Monday 22 October 2012

Manic Monday in Barnet - film premieres, cowardly Conservatives

I'm setting out shortly for the Phoenix Cinema in Finchley, to watch the premiere of 'Barnet - The Billion Pound Gamble'.

Doors open at 6pm, entrance is £1. The film starts at 6.30pm and lasts 30 minutes. Afterwards there is a panel discussion featuring some of my fellow Barnet bloggers.

The film is a follow-up to 'A Tale of Two Barnets' earlier this year. The director Charles Honderick and producer Roger Tichborne have put together more interviews with residents about their hopes and fears (mostly the latter) as Barnet Council prepares to outsource most of its services to 3 or 4 multinational companies.

The outsourcing programme is called 'One Barnet'. The Council will sign contracts for 10 years and hand over more than £1,000,000,000 (£1 billion) to the outsourcing companies, along with most of their - hence our - control over services.

Madness!

In other mad news, Conservative Councillor Brian Coleman has been charged with common assault for an alleged attack on Helen Michael, owner of Cafe Buzz in North Finchley.

The Council has announced that Coleman can only be removed from his post as Chair of the Council's Budget and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee by a meeting of the full Council. (There is a meeting of the committee this Thursday 25 October at 7pm at Hendon Town Hall.)

But that doesn't answer the question of how Coleman's party will treat him.

The Labour Group leader on the Council Alison Moore has written to Council Leader Richard Cornelius:
Now that Cllr Coleman has been charged with assault it is clearly time for the Leader of the Council to take action and remove the whip from him. I have written to the Leader today asking him to confirm that he will be doing this.
The current betting is that Cornelius will do nothing of the kind.

Madness!

Welcome to another manic Monday in Barnet.

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