tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post2907563368367576436..comments2024-01-30T07:41:20.885+00:00Comments on Broken Barnet: Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly ...Mrs Angryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-45829003286334210462010-11-15T17:45:59.405+00:002010-11-15T17:45:59.405+00:00Aha: yes, DCMD, we are the Cheeky Girls ... Lembit...Aha: yes, DCMD, we are the Cheeky Girls ... Lembit Opik need not get his hopes up, however, eurghh. And not just because he is a Libdem.<br /><br />Mrs X would like to point out that it is true that she has a close association with Mrs Angry, but she has now washed her hands of her, due to her bad behaviour and filthy language.<br /><br />I don't think Captain Mainwaring would approve of your loose tongued, yellow livered defeatist talk. Walls have ears: don't you know there's a war on? Stupid boy. And don't giv'e em your name,DCMD.Etc etc.<br /><br />baarnett: funny you should ask about minutes: I asked how the feedback was going to be used and was told it would be made available in some way to public scrutiny, and I think we should follow that up, don't you?Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-72893658946146644532010-11-15T17:10:05.466+00:002010-11-15T17:10:05.466+00:00Do they publish the minutes of the "Citizens ...Do they publish the minutes of the "Citizens Panel"?baarnetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12301292285255035403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-14662075612944099192010-11-15T15:50:01.492+00:002010-11-15T15:50:01.492+00:00Mrs A and Mrs X - the new cheeky girls of Barnet?
...Mrs A and Mrs X - the new cheeky girls of Barnet?<br /><br />I genuinely wonder why councils bother holding consultation exercises at all or why we get upset when they don’t. They are a sham. Always have been. Always will be. This is not an anti Barnet rant - it applies to all local authorities. These exercises allow councils to tick a few boxes so that they can to claim to be engaging with the community, but they care not what we think and do whatever they want to do regardless. <br /><br />As you have pointed out above, the questions asked are usually loaded to ensure that a predetermined outcome is ensured. Or the consultation period is too short or too poorly advertised to provide statistically useful data.<br /><br />On the rare occasions that a consultation exercise is widely publicised, the response is simply ignored, as we noted recently over the warden closure programme.<br /><br />The only solution to the problem is to remove councillors at the ballot box. It’s the only language they understand. However, in Barnet we have a particular problem in that the Labour opposition is weak and totally ineffective to the extent of not being able to organise the proverbial in a brewery. They need to be removed from office as well. There is no point looking towards the LieDems for deliverance - their days as a political force are well and truly over.<br /><br />As Private Frazer put it so succinctly: “We’re all doomed.” Might as well get used to it.Don't Call Me Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602899129846028170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-24561535078412784642010-11-15T10:10:55.190+00:002010-11-15T10:10:55.190+00:00PS, I've just noticed something very interesti...PS, I've just noticed something very interesting, a reference to 'the budget consultation meeting' meaning in fact the Citizens Panel meeting which Cllr Thomas mentioned as taking place the night before the unfortunately cancelled 'open' meeting. As i said in the blog, I am supposed to be a member of that panel, but was not invited. It might be thought by a cynic well versed in the dark arts of Barnet politics that instead of taking the risk of having an open meeting attended by interested but uncontrollable residents, they have preferred to hold a meeting with handpicked guests and are now seeking to present this as 'consultation'. Isn't transparency a marvellous thing?Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-23016942189943554502010-11-15T09:31:20.088+00:002010-11-15T09:31:20.088+00:00hello Johnny: like you I was extremely cross about...hello Johnny: like you I was extremely cross about the cancellation, but not surprised, as, like so many other examples of 'consultation' by this administration, it was doomed to failure by lack of committment shown by the organisers. Whether this is due to incompetence or deliberate is a matter for debate. The meeting could have been rescheduled after a better attempt to advertise it more widely, but won't be. This is why I have written up my 'one to one' consultation, as people have a right to know what Cllr Thomas has to say in defence of his council's policies. I think the ambiguity expressed about the future of Future Shape is very interesting, don't you? I also tried to make the same point about rebuilding a relationship of trust, but I am not sure the leadership of this administration gives a stuff about such matters..Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-89669153974041804492010-11-15T08:13:38.182+00:002010-11-15T08:13:38.182+00:00I also had a call from Cllr Thomas (http://reasona...I also had a call from Cllr Thomas (http://reasonablenewbarnet.blogspot.com/).I was very cross that the consultation had been cancelled and that there needed to be a debate on how the council was run before we start looking at where individual cuts will fall. My argument always has been that there is a lot of waste in the council - £19 million spent on consultant fees in the last 6 months being just one example. So before you start cutting essential services you need to look at the structure and processes of the council. I made the point that the council needs to engage with residents and that we may hold the key a lot of the solutions but there has to be a relationship of trust, something which is currently lacking. The remote location and campus environment of North London Business Park allows those decision makers to remain disengaged from the community they are supposed to represent. The sooner the council moves out of NLBP and relocates into the community the sooner the re-engagement process can start.Mr Reasonablehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13496421592535949071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-60634045271569822792010-11-14T13:07:15.360+00:002010-11-14T13:07:15.360+00:00You must understand, baarnett,that if these meetin...You must understand, baarnett,that if these meetings were better advertised, less boring, and arranged in such a way as to encourage attendence, this would be a complete disaster for the administration: residents would turn up, express criticism and cause difficulties. Consultation is only given the minimum of required attention, for the same reason that the majority of councillors are not directly involved in the decision making process. If you don't like what is happening int his borough, go to your forums and councillors' surgeries and make your opinions known. It's your right, and your duty.Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-76147295495291359552010-11-13T21:49:20.527+00:002010-11-13T21:49:20.527+00:00"Well, said Councillor Thomas, he did know th...<i>"Well, said Councillor Thomas, he did know that there were some proposals to 'reinvigorate' the Residents Forum..."</i><br /><br />About time. They are incredibly boring, and make people never want to go again. At least some of the detailed stuff could be dealt with off-line (note the jargon) and there could be invited speakers with slides (NHS, police, LIBRARIANS?) with proper publicity.<br /><br />I see the Brent Cross coalition web site shows a cup of tea next to their advert for the forums. Surely tea and biscuits, and a break for a chat, would be worthwhile, and worth the small cost? The numbers attending would build up, I'm sure.<br /><br />But then, I've always assumed Barnet holds these meetings simply because the government says local authorities must do so.baarnetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12301292285255035403noreply@blogger.com