An open letter to Richard Cornelius, Conservative leader of Barnet Council.
On Friday 3 May Councillor Brian Coleman pleaded guilty to the charge of common assault by beating of Helen Michael, in the High Road in North Finchley. Evidence from CCTV was shown in court and proved incontrovertibly that this incident was nothing less than an utterly indefensible act of aggression. It resulted from Councillor Coleman being caught parking in a loading bay, trying to evade the hugely controversial parking payment scheme he had imposed on residents in this borough.
Despite the fact that he has now been convicted of a criminal act of assault, Barnet Council has refused to comment, absurdly claiming that this is unnecessary as the attack did not take place while the Councillor was on council business.
Indeed local Tory members, including leader Richard Cornelius, openly continued to support their fellow member after he was charged, and were privately informing others that the story of the assault was false.
Councillor Coleman was suspended from the party only after intervention from Conservative Central Office.
Since the
conviction, local Conservatives have issued no statement.
By his own actions Councillor Coleman has shown himself to be unfit for public office: such bullying behaviour, dishonesty and hypocrisy are not acceptable in an elected representative of the community. We demand therefore that he stand down from his seat in Totteridge, and that the Conservative Party expel him from membership.
We call on Richard Cornelius, as leader of Barnet Council, and on behalf of the Conservative Party in this borough, to apologise to Ms Michael, and to dissociate himself and his colleagues from this appalling incident.
To remain silent is not an option: to remain silent is to condone an act of violence against a woman, and this was and must always be absolutely unacceptable.
Signed:
Derek Dishman
John Dix
Vicki Morris
Theresa Musgrove
Roger Tichborne
Showing posts with label Helen Michael. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helen Michael. Show all posts
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Citizen Barnet's review of the year 2012
Hello, it's time for Citzen Barnet's review of the year 2012. I use photographs I've taken throughout the year to illustrate an episode from each month of this year in the London Borough of Barnet, where we edged closer and closer to 'One Barnet' outsourcing bliss/blight.
Grab a glass, enjoy, and happy 2013!
January - you've been Johnsoned!
In some ways, 2013 was the year of Boris and Brian (more, much more anon).
On Tuesday 17 January Boris Johnson hosted a TalkLondon/ElectBoris roadshow at the Peel Centre, Aerodrome Road. He bestrode the stage like a colossal ****. Brian Coleman, his GLA running mate, was effectively muzzled by being made chair for the evening. Still, no one could miss in the (too) well-behaved audience - although Coleman did his best to - a vociferous group in bespoke t-shirts protesting against Barnet Council's new parking regime: this was my first sight of North Finchley traders' leader Helen Michael whom I now count as a mate! A year can be a long time in politics.
I didn't take a picture that night, so this month is illustrated with one of the odd pictures I made during his election campaign highlighting Boris Johnson's penchant for doughnuts and what I think of his politics generally: mouldy, old dough.
Freezing February - Barnet's marching season
February perversely was, as I remarked at the time, the month for three outdoor demonstrations!
On Saturday 4 February I paid my first visit to Friern Barnet to take part in a Save Friern Barnet Library group demonstration. On Monday 6 February I joined the North Finchley traders' funeral march. On Thursday 9 February, I supported the Barnet Unison picket at the council offices at North London Business Park. This was how I reported the strike:
VICKI TIP: You can follow Barnet Unison on Twitter (a social medium that came of age in Barnet this year): @Barnet_Unison
March at the movies
On Monday 5 March Brian Coleman was found to have breached the councillors' code of conduct. A prize (of sorts) if you can guess how many months hence he will comply with his penalty.
Also in March, Barnet Tories began to attempt to repair their electoral arses by announcing a review into their new disastrous parking regime, and choosing Brian Schama as their new mayor and Kate Salinger as his deputy. As the year goes on, we will see how little this was and too late.
Monday 19 March saw the premiere of the film "A Tale of Two Barnets" by Charles Honderick (director) and Roger Tichborne (producer). The Phoenix cinema in East Finchley was packed out for this treat of a film which explored the lives, hopes and expectations of some of Barnet's residents as the borough gears up for the massive 'One Barnet' outsourcing programme.
Little did we or - I suspect - even Charles and Roger know that 2012 would be so busy that it would require a second film by the end of the year!
The picture below is of the orderly dole queue formed by protesters outside Downing Street on a warm Budget Day, 21 March.
April - adumbrations!
Barnet Council went ahead and closed Friern Barnet Library on Thursday 5 April but could not carry through their plan without resistance! Some stalwarts of the Save Friern Barnet Library group, bolstered by members of the Barnet Alliance for Public Services and one or two members of the local Labour Party, 'sat in' at the library for five hours after the planned closing time of 1pm. We even thought to improvise a Twitter hashtag: #OccupyFB. Prophetic in a way!
May the merciless
Thursday 3 May was the day, the frabjous day, when the Labour Party's Andrew Dismore slay the Tory Brian Coleman to become Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, a richly deserved victory and defeat respectively. (Boris Johnson won his election, btw.)
On Thursday 31 May the Barnet Tories also lost a seat in a by election in Brunswick Park ward, left vacant on the death of former Council leader Lynne Hillan. The seat was won by one of the nicest men in British politics, Labour candidate Andreas Ioannidis.
June - Greece and an AGM
The Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) held its first AGM on Tuesday 12 June at the Greek Cypriot Centre in Britannia Road, N12. We have had an incredibly busy year, meeting almost weekly, organising talks, marches, stalls, and so on. We also have a swish new website, helped by sponsorship from some of the unions that are also opposing cuts and privatisation in our public services.
