Barnet Strategic Planning Committee - Is it fit for purpose ?

 I am a sad git - I know it , I have been for years. 

Last Thursday December 4th and this past Monday December 8th I sat through the meetings of the Strategic Planning Committee of Barnet Council, admittedly remotely from the comfort of my own living room with a cup of coffee and a box of After Eight mints. 

Now no normal person would submit to 4 hours of a Council Planning Committee (each meeting lasted 2  hours) unless they had too . Pity the nine Councillors who sit on the Committee (six Labour and 3 Conservative ) . The Labour Group have as their representatives a Group of Pensioners Councillors  Barnes , Cohen, Khalick, Roberts and Farrier none of whom will see 70 again presumably chosen for their experience and Planning expertise and their ability to just about stay awake during meetings . Additionally the Labour Chairman, or Chair of course in woke Barnet is Councillor Nigel Young . Now Councillor Young is an interesting man . A newly elected Councillor for Childs Hill Ward in 2022 he was straight away appointed Chair of the Stategic Planning Committee and has actually chaired it very well particularly when faced with a baying mob in the public gallery as he was during the meeting held earlier this year which dealt with the ridiculous application to build a Football Stadium for Barnet Football Club on Playing Fields they did not even own and the Council had no intention of selling to them. More about Councillor Young later in this blog !

The Conservatives have as their representatives Councillor Richard Cornelius (now an elder Statesman but still annoyed at being forced to give up the Leadership of the Council to the Welsh Reform upstart Councillor Thomas ) . Do not rule out a Leadership comeback from our Richard ! Then there is Councillor Josh Mastin- Lee a worthy and earnet successor to the late much missed  Councillor Eva Greenspan (who knew her Planning having done it for 35 years and spoke up for her residents and always topped the poll in her Ward as a result ) and finally Councillor Shuy Gordon the quiet , clever yet understated son of the late Councillor Brian Gordon 

Now Council Planning Committees are quasi judicial Committees ( as the Chair reminds us at the start of each meeting) so that the usual shenanigans of Local Government and Politics are strictly forbidden . In particular Councillors cannot be whipped and must vote according to Planning law . That is the theory anyway.

However in the last couple of years several applications across Barnet on a scale not seen since the late 1960s with the Grahame Park Estate have come forward notably "Edgware towers " the redevelopment of Edgware Town Centre , the redevelopment of North Finchley Town Centre and the constant threat / proposals from Transport for London to build on Station car parks.

The attitude of the ruling Labour Administration in Barnet has been to "Build baby build " and no matter what public opposition from Residents Groups or in the case of Edgware Towers, the London Fire Brigade have stopped the Labour members of the Planning Committee voting in favour of applications . The attitude can be seen by the Council Officers recomemendations . Officers always take their "steer" from leading Members especially the Chair of Planning and the Cabinet member responsible for Development (or whatever the current title is ) .All the major applications to build in Barnet in the last couple of years ( with the exception of the Football Club which had other considerations ) have come before Committee with an Officer recomemdation to approve . 

So imagine my surprise nah shock when Labour Members joined their Conservative colleagues in voting down the application for the Leisure Way development in Finchley last Thursday and the High Barnet Station Car Park development on Monday refusing the Officer recomemdation to approve. Suddenly all those worthy arguments troted out by Labour Councillors about the need for more social and affordabe housing were instantly forgotton .My shock was nothing compared to the Planning Officers who were clearly furious and having had their advise rejected on Thursday lost patience on Monday, indeed the Director started bullying the Committee into giving far more detailed reasons for refusal than normal . Indeed the mildly spoken Councillor Gordon who no doubt had a hot dinner waiting for him at home , said "We are not usually asked for this much detail in a refusal ".

The Leisure Way development was stage two in a three stage planning process to completley change North Finchley . This ill advised process was started by the previous Conservative Administration and enthusiastically pursued by the current Labour Administration. The first stage was to build on Lodge Lane N12, North Finchley car park the development to include a small cinema and an 8 lane bowling alley clearly intended to replace the facilities on Leisure Way . Despite huge resident opposition and not just from the usual NIMBY brigade the Labour Group voted the application through . 

So what has changed between the Committiee meetings held to determine Edgware Towers and Lodge Lane and the Committee meetings held to determine Leisure Way and High Barnet Underground ?

Well several answers to that . First the "Chair" of Stategic Planning the aforementioned Councillor Young has gone on the "Chicken run" abandoning his Childs Hill Ward which is looking like a probable Conservative Gain and getting selected to replace the ailing Councillor Cooke in Woodhouse Ward in North Finchley which surprise , surprise contains the Leisure Way Development and vast numbers of objectors .

Secondly local Labour Members of Parliament are getting increasingly jittery about trying to hold their seats in the light of the huge unpopularity of their Government and Prime Minister . Hence Sarah Sackmen wrote a letter , she was far too busy to turn up in person and address the Planning Committee, objecting to Leisure Way . It was a very very long letter ! 

Third and foremost the Labour Party in Barnet have woken up to the fact (reinforced bythe collapse in the Labour vote in the recent Hendon Ward byelection )  that they are possibly facing wipe out in May 2026 Local elections ( 1968 all over again for those of you with long memories ) from a combination of the Conservatives , Reform and even the mad Greens and are now backtracking on the desperatley unpopular "Build baby build " strategy .

So what happens now ?

Well of course these two developments go to the Mayor of London who can use his powers to direct Barnet Council to grant Planning permission . I would put my pension on the fact  that he will do just that but probably not before the Council elections in May in order to spare Barnet Labour Group blushes . 

So what is the point of Barnet Council Strategic Planning Committee ? You may well ask !

