End of an era as Andrew Dismore decides not to run in General Election

The snap General Election announced by Theresa May this week has led to a few surprises so far, but the biggest surprise is the fact that Andrew Dismore AM will not be the Labour Party candidate for Hendon.


Our former MP made the announcement today that he would not be running for personal reasons. Mr Dismore was an outstanding MP for Hendon between 1997 and 2010 and even his detractors will admit that he has always been a diligent and hard-working MP and since 2012, the Barnet & Camden member of the London Assembly, taking over from the widely hated Brian Coleman.


There are in my own opinion, many talented and able people in Barnet Labour who will now be in the running for the Labour Candidacy. Ammar Naqvi, Adam Langleben, Sian John and Arjun Mittra amongst many others. All will prove to be good candidates if chosen.


For myself however, I do think Andrew Dismore's departure increases Alasdair Hill's chances of actually being elected as the next Hendon MP. The Liberal Democrats have been the only party that have been consistently against the Brexit madness convulsing the political class. On the doorsteps we are hearing that the Hard Brexit being pushed by Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn is not what people in Hendon want.


One thing is for sure, this contest is wide open and Matthew Offord may well be spending more time at his luxury thatched cottage in deepest Berkshire before long...

Barnet Conservatives protect Capita and Re: (Again)

I was at the Barnet council meeting tonight, where I got a taste of the sheer contempt the Barnet Conservatives have for the public.

Labour councillor Adam Langleben proposed a motion for an emergency council meeting to ask the council to set up a cross party review of Barnet Planning which has been failing the public for some time. Cllr Langleben specifically mentioned Barnet's incompetence over the proposed Milespit Hill cemetery extension that many believe is a Trojan horse for a Mausoleum or even Crematorium project on the site.

In theory this motion should have had cross party support but the Conservatives submitted an amendment to the motion that kicked the investigation to the existing scrutiny committee that has allowed Capita and Re: to literally get away with astonishing levels of incompetence over the last few years.

In reply Cllr Cornelius the Conservative leader of the council stated that Barnet planning's problems were nothing to do with incompetence but rather the leglislation they were working under. No mention whatsoever of what happened in Mill Hill at all.

In reply Cllr Langleben asked the Monitoring Officer to exclude members of the Hendon Conservative Association from the vote as one of the planning schemes under debate was the demolition of the White Bear pub in Hendon. Before the General Election the pub was bought out by a developer who was a staunch Conservative supporter who erected large billboards supporting the Conservative candidate Matthew Offord. In addition there was a question as to whether individual councillors who are members of Hendon Conservative Association had received donations from the same developer. I was sitting in the public gallery but could not hear a response from the Interim Monitoring Officer David Tatlow but the vote went ahead anyway with the Hendon Association councillors. The motions went to vote (all Mill Hill councillors voted for it) and of course the Conservative amendment was adopted and the original motion lost.

So no scrutiny and Capita remain protected. Next time you see our Mill Hill councillors please ask them why they are blocking real scrutiny of Barnet Planning.

Barnet Council reprimanded over lack of care for homeless

Barnet Council have been reprimanded by the Local Government Ombudsman for systematic failures in dealing with homelessness.


A homeless woman approached Barnet Council in January 2015 for help following her eviction from private rented accommodation. Incredibly she had to remain homeless during the winter months and was even hospitalised for an asthma attack. Barnet Council were approached four more times by her over the following 15 months and on each occasion she was told she was not a priority need.


What she wasn't told was that Barnet Council were obliged to give her a formal decision about her homelessness and that she could then appeal the decision. The woman and her father complained to the Local Government Ombudsman who investigated.


Barnet Council had the sheer brass neck to tell the Ombudsman this in their defence. "were it (Barnet Council) were to issue formal decisions to all those seeking housing assistance there would be significant challenges with the number of Housing Needs officers being required to conduct such a high volume of assessments and write the subsequent decision letters".


So in other words, we don't have enough staff and we really can't be bothered.


The Ombudsman found against Barnet Council and the woman concerned has had an apology from the Council. Additionally, the Ombudsman ruled that: "the Council should also ensure that in future, homelessness applications are taken and decision letters issued in all appropriate cases".


More at http://www.lgo.org.uk/information-centre/news/2017/mar/ombudsman-finds-systemic-problems-with-barnet-s-homelessness-services-during-investigation

The Thin Blue Line

I work on the Thameslink Programme at Network Rail's offices in Southwark. It's a central location and no more than 15 minute's walk from either the City or the Palace of Westminster. I'm an occasional visitor to the Houses of Parliament, and I'm always impressed by the courtesy and professionalism of the Police and Security staff who work there.

Yesterday as many of you know by now, Constable Keith Palmer lost his life defending the Palace of Westminster. Only moments before he was attacked he was taking selfies with tourists. He was unarmed. Four other people died yesterday including the perpetrator of the attacks. Many more were injured, including French schoolchildren on a trip to London. Westminster is the very heart of our democracy; the Police did great work yesterday to keep our streets and our Parliament safe for us. I must mention Conservative MP and Minister Tobias Elwood who fought hard to try and save PC Palmer's life.  Life goes on; as it always must. The only answer to attacks like these is to just bloody well get with life. See you Saturday morning on the Unite for Europe march!