Dodgy jobs in July
Barnet Council had a dishonorable mention at the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in July for the number of senior executives it employs on contract rather than on the payroll (aka town hall tax dodgers), including its then deputy Chief Executive Andrew Travers. The Famous Five Barnet bloggers (who by now were having their elbows jostled by many excellent, new bloggers) wrote one of their year's many open letters on the issue.
At a BAPS conference "Barnet Council: not for sale!" on Saturday 7 July, blogger John Dix (Mr Reasonable) wowed the audience with his One Barnet black box trick, and public services expert Andy Mudd frightened them silly, presenting his daming report "London Borough of Barnet: Procurement and Contract Management", which concludes:
Angst in August
In August, if you could drag your gaze from the sporting spectacles on the telly long enough, you would notice that Barnet Council leader Richard Cornelius got in a strop over One Barnet. While he was on holiday, senior officers let it out that one of the big contracts, Development and Regulatory Services, would be a Joint Venture, whereas Cornelius was not keen on this. For a while we could legitimately ask, and we bloggers did: who runs the Council, the elected politicians or the unelected officers?
A few months later it was clear that the answer is the unelected officers, but they have to twist the politicians' arms first, as Cornelius too came out favouring JV. Of course, there is also the question of who the elected politicians represent, when they have never consulted residents over the whole principle of One Barnet, let alone which particular model it will take. But that is the theme of the last third of the year.
In the meantime, here is a picture of Barnet Mayor Brian Schama showing his face at a community games on Grahame Park estate.
Good sports in September
Friern Barnet Library was re-occupied in September by people who know rather more about the business than we who attempted it in April; by activists of the Occupy movement. I've learned subsequently that they had little inkling of the battle that had raged and was still raging around the building, but a political compromise and cooperation with existing campaigns was quickly established, and the library re-opened to the public under workers and users' control, its shelves filled with donated books.
Barnet Council quickly had the occupiers in court but hadn't prepared well, as it took them till December to get a possession order.
October - omg!
October felt like the most torrid month in a torrid year, outside Barnet, where Jimmy Savile's paedophilia was exposed, and we had recently found out about the disgraceful behaviour of the establishment around the Hillsborough disaster, and, of course, all year the Murdoch newspapers cases rumbled on. But also in Barnet we had our own torrid autumn.
Brian Coleman was involved in an alleged assault on Helen Michael; Barnet Tories shilly-shallied about how to respond, finally suspending him from the local party in November, but only after the national party had already stepped in to boot him out of its ranks.
Barnet Council Chief Executive Nick Walkley (one of literary editor Boyd Tonkin's 'barbarian bureaucrats' for his role in closing Friern Barnet Library, and a chief architect of 'One Barnet') announced he was taking his bad haircut off to Haringey for a pay cut. He was replaced by his deputy Andrew 'Town Hall Tax Dodger' Travers.
The Council thought better of outsourcing 'street scene' services, thus relieving residents of one massive headache.
Barnet Council finally admitted that the 'landmark library' they were negotiating with the Artsdepot to replace the closed Friern Barnet Library was a chimera. It didn't stop them continuing to pursue a possession order on the library, so as to evict the occupiers and sell the building. (But they weren't there and they aren't quite there yet...)
Brian Coleman finally apologised - very badly - for his insults to residents (see entry for March - if you guessed right, your prize is a warm, satisfied glow. Plus, please get in touch: your encyclopedic knowledge of Barnet trivia could come in useful for a fundraising quiz I am organising).
Charles Honderick and Roger Tichborne's follow-up film "Barnet - the Billion Pound Gamble" premiered at the Phoenix on 22 October.
The Barnet Alliance presented its petition calling for a referendum of residents over the One Barnet programme at a Council committee, the Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which finally asked some awkward questions - including of Andrew Travers.
I helped design and edit a wraparound on the local newspapers which told residents more than they had ever been told before about the One Barnet programme. When I write up some notes on how we have run this campaign I will write in big letters WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS EARLIER!
It has never been difficult persuading Barnet residents - of whatever party allegiance - that One Barnet is a bad idea. All we needed to do was to let more of them know earlier what the Council was planning and we might have stopped it before it began...
(I did warn you October was mental.)
November nightmares
Brian Coleman became a saint of a kind yet still a sinner. He came out against One Barnet in an article in the Barnet Press. He also denied the charge of "assault [of Helen Michael] by beating and driving without reasonable care" at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on 5 November - Coleman's case is due to be heard on Wednesday 6 February 2013.
Richard Cornelius finally consented to address the public over One Barnet, at a meeting organised by BAPS on 8 November. His performance failed to impress even those who had come with an open mind, in a packed room at the Greek Cypriot Centre.
Barnet Council workers learned that Capita had won the bid to provide a £750 million New Support and Customer Services Organisation (NSCSO) aka big call centre. They would soon find out that around 200 would lose their jobs which would be exported out of the borough.
The Council learned of the first of two legal challenges to One Barnet, from John Sullivan on behalf of his daughter Susan. Barnet Alliance is helping to raise money to support this legal case and that of Maria Nash (announced in December). You can donate here.
Grab a glass, enjoy, and happy 2013!
January - you've been Johnsoned!
In some ways, 2013 was the year of Boris and Brian (more, much more anon).
On Tuesday 17 January Boris Johnson hosted a TalkLondon/ElectBoris roadshow at the Peel Centre, Aerodrome Road. He bestrode the stage like a colossal ****. Brian Coleman, his GLA running mate, was effectively muzzled by being made chair for the evening. Still, no one could miss in the (too) well-behaved audience - although Coleman did his best to - a vociferous group in bespoke t-shirts protesting against Barnet Council's new parking regime: this was my first sight of North Finchley traders' leader Helen Michael whom I now count as a mate! A year can be a long time in politics.
