Come fly with me!

So the Cabinet reshuffle has been and gone and the good news for London and the potential economic recovery is that Her Majesty’s Government seems to have shifted in its’ opposition to expansion of Heathrow Airport .

Anyone who has flown into Heathrow in the last 15 years, and I suspect that is most adult residents of the Borough of Barnet, cannot help but to have been annoyed by the time wasted and fumes generated circling over North London and Hertfordshire whilst stacked before being able to land and then the huge distance walking to the arrivals area from one’s plane. The only time I have arrived early at Heathrow was when I shared a flight from Inverness with Princes William and Harry, who were returning from Balmoral and surprise surprise we were 10 minutes early landing at Heathrow.

The Conservative Party opposition to Heathrow expansion (never shared by me) seemed to be driven by the quest for votes in South West London and a supreme form of Nimbyism not worthy of serious Politicians. Anyone who has bought a house in the vicinity of the Airport over the last 50 years knew what they were getting , indeed many acquired property because it was near Heathrow and convenient for overseas business commitments or there own employment. Heathrow is undoubtedly the economic driver for much of West London and East Berkshire. In my years on the Assembly having lost the argument with my fellow Conservative Assembly members I always found myself taking an “urgent phone call “ when votes took place on Airport development.  Colleagues who thought their seats vulnerable to Liberal Democrats, used to lose all sight of the strategic issues around international air travel and go week at the knees worrying that the four by four brigade of Ham and Twickenham would have their summer Barbeques disturbed by aircraft noise .

The attitude of Boris Johnson has always been quite bizarre on this issue. Having achieved Mayor al office he suddenly produced a vague Norman Foster or was it Richard Rogers , the two seem interchangeable , inspired plan to build "Boris Island" or "Fantasy Island" out in the middle of the Thames Estuary . A film of him and Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse on a particularly grey and misty day wearing life jackets and looking rather pale bobbing about on a boat somewhere off Gravesend did nothing to promote the plan as a viable or safe option. Indeed although nobody has any memory in Politics these days you only have to ask for the files from the National Records Office on the proposed Maplin Sands Airport from Ted Heath’s time to know the project was a non starter. The vague talk of “Arab money” funding the project seemed to disappear as that great supporter of Britain the Emir of Qatar rescued Barclays Bank instead. As David Cameron said to me soon after Boris’ election in 2008, “I am too worried about the North Kent marginal’s to go for an estuary Airport”.  The Mayor’s office did no serious work on looking at the raft of other airports looking to expand, there was little interest when I arranged a meeting for the excellent Thanet MP Laura Sandys who was keen for investment in Manston Airport in her constituency and Northolt and Biggin Hill seem to be dismissed without a thought. Far be it from me to think that Boris was only interested in personal prestige in encouraging an expensive floating aircraft carrier.

The attitude of Conservative Ministers to Heathrow seemed odd to me as a supporter of the free market. I began to suspect that some female Ministers had gazed into Zac Goldsmith MP’s eyes and had immediately succumbed to his very obvious charms.  Zac is one of that new generation of MPs of all parties who behave as though they were glorified Borough Councillors and worry about the trivia of their constituents rather than the overall strategic picture and their duty to assist in Governing the Country. Zac' view on car parking fees in Richmond Park was one of the contributing factors that wrecked sensible reform of the Royal Parks (but that is another blog entry).

Likewise Justine Greening MP for Putney despite her undoubted abilities and her charm and effectiveness on the media never seemed to me to have a grasp of strategic issues. I recall a dinner given at a Westminster Hotel for a small and select group of senior Conservative London Politicians ( and me ) by Metronet , one of the two contractors under the disastrous PPP (Public Private Partnership) invented by Gordon Brown that ran London Underground . Everyone at this dinner knew Metronet was on its last legs financially and something would have to be done to resolve the issue just banged on about the state of the tiling at East Putney Tube Station. Well Politics is a funny old game and Ms Greening is now Secretary of State for Overseas Development in which position no doubt she will have to undertake many visits to all those African Dictatorships, sorry I mean worthy development projects, your taxpayers’ money is propping up. No doubt as she circles over Barnet waiting to land after a 12 hour flight from Rwanda she can reflect on the state of British aviation policy and our current lack of Airport capacity.

Cometh the hour, Cometh the woman !

The promotion of Chipping Barnet’s Member of Parliament Theresa Villiers to the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will come as a great delight not only to her but to her many friends and supporters in Barnet and beyond.

