By day he is a jeweller in Hatton Garden, flogging engagement rings to naive young couples, no doubt the perfect adviser, whispering discreetly to the nervous groom inwardly panicking at the cost of his betrothal, and beguiling the blushing bride to be with a scintillating array of diamonds.
In his other role as Barnet Tory leader, and One Barnet salesman, Cornelius attempts the same obsequious role in persuading the 350,000 residents of Broken Barnet that his £1 billion pound give away to Capita, and possibly one other company, of the profits from our council services is financially prudent, the best choice, the only choice, and not the biggest act of political fraud ever perpetrated on the voters of any local authority. Here he was this morning, on the Politics Show, pink cheeked, a winsome smile at the ready, and keen to explain to the nation why One Barnet is a marvellous idea, offering with his usual unctuous banalities, the assurance that all will be well, that the incessant enfilade of criticisms directed at the concept, organisation and proposed delivery of this mass privatisation amounts to no more than a minor irritation, a few whinging spoilsports determined to wreck a perfectly reasonable strategy. Tim Donovan's first question wiped the smile off the dear Leader's face, mind you, with a tactless reference to his chum Brian Coleman, and his blasting of the whole One Barnet outsourcing scam, as seen in the film preceding his interview. Mrs Angry has been aware for some time, of course, that Brian Coleman is, yes - carrying something of a torch for her ... hence the covert glances across a crowded committee table, the jealous blog posts claiming she is in love with David Beckham, and oh dear, Simon Cowell ... the attempts to cover up his real feelings for her by references to old hags, when the girl he loves is up in the gallery, and his shouting at her in desperation in the Town Hall corridor, tormented by the frustrations of unrequited love ...
Since he has been suspended by the Tory party, Brian has been liberated from all restraint, and is free to express his real opinions, more and more confident in supporting Mrs Angry's views in public. His recent conversion to the campaign against One Barnet is the prime example, and in the Politics Show he repeated her warning that the Tory council's replacement of a 'monolithic' local authority with the even greater monolithic stranglehold of a private company like Capita is clearly idiotic, and dangerous.
When Mrs Angry used the phrase 'monolithic', she was alluding to the original cockeyed 'vision' of Mike Freer's easycouncil 'concept', which was the genesis of One Barnet, (although politically Freer is now trying to distance himself from the awkward problem of the bastard child he left on our doorstep). Freer had admired easyjet's business model, measured against the 'monolithic' traditional model of airlines, claiming the same approach in local government offered more choice and - ha - more transparency to the resident - but clearly he had not thought his brilliant idea through to its logical conclusion. After a tight smiled attempt at belittling the impact of the toxic £1 billion programme Cornelius is wheeling through the streets of Broken Barnet, telling us that the horrible smell of rotting privatisation is really the overwhelming scent of sweet smelling roses, that this huge project is of minimal importance, only 13% of budget, 'just' back office functions, something that 'doesn't matter', 'small things that people won't notice', the Tory leader today informed us, smugly, that One Barnet was really a jolly good idea because 'it's no fun subsidising bureaucrats'.
Ah, yes: the faceless bureaucracy of democratic local government, one of those touchstones of the retro-Tory, Daily Mail blinkered obsession which passes for policy here in Broken Barnet.
Thank God, we will soon be paying instead for the faceless bureaucracy of unaccountable private enterprise.More choice? More transparency? Meh. Maybe not, eh, Mike? Think of the greater fun to be had, citizens, of subsidising the close attentions of Capita, Agilisys and iMPOWER. Well - in fact, this has already begun.
As Mr Reasonable revealed yesterdayhere
, last month, while we listened to our Tory masters lecture us on the need for austerity, we paid the obscene amount of more than £780,000 to Agilisys/iMPOWER for unknown 'services' as the One Barnet implementation partners, and a staggering £318,000 to Trowers & Hamlin for their work on the project. More than a million pounds in one month to One Barnet consultants: this represents £47,800 of your council tax to these companies, for each working day in October. Richard Cornelius thinks that no one will notice when 70% of council services are outsourced.