Here we go again

So this Tuesday night I got on the 125 bus, I have sold my car and made my way to Hendon Town Hall as is my want to the Annual Meeting (NOT the Annual General Meeting as the Council Press Office called it ) of Barnet Council .I think this may be my thirtieth Annual Meeting of the Council having been every year since 1993 except of course the year Brian Salinger was elected Mayor . The Town Hall was looking tired especially as the spring bedding has died and the Summer bedding has not been planted yet which was something I used to insist on .

One of the bright young Conservative Councillors came up to me and asked if I was going to write a blog this year which I was not planning to do but as they say by popular demand here we go .

The retiring Mayor Councillor Alison Moore has actually been a very good Mayor outside the Chamber . Inside the Chamber whilst chairing meetings she has been a bit too partisan according to one or two Conservative Councillors. She has of course led the Borough over the Platinum Jubilee, the death of the Queen and the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla as well as doing the endless round of visits that all Mayors do and all this she has done with due dignity, grace and in a friendly and approachable manner . I will personally always be grateful to her for sparing the time to attend my late Mother's funeral last June . 

Alison has been ably supported by former Councillor Helen Gordon as her Mayoress . Helen had a "reputation" twenty five years ago as a fierce, determined and a firebrand and was universally disliked by the then Conservative Group, and a significant number of Council Officers and rumour had it by a number of her own side but twenty years off the Council has mellowed her and she has behaved as a complete softee as Mayoress and frankly I have been impressed !

In my role on the Executive Committee of the London Mayors Association I see all the 32 Borough Mayors in action at London wide events including the Annual LMA Dinner , the Civic Service in Westminster Abbey and the Mayors walk from Whittington's cat statue to Mansion House . Alison has behaved impeccably and not tried to turn  any occasion into a "selfie" opportunity ( yes Mayor of Lambeth I am thinking of you ) . I am delighted to say that Alison Moore thought it was totally inappropriate when some Mayors thought they should petition the King and ask for an invitation to the Coronation ! 

The London Mayors Association is by the way a non Party Political members organisation for men and women who have been Mayor of a London Borough which organises social events and has increasingly become the guardian of the Civic Mayoralty which is under attack in many of our Boroughs . In fact next Saturday the LMA will undertake its annual "Mayors Training Day " for all the new Mayors (yes Mayors get trained these days !) and in my address I have had to add a section about Mayors taking selfies and that it is not appropriate for the Mayor to ask the King for a kiss during a Royal visit . 

Anyway back to Tuesday night . The big news was the Councillors robes had been cleaned and repaired and the majority of Conservative Councillors looked very smart . I was particularly taken by Councillor Shuey Gordon who told me he was wearing the robe worn by his late Father Councillor Brian Gordon . I am sure the much missed Brian would have been very pleased . Looking tanned and fit was Councillor David Longstaff who had recently returned from the West Indies where he had married his partner of twenty nine years and his Mayoress Gillian who was seated on the back row of the Chamber with a selection of other former Mayors and Mayoresses . Although quite why former Mayor Reuben Thompstone though it necessary to force his nine year old son to sit through the ceremony was beyond me . 

I was seated for a change in the body of the Chamber between the redoubtable Past Mayor Agnes Slocombe and and the senior Past Mayoress on parade (1993/94) Mrs Shelia Lyon now approaching 89. I suspect Shelia and I were the only people in the Chamber who had any clear memories of Mrs Mary Goodman a Past Mayoress who the Mayor announced had died and for whom Councillor Richard Cornelius got up and paid tribute . Nobody realised that the story Richard told about Mary was a mangled version of a Coleman anecdote about another long forgotton Mayoress.....................

Councillor Kath McGuirk disgracefully overlooked for appointment to the Cabinet in her eyes anyway , paid tribute to former East Finchley Labour Councillor and indeed Labour Leader John Davies who retired from Barnet before some members of the new Cabinet were born . Kath reminded us that he fought Mrs Thatcher in the General Election of 1987 and how furious Mrs T was that the declaration was not till half past three in the morning . I was told when she heard David Dimbleby on the BBC saying "Mrs Thatcher is on her way back to Downing Street " she yelled at the TV in the Mayor's Parlour " No I am not I am still stuck here at the Town Hall ! " Barnet counts were ever thus ..............

The new Mayor, Councillor Nagus Narenthira was duly elected and installed and, except that she appears to be a enthusiastic paid up member of the Andrew Dismore appreciation society I suspect she will be fine .

The Leader of the Council (yes still) Councillor Barry Rawlings announced his Cabinet who all seem to have bizarre and meaningless job titles along the lines  of Cabinet Member for Apple Pie and Motherhood. As Councillor Longstaff pointed out the words "Children" , "Education" and "Safeguarding" appear in nobody's job title .  The new Labour Members have merrily voted for the Cabinet system like Turkeys voting for Christmas and have consigned themselves to 3 years of powerlessness on the back benches . Do not say you were not warned ......

Barry's speech on the achievements of the last year was mercifully short (rather like the list of achievements ) and appeared to consist of setting up a Citizens Assembly on climate change and er that is it . Quite what happened to the promised Autumn rebate on Council Tax promised in his speech last year nobody asked but we all know the Officers persuaded him to quietly drop it . 

Well done to Councillor Tony Vourou on being appointed Deputy Mayor . Tony is a fixture on the Barnet Political scene with friends across the Political Parties and rather proves that persistence pays off. Mystery surrounds the Deputy Lieutenant who made a song and a dance of leaving the Chamber early but still managed to be at the buffet afterwards apparently he does not like the Party Politics which creeps into the latter stages of the meeting . I suspect Her Majesty the Queen hated various bits of successive Queens speeches at the opening of Parliament but that is the job . 

Anyway the meeting lasted an hour and twenty minutes and then we all adjourned for the buffet where a good time was had by all and the real business of the evening was done . 

