain as true today as they did then.

I am instinctively a liberal in the traditional meaning of the word. I believe in individual liberty, personal responsibility, and freedom from government. It saddens me greatly that Cameron’s Conservatives no longer share these values.

I have devoted a large part of my life to political activism. But, like so many members of the public who refuse to vote at elections, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the political system in this country is rotten to the core. The choice, therefore, is either to spend the rest of my life fighting it, or simply ignoring it as best as possible. I have chosen the latter.

As for Barnet Council and our beloved councillors, there is nothing more that I can add that has not already been said about the self-serving money-grabbing parasites who run the Town Hall and I shall waste no more time on them save than to say that I fear it will take the death or serious injury to an elderly resident in sheltered accommodation before voters realise the consequence of re-electing the Tories to office.

I am hugely grateful to all those who sent me information for publication and to the tens of thousands of people - friends and foes alike - who have read this blog since its inception and contributed to the discussions. I hope it has proved entertaining as well as informative.

There is nothing worse than long drawn out farewells, so I shall simply end by saying thank you and goodbye!

Barnet Councillors claim for personal telephone calls

2010-05-16T01:36:00.013+01:00

Well surprise surprise! On the day after the elections, Barnet Council finally released details of the expenses claimed by councillors. The figures show that LibDem Leader Jack Cohen and Tory councillor Joan Scannell have both repaid money to the council for personal telephone calls which they had previously claimed from taxpayers.

As regular readers will recall, Don’t Call Me Dave first requested details of expense claims over a year ago. Since then, the council produced an ever more imaginative list of excuses for not providing the information before first claiming that the details would be provided by 30th April and then, after an e-mail from Brian Coleman, moving the date to 7th May - the day after voters went to the polls.

Click the image below to enlarge or here to download the complete spreadsheet showing all the claims from 2006 to 2009.

The amount repaid by Jack Cohen was £60 and by Joan Scannell £44.10 - not quite on the same scale as the MPs expenses scandal, but taxpayers' money all the same.

Three questions arise from this:

1. Would it have made any difference at the polls if voters had known that their candidates had claimed for personal telephone calls?

2. Does anyone believe that these sums would have been repaid had DCMD not made his Freedom of Information request?

3. Does anyone believe that Jack Cohen and Joan Scannell are the only two councillors in Barnet who have used their taxpayer funded expense accounts to erroneously claim for personal items?

Barnet’s Chief Executive Nick Walkley is paid £200,000 a year. For that money he needs to explain to the public precisely why it took so long for this information to be released, why there was an abject failure by the council to properly scrutinise the claims made by councillors, and what steps he is taking to prevent any future absues of the system?

Unemployment rises again

2010-05-12T14:10:00.001+01:00

I don’t agree with Nick

2010-05-09T13:09:00.006+01:00

If you need a good reason why PR is unsuitable for this country, look no further than the rather unedifying spectacle of the political parties horse trading behind closed doors.

The Conservatives spent the election campaign explaining why they, and they alone, should govern. LibDem policies were routinely trashed by senior Tories. Yet now, David Cameron is looking to get into bed with them.

Gordon Brown stood on the steps of Downing Street begging Nick Clegg to phone him, and yesterday the perma-tanned former bank robbery suspect Peter Hain was on his knees pleading: “Oh please don’t form an alliance with the evil Tories. Please, oh pretty please, form an alliance with Labour instead. We’ve always wanted electoral reform. We just forgot to mention it before.”

The public did not vote for coalition government. Indeed, whenever any of the party leaders were specifically asked what they would do in the event of a hung parliament, they refused to say. The public were entitled to know that if they voted for Clegg, they might get Cameron. Or Brown.

The LibDems won the lowest percentage share of the vote of the major parties, yet they now hold a disproportionate influence over the shape of the next Government. Conservatives and LibDems are holding secret back room talks, yet none of the parties have consulted with their members. This is an affront to democracy.