Since succeeding the much loved Sir Sydney Chapman as MP in 2005 Theresa has worked hard locally, living in the constituency and turning up at hundreds of local events a year.Many a time she has rushed back on the Northern Line from Westminster for a residents meeting only to jump back on the tube to the House of Commons for a 10pm vote.

I have always considered Theresa a shrewd cookie and a very clever woman. Once elected in 2005 she firmly hitched her wagon to the Leadership campaign of David Cameron whilst some of us hankered for the more traditional approach of David Davis and following his victory she got her reward becoming Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in Cameron’s first Shadow Cabinet (after only 6 months in the House) where she faced the dreadful bully Ed Balls for whom she quite soon developed a deeply held dislike (rather as Ed Miliband has done). She then became Shadow Transport Secretary where she developed the mistaken policy which has now come back to haunt the Government of opposing expansion of Heathrow and spent endless hours mastering the intricacies of the railway franchising system. Following the General Election of 2010 where she turned Chipping Barnet back into the safe Tory seat it always was prior to 1997, she failed to make the Cabinet due to need to appoint some pesky Liberal Democrats but ended up as Minister of State with Membership of the Privy Council (highly sort after). Dear Sir Sydney Chapman never achieved Privy Council status to his huge disappointment; I think he would have preferred it rather than the Knighthood.

Theresa in Government was lumbered with the highly unpopular (and in my view ludicrous High Speed Rail) and in recent weeks has taken on the bad loser of British Business Sir Richard Branson over the West Coast Rail Franchise.

Presumably with the Security considerations that still exist in the Northern Ireland portfolio Theresa’ bike will have to be put in the garage and the site of her hair flowing in the wind as she pedals around Parliament Square will be a thing of the past .

However a word of warning to Northern Ireland’s Politicians, and of course they have more Politicians per head of the population than any other part of the United Kingdom, Theresa is no pushover with a strength of character more than equal to the likes of Martin McGuiness or Peter Robinson, just ask (the very few) people who have fallen foul of her.

I am sure everyone in Barnet wishes Theresa well as she serves our Nation in this vitally important role

Jobs for the Boys?

I have just returned from a well earned holiday in that most beautiful part of the Kingdom, Cornwall , to be precise the slightly isolated and upmarket town of St Mawes . My favourite Hotel in the whole of England , The Tresanton ,owned by Olga Polizzi ( Daughter of the late Lord Forte and Mother of Channel Five Hotel Inspector Alex) once again made me very welcome .

This Hotel is the not sort of place where you are  likely to see guests with Tattoos or inappropriate body piercing and where over a fabulous dinner on the terrace overlooking the beautiful Falmouth Estuary you can peruse the other guests . Is that a Senior Director of Barnet Council with his family? Oh look an Officer from City Hall and her BAFTA winning TV scriptwriting husband!  And that was just Monday…………

The success of the Tresanton is the immense attention to detail by the staff and indeed whilst I was there by Olga Polizzi herself who made sure that standards were maintained. As Olga is a former Westminster City Councillor, and friend of Lady Thatcher, I would expect nothing less. The success that Olga and her brother, Sir Rocco Forte have made of their group of luxury hotels across the world (which sadly my budget does not extend to visiting) is testament to hard work , vision and no doubt the family genes.

However Olga is married to the distinguished writer and biographer William Shawcross, whose official biography of the late Queen Mother earned him a CVO and rave reviews and for those with long political memories is the son of the late Sir Hartley Shawcross, Attorney General in the Clement Attlee Government and Chief British Prosecutor at the Nuremburg War crime trial.  As Sir Hartley got older, and he lived to 101, he gradually moved to the right, as so many do, and acquired the nickname “Sir Shortly Floorcross”. Of course the Attlee family went all the way Clement’s son, the second Earl joining the SDP and the current Earl Attlee serving on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords as a Lord in Waiting (Government whip).

Hence I was not surprised to see that William Shawcross is the favoured candidate to take as Chairman (not “Chair” I hope) of the Charity Commission as a safe and sound pair of hands. The Charity Commission is one of those endless Quangos which seem to stagger on despite attempts by successive Conservative Governments to cull them. Perhaps as an incoming Chairman Mr Shawcross, who is a member of the Board of the Anglo Israel Society, can look at the so called “charitable activities” of Christian Aid and Oxfam amongst others with their anti State of Israel stance.