* Here is a list of services transferring from council control, a list which exposes the blatant misinformation now being presented by our panicking Barnet Tories:
1.Residential/ Supporting Living/ Day care services for adults with disabilities 2. Council Housing Services 3. Parking Service 4. Legal Services Department 5. Audit Service – the majority of the service is provided by the consultancy Pricewaterhouse & Cooper 6. Information Technology 7. Human Resources & Payroll 8. Pensions 9. Health & Safety 10. Financial Services 11. Customer Services (Call Centre) which includes Social Care Direct Team based in Adult Social Care. 12. Estates, 13. Property Services 14. ·Revenues & Benefits 15. Corporate Programmes (Project management) 16. Procurement 17. Electoral Registration 18. Trading Standards & Licensing, 19. Land Charges, 20. Planning & Development, 21. Building Control &Structures, 22. Environmental Health, 23. Highways Strategy 24. Highways Network Management, 25. Highways Traffic & Development, 26. Highways Transport & Regeneration, 27. Strategic Planning & Regeneration, 28. Hendon Cemetery & Crematoria. 29. Priority Intervention Team 30. Music Service 31. Public Health Service Small things that no one will notice, of course.
He thinks no one will care when every call to Barnet Council by residents is answered in Blackburn, Lancashire.
He thinks that planning, one of the hugely important services included as the major feature of the next massive One Barnet giveaway, 'may' be privatised.
Has he told Capita that this inclusion is not certain, now, in Richard's view, anyway?
And yes, now Capita has the £750 million bid in the bag, it is clearly going to get the DRS bundle too. £1 billion handed on a plate to one monolithic company, by our Tory council and their senior management team, without permission from a single resident. In the Politics Show film, the observation was made that what is happening in Barnet is a national story because it has such significance for all other local authorities - and other public sector bodies, including the NHS - throughout the UK.
One Barnet is, as the programme stated, the ultimate test case.
This is undoubtedly true, as we shall now see. In the meanwhile, here is the Politics Show footage:
There was a problem with the Northern Line on Monday night, and as a consequence quite a few people due to arrive at the Phoenix cinema in East Finchley were delayed, so the screening of the new Barnet film, 'Barnet - the £1 billion gamble' was held back until they arrived.
The difficulty was caused, unfortunately, by the all too familiar 'person on the track' incident, a circumstance, most probably, of personal tragedy to someone, but one which provoked the following reaction on twitter from Barnet Tory cabinet member Councillor Robert Rams:
"Stuck underground on a tube as there r people on the track at East Fin ... Have the socialists going to the Phoenix got a bit over excited?!"
Our Tory councillors need not have worried about the number of socialists at the viewing last night, as it happens: it is the number of completely non political residents, and the disaffected Tory voters who were sitting in the audience, which ought to serve as a warning to the council of the strength of feeling, and the strength of resistence, to their hapless, bullying administration.
These people are not natural protestors, they have been stung into action by their sense of fury and their deep concerns over the damage being wrought on their community by Rams and Cornelius and Coleman and all the rest of our shabby Tory councillors.
Before the film began, Roger Tichborne, who has produced the film, addressed the audience. His announcement that Councillor Brian Coleman had been charged with two alleged offences was met by what you might describe as - well: a thunderous reception.
The film began with uncomfortable testimony from some residents of the borough who have disabilities and needs that make them dependent on support from the local authority, and from their carers: Susan, and John, Linda, Philip, and Janet. Janet, an elderly resident whose husband's care has been severely affected said " ... senior officers and councillors would rather we didn't live here ...' which is, as she commented wrily, 'not a nice feeling' ... Cut to a council meeting where the deeply insensitive young Tory councillor Tom Davey is caught spitting out a contemptible observation: 'You can't help those who won't help themselves ...' Young Councillor Davey is the Barnet cabinet member for housing, and has hardline views on social housing, wanting to encourage 'aspiration' amongst the feckless, undeserving poor who might require assistance from the local authority. He has introduced limited tenancies for tenants, and a requirement to show 'a positive contribution to the community' before being fast tracked for council accommodation. The new film features one family living in clearly unsuitable accommodation despite the special needs of one of the young daughters, who has 'triple x syndrome' but is forced to share a bedroom with a sibling: this family have been in 'temporary' accommodation for a staggering eleven and a half years, and have been subject to a whopping 200% rent rise. If only the mum had time to start a youth club, or join her local Conservative Association, you might be tempted to think. Next up: the library that refused to die, Friern Barnet library, given a new lease of life since the occupation by community squatters Phoenix and friends.
Library occupier Phoenix - at the Phoenix
Alfred, a former refugee from Rwanda, and now a resident of Friern Barnet, made a brief but significant comment: he explained that to him and his children, the library had offered new hope: when you have hope, he said, you can have progress.
