Barnet bloggers' open letter to council leader Richard Cornelius: Sack Brian Coleman!

Dear Councillor Cornelius,

The people of Barnet have spoken. The London Assembly result on 3 May was a resounding rejection of the policies of your administration and of a prominent member of your leadership team.

As you were not leader at the time of the 2010 election, and most of your unpopular polices were not part of the manifesto, we ask you to consider the following proposals, with a view to changing the course of your administration.

1. Dismiss Brian Coleman from your Cabinet. Mr Coleman was decisively rejected by Barnet voters in the London Assembly election and to allow him to continue in post is an insult.

2. Reopen Friern Barnet Library immediately. This well-supported community asset cannot be replaced successfully at the Artsdepot.

3. With local traders, campaigns and stakeholders, create a parking regime that will enhance the environment and restore the fortunes of Barnet's high streets. Parking charges should manage traffic, not rake in cash. No more hikes in parking charges; reduce charges as necessary, including in CPZs.

4. Cut the rate paid to all freelance consultants employed by Barnet by 25%. Large city firms including JP Morgan and Lloyds TSB have instituted such a policy in response to the harsh economic times. Any consultant not prepared to take a cut would be terminated as per contract terms.

5. Cut the pay of all Barnet Council staff earning more than £150,000 p.a. by 20% and staff on £100,000 - £150,000 p.a. by 10%. The savings in 4. and 5. would generate far more than the sum lost through the parking changes above.

6. Immediately halt the One Barnet outsourcing programme. Dismiss all consultants engaged on the programme.

7. Invite the council trade unions to identify savings and efficiencies within Barnet Council, at the same time protecting services, jobs, and pay and conditions. This exercise should also be opened up to Councillors and members of the public.

8. Invite members of the public to form an oversight panel, to scrutinise contracts and accounts with suppliers. Give the panel access to all council contract information, subject to signing of confidentiality agreements. The panel would report directly to the chair of the audit committee.

9. Cut all councillor allowances by 10%, to show that we really are "all in this together", and review the excessive allowances paid to Cabinet members and Committee chairs. Learn the lessons of the upset caused to voters by the "Allowancegate" scandal.

10. Stop harassing members of the public involved in protests against discredited council policies. Work with residents, not against them, to improve Barnet. Embrace democracy!

In the year of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, we ask: do you want to be the political equivalent of the captain who hit the iceberg?

Barnet Council has had two years of unremitting bad press as a result of policies that were not declared to the public during the 2010 election. Now the people have spoken, and we the undersigned believe that you have no choice but to listen and to change course.

Signed:
Derek Dishman
John Dix
Vicki Morris
Theresa Musgrove
Roger Tichborne

Take me out and shoot me... Or: Brian Coleman: My Part in His Downfall

North Finchley traders representative, Helen Michael

It's a funny thing but, for all all the excitement of yesterday, what is exercising me most this morning is the fact that I missed the chance to take a great picture.

At 6pm I was standing with a friend outside the entrance to Alexandra Palace, at the count for the Barnet and Camden London Assembly member election, when Brian Coleman arrived, with his mother.

It was clear by then that he had lost his London Assembly seat to Andrew Dismore, and people had been speculating on whether or not Coleman would show his face.

Now, here he was, against a spectacular backdrop of all of London, walking towards me. What did I do?

I'll tell you what I did. I failed to take a picture. And I have the audacity to call myself a journalist!

On reflection, it's lucky I didn't. Lucky for me, lucky for Coleman, lucky for everyone. His miserable face was a picture of studied light-heartedness; he was clearly utterly miserable. He lost by 21,000 votes, after all. (Full result here.)

He went into the big hall where the counting took place for the very end of the count; then he stood in the Palm Court while a knackered Nick Walkley, Chief Executive of Barnet Council and its returning officer, read out the result, and then, I understand, sloped off while a justifiably delighted Andrew Dismore made his victory speech. No speech from Coleman. No chance for the rest of us to practise our agreed upon dignified applause.

Yesterday was a great day for me and lots of other Barnet campaigners, trade unionists, anti-cuts activists, and residents who are simply browned off with Coleman. All of these 'constituencies' were represented up at Ally Pally. It was also a great day for the local Labour Party.

