About the old localism thing, Eric: was this what you meant? Taking over the Town Hall, Broken Barnet style

Citizen Barnet informs the councillors of Broken Barnet that residents are reclaiming democracy from their grubby little hands

Well. 

As you may have heard, there was a small but perfectly timed revolution in Barnet last night. 

Yes, a very British revolution: polite, sort of; respectful of the furniture, mindful of the need to thank the police for their good humoured attentions, and leaving a roomful of Tory councillors in a state of fear and trembling, as they contemplated the now certain prospect that they will lose control of this borough at the next election. 

Or rather no: they have already lost control of this borough, and last night the people of Barnet picked up the last pieces of the Tories credibility, as representatives of their electorate, and threw it all back in their faces. 

It was a magnificent sight.

Last night's Cabinet meeting was of course convened in order to 'discuss' the recommendation by senior officers that the authority should allow the giant outsourcing company Capita to take over control of £750 million worth of our council services. The Tories are now trying to present the value of the deal being 'only' £320 million, but the larger total is the real value of the deal if, as both sides intend, it lasts fifteen years. Yes, fifteen years.

There was never any doubt that this contract would be approved by the quisling councillors. They have colluded with senior officers and private consultants in arranging and agreeing this deal in secret, in the absence of any meaningful scrutiny or consultation, betraying the best interests of the residents and taxpayers of Barnet, acting in defiance of all reasonable criticisms, and refusing to engage with the electorate in any debate on the most significant policy decision ever made in the history of this borough, representing the largest act of privatisation by any local authority in the United Kingdom. 

And their mandate for undertaking this monstrous commitment? None whatsoever. One Barnet and the wholescale outsourcing of council services to the private sector was not included in their pre election manifesto, and has been imposed on the residents of this borough by stealth, by deception, and in breach of the most fundamental demands of the democratic process. 

As a Conservative Secretary of State for local government attempts to convince the country that he is empowering every citizen with greater control over their own lives, with more choice, with more freedom, with greater transparency, and greater accountability, here in Broken Barnet his Tory colleagues are doing everything they can to expose the great fat lie that is the localism agenda. They have demonstrated the impossibility of influencing an elected authority which is determined to follow its own crooked course, with no fear of restraint, and no respect for the people it is supposed to represent, an authority which is so frightened of expressions of dissent from its own electorate that it resorts to amending the constitution to forbid entirely the discussion of any council policy at local residents' forums, a ruling which is enforced with iron fisted determination at every meeting. 

What can we do? There is no accountability, in Barnet, until the next election: or so our councillors believe.

No accountability in this borough, but there is a world beyond the boundaries of Broken Barnet, and there are laws which protect the citizens of this country from injustice, and injury. Solicitors have been instructed to fight Barnet Council's attempt to sell us into bondage with Capita, and as you will have seen from the previous post, there are many grounds on which a judicial review may be pursued. 

Yesterday, just before the meeting, Barnet Council received notification of intent to apply for a review of One Barnet, based on the allegation of failure to consult, failure to consider best value for money, failure to address issues of equality, breaches of procurement law, and placing undue pressure on councillors to vote in party line rather than by individual choice.

The news of this legal challenge undoubtedly gave rise to a greater intensity of mood amongst the residents present at the meeting last night: a sense of euphoria, and renewed strength. The room was packed, and an overflow rooom was used: around two hundred people altogether. Also sitting at the front of the public area were several Tory councillors, who later had cause to regret their attendance. 

The meeting began with public question time. Leader Richard Cornelius simply ignored the majority of questions, declaring them to be rhetorical, and therefore unworthy of response. He had nothing to say, therefore, to Julian Silverman's musing on the subject of the words of outsourcing guru and sometime BT, sometime Barnet consultant Max Wide and his alleged remark: 'Never waste a good crisis, and learn to love a recession'. Mrs Angry laughed to herself. Mr Wide now works for iMPOWER, the company which, with Agilisys, acts as the One Barnet 'implementation partners' at a cost, last month, of a staggering £780,000.