I didn't take a picture that night, so this month is illustrated with one of the odd pictures I made during his election campaign highlighting Boris Johnson's penchant for doughnuts and what I think of his politics generally: mouldy, old dough.
Freezing February - Barnet's marching season
February perversely was, as I remarked at the time, the month for three outdoor demonstrations!
On Saturday 4 February I paid my first visit to Friern Barnet to take part in a Save Friern Barnet Library group demonstration. On Monday 6 February I joined the North Finchley traders' funeral march. On Thursday 9 February, I supported the Barnet Unison picket at the council offices at North London Business Park. This was how I reported the strike:
Around 300 workers due to be transfered to private sector employment under the council's "One Barnet" outsourcing plan will be taking their fourth day of strike action.They included 20-odd 'back office' staff of the parking service (pictured) - ultimately made redundant when NSL took over the parking contract (worth £15 million over 5 years) in May.
VICKI TIP: You can follow Barnet Unison on Twitter (a social medium that came of age in Barnet this year): @Barnet_Unison
March at the movies
On Monday 5 March Brian Coleman was found to have breached the councillors' code of conduct. A prize (of sorts) if you can guess how many months hence he will comply with his penalty.
Also in March, Barnet Tories began to attempt to repair their electoral arses by announcing a review into their new disastrous parking regime, and choosing Brian Schama as their new mayor and Kate Salinger as his deputy. As the year goes on, we will see how little this was and too late.
Monday 19 March saw the premiere of the film "A Tale of Two Barnets" by Charles Honderick (director) and Roger Tichborne (producer). The Phoenix cinema in East Finchley was packed out for this treat of a film which explored the lives, hopes and expectations of some of Barnet's residents as the borough gears up for the massive 'One Barnet' outsourcing programme.
Little did we or - I suspect - even Charles and Roger know that 2012 would be so busy that it would require a second film by the end of the year!
The picture below is of the orderly dole queue formed by protesters outside Downing Street on a warm Budget Day, 21 March.
April - adumbrations!
 |
| Foreground: Maureen Ivens, Save Friern Barnet Library group; background: Barnet Council Assistant Director Bill Murphy briefs an electrician on turning the power off. |
May the merciless
Thursday 3 May was the day, the frabjous day, when the Labour Party's Andrew Dismore slay the Tory Brian Coleman to become Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden, a richly deserved victory and defeat respectively. (Boris Johnson won his election, btw.)
On Thursday 31 May the Barnet Tories also lost a seat in a by election in Brunswick Park ward, left vacant on the death of former Council leader Lynne Hillan. The seat was won by one of the nicest men in British politics, Labour candidate Andreas Ioannidis.
 |
| Helen Michael celebrates the defeat of Brian Coleman in the plush surroundings of Alexandra Palace |
The Barnet Alliance for Public Services (BAPS) held its first AGM on Tuesday 12 June at the Greek Cypriot Centre in Britannia Road, N12. We have had an incredibly busy year, meeting almost weekly, organising talks, marches, stalls, and so on. We also have a swish new website, helped by sponsorship from some of the unions that are also opposing cuts and privatisation in our public services.
 |
| Paul Mackney, Greek Solidarity Campaign, Greek party Syriza and Greek-Cypriot party AKEL spoke at a Barnet Alliance meeting, 7 June |
Barnet Council had a dishonorable mention at the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee in July for the number of senior executives it employs on contract rather than on the payroll (aka town hall tax dodgers), including its then deputy Chief Executive Andrew Travers. The Famous Five Barnet bloggers (who by now were having their elbows jostled by many excellent, new bloggers) wrote one of their year's many open letters on the issue.
At a BAPS conference "Barnet Council: not for sale!" on Saturday 7 July, blogger John Dix (Mr Reasonable) wowed the audience with his One Barnet black box trick, and public services expert Andy Mudd frightened them silly, presenting his daming report "London Borough of Barnet: Procurement and Contract Management", which concludes:
...there can be little confidence that Barnet has the capability, and perhaps more worryingly the culture, necessary to meet the challenge posed by the letting and management of contracts that, under the One Barnet plan, will be far bigger than anything the Council has previously dealt with.
 |
| John Dix shows how environmental health will be among those services disappearing into the One Barnet outsourced 'black box' |
In August, if you could drag your gaze from the sporting spectacles on the telly long enough, you would notice that Barnet Council leader Richard Cornelius got in a strop over One Barnet. While he was on holiday, senior officers let it out that one of the big contracts, Development and Regulatory Services, would be a Joint Venture, whereas Cornelius was not keen on this. For a while we could legitimately ask, and we bloggers did: who runs the Council, the elected politicians or the unelected officers?
A few months later it was clear that the answer is the unelected officers, but they have to twist the politicians' arms first, as Cornelius too came out favouring JV. Of course, there is also the question of who the elected politicians represent, when they have never consulted residents over the whole principle of One Barnet, let alone which particular model it will take. But that is the theme of the last third of the year.
In the meantime, here is a picture of Barnet Mayor Brian Schama showing his face at a community games on Grahame Park estate.
Good sports in September
Friern Barnet Library was re-occupied in September by people who know rather more about the business than we who attempted it in April; by activists of the Occupy movement. I've learned subsequently that they had little inkling of the battle that had raged and was still raging around the building, but a political compromise and cooperation with existing campaigns was quickly established, and the library re-opened to the public under workers and users' control, its shelves filled with donated books.