After such a day, month, year it would be tempting to write a blogpost along the lines of "Brian Coleman: My Part in His Downfall", casting oneself as Spike Milligan (although much less funny, of course).

If I'd got That Picture yesterday I could have stuck it at the top of this blogpost and written: "Errr, look at me! If nothing else, I'm the one with the camera who whips it out at the right moment." Instead, I'm the one with the camera who forgets all about it at the crucial moment and rather too compassionately steps aside to let a wounded man, not to mention his mother, pass unhassled.

I'm too soft, that's my trouble; it's why I'll never make it in politics. Or journalism.

I'll write some more analysis of the election result soon, and say What I Think Should Happen Next. In the meantime, I hope you like the picture I did put at the top of this blogpost. (I hope Helen Michael doesn't mind it.) It's a hommage to a rather famous picture of Brian Coleman, celebrating his councillor's code of conduct hearing - which he lost, by the way! - against "Barnet Eye" blogger Roger Tichborne.

Helen, a representative of the North Finchley traders who have suffered so much as a result of Barnet council's - in the first place, Brian Coleman's - parking policies, has borne the brunt of Coleman's legendary rudeness recently. She is one of the people who has helped to defeat him in this election and deserves a place of honour.

UPDATE: A few pics from yesterday taken with my crappy compact camera, none of Brian... oh, I told you that already: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11722019@N03/sets/72157629969910817/

To sack Brian, elect Andrew - today's the day!

Today, if they want to take it, the electors of Barnet and Camden have a chance to remove from one of his paid political posts one of the rudest, most arrogant and personally grasping politicians in the UK today - I'm speaking, of course, of Brian Coleman.

There is, in fact, only one way to sack Brian Coleman from the post of London Assembly member for these two boroughs, and that is to elect Andrew Dismore in his place.

Andrew Dismore deserves the job. He was a good constituency MP for Hendon. He will work hard, and he will be on top of his brief.

That he is the Labour candidate might put some people off, but if you lean to the right in politics - how shall I put this? - Andrew is a fairly safe pair of hands! As safe as you are likely to get in the Labour Party (pretty safe, I would say, pretty safe).

Dismore deserves the job, Brian Coleman doesn't deserve the job. This evening the Barnet Press published their interviews with four of the candidates for the post. One candiate was missing. Guess who wouldn't answer the Press's questions? That's right, the incumbent, Brian Coleman.

How predictable, how totally Brian, how completely unacceptable.

Coleman is assuming that he will get a victory, because Labour does need a big swing to take the seat. But it is do-able. If enough people go out and vote.

If you want to do right by Barnet and Camden, if you want to restore some sanity to Barnet and Camden politics, please go and vote for Andrew Dismore today. And, for the love of all that is sane and good, don't vote for Brian Coleman.

Reasons to sack Brian Coleman: he's the Tory candidate!

You've probably seen John Baldy's excellent "101 Reasons to Sack Brian Coleman" blog.

I don't want to take away from that at all. Brian Coleman is a particularly odious example of an arrogant, greedy, etc, politician, who deserves all the personal opprobrium he attracts.

But even if he were actually quite a nice bloke (!) I still couldn't vote for him because, well, he's the Conservative candidate.

As the rubric at the top of this blog should alert you, I'm a trade unionist (though some Conservatives are trade unionists as well, and good that they are) and a socialist. I'm a trade unionist who isn't in it just for the cheap insurance policy, or the press card (ahem).

I happen to think that trade unions are one of the great civilising forces in society. (28 April was Workers' Memorial Day when the trade union movement remembers all those killed or injured in workplace accidents, whose numbers would be more legion were it not for trade unions.)

Trade unions are by no means perfect, always in need of reform, and short-sighted if they only stick to industrial and eschew political issues (and they often do limit themselves in this way). I nevertheless think trade unions are the best hope for humankind to build solidarity, overcome its divisions, particularly class divisions, and organise a rational and democratic society. (Phew!)

I'm a socialist: I fervently hope and believe that we - humankind - can do better than capitalism, build on its achievements, but grow beyond it. So you won't find me in much agreement with the Conservative Party.