Most Conservatives would rather walk barefoot over hot coals than get into bed with the LibDems. The feeling is likely to be mutual. Whilst it is true that all political parties can always find some policy areas where they are in agreement (the Conservatives voted for Tony Blair’s education reforms for example) the reality is that real Conservatives and real LibDems are poles apart ideologically.

The LibDems are much closer to Labour, given that both are left of centre parties. It has taken a huge leap of faith for many natural Conservatives to support Cameron as he shifted the party away from the right, but a coalition with the enemy would be a step too far. The public have rightly condemned Gordon Brown as he bankrupted the country in his desperate attempt to hang on to power. They will take a similar dim view of Cameron if he does a grubby deal with the LibDems to win power. LibDems are unlikely to forgive Clegg either.

If the Conservatives cannot form a minority government on their own, then let the LibDems form a coalition with Labour. Frankly, given the state of the economy, it is better to be out of government right now as whoever starts making the necessary cuts in public expenditure risks incurring the wrath of the state dependent classes who rely on the taxpayer for their non-jobs and benefits.

A Lib/Lab pact would probably last no more than 6-9 months and a second election would more likely deliver a majority Conservative government with Cleggmania and Gordon Brown finally being consigned to history and the Tories winning those few extra seats necessary to cross the finishing line.

Less is Moore

2010-05-08T15:40:00.008+01:00

Barnet Labour leader Alison Moore is quoted in the Barnet Times saying: “This is a dismal result for the Barnet Conservatives…”

Actually Councillor Moore, this was a dismal result for Labour and an astonishing result for the Conservatives given the incompetence of the previous Administration.

At the General Election, Labour was well beaten, losing a record 91 seats but, amazingly, in the local elections Labour took control of 37 councils with a net gain of 414 councillors whereas the Conservatives lost control of 8 councils with a net loss of 121 councillors.

In neighbouring Enfield, Labour won 9 seats to take control from the Conservatives. In Harrow, Labour added 10 seats to oust the Tories. Labour also won control of nearby Brent, Camden and Ealing.

Barnet Council was ripe for the taking but due to the completely ineffectual campaign mustered by Labour, they took just 1 seat from the Conservatives who actually increased their majority by taking 3 seats from the LibDems.

Don’t Call Me Dave lives in Underhill which is a split Labour / Conservative ward. Given the national trend, this should have been a bread and butter win for Labour, but the Conservatives held on to their two seats. The Labour Party leaflet mentioned the axing of the warden cuts in just one sentence. The loss of the Icelandic deposits and the £12 million overspend on the Aerodrome Road bridge project accounted for a further one sentence.

This was sheer incompetence on the part of Barnet’s Labour Party. They have nobody to blame apart from themselves. They have let down the people they are supposed to represent and care for. If Labour could do no better than win back just one seat which they lost in 2006, then they are not fit to hold office in this Borough.

And the person who must shoulder the blame is their leader Alison Moore. She was too busy trying to get herself elected to Westminster to care about her council duties. When Mike Freer was under fire in the council chamber over the Icelandic scandal, it was Wayne Casey and the LibDems which led the debate for the opposition. Alison Moore was simply out of her depth.

DCMD has been told that, on a personal level, Alison Moore is a very nice person. There is no reason to doubt this. But being nice doesn’t make someone a good politician and democracy requires strong and effective opposition. Elderly residents living in sheltered accommodation now face the loss of their warden service because you, Alison Moore, were too feeble in leading a campaign against the axing.

This was not a dismal result for the Conservatives. Quite the opposite in fact. It was, however, a dismal result for Labour and Alison Moore. You have let down the whole borough with your gross ineptitude. You must resign.

Voting reform can wait

2010-05-08T14:45:00.004+01:00

If you believe everything that politicians tell you, you could be excused for thinking that the result of Thursday’s General Election was bad news for the country. “We must have strong government,” the party leaders tell us “to deal with the economic crisis facing the country.”

Oh really? And who was it precisely that created the economic crisis? Well that would be the very same politicians, of course.