Another Quango is the Arts Council where the no doubt “Guardian” reading Dame Liz Forgan has not had her contract renewed and is being replaced by the more entrepreneurial Sir Peter Bazalgette.

These changes remind me of the American system where when the President goes his whole Administration goes with him. I think it is time we considered a similar system in the UK and that when there is a change of Government all the Senior Civil servants, ambassadors, High Commissioners, Chairman of Public Bodies go as well. There is something slightly creepy and not a little two faced about rows of Civil servants lined up by the Permanent Secretary to applaud an incoming Cabinet Minister when he arrives at his new Department when you know jolly well a couple of hours they were shedding tears at the departure of the last Secretary of State. It is useful to have endless Government appointments available to be filled by trusted supporters who perhaps it is advisable to send to the other side of the world as Ambassador to Mongolia or Governor of Pitcairn Island. Britain has always practised it to a limited extent, the former Home Secretary Lord Waddington made an excellent Governor of Bermuda (a post I have always rather fancied since we no longer appoint the Viceroy of India!)  And among those who have served as High Commissioner to Australia are Lord Carrington, ex Tory MP Sir Alistair Goodlad and ex Labour Ministers Baroness Liddell and Baroness Amos. The appointment of ex Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell as High Commissioner to Malawi never came about as the UK shut the High Commission down to save money.

In Local Government the practise of clearing out Officers who are seen as having been too partial to the last lot has been going on for decades. Often disguised as early retirement, ill health retirement or redundancy “due to reorganisation “, the departure is usually accompanied by a large cheque. It is an open secret that in 2002 when the Conservative Group took power in Barnet it discussed changing the  Chief Executive but decided against it on grounds of cost and the theory that that the individual had been diligent in implementing the Labour / Liberal Administration agenda and no doubt would do the same for us . He did.

Neighbouring Enfield did change the Chief Executive in 2002 and got into enormous trouble with the District Auditor and suffered the financial consequences. The press over the weekend reported that 400 Senior Council officers received severance payments last year of over £100,000 and anyone in Local Government could name those who left because they fell out with the Leader of the Council or the majority group or indeed both.

The principal of appointing your own senior officers was enshrined in the Greater London Act that created the Mayor and Assembly where 12 “Political Officers “ could be appointed by the Mayor without open advert . This lead to some rather suspect appointments by Ken Livingstone and indeed one or two by Boris Johnson but has meant that the men and woman at the top at City Hall whilst governed by Local Government terms and conditions are politically driven and owe their jobs to the Mayor ’s whim. The also have fixed term contracts which expire when the mayoralty ends.

As the election of Police Commissioners in the autumn makes it easier to remove incompetent Chief Constables perhaps it is time to consider the wholesale Politicisation of the Civil Service and Local Government in the interests of efficiency and democratic accountability.

"Let's all go down The Strand"

Spent a wonderful evening at the Adelphi Theatre enjoying the Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of Sondheim’s masterpiece “Sweeney Todd”. The excellent cast was headed by Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton who both rightly received a standing ovation from a full house. Michael Ball is clearly the best and most versatile actor around today in musical theatre by a country mile (who can forget his Olivier winning performance as Edna Turnblad in “Hairspray”) and is second only to the Great Diva Elaine Paige in my all time Pantheon of musical stars. Indeed Barnet Girl and Conservative supporter Ms Paige (this woman is absolutely perfect in every way) was educated at the now long forgotten Southaw School in Russell Lane (as was my sister) and it is surely high time she was created a Dame.

Imelda Staunton can just simply turn her hand to any role serious or comedy, musical or straight and indeed is an old hand at Sondheim as I remember seeing her in the original London production of “Into the Woods “in 1990 when the theatre was virtually empty as the Task Force had just begun the liberation of Kuwait, and London had emptied of American tourists whose knowledge of Geography had lead them to believe that somehow Kuwait was just a couple of stops on the subway from the West End.

Coincidentally, also enjoying a night at the theatre was my old friend (and Christ College Boy) Councillor Robert Davis, Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council. In my view Robert single handedly does more to encourage West End Theatre than probably any other individual with the wonderful annual weekend “West End Live” promoted by Westminster City Council this year drawing huge crowds to Trafalgar Square. Robert is celebrating 30 years of service on Westminster where he has held most offices, including being the youngest (at the time) individual to serve as Lord Mayor. The fact that he was turned down for selection for a seat on Barnet Council which lead him to seek election in Westminster was a great political loss for this Borough, but whilst Westminster got Robert, Barnet got Councillor Melvin Cohen so we cannot complain!

