A tale of two Brians

This email exchange has reached me.

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From: Coleman, Cllr Brian Conservative
Sent: 10 September 2010 19:07
To: BSchama@aol.com
Cc: Prentice, Cllr Wendy Conservative; Hillan, Cllr Lynne Conservative; Harper, Cllr Andrew Conservative; Scannell, Cllr Joan Conservative; Rayner, Cllr Hugh Conservative; Cohen, Cllr Melvin Conservative
Subject: RE: Council Meeting September 14th. Agenda Item: 3.6

In view of the contents of this e mail , which I assume is notification that you cannot support a vote of Confidence in our Administration despite the result of the ballot at the Group I assume this means that you have resigned the Conservative Whip

As I am sure you will appreciate this is a serious matter and I ask you to reflect as of course if you intend to sit as an Independent appropriate arrangements will have to be made

Kind regards

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From: BSchama@aol.com [mailto:BSchama@aol.com]
Sent: 10 September 2010 18:24
To: Coleman, Cllr Brian Conservative
Subject: Council Meeting September 14th. Agenda Item: 3.6

Dear Brian

I am a loyal supporter of David Cameron, who I believe epitomises the wish of all genuine Conservatives to find the right solution to our current financial problems at both national and local level, and I fully support him and the Coalition in this very difficult task.

Lynne's stance on Allowances has embarrassed him and the Party I support. Grant Shapps made this very clear publicly and still she did not listen. I would like to be free to look after the best interests of the residents of our Borough and my Mill Hill Ward.

I have no problem with how the Leadership election was conducted which, so far as we know, was in a professional and fair manner. Nonetheless, nearly half the Conservative Group voted for Mark Shooter as Leader and this has further weakened Lynne Hillan's credibility.

As you are aware, the Council now needs to make a number of extremely tough decisions when reviewing funding and public resources. For Lynne to have chosen this very time to attempt to push through an obscene pay increase for herself and her closest cabinet and committee chairman colleagues demonstrated once and for all that she lacks the sense, sensitivity and judgement required of a leader.

As you also well know, a number of her Conservative colleagues - both old and new - advised her that this course was wrong. She refused to listen to reason and instead cynically persisted in attempting to justify the increases and only backtracked when she found herself caught in the relentless glare of adverse publicity, destroying the last of her personal credibility in the process.

Even now she still simply does not understand that the public want - and are entitled - to know exactly who is receiving an increased allowance and how much the increase is in each individual case, including the Chairman of her various Committees. Yet in attempting to explain her new "fallback" proposal she has signally failed to itemise both her own and her Cabinet & Committee colleagues' actual existing allowances and their proposed new allowances in a way that is transparent to our residents.

Every difficult Council and Group decision which has to be taken in the months ahead will now be tainted by her personal history of cynical allowance manipulation.

I would like to be free to vote in the best interests of the residents who I have the honour to represent and to do so with a clear conscience, without my loyalties divided between our national leader (whom I respect) and our local leader (who I do not).

I would be happy to support Andrew Harper, as Leader as I believe he stands the best chance of uniting our troubled group, supported by Mark Shooter as Deputy Leader with special responsibility for fiscal matters.

This is the only way that our Conservative group can unite again and go forward

Of course, you will need to seriously change your personal style if they are to succeed.

I want you to know that I bear you no personal animosity and I take this opportunity to wish you and your family "Shanah Tovah".

Regards,

Brian