Several members of Barnet's blogging community have spent much of today contemplating how to respond to Lynne Hillan's stubborn decision not to allow blogging, filming and tweeting in the public gallery at council meetings.
The decision relates mainly to Tuesday's council meeting, where the council is - alas - likely to adopt a plan for £54.4 million cuts. However, unless they change their minds, the ban will hold good for all council meetings.
So it is well worth challenging! I set out at lunchtime to get some legal advice and by 6pm was sending a solicitor's letter to Lynne Hillan.
It questions Hillan's decision on a number of grounds. One of them, the finest, I think, is that she is infringing my human rights. I suspect, however, that the one that will carry the most weight with Hillan is that she is flouting recent guidance from her own Conservative government, and the fact that the letter has been copied to Secretary of State Eric Pickles.
Let's see how Hillan responds. In any case, whether she relents or not, a number of Barnet residents plan to test her ruling by blogging, filming and tweeting in the public gallery on Tuesday night. The anti-cuts protest at Hendon Town Hall begins at 6pm, and the council meeting itself starts at 7pm.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Lynne Hillan digs in her kitten heels
Barnet bloggers have been wondering how Barnet council's Tory group would respond to their own government's advice to let residents film and tweet about council meetings.
It was predictable that they would not embrace the new era of transparency, and would only grudgingly bend to the winds of change. The Tory group, I've heard, had a stormy meeting about the issue. I can imagine how opinion might have divided, roughly along the lines of the close vote during the challenge to Lynne Hillan's leadership.
I understand Lynne Hillan was not at this meeting and therefore could not vote for herself on this occasion. But she has given an interview to the Times series clearly giving the line: there will be no filming, blogging or tweeting on my watch! Read the article here.
I am one of those who has pledged to test Barnet's stand on this. Apparently it does not say anywhere in the council's constitution that residents cannot film, blog or tweet from the public gallery. When the rules on the questions of public and media access to council meetings were written, such ideas as YouTube, Twitter and Blogger were but a twinkle in a geek's eye.
I think blogger David Hencke this morning adequately sums up Hillan's position:
Finally, remember that Hillan has dug in her heels on previous occasions, only to be forced to climb down in the teeth of fierce opposition.
The public occasions I know about are Allowancegate, when she partially backed off raising senior cabinet members' allowances (committee chairs still went on to get a huge rise), and the case of Edward Meakins, where Barnet Homes relented in their threat to move him out of his home of 74 years. (Barnet Homes is separate - at arm's length - from Barnet council, but I cannot believe that the Tory administration did not put pressure on Barnet Homes to change their decision.)
We know, then, that Hillan can be budged, but we also know, from these examples, that it takes an almighty force of opposition to budge her - and that she doesn't give in graciously!
It was predictable that they would not embrace the new era of transparency, and would only grudgingly bend to the winds of change. The Tory group, I've heard, had a stormy meeting about the issue. I can imagine how opinion might have divided, roughly along the lines of the close vote during the challenge to Lynne Hillan's leadership.
I understand Lynne Hillan was not at this meeting and therefore could not vote for herself on this occasion. But she has given an interview to the Times series clearly giving the line: there will be no filming, blogging or tweeting on my watch! Read the article here.
I am one of those who has pledged to test Barnet's stand on this. Apparently it does not say anywhere in the council's constitution that residents cannot film, blog or tweet from the public gallery. When the rules on the questions of public and media access to council meetings were written, such ideas as YouTube, Twitter and Blogger were but a twinkle in a geek's eye.
I think blogger David Hencke this morning adequately sums up Hillan's position:
This dinosaur attitude from a Queen Canute is breathtaking. Her ignorance about how the modern world works is absurd. Presumably her next step as Barnet leader will be to table a motion condemning Lady Thatcher for allowing the public by law to attend council meetings.We will go ahead and attempt to assert our right to film, tweet and blog at the council meeting at Hendon Town Hall tomorrow night, Tuesday 1 March (6pm for the anti-cuts lobby, 7pm for the council meeting). I will have copies of the DCLG guidance for residents to brandish.
Finally, remember that Hillan has dug in her heels on previous occasions, only to be forced to climb down in the teeth of fierce opposition.
The public occasions I know about are Allowancegate, when she partially backed off raising senior cabinet members' allowances (committee chairs still went on to get a huge rise), and the case of Edward Meakins, where Barnet Homes relented in their threat to move him out of his home of 74 years. (Barnet Homes is separate - at arm's length - from Barnet council, but I cannot believe that the Tory administration did not put pressure on Barnet Homes to change their decision.)
