Filming: belatedly recording a victory

I've been so distracted with all the other misdeeds of Barnet's Tory administration that I didn't have time to mark a victory! The recent climbdown over filming from the public gallery at council meetings. The councillors, including Tories, voted at the council meeting on Tuesday 12 July to allow this.

Since then former Tory councillor Daniel Hope has been filming away, including with a tripod. The results appear on his Barnet Bugle video channel. I always wondered why Mr Hope was so hot on this issue, but now I see that he has simply been dying for the opportunity to try out his own equipment in public (sorry, I'm thinking about my holiday at the seaside again and those naughty postcards I saw).

I'm not sure what the councillors decided with regard to looking into the council spending some money to get professional filming done (no disrespect to Mr Hope). My own view is this would be good: just check out Haringey council's television coverage. Yes, it's like watching paint dry, some of it, but it does aid transparency, and helps councillors to remember to behave well. Yes, it costs, but democracy does, and I think the savings deriving from more democratic scrutiny will easily outweigh the outlay.

I did some campaigning on this filming issue myself, including getting a legal opinion via Bindmans on it, so it's good to register a victory! Of course, it was only a matter of common sense to give in - with modern technology and the talk of transparency, how could filming reasonably be stopped? But common sense is in short supply in Barnet's Conservative administration so we should count ourselves lucky that this went through.

Barnet goes missing at Tory party conference

A great post on the Barnet Bugle blog (written by an actual, genuine Tory, Daniel Hope).

Apparently, from being the council that everyone wanted to emulate, Barnet is now the council that no one wants to mention. It goes to show what happens when the light of scrutiny is thrown into dark places: or when people bother to read a few council documents and ask, "hang on a minute, what's going on here?"

Viva local democracy!

Barnet cuts will affect us all - protest 14 September

One can already, just a few months into the Tory-Lib Dem government, compile a list of the cuts affecting ordinary Barnet people. There will be many more in the months and years to come.

Today someone sent the trades council an email about their local park keeper service - it is going to be cut from one full-time park keeper (who has won awards for their work) to a team visiting once a week. The person that wrote said they were worried that the park would be taken over by "yobs", and go downhill. They also drew a direct connection between the priorities of Barnet council leaders - increasing their allowances - and this cut.

What else is falling victim to the cuts in Barnet?
- Building Schools for the Future: Bishop Douglas RC, Copthall, Oak Lodge, St Mary's CE High, The Pavillion and The Ravenscroft all lost the funding for rebuilding
- grants to voluntary bodies including East Finchley Advice Service and East Finchley Neighbourhood Contact (merged with Age Concern Barnet)
- Henlys Corner improvement plan under review

These disparate issues need to be drawn together. The Allowancegate scandal is a galvanising focus for the anger around the different cuts. The Times series reports today on Barnet unions' calculations of how many frontline staff the councillors' allowance rise could fund.

And former (Tory!) councillor Dan Hope's "Barnet Declaration" is gathering support, alongside the many petitions that have been started.

There is a full council meeting scheduled on Tuesday 14 September at Hendon Town Hall. The public can go and watch proceedings from 7pm, the trades council is also organising a lobby outside from 6pm. Come and let Barnet's council know what you think of Allowancegate and the cuts. Allowancegate: they think it's going to go away, but it's never going to go away.

"Austere times...?" - Barnet Press; Barnet Bugle audio and video

The Barnet Bugle has provided audio and video of news coverage of the Barnet council Cabinet and Leader allowances scandal. Thanks, Barnet Bugle (the blog is run by Daniel Hope, a former Tory councillor).

The Barnet Press, which you can pick up in your local Barnet library, has extensive coverage of the story. Its front-page headline is

Austere Times...? As councillors vote themselves a big pay rise – in the name of ‘transparency’ – we asked for council leader Lynne Hillan (whose pay is going from £34,909 to £54,227) to explain it a bit more. The answer? No comment.

The main article is here; union comment - "Unions’ disgust at pay rises as council workers face job losses" - here; the fate of Kate Salinger - "Tory councillor is punished for her stand against ‘immoral’ pay awards" - is reported here.

An editorial comment condemns the Tory councillors. The Barnet Bugle has that as well (it's not on the Barnet Press website, as far as I can see).