Barnet Council quickly had the occupiers in court but hadn't prepared well, as it took them till December to get a possession order.
 |
| Barnet Alliance stall at Chipping Barnet Library, Saturday 15 September |
October felt like the most torrid month in a torrid year, outside Barnet, where Jimmy Savile's paedophilia was exposed, and we had recently found out about the disgraceful behaviour of the establishment around the Hillsborough disaster, and, of course, all year the Murdoch newspapers cases rumbled on. But also in Barnet we had our own torrid autumn.
Brian Coleman was involved in an alleged assault on Helen Michael; Barnet Tories shilly-shallied about how to respond, finally suspending him from the local party in November, but only after the national party had already stepped in to boot him out of its ranks.
Barnet Council Chief Executive Nick Walkley (one of literary editor Boyd Tonkin's 'barbarian bureaucrats' for his role in closing Friern Barnet Library, and a chief architect of 'One Barnet') announced he was taking his bad haircut off to Haringey for a pay cut. He was replaced by his deputy Andrew 'Town Hall Tax Dodger' Travers.
The Council thought better of outsourcing 'street scene' services, thus relieving residents of one massive headache.
Barnet Council finally admitted that the 'landmark library' they were negotiating with the Artsdepot to replace the closed Friern Barnet Library was a chimera. It didn't stop them continuing to pursue a possession order on the library, so as to evict the occupiers and sell the building. (But they weren't there and they aren't quite there yet...)
Brian Coleman finally apologised - very badly - for his insults to residents (see entry for March - if you guessed right, your prize is a warm, satisfied glow. Plus, please get in touch: your encyclopedic knowledge of Barnet trivia could come in useful for a fundraising quiz I am organising).
Charles Honderick and Roger Tichborne's follow-up film "Barnet - the Billion Pound Gamble" premiered at the Phoenix on 22 October.
The Barnet Alliance presented its petition calling for a referendum of residents over the One Barnet programme at a Council committee, the Business Management Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which finally asked some awkward questions - including of Andrew Travers.
I helped design and edit a wraparound on the local newspapers which told residents more than they had ever been told before about the One Barnet programme. When I write up some notes on how we have run this campaign I will write in big letters WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS EARLIER!
It has never been difficult persuading Barnet residents - of whatever party allegiance - that One Barnet is a bad idea. All we needed to do was to let more of them know earlier what the Council was planning and we might have stopped it before it began...
(I did warn you October was mental.)
November nightmares
Brian Coleman became a saint of a kind yet still a sinner. He came out against One Barnet in an article in the Barnet Press. He also denied the charge of "assault [of Helen Michael] by beating and driving without reasonable care" at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on 5 November - Coleman's case is due to be heard on Wednesday 6 February 2013.
Richard Cornelius finally consented to address the public over One Barnet, at a meeting organised by BAPS on 8 November. His performance failed to impress even those who had come with an open mind, in a packed room at the Greek Cypriot Centre.
Barnet Council workers learned that Capita had won the bid to provide a £750 million New Support and Customer Services Organisation (NSCSO) aka big call centre. They would soon find out that around 200 would lose their jobs which would be exported out of the borough.
The Council learned of the first of two legal challenges to One Barnet, from John Sullivan on behalf of his daughter Susan. Barnet Alliance is helping to raise money to support this legal case and that of Maria Nash (announced in December). You can donate here.
 |
| Richard Cornelius listens to Andy Mudd, Barnet Alliance meeting, 8 November |
December deadlines
Many things came to a head in the final days of a frenetic 2012.
Barnet Alliance disrupted the Cabinet meeting on Thursday 6 December where Barnet Tories took the decision to go ahead with the £750 million NSCSO contract (now transmogrified into a £320 million contract - I'm still not sure how: that's my homework). We could not sit by and watch this illegitimate decision go ahead without making a protest, albeit a token one.
On Monday 17 December Barnet Council finally got a possession order against the occupiers of Friern Barnet Library but I understand the - on the face of it - dodgy judgment will be appealed. And the battle to save the library is, dare I say it, only just joined.
On Thursday 20 December Barnet residents visited and protested outside the HQ of Capita in Victoria. I have a feeling that Capita will come to regret winning this contract. I for one will play my part in building a national campaign that turns the spotlight on the operations of the big public sector outsourcing companies in the way that groups such as UK Uncut and Occupy have successfully shone a light on the tax evading behaviour of the likes of Starbucks.
2013 looks like being as busy as 2012.
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| Happy Christmas, Capita, from the Barnet Alliance for Public Services |
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Christmas cheer, North Finchley, Saturday 15 December
At long last, some good news for traders and shoppers in North Finchley, and a party for all who can get along there. (Barnet Alliance will have a stall at this event and distribute leaflets for our protest at Capita on Thursday 20 November, 5-6pm, 71 Victoria Street, SW1H. But that's not till Thursday so here are the details for this Saturday.)
A Christmas Event for North Finchley
Visitors to North Finchley are in for a treat this Christmas as local traders organise ‘Tally Ho Ho Ho’, a town centre event packed with free family activities and entertainment. Saturday December 15th is the date for your diaries when the event kicks off with a flourish.
...
Father Christmas will arrive by horse and carriage at 10.00am and he will be carried through the town distributing chocolate, gold coins to children. From 11.30am children will be able to visit Santa with two live reindeer and a barn owl in a beautiful grotto at the Bohemia Bar on North Finchley High Road.
Peppa Pig and George will be making public appearances at intervals on Tally Ho Corner from 11.30am until 3.30pm where stalls will sell mulled wine, chocolate marshmallows and other sweet treats.