If, however, you believe in liberty and freedom, then you believe in a small state with as little power as possible. The less power a government has, the less damage it can do. As American lawyer, newspaper editor and politician Gideon J Tucker wrote in 1866: “No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session”

Governments should protect us from terrorists, murderers, rapists and thieves, but they have no business trying to run the economy because, frankly, most of them haven’t got a clue what to do. If they had, they would be out working in commerce or industry.

The political classes have the reverse Midas touch. Anything the state interferes with usually goes wrong.

We have witnessed first hand what happens when Government gets too strong. Thirteen years of Labour profligacy and the country is on its knees facing bankruptcy. The state pokes its noise into every aspect of our private lives. We are living under an elective dictatorship.

The result of the General Election proves that the public is fed up with Government. We certainly do need electoral reform to do away with some of the gross inequalities of the system - for example the huge disparity in constituency sizes which means that votes are not of equal value across the country.

But what we do not need is a change to a PR system which would allow political parties to form post-election coalitions effectively ignoring the will of the people. As Guido Fawkes puts it so succinctly: “A system where deals are stitched up in backrooms by politicians without reference to voters is not much of a democracy.”

A recipe for fraud

2010-05-08T13:59:00.002+01:00

One of the most shocking aspects of Thursday’s elections was the sight of hundreds, possibly thousands, of people denied their right to vote due to the archaic system we have been using since Victorian times. It is clearly no longer fit for purpose and must be completely overhauled before the next General Election which might only be a few months away.

The system is open to abuse. Postal votes, for example, can be sent to any address in the country rather than the registered address of the voter. Such a lax system allows a fraudster to receive someone else’s postal vote without their knowledge or consent. With the exception of our armed forces serving overseas, postal votes should only ever be sent to the voter’s registered address.

What is worse is that no identification is required for anyone turning up to vote at the polling station. You are asked for your name and address, but do not have to provide any proof of identity. Don’t Call Me Dave is not calling for ID Cards - far from it - but as the electoral roll is a public document, there is nothing to prevent a fraudster checking the details of electors and turning up to vote in their place. In the 21st Century, it surely cannot be beyond the wit of mankind to devise a ballot card containing a unique PIN known only to the elector?

It has been suggested in the media that voting should take place at weekends to allow more people the opportunity to vote and to help prevent bottlenecks at the polling station with a rush of electors after work. This is a very sensible idea and was first proposed some years ago by the Monster Raving Looney Party.

It is time to stop running elections for the convenience of the political parties and instead devise a safe, secure system that allows 100% of the people to vote 100% of the time.

Dismal Dismore throws his toys out the pram

2010-05-07T15:33:00.004+01:00

Don’t Call Me Dave congratulates new Conservative MP for Hendon Matthew Offord on his victory at the General Election.

The margin of victory was slight - just 106 votes - and defeated Labour candidate Andrew Dismore, pictured hard left, is threatening legal action to try and overturn the result.

In a bad tempered speech, described by the Barnet Times as “vitriolic”, Mr Dismore accused the Conservatives of dirty tricks. It really does not behove someone from the party which includes Lord Mandleson as a senior member, to make such an accusation.

The bottom line is this Mr Dismore. The margin of victory might be small but 57.9% of the electorate made it clear that they didn’t want you. Given your outrageous allowance claims and your despicable stance towards the Gurkas, it is no wonder you lost.

Your party are new converts to PR so accept the decision and go and find yourself a new job. Preferably one which doesn’t involve sponging of the taxpayer.

An open letter to Lord Mandelson

2010-05-07T13:01:00.005+01:00

Dear Lord Mandelson

I watched you on television last night complaining about the fiasco at some polling stations. You said it gave an unfair advantage to the Tories because “Conservatives vote earlier”.

Are you pathologically incapable of speaking anything other than complete and utter bollocks? You have lost the election but because you and your deranged, deluded and demented leader are unwilling to accept the will of the people, you are now trying to do some grubby deal which will allow you to keep your hands on the reigns of power and your greedy snouts in the trough.

Do us all a favour Pete. Just fuck off.

Yours sincerely

Don’t Call Me Dave

Regular readers will hopefully forgive DCMD for this uncharacteristic vocabulary malfunction.

The public have spoken!