Mrs Angry's question was to Councillor Cornelius, wondering why he thought we should trust someone who could not remember on Sunday which services he is outsourcing, and who had no idea that his own officers had changed the model of the DRS tender to a Joint Venture without any authority, and by the way, in view of the fact that a notification of intention to apply for Judicial Review, should he not do the sensible thing, and call a halt to One Barnet. Councillor Cornelius did not like Mrs Angry's question, and it appeared that his view of what comprises a sensible thing does not equate with hers. Or words to that effect: she wasn't really listening, to be honest.

After the questions, Labour leader Alison Moore addressed the committee and pointed out that One Barnet meant an end to local democracy as we know and understand it. The Tory councillors looked on, thinking to themselves that yes, that was exactly their intention.

Councillor Daniel Thomas now launched into one of his 'I am now going to speak very quickly and smoothly in the belief that you will not notice the torrent of shite which is spewing out of my self satisfied face' diatribes, not quite quickly enough to prevent Mrs Angry commenting that he was not going to be around to see the progress of One Barnet. He replied without so much as batting an eyelid that yes, that was how strongly he felt about the marvels of One Barnet - how noble of you, retorted Mrs Angry, admiring his Sydney Carton performance, as he stood on the scaffold, with his head in the block.

The background of French revolutionary politics was a fitting theme for the events which then transpired, as it happened, because - oh look, fellow blogger Citizen Barnet was now standing on her chair, fist in the air, declaiming like Mme Defarge. Citizen Barnet is usually very quiet, considered, and well mannered - but when she is riled, she can give it out like the best of them. Last night she was riled, and she was the best of them: see the following footage, and enjoy, while Mrs Angry takes a break. More later.

Banished: Brian Coleman is cast out into the wilderness, and an Extraordinary meeting

And where exactly, demanded Miss Angry, do you think you are going? And dressed like that?
Erm, well to the Town Hall, said her mother, shiftily, feeling like Edina in AbFab.
I thought you were supposed to be ill?
I am ... but ...
You are not to stay out late, said Miss Angry, or, she added, with a glinting eye, go to the pub.
Ok.
And wear something more sensible. It's cold out there.
Mmm.

Suddenly Mrs Angry had a horrible vision of her old age, at the mercy of bossy grown up children, taking her gin away, and making her go to macrame classes at the local day centre. If there are any day centres, when Mrs Angry reaches her old age. If Mrs Angry reaches her old age. Please: no sympathy.

Never mind: off to Hendon, to watch the Extraordinary Meeting before full council, getting there early in order to make sure of a seat, except oh, when she arrived in the public gallery, there were almost no seats left. 

In the front row, a line of suspiously smug looking older residents sat triumphantly in their seats, clutching their agendas, & peering at them in bemusement. Mrs Angry recognised one of the older culprits, who had been, nominally anyway, a Tory appointed governor at her children's primary school - although rarely seen. 

Mrs Angry remembered that a certain councillor from Barnet (no, not that one) had been rumoured to have arranged for a claque of loyal Tory members from the Chipping Barnet circle of infamy to fill out the public gallery, in a rather desperate attempt to keep the rebellious Barnet activists from being able to sit there and observe the scabby Tory councillors conduct their shameful business in the chamber.. 

Worst of all, it seems, in a typical Barnet Tory display of blatant favouritism, the councillor's chums had been allowed to take their places early, before everyone else, in the best seats, while all other other residents were detained downstairs in the lobby by council staff, most of them ending up in an overflow room, allowed grudgingly to hear but not to see, the actions of their elected representatives.

The Extraordinary meeting had been convened in order to debate an emergency motion from Labour of no confidence in the Tory leader, Richard Cornelius. 