Adds: Julia Hines has since brought this blog post to my attention. It contains very practical and useful advice: http://whatkirstydidnext.com/lifestyle/practical-ways-to-help-in-times-of-an-attack/

1. Show your appreciation for our AMAZING emergency services by making a donation. Text SAVE to 70800 to donate £5 to London’s Air Ambulance, who were quickly on the scene.
2. It’s reported that members of the public gave first aid to those who were injured whilst waiting for the emergency services. Consider a donation to St John Ambulance who provides training in first aid. Text AID to 70030 to donate £5.
3. Go on a first aid course.
4. Tower RNLI was deployed to save a woman who had fallen into the Thames and who is among the injured. Support their work with a donation. Text RNLI to 70300 to donate £5.
5. To honour the policeman who lost his life, tweet your appreciation of our policemen and women who put their lives on the line for us every day. Better yet, tweet a local police department.
6. Retweet this and call out anyone sharing inappropriate images.

1. I know it's Twitter and there's no editor but please don't RT pictures of dead and wounded on Westminster Bridge. They have loved ones.

— fleetstreetfox (@fleetstreetfox) March 22, 2017

7. If you see something suspicious but you don’t want to waste police time because ‘it’s probably nothing‘, report it. If you think it might be suspicious, it probably is.

If anyone sees anything suspicious or that causes them concern please call 0800 789 321 ASAP – always call 999 in an emergency #London

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2017

8. Donate blood. Find out where you can donate blood on the NHS Blood and Transplant website.
9. Show your appreciation for the amazing work of our NHS staff. Sign the Save our NHS petition.
10. If you were in the area at the time of the incident and have any footage – photos or video, send it to to the police via this website.
11. Don’t spread fear. Do not share anything that is mere speculation. Arm yourself with knowledge and FACT. Share news only from verified and trusted sources such as the BBC.
In times like this it’s difficult to comprehend such an attack but we mustn’t just stand by. We can do something and we must.

Mill Hill Italian Market 17-18 March

Don't forget the Italian Food Market returns to Mill Hill Broadway this Friday 17th March and Saturday 18th March. See you there!

Lib Dems Mill Hill Action Day 5th March 2017

Richard, Charity and Alasdair on the stall today.

I woke at 6.30am this morning to hear the rain hammering onto my bedroom window and to see part of my garden fence had blown down in the night. My first job this morning was getting my fence back up. Not promising for our first Lib Dem action day in Mill Hill, but luckily by 10.00 the rain had stopped. Alasdair and I got our stall ready and we were joined by Charity Pierce and many other local Lib Dem activists who came down to help man the stall and get those all-important Focus deliveries done across Mill Hill. We had a really positive reception on the street, many people were asking us "are the Lib Dems back in Mill Hill?".

Our answer is of course, yes and we intend to win our council seats back! Look out for our Mill Hill Focus leaflet dropping into your letterbox soon.

Hasmonean School Plan approved - despite Officers recommendation to refuse

Last night the Barnet Council planning committee voted by 6-5 to approve Hasmonean School's plans for expansion. As mentioned before, these plans will take 15 acres of publically accessible Green Belt land.

One of the Green Belt fields that will be redeveloped

The breakdown of councillors who voted were:

In favour of the Hasmonean Scheme - Conservatives Melvin Cohen, Mark Shooter, Eva Greenspan, and Mill Hill resident Cllr Maureen Braun. Labour's Devra Kay and Agnes Slocombe.

Against the scheme - Conservatives Stephen Sowerby and Wendy Prentice. Labour's Laurie Williams, Jim Tierney and Claire Farrier. 

Melvin Cohen and Mark Shooter declared a non-pecuniary interest in being Hasmonean old boys, Eva Greenspan declared a non-pecuniary interest in being a former governor of the school.

It is clear that Hasmonean's current premises in Holders Hill Road for the boys school is now cramped and no longer suitable but I hoped that there would have been a refusal of the proposed scheme last night and that we as a community would have worked on a compromise that could have given Hasmonean the space they needed while protecting our Green belt. Unfortunately there are other school schemes waiting in the wings who will welcome this vote and I believe the decision made last night has now set a dangerous precedence for those of us who value our open land.

Hasmonean aren't home and dry yet either. The scheme will now be reviewed by the Mayor of London and there is the possibility of a judicial review. 

In the longer term, if the scheme goes ahead as planned, how do we mitigate the impact on local residents as parents drop off and pick up their children, and are the proposed cycling routes safe and fit for purpose? I think we should look at banning parent drop off and pick ups and get the children there by bus if appropriate? JFS in Kingsbury operate a comprehensive bus service across much of North London. Perhaps something similar could be set up for the Hasmonean children who travel from out of Mill Hill to attend the school.


The next item related to Barratt's proposals for the former NIMR site on the Ridgeway. The committee as a whole expressed grave reservations about the proposed designs of the flats and houses on the site. No councillor voted to approve the proposals, 8 voted against them and 2 abstained.


As part of their Section 106 obligations Barratt offered to pay "up to" £300,000 towards the cost of step free access at Mill Hill East station. I would suggest they should pay a hell of a lot more than that. This is a significant site in Mill Hill and no doubt Barratt will turn a tidy profit on this development.


The Labour committee members each raised the usual Barnet developer's fudge on affordable housing. Remember, Barnet Council are obliged to allow 40% affordable housing in schemes. More often than not, the obligation is either shifted to Colindale or fudged. When these points were raised by Cllr Jim Tierney, Cllr Melvin Cohen in the Chair lost his temper and told Cllr Tierney to "shut up". Cllr Cohen continued with this childish and petulant behaviour right to the end of the item.


By the end of this item, I had enough and retired to the Greyhound for a well needed pint.


Meanwhile, Cllr Devra Kay, who had earlier voted to take away Green Belt land in Mill Hill, and without any sense of irony, tweeted the following:


"Tories at Barnet Planning Mtg condemn oldest building in Finchley in favour of flats with "modern feel" overdevt out of character no parking"

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