2010-05-07T09:56:00.007+01:00

As predicted, the Conservatives won all three Parliamentary seats in Barnet. Don’t Call Me Dave congratulates Theresa Villiers, Matthew Offord and Mike Freer on their wins.

It has been a very long night and DCMD is far too tired to give a comprehensive analysis of the results but outside of Barnet, the Hampstead & Kilburn vote was fascinating with Glenda Jackson holding on by the skin of her teeth in what is now a three way marginal:

Labour 17,332
Conservative 17,290
LibDem 16,491

Whilst it is clear that the Conservatives have won the most seats (without achieving a majority) and that Cleggmania has hit the buffers, it is also clear that in Scotland the Conservatives have once again been soundly rejected by electors.

It is time to give Scotland independence. Let them go their own way and stop being a sop on the English taxpayer. In return, England would get the majority Conservative Government it has clearly voted for.

A Nation Waits

2010-05-06T22:20:00.002+01:00

Council Elections: The Wards to Watch

2010-05-06T11:57:00.009+01:00

At long last, the politicians have stopped talking. Now it is our turn to have our say. In Barnet, the media predict that the Conservatives will win all three Parliamentary seats but the Council elections might throw up a few surprise results.

In 2006, the Conservatives under Brian Salinger won the council with a majority of 11 seats - the biggest majority for over 12 years. With a predicted London-wide swing to the Tories of 6%, they will be looking to consolidate that position and perhaps win an even bigger majority.

But there are many factors which suggest that results might not go the way they plan. This is not a happy council. Under Lynne Hillan and her predecessor Mike Freer, the Conservatives have proven themselves to be incompetent, reckless, negligent and unprincipled. It is a party that has become arrogant and self obsessed, which has been at war with itself for 8 years with no sign of hostilities abating.

There are 11 independent candidates standing under the banner of the Resident’s Association of Barnet and they, together the other opposition parties, will be hoping that sufficient number of electors are aware of all the shenanigans at the Town Hall to take David Cameron’s advice and vote for change!

There are a number of key battle grounds.

Mill Hill: The LibDems previously held all three seats in Mill Hill but in 2006, they lost one to the Conservatives. The LibDems have been campaigning vigorously in this ward in an attempt to win the seat back, but the Conservatives hope that the national swing will bring them further gains. Cleggmania could well be a factor here and the council would certainly benefit if Rog T is elected.

High Barnet: This used to be a rock solid Conservative ward, but Duncan Macdonald won a seat for the LibDems in a by-election in December 2005 following the resignation of Kanti Patel. The Conservatives believed this was just a protest vote, but Duncan held the seat at the full election in 2006 with a swing to the LibDems. The Conservatives will be desperate to win that seat back but the LibDems have been campaigning hard in the area and hope to unseat Wendy Prentice and Bridget Perry who have been tainted by the wardens issue. This and Cleggmania could also prove decisive.

Underhill: This is another split ward, with two Conservatives and one Labour councillor. Formerly known as Arkley, it was previously a solid Labour seat but following boundary changes, the Conservatives won two seats in 2002 and held them in 2006. Conservative councillor Fiona Bulmer is not standing this time so there will be a loss of her personal vote. The other Conservative councillor Daniel Webb is barely known locally. Labour councillor and former Mayor Anita Campbell, on the other hand, is very popular in the area and is likely to be re-elected. In 2006 the vote was very close between the two parties and Labour believe that they can defy the national trend and win these seats back.

East Barnet: Previously a split Labour/Conservative ward, the Conservatives now hold all 3 seats, but the Residents Association of Barnet (RAB) are fielding 3 candidates and have been campaigning hard on local issues. Cllr Joanna Tambourides is very unpopular and is seen by many locals as arrogant and aloof. Despite having only been on the council since a by-election in 2007, Mrs Tambourides was recently promoted to the Cabinet proving that arse kissing, rather than ability, can get you ahead in life. The seat was formerly held by Olwen Evans who sadly died on Christmas Day 2006. Shortly before she died, Olwen told Don't Call Me Dave that the current Conservative Group was the worst she had ever known in over 25 years. She wasn’t wrong. In 2006, Labour came a very close second in this ward. The question is whether RAB will take votes from the Conservatives or Labour. If they take them from the Conservatives, Labour could re-take this ward.

