Coleman relaxes as London burns

Brian Coleman's powers of relaxation are world-renowned. In the picture above we can see him relaxing at work.

In the last few days he has pronounced himself relaxed at the prospect of Barnet residents getting the keys to council grit bins this winter (no issue is beneath his consideration), but also, alarmingly, about the idea of sacking all of London's 5,600 firefighters.

He says he can replace the trained and experienced workforce quickly.

Presumably he is also fairly relaxed about the money he has thrown away on the AssetCo contract: £12 million. (It's not his money, after all.) I say thrown away, because this private company, given 27 of Londoners' fire engines to run during the FBU strike on Saturday, in no way rose to the challenge. Only about 11 of the alloted stations were covered; crews crashed engines; fires went out of control. Because of Coleman's gung-ho attitude to industrial relations, and intense relaxation at the thought of exposing others to risk, London was left without fire cover for eight hours.

Another eight-hour strike is scheduled for Monday 1 November. If Coleman cannot stop relaxing and start showing some responsibility, hopefully the people around him can. Coleman will not move out of his complacency until someone sticks a firework up his arse and lights it. Until that happens, London will burn.

The trades council and Barnet Alliance for Public Services has called a lobby of the council -Tuesday 2 November, 6-7pm, at Hendon Town Hall. Hopefully the dispute with the Fire Brigades Union will be resolved by then. If not, make this the night that you come and tell Coleman to stop playing with our lives.