tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post7589758887848644403..comments2024-01-30T07:41:20.885+00:00Comments on Broken Barnet: Broken Barnet, May 2014: the morning after the night beforeMrs Angryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-45068460118687582792014-05-31T12:18:54.487+01:002014-05-31T12:18:54.487+01:00Just read the Local press , Looks Like the Torys a...Just read the Local press , Looks Like the Torys are starting off as they mean to carry on ! With there first sacking of a member of staff in our Local office based in Coventry !!! Apparently for not being obedient Enough to our Demi God Like Council ours , & the Second is that councillor cornelius say that he is Going to carry on Regardless !!! In the Same old Way that should fill the perspective Tory MPs With Confidence !!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-49961874773409351662014-05-31T07:58:50.130+01:002014-05-31T07:58:50.130+01:00Red Sonia, if the Labour Party worked as Hard as t...Red Sonia, if the Labour Party worked as Hard as the Bloggers & the Rest of us Behind the scenes then the Torys would have Been swept away !!! But what the Torys are Good at is sticking together , I attended a BAPS meeting the other night & they were Discussing Direction !!! & that in 4 yrs they can have another crack ! Well I didn't want to state the Obvious but Did ! That the patient would be all ready Long Dead ! But that we could take out ! The puppet masters ie the sitting Tory MP in BarnetAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-651032019372588492014-05-30T20:47:39.976+01:002014-05-30T20:47:39.976+01:00No - Crapita will ensure that Tories are last next...No - Crapita will ensure that Tories are last next time after all rhe damage has been done.<br /><br />And, yes, anon - our campaigning blog often breaks the news that local rags then claim as their own.. But that's fine as long as the story gets out.Red Sonianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-85498251642636365012014-05-30T19:00:35.991+01:002014-05-30T19:00:35.991+01:00Dear Mrs A . I hope & pray that the Labour Gro...Dear Mrs A . I hope & pray that the Labour Group get there Act together , on many Occasions i spoke to Labour Councilours & urged them to Take up the most active opposition to One Barnet ( it was at best flogging a Dead horse ) a Bit of Light Winging & then i have been worning about UKIP , well enough said !!!! They may very well find that they could Become the third party in Barnet Unless they Become more Active !!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-36843618902993573452014-05-30T14:48:54.987+01:002014-05-30T14:48:54.987+01:00Sorry if I was unclear when we have local election...Sorry if I was unclear when we have local elections here. <br /><br />Councillors are elected for a four year term of office. There are three councillors in each ward. So (apart from byelections) there are elections three years out of every four. <br /><br />Once in a blue moon there are boundary changes, in which case there are all up elections. However from your comments on your blog I would guess that Barnet just has elections every four years, rather than the election by thirds it is here. <br /><br />The relationship between my blog and the newspapers is similar to what you describe in Barnet. What's interesting is that I've been to a public meeting, written it up as an exclusive on my blog, my blog has been read by a politician who issues a press release on it only for it to be referred to as an exclusive (again) when a local newspaper writes about it, but such is life! <br /><br />I was talking with a local councillor here about the press a few months ago before a meeting started. He said that years ago the local newspapers used to send someone to every public meeting of the local council, but these days they only turn up if it's something controversial. I suspect it's the same in Barnet. <br /><br />On the campaigns side, it was my blog that first called for the Cabinet decision to close a primary school for severely disabled children to be "called in" and shortly after the opposition councillors did call it in. Sadly the administration used its majority on the call in committee to proceed with consultation despite a petition of over 7,000 local residents against closure of the school.<br /><br />You are right that parties need to change leader if they're not to get "stuck in a rut". John Bracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15068175156565343146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-2119810063375615212014-05-30T11:43:40.570+01:002014-05-30T11:43:40.570+01:00Very interesting, John: not quite sure how often y...Very interesting, John: not quite sure how often you do have elections, but one thing is clear, I think, that national issues in many places have supported local Labour votes when local Labour performance has not been good.