Edgware: The Residents Association of Barnet are fielding one candidate in this area - Linda Edwards. Edgware is normally considered a safe Conservative seat, but following Brian Coleman’s attack on Mrs Edwards, all eyes will be looking to see whether this will translate into votes for her. If it does, who will be the Conservative to lose out? Will it be Finchley resident Helena Hart or new boy Darrel Yawitch who has upset hundreds of residents over his stance on a particularly sensitive planning issue?

Totteridge: This is a rock solid Conservative seat. They don’t count Conservative votes in this ward, they weigh them! Whilst there is little doubt that the Conservatives will hold this ward, the question is whether there will be a significantly reduced vote for controversial Mayor Brian Coleman. Coleman is planning a leadership challenge to Lynne Hillan but if his vote is reduced significantly, this would certainly dent his chances as it would prove conclusively that he has become an electoral liability.

In 2006, the turnout in Barnet was just 41.65%. Nearly 6 out of 10 residents took the view that voting made absolutely no difference, but the margin of victory in some wards was actually very small. If you want change in the Town Hall, there is only one way to achieve it. Get out and vote!

Colemangate: The Expenses Cover-Up Deepens

2010-05-05T13:58:00.008+01:00

Don’t Call Me Dave has received a deeply worrying e-mail from Barnet Council. Regular readers will be aware that for almost a year he has been trying to obtain details of the expenses paid to councillors since 2006, even though the council is required by law to respond to Freedom of Information requests within 20 working days.

The council intends to provide a response on 7th May - the day after the elections. How convenient!

In February, DCMD posted a blog listing the catalogue of excuses received from the council for not providing the information requested. Two weeks later, a limited amount of information was released but, since then, it has proven impossible to obtain the missing details.

In March, Chief Executive Nick Walkley wrote to DCMD acknowledging that the council’s failure to provide the information was unacceptable and promised an investigation which he said would be quick! A council officer subsequently wrote to councillors on 14th April asking them to check the figures. In response, Mayor of Barnet (who else?) sent an e-mail to the Tory councillors saying:

“PRIVATE AND POLITICAL

Is this member of the public Mr David Miller or is it Councillor Salinger continuing to make trouble for colleagues

I understand this process has cost the Borough several thousand pounds to produce these spreadsheets not in my view a sensible use of Council resources”

This e-mail was widely seen as an attempt to obstruct the democratic process and prevent the public from finding out just how much councillors have claimed in expenses. The tactic seems to have worked because despite the council’s Deputy Chief Executive writing to DCMD last week to say that the information would be provided by 30th April, the deadline has suddenly been moved to a date after the election.

It is impossible to underestimate the abuse of process which we are witnessing here. The council has deliberately and unlawfully withheld information from the public which might influence the way they cast their votes tomorrow.

This is an unprecedented scandal which requires an urgent and independent investigation by the statutory authorities. The Chief Executive will need to consider his position and any Councillors who are found to have interfered with the public’s right to information should be prosecuted and barred from ever holding public office again.

Simon Heffer supports Barnet’s Wardens

2010-05-05T13:02:00.007+01:00

Daily Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer has written an excellent piece today in support of Yvonne Hossack, pictured right, who is standing as an independent candidate in Stockton South.

Heffer praises Mrs Hossack’s tireless efforts to save the warden service in Barnet and across the country at great personal cost to herself. Readers will recall that Mrs Hossack was reported to the Law Society last year in an attempt to have her struck off. She faced six professional misconduct charges brought following complaints made by several councils after she had challenged their attempts to slash their warden services.

At the time, Mayor of Barnet Brian Coleman sent an e-mail to his fellow Tory councillors:

“PRIVATE AND POLITICAL. Let us hope the dreadful Hossack woman is struck off by the Law Society , in the current climate the sensible nature of Barnet's changes is becoming more evident every day.”