 There was a long list five or six of Labour apologies and one Conservative which if you cannot be bothered to attend the Annual Meeting is a sure sign you are pissed off and that old war horse John Marshall told me he was not attending the Annual Meeting as he hated them when he served on the Council and was blowed if he was attending now he did not  have to (an attitude adopted by a few ex Mayors ) . So as I boarded my 125 bus I thought do I miss it ? You decide reader ! 

 The late Councillor Melvin Cohen an appreciation 

A lot of generous tributes have been paid to Councillor Melvin Cohen who served on Barnet Council for an unprecedented 40 years all that time representing the Golders Green Ward.

Several tributes have come from opponents of the sort Politicians do after death but would never do in life; yes former Councillor Rozenberg I am thinking of you .

The Melvin I knew was a complicated , private and even secretive man . Even his age was a secret. Twenty years ago the Conservative Political Assistant rang me to say he had just had a to complete a Criminal records check form for Melvin who was being reappointed a School Governor and did I realise he was over 60 ? That makes him over 80 at the time of his death but frankly who knows ? 

Twenty Five years ago it was common knowledge in the Conservative Group that Melvin had left his wife and was living with an employee from his legal practice a nice guy called Stephen in Broadfields Avenue in Edgware, a house Melvin continued to live in even when a few years ago Stephen left him and moved to Brighton with somebody else. I suspect though that Melvin remained married to his long suffering wife until the day he died . Melvin was Mayor twice only the second man in the Borough to have that distinction , the first , the late Councillor Vic Usher always claimed that second time around was just not as good , a view I suspect Melvin shared . 

His Mayoresses were neither his wife nor his boyfriend but his ever loyal fellow Councillors Maureen Braun and Wendy Prentice . I would occasionally accompany Melvin on Mayoral events most memorably on Christmas Day 2003 when after four visits the driver took the Mayor home and we were invited in for a Christmas Drink where Stephen passed the Sherry and mince pies and I thought to myself that Melvin could have taken Stephen out with him and no one would have raised an eyebrow.I remember being at Dean's wedding and seeing Stephen standing at the back of the packed Hall at Kinloss and I thought just how sad that was . 

Melvin enjoyed his black leather as the late Rudi Vis never ceased telling the story of bumping into Melvin late one night on the Northern Line kitted out in head to foot in black leather . Indeed in 1995 before I was on the Council a friend and I and the late Councillor Victor Lyon and his wife were guests with Melvin on Hyde Park for the 50th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and whilst Dame Vera Lynn was belting out "We'll meet again " my friend inquired if the black leather was kosher ?

In the days when the Conservative Party Conference used to visit Bournemouth and Melvin would stay at a nice gay owned and run hotel called the Creffield (long since demolished ) where he would happily enjoy the totally non kosher breakfast (he avoided the bacon) and presumably ignored the contents of a certain video channel .

When Mayor if he wanted to do an engagement on the Sabbath (the Lord Mayors Show springs to mind ) he would drive to his office and get the Mayoral Car to pick him up there so the neighbours did not see. My jaw dropped when I heard the Rabbi at the funeral saying Melvin had taken advice about opening a car door on the sabbath.........

Melvin was a solid Conservative , although Councillor Brian Salinger (in the days when he was still talking to me ) one said he had no idea whether Melvin was on the right or the left of the party as he never expressed an opinion . However the best speech I ever heard Melvin make was when he was being challenged for Group office by Cllr Salinger at a Group AGM and Melvin shocked it to Salinger straight between the eyes and was reelected by a big majority . Melvin was also totally loyal to Mike Freer (and I suspect a little bit in love with him) both when Mike was Leader of the Council and later Member of Parliament . 

Melvin was the go to expert on the Council constitution and indeed the Group rules and of course an expert on Planning . Over the years he reduced the public contribution to Planning Committees and sadly even Councillors contribution as he somehow thought the public and indeed local Councillors were a nuisance to the Planning process. 

Of course he helped hundreds of constituents over the years but in the last 15 years of his life was overshadowed by the phenomenon that is his son Dean who runs Golders Green Ward and frankly works his socks off dealing with not always easy residents . It was Dean who inherited the mantle of the late Cllr Rabbi Aba Dunner in Golders Green.

Ill health had overshadowed Melvin for the last 15 years of his life so although his death was a shock to his sons, it was a surprise to absolutely nobody on the Council or in the Conservative Party . In 2021 he was interviewed for the approved list of candidates by Zoom from his hospital bed at the Royal Free and anyone who had seen him in the last 12 months thought he was a walking ghost . 

Was Melvin happy ? Who knows ? I am sure his sons and his grandchildren gave him happiness . He was sadly of that generation of older men who had to keep their sexuality totally private and combined with belonging to a community not known for being gay friendly it was far worse . 

Rest in peace Melvin 

 A Revolution ? I think not 

Last night, with some trepidation I  attended the Annual Meeting of Barnet Council . For the first time in it's fifty seven year history the Council now has an huge Labour majority with 41 Councillors and the Conservative Party is reduced to in effect a rump of 22 Councillors . In fact only 19 Conservatives could be bothered to turn up last night with one apparently having gone on holiday ! 

Having arrived at the Town Hall nothing seemed to have changed , the red flag was not flying from the flag pole and there were a small group of left wing demonstrators outside protesting against Capita's involvement in Council Services ( Note to demonstrators : you have won ).

Having been seated in the past Mayors row at the back of the Chamber along with the other long forgotten Past Mayors and Mayoresses, some wearing better then others, (Scharma, Salinger , Rutter, Rayner , the wonderful Agnes Slocombe and the doyenne of former Mayoresses Mrs Shelia Lyon (whom one Conservative Councillor mistook for my Mother ) , Shelia I am sure was thinking of her late husband the distinguished Victor Lyon who in 2002 lead the victorious campaign that brought the Conservatives to power after eight years and started the twenty years of glorious Conservative rulein Barnet  now ended by Boris Johnson.

I settled down to enjoy the meeting . 