Just to prove that there are some heterosexual fans of musical theatre whilst we were enjoying our interval drinks the former Local Government Association Chairman Lord (Jeremy) Beecham came over to say hello. Lord Beecham is one of my favourite Labour Politicians, not only for his staunch defence of Local Government and the State of Israel but because he once memorably described me as someone "who could not knowingly pass a fire without pouring petrol on it", a quote I have used many times on my CV.

During the Olympics the Adelphi closed the Show for a fortnight to avoid the traffic chaos and many other West End Theatres were half empty. Perhaps when the “spectacle “ of the Olympics and Paralympics are over those who have clamoured for tickets for the various events can fork out and enjoy the nightly spectacle of the many and varied shows in our West End Theatres.

Letter to The Evening Standard

Dear Sir

 

Having been on holiday for the last 2 weeks I missed Alison Roberts’s interview with Alderman Simon Walsh following his acquittal on various sex charges.

 

I was surprised however at Simon’s version of events concerning his sacking from the Fire Authority, of which I was Chairman, by the Mayor of London.

 

Alderman Walsh had been appointed in 2008 by Boris Johnson on my strong recommendation and served diligently as Chairman of the Audit Committee and was a loyal and hard working Authority member. However to my knowledge he never met Boris Johnson on Fire Brigade business and Boris had little idea who he was, so to suggest he had some sort of “City Hall career” is fantasy. When his term expired in 2012 it was highly unlikely he would have been reappointed. 

 

In the summer of 2011 I, as Chairman, other Authority members and Officers became concerned that Alderman Walsh was missing meetings without explanation, was not replying to e mails and phone messages and was looking extremely unwell and we were genuinely concerned about his welfare. However it was only in September 2011 five months after his arrest that as a result of City of London Corporation gossip I heard that he had been arrested and was in a position to ring him and ask if the gossip was true. He had not undertaken any of the usual courtesies of Local Government when a member gets into “difficulties” of explaining privately the circumstances and asking for understanding from colleagues at a difficult time .Neither I was told had he approached the Town Clerk of the City Corporation or the Senior Alderman.

 

I was sympathetic, not least as a fellow Gay Man, to Alderman Walsh’s position but specifically asked him if any of the allegations he was facing involved children (not least as the Fire Authority works closely with young people through it’s “LIFE” programme) and he categorically stated they did not. This was the position I explained when I met Boris Johnson and Deputy Mayor Sir Edward Lister. The Mayor (who has appointed more Gay men to senior positions in his Administration than any other British Politician I can think of) would not countenance any talk of Simon’s dismissal on the grounds of Innocence until proven guilty and that whilst the pornography in question might not be to his taste what someone viewed through the privacy of their own key board was their affair. Whilst the City of London Corporation was rushing round desperate to avoid embarrassment (with Officers talking about withdrawing Alderman Walsh’s Dinner invitations!), the Fire Authority and the Mayor ’s Office were firmly supportive,

 

However when six weeks later the “Sunday Mirror” reported that one charge did involve an alleged under age boy and Simon on the phone confirmed this was the case the Mayor ’s office decided that we had to ask for Simon’s resignation. When Simon declined to resign the Mayor removed him from office on the grounds that Alderman Walsh had failed to be open, transparent and straightforward about his situation, never mind that his Fire Authority duties would no doubt suffer whilst he was giving his attention to clearing his name.

 

I personally am delighted that Simon has been cleared of all charges and wish him well in his future career but I know that sadly his departure from the Fire Authority was of his own making and not through any prejudice from me or the Mayor ’s Office

 

Yours Faithfully

 

 

Councillor Brian Coleman 
(Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Authority 2008 to 2012)

Death of a Great Man

The death at the age of 87 of Sir Rhodes Boyson reminds us that in the world of Politics today’s household name become tomorrows vaguely remembered Political eccentric.

Who now remembers Sir Gerald Nabarro, Sir Hugh Monro Lucas Tooth or Dame Irene Ward?