No doubt to Coleman’s chagrin, the Law Society cleared Mrs Hossack of these vindictive and vexatious charges and the warden service has won a temporary reprieve. However, if Lynne Hillan is returned to power tomorrow, the threat to this vital service will sadly become a reality.

Don't Call Me Dave hopes that Mrs Hossack is elected to Parliament so that she can continue to fight the good fight on behalf of Barnet’s vulnerable elderly residents.

Let us all praise Brian Coleman

2010-05-04T16:48:00.009+01:00

Mayor of Barnet, Brian Coleman, regularly receives bad press which, for the most part, is fully justified. However, Not The Barnet Times is not afraid to praise Cllr Coleman when he does something right.

The picture below appears in the current edition of the Jewish Chronicle. It was taken at a recent fund raising dinner which raised a staggering £450,000 for Langdon - a charity which supports young Jewish adults with mild to moderate learning difficulties. According to the paper, most of the funds raised at the event will support The Quadrant - a £1.75 million project providing accommodation and a drop-in community centre in Edgware.

Don’t Call Me Dave sends his sincere and hearty congratulations to everyone involved in raising a magnificent amount for such a worthwhile cause.

Pictured with Cllr Coleman are his mother and Mr John Kelmanson, Liquidator of Lynne Hillan’s business Ashurst Direct Marketing Ltd, which regular readers will recall crashed with debts of over £121,000 including more than £10,500 owed to the taxman.

As Liquidator, Mr Kelmanson was required to raise as much money as possible to pay off creditors. Unfortunately, the amount he recovered was precisely nothing. Not even a penny.

According to the Statement of Affairs filed at Companies House, the company had no assets whatsoever which could be sold off to pay creditors. Not even a desk, filing cabinet, table lamp or even a box of paperclips.

If a Liquidator suspects that assets have been hidden from creditors, he can submit a report to the Department of Trade (or whatever it is called this week). Fortunately for Cllr Hillan, Mr Kelmanson did not submit such a report, allowing her to continue running her other company, Silverdale Ltd, from the same location, and possibly sitting at the same desk, leaving everyone else to pick up the cost of her failure. How lucky we are in Barnet that Cllr Hillan is now in charge of the council’s finances.

Lynne Hillan - Barnet’s Chief NIMBY

2010-05-03T17:48:00.005+01:00

Music for the election, No 5: N.I.M.B.Y. by The Vandals

Dedicated to Cllr Lynne Hillan who wrote in her election leaflet for Brunswick Park:

“We have seen what overdevelopment has done in many areas of London. High rise blocks of flats, over crowded estates and the demolishing of our family houses is not allowed in Brunswick Park.”

Perhaps not in your home ward of Brunswick Park Lynne, but you don’t seem to have a problem with huge high rise flats and massive overdevelopment in Brent Cross, Stonegrove and Grahame Park.

Cllr Lynne Hillan’s shameful hypocrisy is clearly worthy of the Order of the Pot and Kettle.

Excessive Familiarity

2010-05-03T12:01:00.010+01:00

The lovely picture above appears on the Chipping Barnet Conservatives web site. It was taken at their Christmas fund raising dinner for East Barnet branch. The newly elected leader of the council, Lynne Hillan, is sitting second from the left. At the far end of the table is Cllr Joanna Tambourides. Sitting second from the right, just in front of Theresa Villiers, is council officer Richard Robeson who is the Cabinet Advisor to the Tory Administration. He took over from former Conservative councillor Dr Vanessa Gearson when she was promoted to the position of senior spin doctor (all paid for by the taxpayer of course).

As you would expect, the council has strict rules governing the conduct of Officer/Member relations. Protocol 9.2 states:

“Officers, apart from political assistants, should not attend party group meetings, or party political meetings involving party colleagues who are not members of the Council, without the agreement of the Chief Executive.”

