Remembering Neil

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.

For Fox Sake!

The biggest political news story of the week was the resignation of Defence Secretary Liam Fox, whose position had become untenable following disclosures that his friend Adam Werritty attended numerous meetings with Fox, despite not having any security clearance or an official government position.

Fox, afflicted by the hubristic malaise typical of the political classes, tried to cling on to his position seemingly oblivious to the impropriety of his actions. It proves that David Cameron, when in Opposition, was correct to warn of the danger of the influence of lobbyists - leaving aside the hypocrisy of his failure to address the problem once elected to office.

There is, however, an unpleasant undercurrent to this story. Newspapers have published photographs of Werritty as Fox’s best man at his wedding. Other pictures show Werritty dressing similarly to Fox. The media has implied, and we have inferred, that there is more to their relationship than mere friendship. There is no evidence for this which, in any event, is totally irrelevant when compared to the more serious failings by Fox in the conduct of his ministerial duties.

Even if the innuendo was founded, it would not be the first time that a Conservative MP has married in order to disguise his sexuality; but in the 21st Century most electors cast their vote according to the perceived ability of the candidates rather than who they might be shagging.

It is rumoured that Mike Freer MP, who failed to be elected in Harrow West in 2005, fell out with the local Conservative Association over claims that he had tried to hide his sexuality from them. Don’t Call Me Dave finds this story hard to believe. Freer has always been open about his sexuality and, indeed, his Civil Partnership ceremony was held in the most public of venues - Barnet Town Hall.

In 2010 Freer was elected as MP for Finchley & Golders Green - a constituency in which the orthodox Jewish community makes up a significant part of the electorate. It is often claimed that people with deeply held religious convictions consider homosexuality to be a sin (Leviticus 20:13 and all that). However, it is self evident from Freer’s election that voters have more important things to worry about.

LibDem MP David Laws resigned as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in 2010 after less than three weeks in office because he tried to cover up aspects of his personal life. Liam Fox was forced to resign because he too tried to cover up aspects of a personal friendship. MPs wishing to hold on to their jobs should take a leaf from Mike Freer’s book.

Cameron is frit!

As most readers are aware, Don’t Call Me Dave is not the biggest fan of LibDem Prime Minister David Cameron. However, in a speech which Mr Cameron was due to give to the Conservative Party conference, DCMD is in full agreement. What a pity that the Prime Minister chickened out and changed it.

In what is now being described by spin doctors as a misinterpretation, the original speech called for householders to pay off store and credit cards because “the only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That means households – all of us – paying off the credit card and store card bills.”

Unfortunately, Mr Cameron gave in to pressure from the retail lobby and dropped this section from his speech. As Margaret Thatcher would have said: he’s frit!
The simple and undeniable truth is that we are all spending beyond our means, individually and collectively.

It is very easy to place the blame for the current economic crisis on greedy bankers, but they are not the only culprits. Gordon Brown is partly to blame for his irresponsible and inflationary expansion of the monetary supply which reduced the cost of borrowing, creating an artificial boom. But we, the people, must accept our share of the blame also. Nobody put a gun to our heads and forced us to borrow more money than we could afford to pay back.

The banks were utterly reckless in issuing credit cards like confetti, but consumers were equally reckless for accepting them. It was insane for banks to grant mortgages of 125%, but we were insane for borrowing more than the asset was worth. You did not need a degree in finance to realise that this could only ever end in tears.

House builders now sell their new homes with fitted carpets and kitchens and all the so called mod-cons. If buyers think about what they are doing, they will come to realise that they are taking out 20 year mortgages to pay for a washing machine. They will still be paying for it long after it has gone to the great laundry in the sky!

The public are not alone in this cavalier attitude to credit. In the People’s Republic of Barnet, the council has borrowed money to resurface the roads with repayments spread over 20 - 40 years. But the roads will require resurfacing again in about 10 years time. Future generations will be left paying the bill for something they never had. Government PFI contracts are nothing more than credit time bombs providing short term gains for politicians, to be paid back by future generations.