Children can make Gruffalo badges in the artsdepot cafe and a small stage will be erected outside the building for musical entertainment. Other activities include cupcake decorating, wreath making, carol singing, face painting and street entertainment.
In the lead up to the event children are invited to participate in a bauble decorating competition. Perspex baubles can be picked up from Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe on North Finchley High Road and children are asked to decorate them with a Christmas scene before returning them to the to the town Centre Christmas Tree during the Tally Ho Ho Ho event. Judges from Design for London will select a winner to receive a toy hamper and all baubles will be placed on the tree for public viewing.
The Tally Ho Ho Ho event has been funded by the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund, Barnet Council and local businesses. It has been organised by the North Finchley Traders Association.
Chair of the association Helen Michael is excited about the event and thinks that it will be good for the town: ‘We are providing a real alternative to shopping centres and online shops. North Finchley has a town centre Christmas tree; we have successfully campaigned for reduced car parking charges, we have a wide range of specialist shops and cafes and this event will enable people to relax and connect with their community.’
Activities take place from 10.00am until 4.00pm; for further details contact event organiser Sally Williams, Retail Revival Ltd; 07889 173101.
Monday, 5 November 2012
Brian Coleman in the inner circle of hell
A friend tells me (one should always acknowledge one's debts, even if one has no intention or means of paying them off) that John Mortimer's creation Rumpole of the Bailey considered Uxbridge Magistrates' Court to be the inner circle of hell.
Mortimer never resisted having a dig at it in all of his stories. It was a graveyard of careers, was one of the accusations he made.
Now, he meant of legal careers, but that can't be so (as I would not say anything against today's judge). But it might well mean a graveyard of political careers.
Yes, I did schlep all the way to Uxbridge this morning to attend the court hearing of Brian Coleman, charged with assault by beating and driving without reasonable care.
Barnet Eye has posted a report of this morning's events, and the local papers - Times series, Barnet Press - have reports already, so I won't repeat details, except to say that Coleman pleaded 'NoT guilty' to both charges.
His lawyer, a Mr Nigel Richardson, a rather mild-mannered man who looked more like a nervous undertaker than a lawyer, didn't strike me as being very well prepared. He seemed, however, to be a close friend of Coleman, and so perhaps that is why he gets the jobs of representing him.
I doubt my report would differ from other people's except in small details - so I had better make my small details count! I am indulging myself with the sort of headline that local newspaper subs can only dream of writing, and a very silly courtroom sketch (bottom, artist: Anon) made of the accused - before he entered the court. In fact, we could only watch the back of his head throughout. (My, that must be an uncomfortable feeling, knowing that ill-wishers are at the back of you, watching you, while you cannot see them.)
We got up very early to drive to the court, fearing that it would be standing room only in the public gallery. But the decision to move the case to Uxbridge did play in Coleman's favour. The public gallery that seats only 27 was only half-full, with local journalists and Barnet residents come to witness Coleman's discomfiture.
We had given Coleman a nasty moment earlier as he arrived up the stairs to find us in the waiting area: the mad, bad and two old hags. He looked taken aback to find that anyone had made the journey - really, what did he expect?
Inside the public gallery there was some awkwardness, with people trying to gauge which party the other onlookers were in: bride or groom?
While a set of burly blokes in biker gear played their cards very close to their chest, it was pretty clear that they were not Friends of Brian Coleman. The most intriguing spectators were a modest-looking, middle-aged couple who, again, were circumspect, but gave it away that they had waited a long time to see something like this happen.
One can only imagine how many people Coleman has crossed or upset down the years who are enjoying this moment of schadenfraude, even if only vicariously, if they could not be there in person.
The full hearing will be on Wednesday 6 February 2013 in the morning. If you can book the day off, and want to make the journey to the inner circle of hell, sorry, Uxbridge Magistrates, arrive at 9.30am for 10am. The session is expected to last up to four hours.
The judge from today, district judge Deborah Wright, will hear the case. Be aware, she keeps a strict courtroom. Strictly no sniggering at the back - and I really mean that!
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| The accused, in characteristically contrite mood. |
P.S. It pays to read other people's blogs - as I said, acknowledge your debts. Roger T explains that the biker blokes were from the 'No to mobile payments' (for parking) campaign.
P.P.S. Seeing that I am likely to get a few more hits than usual on my blog today, I might as well also ask you, gentle readers, to sign this petition calling for Barnet residents to be allowed a say in whether 70% of their services are privatised (Brian Coleman had a hand in this policy): http://petitions.barnet.gov.uk/StopOneBarnet/. Thank you.
Friday, 21 September 2012
A bad business
Barnet's bloggers are bound by the same reporting restrictions as everyone else so you can't expect to hear what we collectively - no, once again, I wasn't there myself - know about the events in North Finchley yesterday afternoon until - if - things get as far as a trial (!).
But we're safe enough saying Cllr Brian Coleman was arrested for common assault yesterday (or early this morning), has been bailed and must attend a police station again at the end of October.
You can "read all about it" - or as much of it as we are allowed to read about - in this report - "Councillor arrested for assault after camera row" - in the Evening Standard today.
Whether Coleman committed an assault or not, and whether or not it involved North Finchley's Cafe Buzz owner Helen Michael, this is for certain a bad business. Best wishes to Helen.
But we're safe enough saying Cllr Brian Coleman was arrested for common assault yesterday (or early this morning), has been bailed and must attend a police station again at the end of October.
You can "read all about it" - or as much of it as we are allowed to read about - in this report - "Councillor arrested for assault after camera row" - in the Evening Standard today.
