It's Brian Coleman's birthday today ...Oh dear me.
Last week Mrs Angry reported that after a very short period on the naughty step, contemplating his bad behaviour, and considering, we hope, just why the voters of Broken Barnet have decided to forego the honour of another four years of his role as our Assembly member, Brian Coleman is back in business. That is to say, the business of upsetting each and every resident of the borough, one by one: a lifetime's mission, and, it would seem, one to be pursued with the One Barnet house style of what's the phrase ... mmm, relentless efficiency.
At a meeting last week of a minor council committee of which he is Chair, in the absence of any stroppy bloggers, our Brian decided to prevent a member of the public from exercising her right, as confirmed by Eric Pickles, and then Barnet Council itself in July last year, to film the proceedings. He declared her perfectly discreet and fully authorised activity to be 'obtrusive', and she was obliged to stop filming, after being spoken to by a senior governance officer, who really should have known better.
Clearly Brian was in a very bad mood last week - and the filming ban was just the preamble to an even more outrageous act. Today, by chance - or maybe not - is his birthday, apparently. Maybe he has been taking stock of life, and feeling rather disgruntled. Time to grow up, maybe, Brian, rather than continue in this tantrum throwing, self indulgent manner, Mrs Angry would suggest.
Take a look at Mr Mustard's blog today:
http://lbbspending.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/light-blue-touch-paper-and-retire.html
and you will see that in response to a perfectly valid email, sent to a number of local councillors, Brian Coleman written the most disgraceful, intemperate response, informing him that he may not contact him at all, that any further communication will be considered to be 'harrassment', bizarrely accusing him of parking near councillors' houses on 'several occasions' , which he construes as 'moving into the realms of stalking' and alleging that he has been submitting hundreds of FOI requests which have cost 'tens of thousands of pounds', a practise which should be addressed by new rules to prevent 'malicious and obsessive' FOIs.Of course Mrs Angry has experienced a similar message of ill will from Councillor Coleman. You may recall that in January, he threatened her with the police:
http://wwwbrokenbarnet.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/will-he-bite-back-mrs-angry-tempts.html
Mrs Angry referred him to her no 1 fan, who was then, fortuitously, the acting Borough police commander, and who sadly failed to send round a black maria to take her off to the de luxe custody suite for lady bloggers recently installed at Colindale police station, ( ah - in fact, that might only have happened in the nightmare world inside your head, Brian ...) and luckily she escaped the dreadful consequences of a conviction for daring to email an elected member of the council. Phew.Poor old Brian. Clearly he is missing his spotlit place on the stage of the Broken Barnet palace of varieties, and is trying to force his way back, the only way he knows how.
Oh well.
Happy Birthday, anyway, Brian. -
Oh .... and many happy returns from the Barnet blogosphere:
Mrs Angry xxx
That last shot must be of Barnet's cabinet, after the game of musical chairs.
ReplyDeleteOh dear. there's no longer a chair for Bwain.
Brian Coleman is not rude to everyone. He always replies to my e-mails with courtesy, despite the fact that I do not live in his ward and have been very critical of him in recent years. His e-mail to me earlier this month demonstrates that he does posses a sense of humour.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a recently defeated councillor and had received Mr Mustard’s e-mail, my response would have been to have invited the sender to go forth and multiply. I am not sorry that Cllr Coleman lost his GLA seat, but rubbing his nose in his defeat was unnecessary. If you attack someone by sinking to their level, you have lost the moral high ground.
You should remember that there are many people who still share Brian Coleman’s political views. They might not always agree with the way he conducts himself in public, but that is a different matter. The public has an absolute right to contact their elected representatives, but they, in turn, have an absolute right to ignore vexatious correspondence from politically motivated opponents.
Oh DCMD don't be silly: his reply to you, a fellow Tory (albeit now in recovery) displayed NO sense of humour, merely retorted, rather feebly, that Olympic budget costs were hidden elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHis ludicrous response here was not to Mr M's email on the night of the GLA result, which anyway told only the truth, but to a perfectly average email to many councillors re FOIs.
Coleman's downfall is due to his failure to acknowledge that he is accountable to residents, and is in post in order to serve the community. If he wishes to be treated with respect, he needs to demonstrate an attitude of respect to others.
Maybe my timing could have been better but the thrust of the message was that to be popular with the public Brian needed to present a more cuddly image. He has decided not to. He will continue to lose ground because of this. It is his choice.
ReplyDeleteits his birthday.....must be up in front of the standards committee again
ReplyDelete25 June
6.30 pm Special Meeting, Standards Committee 25/06
7.00 pm Private meeting, Standards Sub-Committee
Mr Mustard,
ReplyDeleteI would prefer the Brian we all know and love than Cuddles Coleman. As to continuing to lose ground, I suspect there isn't much more to lose
hmm, anon, well of course we do not know it was the old boy up before the beak again. Odds are you right, of course. If so no doubt this has contributed to his recent return to form ...
ReplyDelete