We know, then, that Hillan can be budged, but we also know, from these examples, that it takes an almighty force of opposition to budge her - and that she doesn't give in graciously!
Friday, 25 February 2011
Our right to film and tweet
Eric Pickles' announcement in favour of residents being allowed (!) to use their social media devices to record council meetings - filming, tweeting and what have you - is accompanied by official guidance to councils. (Thanks to Dan Hope for drawing my attention to this.)
The letter is available here.
Dan will say that this shows the Tory government is committed to transparency. I suspect they are just bowing to the inevitable - you cannot hold back the tide of technological advance, and only look stupid if you try. This way, they get a bit of credit out of it.
There might be an undercurrent to this, that the Tories nationally continue to be embarassed by Barnet council (and other 'bad' Tory councils). I know that Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State, was informed about residents in Barnet being stopped from filming at last week's cabinet meeting.
As we know, rights are only active if you exercise them. Let's test this newly ceded right to film and tweet at the council meeting next Tuesday, 1 March. There will be a lobby against cuts from 6pm, outside Hendon Town Hall, and then residents can (I hope) go inside to watch the council meeting, which starts at 7pm.
I am printing off copies of the DCLG guidance to give to residents going into the meeting. If we do nothing else on Tuesday night, at least we can wave this letter in one hand and our cameraphones in the other at Brian Coleman while shouting 'smile for the camera' - obviously, that is only one suggestion for a slogan.
The letter is available here.
Dan will say that this shows the Tory government is committed to transparency. I suspect they are just bowing to the inevitable - you cannot hold back the tide of technological advance, and only look stupid if you try. This way, they get a bit of credit out of it.
There might be an undercurrent to this, that the Tories nationally continue to be embarassed by Barnet council (and other 'bad' Tory councils). I know that Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State, was informed about residents in Barnet being stopped from filming at last week's cabinet meeting.
As we know, rights are only active if you exercise them. Let's test this newly ceded right to film and tweet at the council meeting next Tuesday, 1 March. There will be a lobby against cuts from 6pm, outside Hendon Town Hall, and then residents can (I hope) go inside to watch the council meeting, which starts at 7pm.
I am printing off copies of the DCLG guidance to give to residents going into the meeting. If we do nothing else on Tuesday night, at least we can wave this letter in one hand and our cameraphones in the other at Brian Coleman while shouting 'smile for the camera' - obviously, that is only one suggestion for a slogan.
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
Barnet council failed in bid for Decent Homes grant
I'm combing Barnet council's website now to look for pronouncements on their (failed) bid for Decent Homes grant money. What will be the implications of our failure to get this money for repairs to social housing in the borough? The money will have to be found from elsewhere, or essential upgrading will not be done...
Here's how the local press reported to Enfield the good news that their bid was successful - and how we found out that Barnet's had not been.
(Thanks to JC for spotting this story.)
Here's how the local press reported to Enfield the good news that their bid was successful - and how we found out that Barnet's had not been.
(Thanks to JC for spotting this story.)
Citizen journalists of Barnet, unite! Council meeting, 1 March
On Monday 14 February an innocuous young man was threatened with expulsion from the public gallery at the Barnet cabinet meeting. His crime? Attempting to make a short film of proceedings on his phone.
How behind the times Barnet council shows itself to be. They act in a draconian manner to stop their own residents (to whom they are accountable) from using a piece of equipment that has become as everyday and routine as the pop-up toaster. Haven't they seen how people in the Middle East and North Africa are using social media to help them win their democracy?
I invite every resident coming to the council meeting at Hendon Town Hall next Tuesday 1 March to come with their cameraphones at the ready. Perhaps Brian Coleman will learn some manners if he knows that what he says will end up on YouTube for all the world to see before the night is out.
Oh, and who is this agreeing with the call for greater openness? This is a statement made today by none other than Eric Pickles, the Conservative Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government:
How behind the times Barnet council shows itself to be. They act in a draconian manner to stop their own residents (to whom they are accountable) from using a piece of equipment that has become as everyday and routine as the pop-up toaster. Haven't they seen how people in the Middle East and North Africa are using social media to help them win their democracy?