Perhaps, thought Mrs Angry, the most important feature of the story of Friern Barnet library will be, after all, the fact that it has given people hope: hope for change, of taking back control of their own lives, and of their own communities. On to the explosive parking issue: Helen and Paul spoke about the 'irrational' new charges and payment policy, introduced by our former Cabinet member Brian Coleman. Mr Mustard spoke about the lie that the new parking contract to NSL would bring about savings: £600k a year - so far, in the first quarter we are apparently about £1.2 m behind. This is a klaxon alert for all the £1 billion worth of contracts that are to follow in the main body of One Barnet outsourcing, of course. Will the Tories stop, and listen? What do you think?
(In Cornwall yesterday, the county council voted through a motion based on a petition by Cllr Andrew Wallis to halt the joint venture process of privatisation that has caused so much controversy, leading to the resignation of the Tory deputy leader, and the loss of the leader, after a vote of no confidence.)
Next up was someone pretending to be Mrs Angry. Can't remember what she said, as I had my hands over my eyes and was moaning softly in the dark. Later in the pub ...
Rog T apologised for 'accidentally' tangoing Mrs Angry and Helen Michael when he was wielding the camera and 'forgot' to press some filter button. (You can see the pair of hapless directors pretending to try and fix this on the London Tonight news cliphere
Ms Michael and Mrs A know perfectly well he did it on purpose, of course. The film also featured footage of Mr Reasonable's wonderful party trick,
... an explanation of One Barnet, the black hole in a box ... and finally the whole tale is brought together by some observations by the brilliant Ken Loach, whose comments on Barnet have already been noted in an earlier post.
After the film, Mrs Angry, Mr Reasonable, Mr Mustard and library campaigner Martin Russo were obliged to take part in a debate with members of the audience.
This was a daunting exercise, but Mrs Angry was distracted by the novel experience of performing in the red and gilt art deco theatre, finding the experience unnervingly reminiscent of a childhood fear, generated by visits to the panto at Golders Green hippodrome, an event of great anticipation each year, but over which the dreaded threat of audience participation always loomed like a dark cloud.
It never happened, being dragged on stage to kiss Danny La Rue dressed as Cinderella's stepmother, or a wizened old Arthur Askey as Buttons (have I made that up?), but here we were now, on stage, Mrs Angry in panto, playing herself. Didn't kiss anyone, mind you.
The film is something to be really proud of: made by the community, for the community: and for the second time this year, the residents that Barnet Council would rather, as Janet said, not live here at all, and who have been denied a part in consultation over their futures, have made their own voices heard, and told their own stories.
The picture they have created will not be the one that leader Richard Cornelius - or 'Dr Evil', as he helpfully refers to himself in the London Tonight interview - tell us he sees, through his One Barnet tinted spectacles: 'Barnet, a successful London suburb'...
Janet, and Linda, and Susan, and Philip, Alfred, Helen, Paul, Tirza, and all of those who take part in the film show us something altogether different: they are the voices for Broken Barnet, and they are part of something that is quite remarkable: a community which is taking on the politicians who claim to represent them, reminding them of the duty they seem to have so easily betrayed: to serve the residents of this borough, and fight for what is right, and in their best interests.
We don't intend to be sold into bondage to multinational companies, our needs outsourced and offshored in order to make a comfortable profit for fat cat directors and their shareholders, thank you very much: so here we are, this is us, taking Cllr Davey's advice on aspiration, and helping ourselves, fighting back: and if we fail, we fail with the satisfaction of knowing we gave it a go - and recorded the events for others to see.
If you haven't seen the film, it will be shown at various local venues:
Tues 23rd Oct.7.30 pm
Wyburn Room at Wesley Hall, Stapylton Road,
High Barnet,
EN5 4JJ
Thurs. 25th Oct, 7.00 pm
The Larches,
Rectory Road,
Edgware Sat. 27th Oct 2.30 - 4.00 pm
New Barnet Community Centre,
Victoria Road,
New Barnet,
EN4 Thurs. 1st Nov. 6.30 pm
Cafe Buzz,
High road,
North Finchley,
N12 Tues 6th Nov - 8.00 pm
North Road Community Centre,
Edgware
and:
the House of Commons,
Monday 19th Nov, 7pm - 9pm -
The Grimmond Room,
Portcullis House, London,
SW1A 2TT