Whether Coleman committed an assault or not, and whether or not it involved North Finchley's Cafe Buzz owner Helen Michael, this is for certain a bad business. Best wishes to Helen.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
One Barnet catch-up, Or: When does outsourcing become Joint Venture?
The meat and potatoes of my political life here in Barnet is opposing the council's privatisation plan "One Barnet" - but you wouldn't know it to look at my blog!
If it seems that I have been sorely neglecting my duties to report on this recently, rest assured that it is mainly down to my assuming more responsibility in the Barnet Alliance for Public Services. This organisation opposes cuts... and One Barnet. So I have been putting some of my former blogging energies into helping to draft leaflets and so on.
Luckily you are served very well by the other Barnet bloggers who, unlike me, haven't been shirking in their duties of late, in fact, they have been excelling themselves.
But it is time (well time) for me to produce a catch-up, which mainly consists of posting links to other people's work!
First, there are the remarks by Barnet council leader Richard Cornelius to the local press, sticking up for One Barnet. Here are some choice quotations from the Times series article "One year on, leader of council talks about tackling budget cuts, One Barnet and parking":
North Finchley traders' leader Helen Michael has written a very robust response to Cornelius. You can read it in this blogpost by Mr Mustard.
In his Barnet Press interview, "Barnet leader Cornelius hails ‘progress’ during his first year", Cornelius says:
It transpires that the wholesale outsourcing programme about which the council has been in dialogue with BT, Capita and EC Harris, is about, at least in the case of the £275 million contract for Development and Regulatory Services, to be transformed into the setting up of a Joint Venture (JV) company.
Yes, that's right, someone has got massive cold feet and over the summer holidays what seemed like the answer to all our problems is not that any longer. Something rather different is envisaged.
If you had any confidence in the whole process before, you must be losing some by now... no, isn't that right, Conservative councillors?
Anyway, Roger Tichborne breaks the news of this volte face on his Barnet Eye blog.
Mr Reasonable tells us more about the implications of a JV.
There I was catching up with One Barnet outsourcing, now there's this JV stuff to get our heads around.
Meanwhile, none of this, but none of it, has been put before the residents to ask them what they think.
If you think that is wrong, please sign the Barnet Alliance petition calling for a referendum on One Barnet.
If the total looks rather forlorn on Barnet council's e-petitions site, don't worry, we are collecting lots of signatures on paper forms.
Please email if you want some in order to collect signatures in your area/networks: barnetalliance4publicservices@gmail.com.
If it seems that I have been sorely neglecting my duties to report on this recently, rest assured that it is mainly down to my assuming more responsibility in the Barnet Alliance for Public Services. This organisation opposes cuts... and One Barnet. So I have been putting some of my former blogging energies into helping to draft leaflets and so on.
Luckily you are served very well by the other Barnet bloggers who, unlike me, haven't been shirking in their duties of late, in fact, they have been excelling themselves.
But it is time (well time) for me to produce a catch-up, which mainly consists of posting links to other people's work!
First, there are the remarks by Barnet council leader Richard Cornelius to the local press, sticking up for One Barnet. Here are some choice quotations from the Times series article "One year on, leader of council talks about tackling budget cuts, One Barnet and parking":
“The North Finchley Parking Review is also underway so we should know what all the traders think rather than just those who are most vocal. I think it’s important to know what the shopkeepers actually want.
“Their PR campaign has been really very successful but unfortunately they have actually persuaded people that it’s difficult and expensive to park so they’re shooting themselves in the foot with this..."
North Finchley traders' leader Helen Michael has written a very robust response to Cornelius. You can read it in this blogpost by Mr Mustard.
In his Barnet Press interview, "Barnet leader Cornelius hails ‘progress’ during his first year", Cornelius says:
“I’m a natural conservative. I don’t want to do anything – I feel it is a good idea,” he said. “Outsourcing is driven by a need for greater efficiency. If we do not do that, what are we to do to meet the budget requirements? “We are delivering a much fairer and a much more efficient system.”The local papers this week are full of letters taking issue with what Cornelius says. But, more to the point, the man who declares himself a convert to 'One Barnet' outsourcing has some more explaining to do now.
It transpires that the wholesale outsourcing programme about which the council has been in dialogue with BT, Capita and EC Harris, is about, at least in the case of the £275 million contract for Development and Regulatory Services, to be transformed into the setting up of a Joint Venture (JV) company.
Yes, that's right, someone has got massive cold feet and over the summer holidays what seemed like the answer to all our problems is not that any longer. Something rather different is envisaged.
If you had any confidence in the whole process before, you must be losing some by now... no, isn't that right, Conservative councillors?
Anyway, Roger Tichborne breaks the news of this volte face on his Barnet Eye blog.
Mr Reasonable tells us more about the implications of a JV.
...what are the risks of the Council entering into a Joint Venture?
Barnet will have to pick up their share of losses should the outsourcing project be a disaster - and please don't say it can't go wrong. Just talk to the former Conservative leader of Somerset County Council and their problems with SouthWest One.Mrs Angry in her Broken Barnet blogpost "One Barnet: new rules, and a new look for the House of Fun" has a lot more detail about other failed JV experiments.
There I was catching up with One Barnet outsourcing, now there's this JV stuff to get our heads around.
Meanwhile, none of this, but none of it, has been put before the residents to ask them what they think.
If you think that is wrong, please sign the Barnet Alliance petition calling for a referendum on One Barnet.
If the total looks rather forlorn on Barnet council's e-petitions site, don't worry, we are collecting lots of signatures on paper forms.