Our forefathers did not rush out to buy the latest consumer goods on tick. They knew very well that you only bought what you needed and what you could afford. The latest flat screen TV might look very nice on your wall, but if you haven’t got the money to buy it, then you will just have to make do with last year’s model.

This explosion of cheap credit has resulted in massive over consumption by the West. The planet is being systematically raped of its natural resources to fuel our insatiable appetite for the latest gadgets and gizmos. We are not only risking economic collapse by our financial profligacy, but an ecological disaster as we consume precious resources at a faster rate than nature can replace them.

The Bank of England has today announced another round of quantitative easing - or printing fake money as it should be properly known - to the tune of £75 billion, in an attempt to stimulate the economy. This is on top of the £200 billion ‘created’ by Labour. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Boy George Osborne, is supposed to be a history graduate. Did he not learn about German hyperinflation in the 1930s caused by printing more money? Or post war Hungary where prices doubled daily? Or Zimbabwe, where just 3 years ago, inflation rose to more than 2 million per cent?

The politicians and bankers would have us believe that the solution to the economic crisis is to spend money that we don’t have to buy goods that we don’t need. This might help retailers in the short term and make the government popular, but the long term consequences will be catastrophic. Of course, Cameron and his cronies won’t care about that. By the time the shit really hits the fan, they will have long since left office and the next generation will be left to pick up the pieces.

Mr Cameron was correct when he said that we can’t borrow our way out of a debt crisis. The swivel-eyed Trots who think otherwise should heed the succinct advice from the gentleman in the video below.

Cameron takes the Conserve out of Conservative

Bernie Ecclestone donated £1 million to the Labour Party. Formula 1 was subsequently exempted from new advertising regulations introduced by the last Labour Government. Mr Ecclestone’s donation was then refunded with Tony Blair declaring that he was a “pretty straight sort of guy”. Blair was highly criticised by the then Conservative opposition - rightly so, given the subsequent ‘cash for honours’ scandal.

Now that the Tories have one hand on the reins of power, they are seemingly not averse to amending the planning laws to suit big property developers who have made substantial donations to the Conservative Party.

David Cameron is unlikely to repeat Blair’s mistake of claiming to be straight, given his previous £680 expenses claim to have wisteria removed from his home, so the only question which remains unanswered is whether the developers will receive their money back before or after the law is changed in their favour?

Predictable, Predictable, Arsenal

Arsenal have long since lost their “boring, boring” tag, but the result today against Newcastle was as predictable as it was frustrating for Arsenal supporters. Last season Arsenal threw away a four goal lead to Newcastle, having a player sent off in the process. Today, new boy Gervinho was dismissed for stupidly retaliating to provocation from Saint Joey of Barton.



Arsène Wenger was forced into playing the second string midfield with Jack Wilshere absent through injury and Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri left out pending their big money transfers to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. This was a completely avoidable situation.



All 6.9 billion people on the planet, except Wenger it seems, knew that Fabregas was going to leave. It was obvious for all of last season that he wanted to return to Spain. Nasri’s refusal to sign a new contract should have set the alarm bells ringing. Instead of deluding himself that he could keep these players, Wenger should have sold them both at the end of last season and bought in replacements straight away.



Sir Alex Ferguson did most of his transfer business at the start of the summer, giving his new players time to settle in. He knew who was leaving and who was joining. Arsenal, by comparison, have left everything so late, that even if they do now buy the defenders they desperately need, the team will be unsettled for at least the first month of the season, if not longer.



Last season’s capitulation to Newcastle marked the beginning of the end of Arsenal’s Premiership aspirations. The season rapidly went downhill after that match and they never recovered their early season form. The consolation this year is that the only way now is up. But even allowing for new season rustiness, it is quite clear that Wenger has failed to address the ongoing problem of indiscipline amongst the team - Alex Song was lucky to avoid a red card for stamping.



Through pig-headed obstinacy, the Manager has allowed Arsenal to start the season from a position of weakness compared to Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Football has changed rapidly over the last few seasons, and Wenger has failed to adapt to the times. The so called Professor has lost his magic touch. It may only be the first week of the season, but it’s time for Wenger to go.