The first shock was the Conservative Councillors appeared without robes ! For anybody with any knowledge of Barnet history this is revolutionary. Frankly I suspect the Councillors robes will not appear again ever . If after four years they can be found they will no doubt disintegrate to the touch . As two (male) Conservative Councillors appeared without ties and certainly Councillor Sarah Wardle has been leading the opposition to the robes since she got elected in 2018 , I suspect she has won ........

The meeting opened with Councillor Melvin Cohen receiving his certificate for forty years continuous service on the Council . Forty years , before most of the bright new Councillors were born . Melvin managed to raise himself from his sick bed for the occasion and made a competent speech . Despite the feeling that the man is a walking by election , I say give him the Freedom of the Borough whilst you can . By the way I noticed John Marshall's name had been painted on the Freedom Board at the back of the Chamber and wish him well as he continues to recover from a broken leg in a nursing home in Hendon .

Retiring Mayor Councillor Alison Cornelius duly reported she had written to the Queen on the occasion of Her Platinum Jubilee . Poor woman hasn't she got enough to worry about than having to plough though yet another fan letter ........

Councillor Alison Moore (Labour East Finchley) was duly elected unopposed as Mayor and did the necessary . I have no problem with the very experienced Alison (she came on the Council with me in 1998) being Mayor and I am sure she will continue in the fine tradition of Barnet Mayors . 

The second shock of the evening was the appointment by the incoming Mayor of her Mayoress none other than former East Finchley Councillor Helen Gordon . For those of you with long political memories in Barnet you may recall I defeated her in the first Greater London Assembly election in 2000 by the slim majority of 551 . This rather finished her political career (she had been considered a shoe in for the seat) as she and her husband (former Colindale Councillor Nat Rudolf ) blamed the then Labour Group for not supporting her enough and both retired from the Council in 2002 to pursue distinguished careers outside of Politics . Nat is now  apparently a QC no less. Well Helen has lost her frizzy perm and will no doubt have a wonderful year escorting Alison in her engagements and reflecting what night have been (or probably not ) .

Councillor Alison Cornelius in her farewell speech to the Mayoralty inexplicably failed to thank the Mayoral staff team at the Council . Without the small and dedicated team lead by the excellent Angela Richardson the Mayoralty and much of the Civic life of the Borough would simply fail to happen . 

Councillor Barry Rawlings was duly elected Leader of the Council for the four year term (how many of those years will he complete one Tory Councillor asked me ?) and made a competent speech declaring an immediate "Climate Emergency" . Well what the dickens does that mean ? Of course nobody has a clue but it sounds good on the press release . He also said the Council would refund the one percent Council tax rise "sometime in the Autumn " . This is absolutely daft as the Council will need the money for services and the admin will probably cost as much as the refund and the average Barnet voter will receive tuppence ha'penny . I am told that a long discussion took place in the Labour Group meeting on that decision . Barry well into his flow also announced several welcome decisions ( well by me anyway) , the restoration of the popular Community skip service (abolished by Matthew Offord when my back was turned ) , the abolition of the residents forums (created by the Lib Dems , always hated by Labour ) which I begged Victor Lyin to abolish in 2002 and he pledged to bring Planning back in house (Hallelujah!). He also committed his administration to building a 1000 new Council Houses , a very dangerous commitment as if you build 999 you have failed to meet you target . Of course the question is where do you build when you are committed to defending the Green Belt ?

Barry failed to mention the Hendon Hub , regeneration or Capita . All three issues which I suspect for contractual and other reasons Labour will be forced to quietly backtrack on . However there was nothing in the speech to frighten the horses or to suggest to the good folk of Totteridge that they rush down to the Estate Agents and put their houses on the market ! 

Councillor Dan Thomas now looking fresh and young again with the pressures of office lifted (was that a new suit Dan ?) made a wholly responsible and dignified speech in reply wishing the new administration well . This was somewhat undermined by a totally inappropriate speech by Conservative (currently) Deputy Leader David Longstaff . Word of advise David , when you have suffered the worse defeat in Barnet Council's history less than 3 weeks ago and when you have a packed public gallery of the great and the good . If I were you David I would watch my back in the Group Leadership elections in September . My money is on Councillor Prager (not a LITTLE prick I am assured by those who know ) or Councillor Sarah Wardle .

Anyway Alison Moore received full marks for her chairing of the Council Meeting and handled it with charm and courtesy .

Then on to the Mayoral Reception afterwards where it was good to see a number of former Councillors, Peter Zinkin and Sach Rajput having licked their wounds and Allan Turner , the old socialist warhorse of Burnt Oak and Jim Tierney of West Finchley now looking frail but still kind enough to ask after my mother .

It was also good to meet new Barnet Conservatives Councillors (the future ?) Councillor Shuey Gordon, son of my good friend the late Councillor Brian Gordon , but please turn your bloody phone off during meetings , Councillor Josh Conway great nephew of anther good friend the late Councillor Anthony Finn and Councillor Michael Mire of Garden Suburb who seems far to sensible and level headed to be a Councillor .

Oh well for those who remember the crazy days of Labour in the 1980, refusing to stand for the Mayor , attacking the Queen , appearing in the Council in shorts , breast feeding babies in the Chamber the new Administration  appears positively moderate and certainly not socialist . Will they make the mistakes of the last Lab / Lib coalition as a result ? Time will tell .

Meanwhile a revolution it simply isn't !

DEBACLE !

Ah a new Coleman blog after nearly 3 years ! What monumentos event has prompted this ? Well Thursday's Barnet Council elections which resulted in the Conservatives losing control of the Council for the first time since 1998 and failing to be the largest party on the Council for the first time since the Borough was created in 1964 .

Apparently the Barnet Conservatives are conducting a review of what when wrong so here are my thoughts .

