David Cameron urges residents to sign a petition

Apparently Barnet's mayor designate, Brian Coleman, is sceptical about the value of petitions and ignores them when he gets them. It's just as well, then, that Barnet residents will be handing their petition against the proposed sheltered housing warden cuts not to him but to the current mayor John Marshall, tonight, before the council's annual meeting.

A small delegation from the protest outside Hendon Town Hall (5.30-8pm) will be ushered inside briefly to present the petition. Mayor designate will be in his chambers on the first floor getting ready for his big night.

It'd be interesting to find out the extra cost of hosting tonight's meeting and mayor's reception at the photogenic town hall, in the middle of building work, rather than at Barnet House, Whetstone which has been good enough for council meetings up to tonight and presumably after tonight. I feel my first Freedom of Information Act request coming on.

In dismissing petitions Coleman is out of step with his party leader David Cameron who today on Radio 4's "Today" programme was urging Britons to use any tool of local, grassroots democracy they can lay hands on to get their point across. OK, he was talking about them asking for a prompt general election, not mounting a defence of sheltered housing for the elderly, but the idea is there! This is how the BBC reports him:

The Conservative leader urged party supporters campaigning in next month's European and English council elections to start collecting signatures for a petition calling for an immediate general election.

"I want as many people as possible, whether you support Labour or the Lib Dems or no party at all to join in," Mr Cameron said. "Write to your local paper, write to a national newspaper - start your own petition. From the power of our collective pressure we can force Gordon Brown to act."

Let's hear it for the power of collective pressure! I find myself agreeing with the leader of the Conservative party for, probably, the first and, I trust, the last time in my life.