For sure, Labour has moved a long way from politically representing its working class base, and Tony Blair and his coterie were as enamoured with the rich and powerful as the Conservatives. But I think we all know that if you want the ruling class, pro-capitalist party par excellence, you still go with the Conservatives.

So, my reason, first, last and everything, for wanting to #SackBrian on 3 May is because he is the Conservative candidate.

If you are really into lists, however, and you want to be reminded just why this current Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government is so worth punishing at the ballot box this coming Thursday take a look at the Haywoods Voice blog. In a recent post Haywood lists no less than "170 reasons not to vote Coalition at the local elections" (the overwhelming majority of them good reasons).

Reasons to Sack Brian Coleman

Although John is up to no.81 on his blog - usefully supplied by his irate wife, who blames John's blogging for ruining their family life - he still needs people to feed him ideas.

You need only send a line or two (if that's all you can manage). John generally does some research and finds a nice picture to go with the story.

Email: johnbaldy123@gmail.com
Twitter: @johnbaldy
Hashtag: #sackbrian

Anyone But Coleman? Just make sure it's Andrew Dismore!

Barnet CPZ Action have produced a great poster for the London Assembly election next week on Thursday 3 May. It calls on people to vote for Anyone But Coleman.

The anti-cuts group Barnet Alliance last night decided to put this poster on its blog. We have supported the campaign against the hikes in parking charges for residents living in Controlled Parking Zones. It's a great poster! And we agree with the sentiment behind it.

But on a personal level I would go further and ask people to vote for the Labour candidate Andrew Dismore on Thursday.

For the constituency seat, you only get one vote. It matters very much how you use it.

If you want to see the back of Brian Coleman but you would ordinarily vote Conservative, and you're definitely not going to vote for another party, your choice is simple: don't vote for Coleman! Just don't vote for him. Stay your pencil! Coleman doesn't deserve your vote, even if you are a Conservative. He doesn't deserve any voter's vote.

Why not? Because he's uniformly rude to residents and colleagues, unapologetic when pulled up for his behaviour, pig-headed and often wrong-headed in the area of policy, and shamelessly greedy at tax-payers' expense. (I could go on.)

If you are a Liberal Democrat or Green voter please think about switching to Labour for this election. Andrew Dismore can beat Brian Coleman, but only if he gets more votes than Coleman! It's as stark as that. If you vote Liberal Democrat or Green in this election - for the Constituency seat - you are not casting an effective vote, if getting rid of Brian Coleman is what matters to you.

I don't honestly know how UKIP ("Fresh Choice for London"!) voters swing, but I'm guessing the advice would be the same to them.

(I've never been a strategic voter, but some can do it when the devil drives!)

If you're a Labour voter make sure you turn out on Thursday. Remind sympathetic family members, friends, neighbours, colleagues, etc, to vote.

If finding out more about him could persuade you to vote for Andrew Dismore - or not to vote against him! - please visit his website: http://www.andrewdismore.org.uk/home/

Dismore wrote recently to the Camden New Journal about Coleman's almost total lack of work in Camden, which he also represents on the London Assembly:

[A] Freedom of Information request I submitted to Camden Council... revealed that since the last London elections, Mr Coleman had not written a single letter to any Camden Chief Officer about any subject whatsoever.

One perverse byproduct of his inactivity in Camden is that Coleman is not so hated there as he is in Barnet, where he is far too active! Turnout in Camden could be relatively low. A lot hinges therefore on the turnout in Barnet where Coleman and his works are well known.

Yes, it must be Anyone But Coleman on 3 May but if you really want to see the back of Coleman, if you can, please make sure you vote for Andrew Dismore!

A new Barnet blog explores why we should #SackBrian

A new and probably temporary but handsome and sure to be well read blog appeared in Barnet today:

http://101reasonstosackbriancoleman.tumblr.com/

You can Tweet reasons to @johnbaldy or email johnbaldy123@gmail.com.

There is a Twitter hashtag for Tweets concerning Brian Coleman and the London Assembly election, to be used if you want to #SackBrian. I guess if you want to #BackBrian no one will stop you, but... good luck with that.