The complete re-warding of the Borough by the over enthusiastic Boundary Commission caused endless problems . If it " aint broke dont fix it" has always been a useful moto and Barnet having managed with 3 member wards since 1964 was presented with a mish mash of two and three member wards , some with silly names (where is Barnet Vale or Edgwarebury ) and Councillors fighting each other for the nominations . 

The starting gun was fired, far to prematurely by Hendon Conservative Association last Summer who decided they wanted to get all their nominations done before the Holidays . Combined with a (ridiculous ) change in Conservative Party rules Hendon Conservatives went at selection like a bull in  a china shop .A relatively small number of members in Hendon ward managed in a matter of minutes on Zoom to dispose of Councillor Anthony Finn (former Mayor , 32 years service and a nice man) and Councillor Nizza Fluss (loud but very effective ) . Councillor Finn was disposed of without so much as a by your leave let alone a thank you and his death earlier this year may well have been hastened by the disgraceful behavior of his Conservative Association . Councillor Fluss had become a thorn in the side of the Leader of the Council , Councilor Thomas, by her principled and vocal opposition to the so called "Hendon Hub" , the absurd joint development with Middlesex University which post pandemic looks even more unnecessary and which Labour has promised to disentangle the Borough from.

This was soon followed by Edgware ward deselecting Councillor Linda Freedman (a one term wonder who had achieved very little) and Mill Hill deciding to dispense with the services of Councillor Golnar Bokaei , a Councillor from a Middle Eastern background who did wonders for the diversity of the Tory Group and was not bad at planning . "What has Golnar done wrong ? " asked one Conservative Councillor ?" well all three woman were replaced by men ...................

Linda decided to not bother anymore , Golnar reluctantly accepted the decision and went on to bravely fight the safe Labour Ward of Woodhouse in the Finchley and Golders Green Association but Nizza appealed citing no less than 18 breaches of the Conservative Party rules by the Hendon Association . The Conservative Party Area Officers found the rules had indeed been breached and ordered Hendon Ward selection to be re run . Nizza knew she was on a loser anyway as a number of new members had been mysteriously signed up and so it proved when at the rerun selection the three candidates were conformed as Councillor Mark Shooter (a cheerleader for the Hendon Hub ) Joshua Conway ( nephew of the aforementioned Councillor Finn ) and the hugely ambitious Councillor Alex Prager who had done the chicken run from West Hendon which boundary changes had left virtually unwinnable . Councilor Prager , "a cocky little P***k " as one of his colleagues described him to me, is a possible future leader of the Conservative Group in the mode of his idol Councillor Mark Shooter .

Of course that was not the end of Hendon Association's selection problems as in Spring this year the Association took the emergency decision to deselect Councillor Helene Richman from West Hendon Ward . Why bother ? She was not going to win . Most people who had met her realised she was bonkers and yet they had still reselected her . I had lunch with her once and found I could not get a word in the conversation ........imagine it .

Anyway Helene appealed. The Area Officers allowed her appeal but decided not to tell her till the Sunday to allow for Jewish sensibilities . Helene is Jewish and bizarrely had been deselected for alleged anti Semitic remarks made to her fellow candidate . However meanwhile on the Saturday she had flounced off to join the dustbin of Barnet Politics that is the local Lib Dems with all the resultant bad publicity . The only good news out of the whole Barnet elections is that once again there are no Lib Dems on Barnet Council and former Councillor Gabriel Rozenberg , the son of that great charmer Melanie Phillips, is now a busted flush . He decided to stand in West Finchley Ward where he seriously thought he could win . Lib Dem headquarters said the local Party should put their effort into Church End ward but Gabriel explained it was all about him .................

Good luck with your parliamentary ambitions in the new Finchley and Muswell Hill Parliamentary seat Gabriel , you certainly have the ego for it ! 

Anyway back to Conservative selections . Finchley and Golders Green were faced with the problem that two of their safe wards Golders Green and Garden Suburb were reducing to two members each .Councillor John Marshall , the great Tory warhorse obliged by announcing he was standing down . Councillor Reuben Thompstone found himself edged out in Golders Green by the hard working and heading for sainthood Councillor Dean Cohen and his increasingly frail father Councillor Melvin Cohen . Indeed Melvin was apparently placed on the approved list of Conservative candidates following an interview conducted by lap top from his hospital bed at the Royal Free . Sadly Melvin appears to be the walking by election of the new Council .

Meanwhile Reuben found himself rejected by the Conservative members in Childs Hill , Garden Suburb and even Brunswick Park in Chipping Barnet . A bit of advise Reuben ditch the silly moustache and do not talk about "social inclusion " to audiences who have no idea what it is and probably against it anyway ! Reuben finally got selected for Underhill ward where apparently Theresa Villiers MP was knocking up on polling day ! (just why ?ed )

Chipping Barnet Conservative Association had their selection problems . Councillor Richard Cornelius presided over the East Barnet selection where apparently he knew he was breaking the rules but did not care and the Area Officers once again had to ride to the rescue . Councillor Felix Byers (the cute one) was reselected although I do not believe he told the members that he was going to have his civil partnership ceremony during the campaign and bugger off to Norway for the honeymoon . The resulting deselection of Councillor Nicole Richer led to much crying and wailing from Nicole who had managed to get deselected only one year after achieving a stunning by election win. That is some going ! Nicole who is known for bursting into floods of tears when things do not go right shed a load more on election night when she lost in Brunswick Park Ward (replacing Councillor Roberto Weeden-Sanz (who had wisely buggered off to Kensington and Chelsea .seeing Barnet as a lost cause )  Is she the briefest serving  Barnet Councillor since 1964 ? I think she may be. If you cannot cope with the losing do not stand is my advise !

