Campaign catch-up including the Barnet Spring

Roger Tichborne has a fun quiz over on his Barnet Eye blog: Is social media starting to destroy society?

It's certainly taking up a lot of my time! I am one of the main people 'working' the blog of the anti-cuts and anti-privatisation, pro-public services Barnet Alliance.

It had a serious makeover before Christmas, courtesy of David Braniff-Herbert, who was working with us for the TUC.

I was inducted in which levers to pull and which buttons to press, along with a couple of other people. The new design was great, and there are some useful features, such as the email campaigns we can run. Basically, we can make it easy for people visiting our website to send an email to the movers and shakers in Barnet - that's usually Barnet Council's Cabinet members.

At the moment, we have an email to send calling on them to consider halting the One Barnet privatisation programme in light of the scandal over food safety: Barnet's Tories want to outsource the whole of the Council's regulatory services, things such as environmental health and trading standards.

Please use the facility to send them an email, if you have time! They often complain that no one contacts them; we know that using this facility - making it easy to contact them - around 200 residents are now emailing them regularly about the issues we raise.

The website looks good but there are still some glitches to iron out, and it responds to loving and regular attention. I have been spending more time on it of late, hence less time on my own blog. With a very busy period coming up for the Barnet Alliance that is sensible. Have a look at the campaign calendar for March and you will see what I mean!

Please join us for some of these events, and, most particularly, for the Barnet Spring march on Saturday 23rd.