Protocol 11.1 states clearly and unequivocally:

“Members and Officers will often work closely together and develop good relationships. This can be beneficial, but there are limits and risks for all concerned in this area and it is not enough to avoid actual impropriety. Members and Officers should at all times avoid any situation which can give rise to suspicion and any appearance of improper conduct. This includes excessive socialising between employees and individual councillors.” (emphasis added)

The National Code of Local Government Conduct for Members states:

“Mutual respect between Councillors and Officers is essential to good local government. Close personal familiarity between individual councillors and officer can damage this relationship and prove embarrassing to other Councillors and Officers.”

As you would also expect, Barnet Council and the ruling Conservative Administration take absolutely no notice of the protocols when it suits their own purpose.

As Leader of the Council, Lynne Hillan knows (or should know) what the rules about socialising with officers are, and even if Mr Robeson was invited to this function without her knowledge, she should have taken action to rectify this breach of the protocol as soon as it became apparent, rather than posing for a photograph which she would have known was likely to be used for party political purposes.

This was not a technical breach of the code as Cllr Hillan and Mr Robeson voluntarily sat close to each other at the dinner table and then posed for a photograph. Don’t Call Me Dave is reliably informed that the council’s Head of Corporate Governance has been aware of this photograph since the beginning of February but has taken no action whatsoever against the individuals involved.

Clearly the rules which other political parties are required to obey, do not apply to Barnet’s Conservatives or their lickspittle lackeys.

Council meeting cancelled because councillors fail to show up

2010-05-02T13:03:00.003+01:00

A meeting of the Business Management Overview & Scrutiny sub-committee was cancelled last week because not enough councillors turned up to make it quorate.

There are ten councillors who sit on this committee with six substitutes yet between them not even three could be bothered to turn up - even though they are all paid very generous allowances by the taxpayer.

The party whips also receive a tax payer allowance to ensure that councillors attend meetings.

In the private sector, if workers do not attend the job for which they are paid without a valid reason, they are docked their pay. Don’t Call Me Dave calls for the members of this committee and the party whips to have their allowances docked accordingly.

Expenses Scandal: The Silence is Deafening

2010-05-01T21:48:00.006+01:00

As regular readers will recall, the Deputy Chief Executive of Barnet Council had promised to provide Don’t Call Me Dave with details of all councillors’ expenses since 2006 by 30th April. Well, 30th April came and went, but no details were received.

It has now been almost a year since the request for this information was first made and the council’s continuing failure to provide basic details - which should be available at the touch of a button - is worse than incompetent. It is nothing less than an absolute scandal.

The public are being asked to vote for new councillors next week without sufficient information upon which the existing councillors can be judged. Readers will decide for themselves whether this is a conspiracy or cock-up.

Council chiefs claims that they are committed to openness and transparency, but the evidence overwhelmingly proves the contrary. They talk the talk, but they can’t walk the walk. Barnet has consistently failed to comply with its statutory obligations under the Freedom of Information Act. DCMD believes this is due to the obsessive culture of secrecy which permeates throughout every fibre of the council’s being. A culture which is not merely tolerated but actively encouraged by senior officers and leading Members.

DCMD will now request that the Information Commissioner carries out a thorough review of the council’s operations to ensure that, in future, Barnet obeys the law of the land.

Salinger demands apology from Coleman and Rams

2010-04-30T17:34:00.011+01:00

Former council leader Brian Salinger has demanded an apology from fellow councillors Brian Coleman and Robert Rams over claims that he had been asking officers for information about councillor expenses.

In an e-mail to Conservative councillors, Mr Salinger wrote:

I now have written confirmation from senior council officers that I have not asked for any information about 2006/7 or 2007/8 expense claims and that the only information provided to me on 2008/9 was the limited information provided after Nick Musgrove circulated the list of expenses in November last year. This is exactly what I told the group.

The claims and allegations made by Cllrs Coleman and Rams are completely without substance and I look forward to receiving full apologies from them to add to the other apologies that I have collected from others leading members for false statements and errors of judgement made over the last years.

As regular readers know, Brian Coleman does not like ~~plebs~~ voters questioning his allowances and Conservative councillors agreed at a recent Group meeting that in future none of them would ask council officers any questions about expenses paid to them. Cllr Coleman then sent a defamatory e-mail to Tory councillors suggesting that Cllr Salinger had breached that agreement - even though an officer had written to him clearly stating that the request for information had come from a member of the public.