I invite every resident coming to the council meeting at Hendon Town Hall next Tuesday 1 March to come with their cameraphones at the ready. Perhaps Brian Coleman will learn some manners if he knows that what he says will end up on YouTube for all the world to see before the night is out.
Oh, and who is this agreeing with the call for greater openness? This is a statement made today by none other than Eric Pickles, the Conservative Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government:
"Many councils are internet-savvy and stream meetings online, but some don't seem to have caught up with the times and are refusing to let bloggers or hyper-local news sites in. With local authorities in the process of setting next year's budget this is more important than ever.
"Opening the door to new media costs nothing and will help improve public scrutiny. The greater powers and freedoms that we are giving local councils must be accompanied by stronger local accountability.
"We are in the digital age and [the] analogue interpretation of the press access rules is holding back a new wave of local scrutiny, accountability and armchair auditors."
Sunday, 20 February 2011
Barnet's bad news Sunday - parking fees in the Express
Barnet council's cabinet meeting on Monday 14 February (a week is a long time in Barnet politics) features in this exposé by the Express, "Council car fees rip-off":
And two petitions: "We are not cash cows..." on the Barnet council website and "Stop Barnet council's increased motoring taxes" on GoPetition.
A number of residents are mounting a legal challenge over the CPZ fee rises; I hope they will still turn out to lobby the council meeting on Tuesday 1 March from 6pm at Hendon Town Hall. This is the evening that the council ratifies the budget adopted by the Cabinet on Monday night.
Barnet Council’s income from parking fees has more than doubled in four years from £2.2million to £4.7million.There are a couple of useful websites if you are interested in the campaign against CPZ fee rises in Barnet: the CPZ Action Group and dino.co.uk, featuring a great poster!
Police were called to a council meeting last week after residents in the north London borough protested at plans to double the cost of parking permits this year and raise the cost of a three-month visitor permit 400 per cent to £240.
And two petitions: "We are not cash cows..." on the Barnet council website and "Stop Barnet council's increased motoring taxes" on GoPetition.
A number of residents are mounting a legal challenge over the CPZ fee rises; I hope they will still turn out to lobby the council meeting on Tuesday 1 March from 6pm at Hendon Town Hall. This is the evening that the council ratifies the budget adopted by the Cabinet on Monday night.
Friday, 18 February 2011
Strong vote for action against privatisation from Barnet staff
Barnet Unison reports on the outcome of a ballot for industrial action by council staff confronted with transfer to the private sector in line with easyCouncil plans:
Council workers vote for strike action
Council staff working in the following services: cemeteries, planning, highways, land charges, registrars, environmental health, building control, trading standards have overwhelmingly voted to take action short of strike and strike action in a ballot conducted over the last three weeks.
There was a 58% turn out with 92% agreeing to action short of strike and 77% agreeing to strike action.
Barnet UNISON is organising union meetings with members to discuss the next steps.
Discovery of legionella in Fremantle care homes
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Haringey is to Egypt as Barnet is to Iran
In the last few weeks we have, if we've any humanity, been transfixed by events in Egypt. We were even able to watch the protests and the heroic struggles by democracy campaigners to hold Tahrir Square on television. No doubt, Egypt was (still is?) a police state, but it is a relatively open society.
The state-owned Egyptian Lying Broadcasting Corporation covered the events - dishonestly, yes, but you could read what was happening by what they omitted, eg, close-up scenes of the crowds in Tahrir Square after Mubarak told them on 10 February that he wasn't going to go.
And these broadcasts were supplemented with almost continuous coverage by independent broadcasters such as Al Jazeera (independent of the Egyptian state if not of the Qatari!).
Contrast this to the uprisings in Iran in 2009 - and, possibly, today. The little that we could see of comparable sized demonstrations of at least a million on the streets of Iran (from a population of comparable size to Egypt's) squeaked out through tweets on Twitter and mobile phone footage smuggled onto YouTube.
Yes, Egypt was (still is?) a police state, but the repression in Iran is that much more complete and suffocating.
What has this to do with Haringey and Barnet? Of course, both are paradises for anyone who wants to do anything remotely political compared to Egypt and Iran. But, relative to each other, Haringey is to Egypt as Barnet is to Iran.
In Haringey, council meetings, all of them, as far as I can tell, are filmed and painstakingly indexed, so Haringey residents can see who has spoken, how long they spoke for, etc! I haven't watched the broadcasts for long - they're council meetings, for heaven's sake! - but I would bet that the general standard of behaviour of councillors in Haringey is much higher than that of councillors in Barnet.