Please email if you want some in order to collect signatures in your area/networks: barnetalliance4publicservices@gmail.com.
Monday, 30 July 2012
Oppose One Barnet privatisation? Sign here!
Following Helen Michael's recent performance in the Barnet council chamber, when she spoke against Barnet's damaging parking policies, the Barnet Alliance for Public Services has launched its own petition.
We aim to collect 7,000 signatures, which would enable us to trigger a council debate on its One Barnet privatisation plan.
The text of the petition is:
We are collecting signatures on paper, but also online on the council's own e-petitions website. Please sign today and share the link:
http://petitions.barnet.gov.uk/StopOneBarnet/#detail
The text of the petition is:
Hands off our Barnet! Stop the One Barnet Programme petition
We, residents of Barnet, are alarmed at the council's plan known as the ONE BARNET PROGRAMME, to hand over our public services to private for-profit companies. We call for an immediate stop to these measures until the issue is put to the electorate in the form of a simple YES or NO referendum on the ONE BARNET PROGRAMME.
We are collecting signatures on paper, but also online on the council's own e-petitions website. Please sign today and share the link:
http://petitions.barnet.gov.uk/StopOneBarnet/#detail
Saturday, 7 July 2012
"It weren't me, guv!" Nick Walkley and Helen Michael
I was quick to believe that Nick Walkley, Barnet council's chief executive, was guilty of dobbing in North Finchley traders spokesperson Helen Michael to Scotland Yard. Were he able to speak about it - he's not? - I think Walkley would plead, "It weren't me, guv!"
Walkley, as returning officer for Barnet, had been responsible for acting on a complaint and first reporting Helen to the local police for not putting contact details on the bottom of her anti-Brian Coleman parking posters. Helen soon rectified that technical error.
Her poster was part of - not all of - the reason for Brian Coleman losing his Greater London Assembly seat in May.
But it seems likely that it is someone else, not Walkley, who has prompted the police - Scotland Yard now! - to take their investigation of Helen further.
Seeing that no rational purpose can be served by pursuing Helen, we can only presume that someone is following a personal agenda here. Now, whose finger-prints are all over this? We might never uncover that mystery but I'm sure we all have our suspicions.
One can lay many 'crimes' at Nick Walkley's door - walking off with £200,000 plus a year of Barnet residents' money in wages, while flogging their services to the private sector is one misdemeanour that, in my view, he should pay heavily for. But persecuting Helen Michael seems not to be among them.
At the 'Barnet council, not for sale!' conference today, the participants debated a motion of solidarity with Helen Michael. Barnet TUC chair Helen Davies said that Helen would be one of the last people she expected to see being leant on for campaigning against the council's crazy policies. Yet that is what is happening.
We unanimously agreed that an injury to one is an injury to all, and pledged to support Helen. Scotland Yard should drop their pointless investigation of her.
Walkley, as returning officer for Barnet, had been responsible for acting on a complaint and first reporting Helen to the local police for not putting contact details on the bottom of her anti-Brian Coleman parking posters. Helen soon rectified that technical error.
Her poster was part of - not all of - the reason for Brian Coleman losing his Greater London Assembly seat in May.
But it seems likely that it is someone else, not Walkley, who has prompted the police - Scotland Yard now! - to take their investigation of Helen further.
Seeing that no rational purpose can be served by pursuing Helen, we can only presume that someone is following a personal agenda here. Now, whose finger-prints are all over this? We might never uncover that mystery but I'm sure we all have our suspicions.
One can lay many 'crimes' at Nick Walkley's door - walking off with £200,000 plus a year of Barnet residents' money in wages, while flogging their services to the private sector is one misdemeanour that, in my view, he should pay heavily for. But persecuting Helen Michael seems not to be among them.
At the 'Barnet council, not for sale!' conference today, the participants debated a motion of solidarity with Helen Michael. Barnet TUC chair Helen Davies said that Helen would be one of the last people she expected to see being leant on for campaigning against the council's crazy policies. Yet that is what is happening.
We unanimously agreed that an injury to one is an injury to all, and pledged to support Helen. Scotland Yard should drop their pointless investigation of her.
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Helen Michael: open letter to Councillor Richard Cornelius and to Scotland Yard
Since the electoral defeat of former Assembly Member and Barnet Cabinet member Brian Coleman in May, Barnet’s Tory council leader Richard Cornelius and his colleagues have sought to distance themselves from most of the more controversial policies that Coleman promoted.
Most significant among these is the parking scheme, which has caused so much anger among the residents and traders of this borough.
At a meeting with Barnet traders at a North Finchley forum in December last year, Councillor Cornelius was told in no uncertain terms by the shopkeepers and small business owners of this borough about the devastating impact of this ridiculous scheme. He replied:
“I’m listening, but I haven’t got any intention to do anything else other than that ... I’ve heard you and it’s obviously affected me. I don’t know what I can do. I don’t know if I can do anything.”Local cafe owner Helen Michael said:
“We are wasting our time – you’ve said in no uncertain terms that you’re not going to do anything. We are begging for our businesses, for our livelihoods. Please do something.”Councillor Cornelius and his fellow Tories sat back and watched as the life of our local high streets ebbed away, in some cases losing up to 40 percent of their usual level of trade.
He refused to do anything for us, so we acted for ourselves.
Bloggers, traders, residents, community activists and trade unions united and voiced their opposition to the changes. Prominent among the campaigners was Helen Michael. As spokeswoman for North Finchley traders she made every effort to focus attention on the injustice and devastating impact of the policy, and hold Councillor Coleman to account for the consequences of his scheme. Her efforts won admiration from London Mayor Boris Johnson – and even Richard Cornelius, who is reported to have suggested she should think of standing as a Conservative candidate for the council.