Instead sadly the House of Commons has too many Louise Menschs and the media treat those who do show robust spirit such as Nadine Dorries, as some sort of freak. I saw a headline on an article in the “Daily Telegraph “the other day written by Damien Green the Immigration Minister arguing that the Conservative needed to adopt the “values of Boyle”, he was referring to the Olympic Opening Ceremony Director Danny rather than the Tory Academic and Minister Edward, Lord Boyle of Handsworth.

In his time Sir Rhodes, who never achieved Cabinet rank, was one of the Nation’s best known Politicians with his distinctive “mutton chop” whiskers and solid, firm and usually sensible right wing views. The fact that these days in the modern Tory party he would probably fail to get on the Parliamentary candidates list does not diminish the fact that his views on Education and his robust defence of Grammar Schools were right then and indeed and are right now. However , I suspect Rhodes would be a strong supporter of the current Secretary of State for Education ,the inspired Michael Gove as he brings the most radical improvements to our schools in 30 years .

The career of Sir Rhodes Boyson going from Mill Town Northern Grammar School boy to Secondary Modern Headmaster, Labour Councillor and finally Thatcherite Minister and darling of the Conservative right demonstrated the radical change that Margaret Thatcher brought to the Conservative Party and the Nation. It was no surprise that Boyson,, whilst his deputy, did not get on with the Shadow Secretary of State for Education in the 1970s the Old Catholic Queen Norman St John Stevas and it is a crying shame that Mrs T usually a defender of Grammar Schools did not appoint Rhodes to the Cabinet where he might have been able to reverse the disastrous Comprehensive schools programme. He did however serve as a Junior Minister at Education, Social Services and Northern Ireland and endured the perils of that latter department. Lady Boyson could be seen in Sainsbury’s doing the grocery shopping escorted by Scotland Yard’s finest. A diligent constituency MP for Brent North he built strong links with the Asian Community and enjoyed attacking the antics of the loony left on Brent Council. Most Sundays on top of his political duties he could be heard preaching the Gospel from a North London Methodist pulpit , much to the embarrassment of many in the “Guardian “ reading Methodist Leader ship at the time who tried to portray Mrs Thatcher and her Government as the spawn of the devil . Whilst Mrs Thatcher (who is herself the daughter of a Methodist Local Preacher) and the Conservative Party prospered the Methodist Church became a sad irrelevance to the life of the Nation.

In constant demand as a Speaker he would often appear at Conservative fundraisers even after he lost his seat in the Labour Landslide of 1997. At one Finchley Conservative Dinner at the Hendon Hall Hotel he stepped in at short notice to replace an indisposed Sebastian Coe and regaled the assembled activists with a well argued denunciation of the European Union and an endorsement of the United States “even with that dreadful man Clinton as President”.

His death after a long illness and several years in a care home allow us to reflect on the contribution to our National Life of those who whilst never achieving the top rank of Political Office will probably be remembered for far longer than many who did.

Colourful Coleman is right to meddle in Olympics

After all the ballyhoo of the Olympics – much of it deserved – comes an interview with Brian Coleman in this newspaper which surprisingly reveals him as a man of many parts (see here)

A man given to the starkest and most colourful of pronouncements, he has been seen either as an attention-seeker or a conviction politician of the right likely to upset opponents.

This week, however, he makes a number of reasonable assertions about the Olympics that are either being ignored or pooh-poohed by politicians, many of his persuasion.

True to his old self, he goes overboard when he derides the impact of the extraordinarily devised opening ceremony on the nation.

But who can say he is wrong when he asks where is the promised “economic bounce” of the Olympics?  

Anyone who lives in central London or walks through the West End would agree that the streets are relatively free of traffic, and that hotels, restaurants and shops have lost a lot of business.

Anxious for the feelgood success of our sportsmen and sportswomen to rub off on them, politicians – including Mr Coleman’s old boss, Boris Johnson – are making silly sound-bites about the economic gains the Games will bring to our economy.

Government spokespeople denounce critics as talking “nonsense” when they say too much business is being lost.

Their critique isn’t nonsense. It is Whitehall ’s denial that is “nonsense”.

The £10billion cost of the Games will not be made up by sponsorships, sales of tickets, and mass tourism, either now or to come.

But Mr Coleman also finds his target when he accuses the BBC and newspapers of going over the top in their coverage.   

Tabloids and broadsheets alike, who devote several news pages as well as supplements to Olympic coverage, may well have misjudged the interest of readers.

For once Mr Coleman isn’t a stranger to commonsense.

Published in the Camden New Journal newspaper 9th August 2012