Anyway candidates finally all in place what were the issues ? Frankly who knows ? A manifesto was produced presented to the Conservative Group for rubber stamping (nothing is discussed in Group anymore ) and appeared to say what Conservative were against . We were against getting rid of the weekly bin collection , against tower blocks (except in West Hendon , Finchley Central and when we are not ) against Low Traffic Neighbourhoods ( but happy to let Officers run riot on the A1000 ) and against high Council Tax (but happy to put it up to the Government maximum in non election years ). T.

But of course none of all this made a major impact on the results . There was one issue Boris . He has never been hugely popular in this Borough and I have before questioned his fitness to be Prime Minister long before Covid and Party gate . The people of Barnet had had enough of Boris and duly punished their hard working Conservative Councillors .

The future? with only 22 Conservative Councillors the gene pool is small . Councillor Dan Thomas can stagger on for a year but no former Leader of Barnet has ever made a comeback . No doubt Dan will appreciate the freedom of  being able to keep his tan topped up, rumours are he went away for Easter weekend (Shurley not Ed !). A number of bright younger candidates expected to get elected failed . The Conservative Group will hopefully not do a repeat of 1994 when they threw out leadership lock stock and barrel and put in Councillors with little experience who struggled for four years . 

When we won back the Council in 2002 we fought on a manifesto that was firm and strong. I wish the new Labour Council well especially as they undue some of the dafter decisions of the last few years, Hendon Hub , North Finchley regeneration and of course the horrendous partnership with Capita that has proved a disaster and has had Tory Councillors tearing their hair out .

Oh well annual Council elections anyone ?

 

Seal Hunting Anyone ?

It is the weekend before a Tuesday meeting of Barnet Council and any Councillor worth their salt will be spending time reading the Agenda papers for the meeting . Buried in the small print on page 74 of the Council Agenda in the list of vacancies for Local Authority appointed School Governors is Garden Suburb Infant and Juniors where their is a vacancy due to the "self disqualification" of Conservative Councillor Daniel Seal . Self Disqualification means that the individual has failed to attend any meetings of the School Governing Body or it's Committees in the previous six months :it is not a resignation ,it is a disqualification from office under the Education Act . Now most schools only have a termly meeting of their full Governing Body and Governors with busy lives can get themselves caught out if they miss two Governing Body meetings  on the trot but as Governors are usually expected to serve on a  Committee as well , perhaps Finance or Pupil welfare that sort of thing, it always possible to ensure that you have attended one meeting at the school in six months .

Indeed if you cannot attend any official meetings in six moths what on earth is the point of serving on a School Governing Body in these days when so many legal and other responsibilities rest with Governors ?

I have known some Councillors who to avoid the embarrassment of being disqualified from a  School Governing Body or indeed other public bodies to which Councillors are appointed and the six month rule applies, have resigned ahead of the inevitable disqualification .

However Councillor Daniel Seal as they say "has form" .

His attendance at meetings of the Council is erratic to put it mildly  . In 2013 he appeared at the Annual Meeting of the Council in May and then missed two meeting in a row and only appeared at full Council again in November . In the same month  he was absent at the meeting of the Pensions Committee of the Council , which he had lobbied hard to get appointed to .

Councillor Seal , Danny to his friends, of whom I am not one , first got elected to Barnet Council for Garden Suburb Ward in 2010 replacing the adorably beautiful but politically pointless Councillor Jazmin Naghar , who appeared in the pages of "Tatler" more often then she did the "Ham and High" . Councillor Naghar although active at election time was apparently virtually invisible in the Ward the rest of the time, relying on that old war horse Councillor John Marshall to do the Ward work particularly planning, which John enjoys. The selection of Danny Seal, backed by John Marshall was seen as opting for a young ,enthusiastic, ambitious  and clever new Councillor over others who applied for the safe Conservative seat but were seen as "the usual faces, hard working but not dynamic" .

The voters of Garden Suburb ward duly did their duty and sent the handsome Councillor Seal (If you like the sort of puppy dog eyes look ) to the Town Hall. Alarm bells however soon began to ring with many colleagues seeing Danny, whilst sharp, as "cocky" or as some less charitable old hands put it "arrogant, with nothing to be arrogant about". His enthusiastic support for his buddy Councillor Mark Shooter in the various Leadership battles of 2010/11 left many Chipping Barnet Conservative Councillors feeling distinctly cold towards him .

He is a young man keen to make his fortune in business , and there is of course nothing wrong with that, but the first lesson in Politics , whether local or national is that half the job is turning up. Cllr Seal's has treated his twitter  followers over the last few weeks to tweets from his Italian skiing holiday over Christmas and the New Year , his business trip to South Korea , the Executive Lounge at Gatwick, the BA Galleries lounge at Heathrow (the potatoes were cold apparently), Jersey Airport, and this weekend, when most Barnet Councillors were attending Holocaust Commemoration his followers, with impeccable timing , were treated to tweets from Munich , the spiritual home of Nazism !

Sadly lacking are many tweets from Hampstead Garden Suburb .

Councillor Richard Cornelius , the Leader of Barnet Council is telling anyone who will listen that Cllr Seal's attendance record is "a disgrace" and is apparently, so rumour has it, is lobbying Finchley and Golders Green Conservatives to deselect him. Richard is worried that should the May elections go badly for the Tories and they end up with a majority of one or two, Cllr Seal's absence will be a luxury the Conservative Group cannot afford . Cllr Richard Cornelius is of course as usual supported by his wife , Councillor Alison Cornelius who is distrustful of many of the Jewish Councillors whom she sees as a threat to her husband's leadership.

Meanwhile Councillor Andrew Harper , the third Garden Suburb Member is retiring from the Council having realised he will never be able to bore the Conservative Group into recognising his talents and electing him Leader . He is to be replaced by  another bright , young ambitious Jewish guy Gabriel Rozenberg , the son of the "voice of sensible middle England", Melanie Phillips and the distinguished legal journalist Joshua Rozenberg . Gabriel is considered a safer bet than Seal as he is married with a family and not likely to spend most of his time tweeting from Business class airport lounges .