<br /><br />I agree with your concerns about informing the electorate, and I think that in Barnet we now have a fairly unique situation where the blogs and local press have a sort of symbiotic relationship, whether they acknowledge it or not, that does keep residents in this borough far better informed than many other communities. Admittedly this is largely a highly literate borough, but even in areas that are not so well placed as others, issues highlighted by bloggers and press have helped create campaigns, for example, on housing related issues, or the cuts to disabled school funding. Whether or not local papers go online entirely, we shall see, but in the meanwhile, they are having to follow this course, and use social media for their own survival. <br /><br />One thing that is clear from the election results here, and it is a lesson that the political parties themselves need to learn, and quickly, is that in a fast changing world, there is really no such thing as a safe seat, and nothing is ever won by defeatism: each seat should be given as much effort as resources allow.<br /><br />When local parties are run for too long on the same principles, and with the same leader, the inevitable result is misjudgement, lack of vision, and apathy amongst the electorate. The need for change is natural, and should not be obstructed by those who really care about their party's best interests.Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-29316499625150959892014-05-30T10:08:41.772+01:002014-05-30T10:08:41.772+01:00Thank you for writing such an interesting read abo...Thank you for writing such an interesting read about the state of politics in Barnet. <br /><br />Here on the Wirral, we don't have elections every four years (although at one stage the Labour administration talked about abolishing local elections three of of every four years to save money). There are twenty-two wards here with three councillors each. Due to a resignation (a Conservative councillor who got chosen as a PPC two hundred miles away and felt they couldn't do both well), there were twenty-three seats up for election. <br /><br />The result of the election was pretty much the same as it was in 2012. The minor differences were as follow. In Birkenhead and Tranmere a Green Party candidate beat a Labour Cabinet Member (this is the ward of Labour's Leader who will be up for reelection next year). So Labour lost that seat.<br /><br />In another ward that has elected two Labour councillors at the last elections, there was an independent (originally elected as a Lib Dem councillor) who wasn't standing for reelection. Labour took this seat increasing their majority and counteracting their loss in Birkenhead and Tranmere (see above). <br /><br />In another ward a Conservative councillor had been elected in a byelection (in a ward that has two Labour councillors) and this coucillor was up for reelection. Labour won this seat. <br /><br />The next result is Labour have 38 seats out of 66 (34 is needed for a majority) and they increased their majority by one. <br /><br />Considering the fiascos reported in the press over the last two years linked to the Labour administration I am surprised that the opposition parties (Lib Dem and Conservative) did not make any gains.<br /><br />Like you I'm well informed about what goes in local politics. I think there are a number of factors as to why elections (at least here) don't always produce the results expected. <br /><br />My first reason is local newspaper coverage (of the two free newspapers) is no longer universal. In the town I live in circulation has dropped to about half of households. This means the other half are not hearing about what's happening in their local Council through their local free newspaper. <br /><br />Another reason why the local population isn't very well informed about news and current affairs is the level of educational qualification and attainment in the adult population is not very high. This in turn translates into a widespread lack of interest in news and current affairs. It seems that many people get their news from the broadcast media (TV news and radio) rather than reading a local paper. <br /><br />Although there are a few blogs about the local political scene there are only three here still going. Others have been started by politicians and then deleted or abandoned as they've lost interest. <br /><br />So, leading to my two interrelated questions. How can blogs like yours and mine counter the above problems and lead to people when they vote at least making an informed choice based on the parties'/candidates' record (or are such blogs just read by the political class anyway)?<br /><br />Politics works best when parties are actually challenging each other at election time rather than just get their name on the ballot paper then do nothing as it's a "safe seat" of another party. How can blogs like yours and mine tackle voter apathy (caused by thinking why bother voting because the X party always wins here), low turnout and a mindset in some parties that there are some seats they won't bother to do anything to try winning (which they don't win because they don't try)?John Bracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15068175156565343146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-76250000974212342472014-05-29T22:48:20.547+01:002014-05-29T22:48:20.547+01:00DCMD: I agree that there will now be pressure for ...DCMD: I agree that there will now be pressure for all members of both parties to pull their weight, and a damn good thing too - but I think both parties will benefit.