Crime and Punishment

If you steal a case of water worth £3.50, you go to prison for six months. But if you steal £680 from taxpayers to have your wisteria removed, you become Prime Minister.



What’s that you say Sooty? Mr Cameron repaid the money? Oh well that’s alright then. Taking something that belongs to someone else is OK as long as you give it back to them when you are caught.



How silly to think that the law makers should be subject to the same rules as the hoi polloi.

Eric's in a Pickle

When Labour were in power, the Conservatives rightly condemned Gordon Brown for selling off our gold reserves when the price was at an all time low.



Eric Pickles, Conservative Secretary of State for Local Government, has now instructed councils to dispose of their property assets when prices are not only low, but still falling.



It doesn’t seem to matter which political party is in power. None of them have got even the vaguest idea about asset management, and, as usual, it is the taxpayer who will pay for their mistakes.

The problem with Arsène Wenger

When Arsène Wenger decided to ply his trade in England, there were only two clubs he could consider joining - Arsènal or Queens Park Wengers. Fortunately, for Gooners, he chose Arsenal and there is no question that he destroyed the “boring, boring Arsenal” tag by introducing free-flowing football of the highest quality. He also ended a 5 year trophy drought for the club.



He was praised from all quarters for buying relatively obscure players that nobody else had heard of, at knock-down prices, and turning them into superstars. Under his guidance, Arsenal won three Premiership titles (including two Doubles) in considerable style.



But since moving to the Emirates Stadium, the trophies have dried up again and the quality of football rarely matches the dizzy heights seen a decade ago (yes, it really is that long). The reason is three-fold:



First, other clubs have spent hundreds of millions of Pounds buying experienced players at the top of their game. There is no question that spending £50 million + on one player is obscene, but that is the reality of the business. And it is a business: there is surely nobody alive who thinks football is still a sport? The Arsenal Board can talk about their self sustaining business model until the cows come home, but if you don’t have players who are as good as, or better than, the players in your opponents’ team, then you are going to win diddly squat.



Second, Wenger refuses to take off his rose tinted glasses. Nobody expects a manager to slate his own players in public, but even in private Wenger refuses to concede that not all of his purchases have been up to the mark. Senderos and Bendtner, to name but two, were kept in the first team for far too long to the detriment of the whole squad and the frustration of supporters.



Third, the players have an attitude problem which the manager has failed to control. Arsenal lose far too many games to the so called smaller sides. Wenger has a reputation for being a bad sport and this filters through to the players. He once famously remarked: “Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser”, but that misses the point. If you lose a game because of poor decisions by officials, then you have a right to moan. But if you lose because the other side played better than you, then you should have the good grace to admit it. The players assume that they have a divine right to win just by turning up on the pitch, and are consequently unable to cope when their opponents raise their game.



It is all very well Wenger talking about the supposed great team spirit, but the reality is that in each of the last few seasons, the players have regularly suffered an embarrassing collapse in form. When Wenger declared in the New Year that Arsenal were on course to win the quadruple, you knew that another trophy-less season beckoned. To throw away a four-nil lead away to Newcastle was unforgivable. Wenger is seemingly unable to motivate his players to recover their self confidence after a bad run. He is also quick to blame injuries for poor results. Other teams have injuries too - but top teams have a strength in depth to cope with such eventualities.



Nothing can take away the fact that Arsène Wenger is the best manager that Arsenal have ever had. But he is surviving in his job purely on the strength of his past performance. A few months ago, someone posted a message on the BBC website saying that Arsenal did not need to change their manager - they just needed their manager to change. But all the evidence suggests that Wenger is incapable of change. As in seasons past, supporters were promised a summer of high transfer activity but, as usual, it has not materialised. Instead Wenger has adopted a high risk policy of trying to hold on to players who have no desire to play for the team anymore. Compare this to Kenny Dalglish’s astute summer purchases which will give Liverpool a really good chance of a top four finish - most likely at Arsenal’s expense.



Unless, and until, Wenger accepts that a title winning team needs an experienced backbone, Arsenal will continue their dry spell. If he really cannot understand this simple concept, then it is time for him to go. The days of winning with kids are long since past.

This time is for real

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

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)