Many readers will be surprised that the very same Tory councillors who claim to be responsible with public finances have decided to simply close their eyes when it comes to scrutiny of their own expenses. This does not, of course, prevent the public from asking questions and Not The Barnet Times will continue to fight for full disclose of all public money paid to councillors and senior officials in accordance with Conservative Party policy.

Broken Barnet

2010-04-30T14:56:00.003+01:00

Hat Tip to Mrs Angry for her excellent blogpost today entitled I Predict a Riot.

Police were called to Hendon Town Hall this morning to deal with an ugly mob of unruly, middle-aged trouble makers fighting amongst themselves and threatening to 'form another Tory administration'.

A spokesman said: 'In Broken Barnet we're lucky to have a very low amount of anti-social behaviour, but where this does occur, the council will work closely with the police to stamp it out. Provided it does not cost us any money, or happen during the week, or at weekends, or Bank Holidays, or where common people live who might vote Labour.'

As the troublesome yobs were led away, they defiantly chanted: 'easy, easy, easyBarnet' and vowed to return to the Town Hall on May 6th.

Local resident Mrs Angry commented: 'Lock 'em up, and throw away the key.'

Council to release expenses details tomorrow

2010-04-29T16:37:00.005+01:00

The Council’s Deputy Chief Executive has told Not The Barnet Times that all Councillors' expenses details since 2006 will be published by 30th April 2010.

As regular readers will recall, some councillors are desperate for us not to know how our money is being spent.

What have they got to hide?

Brian Coleman - Economical with the Actualité

2010-04-29T02:34:00.008+01:00

Barnet’s inglorious First Citizen, Brian Coleman, just can’t keep out of the news it seems. The Barnet Bugle reports that his phone call to Mrs Linda Edwards, Chief Executive of the Larches Trust, is featured in the Rotten Boroughs section of Private Eye.

Meanwhile Don’t Call Me Dave has received an e-mail from an avid reader pointing out a rather disturbing discrepancy with Coleman’s version of events. Speaking to the Barnet Times, which broke the story, Coleman denied speaking to Mrs Edwards, saying: “I do not recall a phone call”. But in an e-mail to his council colleagues, he admitted that he had indeed made the call saying: “I did point out to her that in my view certain people should stay outside Party Politics”.

This is the same Brian Coleman who, when under investigation by the Standards Committee for sending an abusive e-mail to Rog T, said: “This has absolutely nothing to do with me, nothing whatsoever, and if you say otherwise you will be hearing from my Solicitor” even though Banker of the Year Mike Freer had already confirmed to the press that Coleman was, indeed, under investigation.

DCMD is sure there is a word for someone who tells an untruth, knowing it to be untrue.

Coleman to face Standards Committee. Again!

2010-04-28T15:52:00.003+01:00

Another Not The Barnet Times Exclusive!

Sources at the Town Hall have told Don’t Call Me Dave that Brian Coleman is to be investigated by the Council’s Standards Committee in respect of allegations that he has brought his office into disrepute and for not treating the public with respect.

The allegations are believed to be in response to a telephone call made by Cllr Coleman to Mrs Linda Edwards, an independent candidate for council. Cllr Coleman admits that he telephoned Mrs Edwards but denies any criminal wrongdoing. He claims that he merely expressed his belief that she should not be allowed to run for public office.

We understand that a further complaint is being considered in respect of a second telephone call allegedly made by Cllr Coleman to Mr Howard Lanning, Chairman of the Larches Trust - a charity which employs Linda Edwards as its Chief Executive. Mr Lanning has been unavailable for comment.

Brian Coleman became the first sitting Mayor in Barnet’s history to be convicted by the Standards Committee of breaching the Members’ Code of Conduct. To breach the code once is unfortunate. To do so twice is downright shameful.

Not The Barnet Times understands that the complaints will not be investigated until after the elections on 6th May.