<br /><br />I can assure you, as someone who spent 12 hours observing them all day Friday, that the Tories were absolutely gutted by the extent of their losses. It was most gratifying to see. Many of them looked faint with horror - even Tom Davey. As we waited for the last result, they sat in shock, in silence - even Dan Hope was lost for words: can you imagine? <br /><br />Most amusing was the downfall of the Tambourides. After losing her place, Mrs Tambo walked past me, grabbed her spouse and snapped: Come, Andreas, let's go: I don't want to stay any more. Oh dear. but then I suppose at one fell swoop they lost a whopping amount of income, and they clearly had no idea that the ungrateful electorate was going to give them the order of the boot.<br /><br />Shame.Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-80143792730172308522014-05-29T19:09:02.352+01:002014-05-29T19:09:02.352+01:00Dear Lady
You claim that the Tories are unable to...Dear Lady<br /><br />You claim that the Tories are unable to comprehend how they could have lost so many seats. You are wrong. The Tories are unable to comprehend how they managed to retain control. They knew they were going to lose seats and they knew that the swing to Labour in London was likely to see them out of office. They just hadn’t realised quite how ineffective the opposition was. Privately, the Conservatives are pi55ing themselves at yet another failure by Labour to score, with the goal wide open.<br /><br />I agree with you that both parties lost this election. It is just that Labour lost first. But, as you say, there is now no margin for error. It will be good for the democratic process that all councillors of all parties will now have to work hard for the full term. Yes, that includes you Seal Minor. <br /><br />I think the Conservatives will emerge stronger for it. They have been given a final warning from the electorate and you can expect changes to follow, both in terms of policy and leadership.<br />Don't Call Me Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13602899129846028170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-27682965022348263622014-05-29T15:05:48.394+01:002014-05-29T15:05:48.394+01:00You are right, Sonia: those in power never want to...You are right, Sonia: those in power never want to relinquish it, which is why the American presidential system is so good, no more than two terms - about right. Look what happened to Blair ... <br /><br />And there has never been a bad leader who willingly stepped down, has there, until pushed? A large part of the reason they are poor leaders is poor judgement. Those who fail to read the signs are those without the ability to communicate, who get to a position of power because they are determined, but - like Coleman - lack the emotional intelligence to know when it is time to go - in some cases their egos will not countenance any need to let someone else takeover anyway. <br /><br />Mr Mustard, I don't think Brian will want to sit in the public gallery with me, somehow. In truth, I don't want to sit there either, anymore, and may well not bother. <br /><br />Short of any better offers, maybe I'll run off to Paris with the man from UKIP, after all. Mrs Angryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00586223909475832791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-21992913339511309482014-05-29T14:20:49.944+01:002014-05-29T14:20:49.944+01:00None of the parties get it - including You Kippers...None of the parties get it - including You Kippers. WE know the system is broken and can't be fixed but all they want to do is tinker on the margins. It won't wash.<br /><br />Thanks to the net many of us are now able to see the inner workings of current politics and we know it stinks. The links between politics and big business (again in all parties), the lack of will to think differently and boldly.<br /><br />It will take time but the revolution has started and UKIP is a symptom not a cure.<br /><br />However, one thing that has to happen is that Labour nationally must have new leadership. Poor Ed was the "least worst" choice of a small group of people and Ed Balls, with his links to Gordon Brown, will never be trusted.<br /><br />Will it happen: probably not - because those in power always want to stay in power.<br /><br />In some ways I fear for the future but I think we have to go through some awful times now to come out the othet side to a new perspective and new ways of doing things.Red Sonianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6371203489316363738.post-79055040556720361502014-05-29T14:17:22.247+01:002014-05-29T14:17:22.247+01:00Just a thought Mrs A, you know that former council...Just a thought Mrs A, you know that former councilor, you know, whatshisname, hewhomustnotbenamed, oh yes that's him, Brian Coleman. He loves a bit of pomp you used to say, at council meetings, especially this first one when all the new councillors take their places.<br /><br />Well, Brian of course, can't now take his seat on the council side of the chamber so where will he have to sit? why, in the public gallery of course. Oh look, the only seat left, next to the tall blonde lady.Mr Mustardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12522242686839965655noreply@blogger.com