Only since Brian Coleman lost his seat on the London Assembly, and then his Cabinet post, and in response to two other electoral defeats, has the Tory group on Barnet Council admitted that the parking changes were unfair, and sought to retract them. Councillor Cornelius has now apologised for introducing the policy, and a review is underway.
How ironic it is, therefore, that the woman who did what Councillor Cornelius failed to do, and fought for the best interests of residents and traders, is now being investigated by Scotland Yard, after an allegation of wrongdoing in relation to a poster produced by her in the course of the parking campaign. An omission on this poster was rectified early on in the campaign, and Helen Michael was informed by local police that there would be no further action.
Despite this assurance, Helen Michael is now being investigated by officers from Scotland Yard, and yesterday spent two hours, under caution, being interviewed at a local police station about the poster, and her motivation for its publication.
We believe that this targeting of a local campaigner is a deliberate and politically motivated act of intimidation.
To involve the police in this way is inappropriate, and a serious misuse of their time and resources.
We call on Council leader Richard Cornelius to speak out against the victimisation of a brave, resourceful and admirable woman. We call on Scotland Yard to desist from taking any further action in regard to this matter.
Signed:
Derek Dishman
John Dix
Vicki Morris
Theresa Musgrove
Roger Tichborne
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Hands off the Barnet One!
Are the people in charge of Barnet council mad? They seem incapable of avoiding making fools of themselves. Dangerous fools.
They have moved against North Finchley trader Helen Michael - by anyone's standards, a respectable woman - for putting up posters criticising Brian Coleman, during the elections to the Greater London Assembly.
She was visited once by local police in relation to these posters, but the police seemed satisifed with the remedy she offered.
Now the police have visited her again - a Scotland Yard investigations unit, no less - at the instigation of Barnet council's chief executive officer, Nick Walkley.
He is also the returning officer for Barnet. He earns a tidy sum for this, in addition to the more than £200,000 Barnet residents are paying him in his day job.
Replying to a complaint about a different incident, a small infringement of electoral law on polling day, Nick Walkley said he took a very dim view of such things. Dim views are what Nick Walkley specialises in, it seems.
Does anyone in Barnet, any resident aside from the most vindictive or pettifogging individual, care what infringement Helen Michael is supposed to have made?
Get a grip, Walkley! You are trying to foist the 'One Barnet' privatisation plan on us. Now you are making Helen Michael into the 'Barnet One'!
Other bloggers have more detail on this story. See Mrs Angry and the Barnet Eye.
They have moved against North Finchley trader Helen Michael - by anyone's standards, a respectable woman - for putting up posters criticising Brian Coleman, during the elections to the Greater London Assembly.
She was visited once by local police in relation to these posters, but the police seemed satisifed with the remedy she offered.
Now the police have visited her again - a Scotland Yard investigations unit, no less - at the instigation of Barnet council's chief executive officer, Nick Walkley.
He is also the returning officer for Barnet. He earns a tidy sum for this, in addition to the more than £200,000 Barnet residents are paying him in his day job.
Replying to a complaint about a different incident, a small infringement of electoral law on polling day, Nick Walkley said he took a very dim view of such things. Dim views are what Nick Walkley specialises in, it seems.
Does anyone in Barnet, any resident aside from the most vindictive or pettifogging individual, care what infringement Helen Michael is supposed to have made?
Get a grip, Walkley! You are trying to foist the 'One Barnet' privatisation plan on us. Now you are making Helen Michael into the 'Barnet One'!
Other bloggers have more detail on this story. See Mrs Angry and the Barnet Eye.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Take me out and shoot me... Or: Brian Coleman: My Part in His Downfall
 |
| North Finchley traders representative, Helen Michael |
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/
Monday, 6 February 2012
What's the buzz? Barnet traders' parking charges protest
Sometimes when my blogging job takes me to new parts of the borough, I get lost. That happened this morning on my way to the North Finchley traders' demo against Barnet council's disastrous new parking charges and cashless parking policy.
Don't trust Google maps! Or, at least, don't rely solely on them to get you places. I wiffled around for a good 40 minutes down near Pinkham Way in the slush before I thought to phone a fellow blogger to check where the demo was! It wasn't where I was. However, had I not got lost, I would never have seen Leisure Way, Finchley. What a hideous development! To think, people go there for a night out! Anyway, on to North Finchley...
When I got to Cafe Buzz, owned by Helen Michael, the instigator of this morning's protest, the main event was over! I still got some nice photos (see the picture of Helen Michael at the top), though, and had a good breakfast in Helen's cafe. (It's very good value!)
You can see a report and pictures of the demonstration on Mrs Angry's Broken Barnet blog and Barnet Eye Roger Tichborne has taken some good footage which he has kindly shared - see below.
In a recession, when shopkeepers who rely on customers having money to spend are already struggling, the last thing they need is a kick in the guts from the local council. But that is what the local Tories have delivered with their incompetent parking policy, which has driven many would-be shoppers away from Barnet's high streets.
The new charges are just one of the ways Barnet council plans to 'optimise' its 'revenue income' in the next few years. Others are the cruel increase in charges for adult social care services. Expect to see more... The overall context for these is the cuts to local government funding from central government. Many are now feeling the squeeze, including some who might never have expected to.
The Labour group on the council has posted an e-petition calling for reversal of the new parking charges. If the petition garners enough signatures, there could be a full council debate on the policy. Please sign if you have not already done so.
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