Finally  Councillor Seal's tells us on twitter that in April he will be in New York . So who is going to knock on doors in Garden Suburb Ward ? Ah step forward Councillor John Marshall who as so often in Barnet Politics will be riding to the rescue !

Action needed now !

Barnet Council has featured again this week in the national media with the "Daily Mail ", Radio 5 live and BBC London amongst others reporting on the shanty town reportedly full of Roumanian migrants that is flourishing on the former site of Hendon Football Club over in Cricklewood , very near to Brent Cross .

This problem is not new , in Spring last year , the night of the Mayor's Ball if I remember rightly , there was a major fire on this site and it took the London Fire Brigade a considerable time to confirm that fortunately there were no casualties amongst the derelict buildings, rubble and rubbish which was being used as some sort of shanty town by mainly Roumanian and mostly illegal casual workers . Indeed any weekday morning you can see these migrants workers lined up on Cricklewood Broadway

The freehold of this site is owned by Barnet Council and although there have been endless legal arguments and even a protracted land tribunal hearing over the last 15 years or so , the site is earmarked for development for much needed housing and no doubt once the housing market picks up developers will get on with it . In the meantime local residents have to put up with this eyesore and the resulting nuisance and people are living in conditions which make war torn Damascus look like a luxury holiday .

There is no sanitation , the place is over run with vermin and it is an all round health hazard and frankly in the event of another fire a death trap .

The Council has the power to deal with any dangerous structure any where in the Borough if necessary and take remedial action and send the landowners the bill . In this case never mind any disputes with the leaseholder the Council has an increased responsibility as the freeholder of the site .

During the media ho ha on Monday apparently " nobody from Barnet Council was available for interview" . Very odd . Where was the Leader of the Council or the Cabinet member for the Environment , Councillor Dean Cohen ?

 Indeed this site lies in Councillor Dean Cohen's Ward , although rumour has it  not in an end of the Ward he often visits . When in the Summer of 2001 there was a spate of Irish Traveller invasions of greenbelt land in Totteridge and elsewhere the late Victor Lyon, Kevin Edson  and I as Ward Councillors were at Brook Farm before the sun had set and we even had Sir Sydney Chapman then MP for Chipping Barnet return from  his Summer break to reassure residents everything possible was being done to move these people on and deal with the issues of abandoned vehicles and dumped rubbish  . Once the travellers had left  the Council moved in swiftly ,cleared the tonnes of rubbish and spent a not inconsiderable sum securing Brook Farm and several others sites in Mill Hill, Burnt Oak and Arkley from possible future occupation . Indeed the Council Officers swift action was not unrelated to the pressure they were under from elected Politicians .

Last week after the fire at the Somali Community Centre in Coppetts Ward, which appears to be the result of a disgraceful racist arson attack , there were so many visits from senior Politicians that the place began to resemble Downing Street on Cabinet reshuffle day . Councillors (some of whom had never ventured South of the North Circular Road)  had to ask for directions from Council Officers , indeed one Senior Barnet Councillor was heard to ask "surely this place is in  Haringey ? " Yet it did not stop them  queueing up to give the nation the benefit of their views on this fire before they had any confirmation that it could be arson .

However what this site in Cricklewood needs is not a ministerial visit but a fleet of Council bulldozers and skip lorries and some of our hard working refuse staff from the soon to shut Mill Hill Depot to clear the site and end the problem .

Take  the necessary action, worry about the niceties and who picks up the cost once you have sorted the  problem out .

It used to be that the Conservative Administration in Barnet was noted for firm and swift action when problems arose , now we seem to have dither and delay .

As Churchill would have said "Action this Day "

She saved the Nation , but she put Finchley on the map !

I somehow thought she was immortal .

Only last month I was reading an obituary in the "Daily Telegraph" of an old acquaintance of mine , Sir Fergus Montgomery former MP for Altrincham amongst other places, and recalling that the last time I chatted to him was when he , along with other former Parliamentary Private Secretaries to Margaret Thatcher, acted as an usher at Sir Denis Thatcher's Memorial Service at the Guards Chapel .

I had a vision then of Lady Thatcher reading the same article over her cornflakes at the Ritz Hotel and thinking "Oh dear another good  friend gone" but as many people do a they get older secretly congratulating herself  on outlasting someone else from their past.

Over the last few years Lady Thatcher's declining number of public appearances were mainly restricted to funerals and Memorial Services , the "cocktail parties of the geriatric set" as Harold Macmillan famously described them, and as former friends and foes joined those green benches in the sky Lady Thatcher sailed serenely , although increasingly frailly on .

I last saw her about a year ago having lunch in the excellent  restaurant of the Goring Hotel near Buckingham Palace with three friends . I was delighted to see that I was not the only one who could manage three courses from their first class lunch menu and that age and ill health  had not diminished her appetite .

In Spring 2010 whilst I was Mayor she agreed to attend a Mayoral Charity lunch I was hosting at Mossimon's in Belgravia , we told no one in advance she was coming and of course she received a rapturous reception and enjoyed the lunch . However by that time she could only respond to fairly straightforward questions requiring simple answers and the then Lord Mayor of Westminster Duncan Sands and I kept the conversation going.  A year of two previously I had given an interview to the distinguished historian Philip Ziegler who had been commissioned to write the official biography of Ted Heath and I asked him if he had interviewed Lady Thatcher ? "I am told there is no point as she cannot remember " he replied " yes she may have difficulty remembering three weeks ago but she still remembers  thirty years ago " was my advise to him .

Her recent ill health, she struggled to get over the death of her devoted and extraordinary husband Denis who was her complete rock , slightly overshadowed her legion of achievements which will fill acres of newsprint over the coming days .