You can see the range of what is available to Haringey residents here.
Contrast that to Barnet, where a hapless member of the public spectating the Cabinet meeting on Monday 14 February, mistakenly believing that he was living in the 21st century, attempted to make a film of the meeting on his phone. He was threatened with expulsion from the meeting.
Residents who wanted to share with interested parties outside what they were seeing with their own eyes, were reduced to discreetly Twittering. As we are often reminded in relation to the recent Iranian uprising, Twitter is a great new tool for getting around the barriers put in the way of democracy by repressive regimes.
No less true in Barnet than in Tehran.
A while back David Miller, on his "Not the Barnet Times" blog, reviewed the most-up-to-date knowledge on why Barnet won't allow broadcasting of meetings - or, even, private broadcasting in the form of residents making their own videos.
I suspect the main reason is that Barnet's Conservative regime would not long outlast any more scrutiny.
Hey, hey, ho, ho, Lynne Hillan has to go!
The state-owned Egyptian Lying Broadcasting Corporation covered the events - dishonestly, yes, but you could read what was happening by what they omitted, eg, close-up scenes of the crowds in Tahrir Square after Mubarak told them on 10 February that he wasn't going to go.
And these broadcasts were supplemented with almost continuous coverage by independent broadcasters such as Al Jazeera (independent of the Egyptian state if not of the Qatari!).
Contrast this to the uprisings in Iran in 2009 - and, possibly, today. The little that we could see of comparable sized demonstrations of at least a million on the streets of Iran (from a population of comparable size to Egypt's) squeaked out through tweets on Twitter and mobile phone footage smuggled onto YouTube.
Yes, Egypt was (still is?) a police state, but the repression in Iran is that much more complete and suffocating.
What has this to do with Haringey and Barnet? Of course, both are paradises for anyone who wants to do anything remotely political compared to Egypt and Iran. But, relative to each other, Haringey is to Egypt as Barnet is to Iran.
In Haringey, council meetings, all of them, as far as I can tell, are filmed and painstakingly indexed, so Haringey residents can see who has spoken, how long they spoke for, etc! I haven't watched the broadcasts for long - they're council meetings, for heaven's sake! - but I would bet that the general standard of behaviour of councillors in Haringey is much higher than that of councillors in Barnet.
You can see the range of what is available to Haringey residents here.
Contrast that to Barnet, where a hapless member of the public spectating the Cabinet meeting on Monday 14 February, mistakenly believing that he was living in the 21st century, attempted to make a film of the meeting on his phone. He was threatened with expulsion from the meeting.
Residents who wanted to share with interested parties outside what they were seeing with their own eyes, were reduced to discreetly Twittering. As we are often reminded in relation to the recent Iranian uprising, Twitter is a great new tool for getting around the barriers put in the way of democracy by repressive regimes.
No less true in Barnet than in Tehran.
A while back David Miller, on his "Not the Barnet Times" blog, reviewed the most-up-to-date knowledge on why Barnet won't allow broadcasting of meetings - or, even, private broadcasting in the form of residents making their own videos.
I suspect the main reason is that Barnet's Conservative regime would not long outlast any more scrutiny.
Hey, hey, ho, ho, Lynne Hillan has to go!
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Barnet councillor blogs - No.1 in an occasional series: Sachin Rajput
I was thinking about Sachin Rajput who featured so heavily in last night's Barnet council cabinet meeting. He has been selected as Conservative GLA candidate for Harrow and Brent for the election in 2012. We'd be sorry to see you go, Sachin, in the unlikely event that you won. Oh, I've just remembered, Barnet councillors can easily manage to juggle the demands of serving Barnet residents and representing two boroughs at the Greater London Assembly at the same time (cf Brian Coleman - I wonder how he does it!).
I've got a new hobby, then, showcasing Barnet councillors' blogs. And this, readers, is councillor Rajput's personal blog. It bears many of the hallmarks of the man himself. Flashy, not unattractive, and very, very lumbering in the prose. I should be careful what I say: he is a martial arts expert! Hi-ya!
I've got a new hobby, then, showcasing Barnet councillors' blogs. And this, readers, is councillor Rajput's personal blog. It bears many of the hallmarks of the man himself. Flashy, not unattractive, and very, very lumbering in the prose. I should be careful what I say: he is a martial arts expert! Hi-ya!
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