There was much interest on this vote not simply due to his position but the relation to his continuing support of the One Barnet programme of mass outsourcing, a strategy now lying in tatters for all but the most obtuse or conniving Tory councillor to see. If that were not excitement enough, there was the other pressing matter of Councillor Brian Coleman, suspended from the Conservative Party by the national board, but still clinging on desperately to his position within the Tory group. 

Almost the last person to enter the chamber was our man. He moved sulkily to the outer fringes of his former colleagues, and sat in the middle of the room, a row of empty seats to his left. Significantly, Mrs Angry noted approvingly, perhaps in honour of his new found radical political alignment, he was wearing a bold red tie. 

Brian positioned his reading glasses on the end of his nose, peered down at his papers and busied himself with his pen, ticking imaginary lists of things to do: cancel tickets for Chipping Barnet Conservative Association Christmas lunch, tick,  write a letter of sympathy to Nadine Dorries, tick, apply for housing benefit, tick ...

The meeting started. Labour leader Alison Moore began on a sombre note, reminding us all that the issue under debate was one of the gravest and utmost seriousness. The Tory councillors looked on indifferently. She remarked upon the astonishing volte face of Brian Coleman, now outed as a One Barnet sceptic. She noted the number of authorities around the country - Cornwall, Edinburgh, Somerset, Birmingham - so many - who have sensibly rejected large outsourcing schemes like One Barnet: although none of course are on what Coleman himself referred to as the 'grandiose' scale of our proposed privatisation. 

Coleman's face was a picture, throughout this speech, grimacing, his back to his former colleagues, and looking towards the public gallery: at one point Mrs Anrgry thought he was nodding towards her, as if to say, if only I had listened to you earlier, Mrs Angry, how differently my life may have turned out, and how much wiser I would be. Mrs Angry smiled back, sympathetically, with a 'Didn't I tell you, Brian?' sort of expression, which clearly was appreciated.

Deputy leader Daniel 'John' Thomas stood to attention now, and read out an attempt to justify the unjustifiable, the continued promotion of One Barnet. There was, he snarled, no real emergency, and this meeting was in fact 'an abuse of procedure'. Oh dear. 

Councillor Moore complained about a lack of scrutiny, due to a lack of transparency over the details of One Barnet. What people must understand, he said, was that secrecy was necessary because if people knew what the risks were, this would be a very bad thing. Erm?

And, said John Thomas, it was hypocrisy for Labour to moan about the unknown risks, and then blame them for employing consultants (Agilisys/iMPOWER, last monthly bill nearly half a million pounds - shall I repeat that - HALF A MILLION POUNDS IN ONE MONTH - and the total estimated bill soaring out of control), when those consultants were there to assess the risks which we are not allowed to know about. 

Ah: but hang on, thought Mrs Angry ... these consultants are implementation partners, in place to arrange the pimping of our council services, not to make a list of why that is not such a good idea. The fact that they are so fond of the Joint Venture model,  recently agreed by senior officers, without the permission of elected members, demonstrates this better than anything, because of course Joint Ventures are even higher risk than the straightforward strategic partnership/thin client arrangement.

John Thomas wanted us to know that it was completely untrue that there was any disagreement between him and leader Richard Cornelius. There was not. Odd, because no one had suggested that, so one must now suspect, from such a denial, that it must be true.

And then, to sign off, he made a slightly mad, Barnet Tory retro chic style lunge at what he told us was the real reason for any whinging opposition to the masterly outsourcing plans: yes, you've guessed it, the Labour Paymasters ie: sharp intake of breath, and a pointy finger - THE UNIONS. 

Barnet Tories are frightened of THE UNIONS. THE UNIONS, for Barnet Tories, are like the monsters in the wardrobe: a nameless, shapeless fear that cannot be seen, but is always lurking, waiting, plotting an attack in the dark. 

It's alright, John Thomas, Mrs Angry is here, holding your hand: and really, really there is nothing there - go back to sleep ...

to be continued ...