However whilst she certainly put Great Britain back on the map after the Nation's decline under Labour in the 1970s she put Finchley firmly on the map !

When she was selected for the then Finchley and Friern Barnet Constituency ( and many commentators forget the Friern Barnet element )  to fight the 1959 General election nobody could have envisaged her future career.

Sir John Crowder , the retiring Member of Parliament firmly told his Conservative Association that he was sure they would  want to select "a younger man ",but younger members of the Finchley and Friern Barnet Conservatives ( and in those days there were many as apparently it was the best place to met members of the opposite sex ) took one look at this strong , determined young woman who knew how to make a decent speech and decided she was the candidate for them . As a young backbencher she introduced a Private Members Bill ensuring access to the meetings of public bodies although I suspect she would have been applled at the behaviour of some  who choose to exorcise the rights that her Act conferred in the Barnet public gallery .

Indeed over the next 33 years the Constituency always came first for Margaret Thatcher . When Prime Minister she gave the best part of a Friday or Saturday about  every three weeks to local matters and events, she missed the Finchley Carnival only once and that was for the World Economic Summit at Versailles , there was virtually no local organisation she was not part of as President or Patron  and she never attended any event without ensuring she had spoken to everybody in the room and nipped into the kitchen to lend a hand with the washing up as well  . "You can never have enough tea towels " I once heard her remark at a Finchley Conservative Bazaar , somehow I cannot image David Cameron making that remark with total naturalness.

Her support for Finchley Memorial Hospital was unstinting and we knew that the hospital would never be earmarked for closure, ( yes NHS cuts are nothing new) , whilst she was Prime Minister .

She had that unique gift possessed by few Politicians ( Tony Blair has it in spades as well I have to say ) that whilst you were talking to her YOU were the most important person in her life , she was not looking over your shoulder for someone more important or interesting to talk to .

She fought a last ditch campaign to save Grammar Schools in Barnet and when Secretary of State for Education clashed with a number of Conservative Members of Barnet Council who wished to rush headlong into comprehensive education . Indeed on the whole she had little time for the then Conservative Adminstration of Barnet considering several of its leading members wet and far too patrician in their approach and she could not understand why her own Borough Council was constantly increasing the rates and was not like Wandsworth and Westminster in the vanguard of Conservative local Conservative local government innovation . When Council Leader the late Leslie Pym would explain that Barnet did not receive the same level of grant as Westminster and Wandsworth he would be dismissed with a waive of the hand , he still got his CBE  . She supported those of her Councillors who kept to proper Conservative values ( the  formidable Barbara Langstone, wife of her long term devoted Constituency agent , who stood for no nonsense , John Tiplady who carefully controlled planning and the great Frank Gibson whom she credited for her selection and whose funeral at All Saints  she attended even though there were pressing National issues to be dealt with  ) and accepted their explanations that they were always out voted by the wets from Hendon and Chipping Barnet .

Her support for the State of Israel and the local Jewish Community fundamentally changed local Politics in Finchley . Memories of the  "Great Golf Club scandal " of 1962 which saw Jews excluded from Finchley Golf Club and was blamed on the local Tory establishment leading to the loss of the Finchley Borough Council  were  well and truly banished by Mrs Thatcher's barnstorming appearance at a hastily arranged "support Israel " meeting at Moss Hall Junior School during the Six Day War . Her decision to allow American planes to use British bases to bomb Libya in 1986 ensured a record number of subscriptions for the Finchley Conservative Association.

There were many thousands of ordinary Finchley and Friern Barnet residents who benefited from her advise and help over the years , from my late Father who in the 1970s had difficulties with the Inland Revenue over tax on properties he owned ( a helpful letter from the then Financial Secretary to the Treasury Robert Sheldon soon  arrived following Mrs T's intervention ), to a fellow Finchley Methodist infamously imprisoned in Moscow by the KGB for alleged Bible smuggling who to this day recalls Mrs T's support of his wife and keeping up the Parliamentary pressure on Harold Wilson which eventually lead to his release in a spy exchange .

Whatever the world crisis her constituency correspondence was dealt with quickly and efficiently and across Finchley there are hundreds of people who have fading Prime Ministerial correspondence on every subject under the sun siting in the back of draws waiting for the grandchildren to inherit it . She found time for her constituents as individuals.

Her contribution to the Borough was recognised by the award , just after she was elected Prime Minister, of the Freedom of the Borough. It needs a two thirds majority of the Council and Labour had done so badly in the 1978 Council elections, being reduced to a rump of nine seats, that they could not block it . Her death leaves only two living Freemen of the Borough , Lord Sacks and former Councillor John Apthorp founder of Bejams and Majestic Wine.

Prime Ministers of course enjoy total power except for that brief period during a General election when the polls have closed and they are waiting for the count to be declared in their own constituency , Lady Thatcher of course could not stand incompetence and inefficacy and Barnet Council who to this day are renowned for their slow election counts would feel the wrath of her anger as she sat in the Mayor's Parlour at Hendon Town Hall sipping scotch and watching the clock tick forward into the early hours . In 1987 as David Dimbleby told the Nation on the BBC that "Mrs Thatcher was heading back to Downing Street " she yelled at the telly " No I am not , I am still waiting for this Bloody count !"

Some were disappointed when she choose the area of her Lincolnshire Birth place (Kesteven) in her House of Lords title rather than Finchley and certainly had she continued the (now abandoned ) tradition of accepting an hereditary Earldom for ex Prime Ministers,being Countess of Finchley had a certain ring to it but that geographical designation remains available for a future political star .

When I used to serve on the Council of Europe and visit Eastern Europe to monitor elections and when asked where I came from I would say "Finchley" always the reply came " Ah, Have you met  Margaret Thatcher ?"

In a hundred years time when all of us are forgotten, Margaret Thatcher will still be remembered and revered on every continent   and the North London Suburb of Finchley will have earned its' part in world history .