“BREAKING NEWS FROM BARNET

Please find THE official transcript included parts that could not be heard correctly.

farewell speech – audit committee 19 april 2018

chair, it is usual for the vice chair of a committee to thank the chair at the end of the municipal year. as this is my last meeting as a barnet councillor, perhaps you will permit me a few final valedictory words too?

it has been an honour to serve as their community champion for the residents of mill hill for 8 years. in that time i have tried my best to take up their issues and concerns, and deliver real positive changes, such as the diving club, the future of the library and with the many planning applications we have received. i fear though that my zealous advocacy for the residents of mill hill may have cost me the selection. as cllr dan thomas lays the ground for his right wing and hard brexit based leadership coup, he only wants yes men in the conservative group, and thus i have been discarded. astonishing that after 8 years of serving the community, without a blemish on my record and more than a decade serving the party amounted to zero.

i have had residents contacting me expressing shock and disgust – a conservative councillor telling me among other things that when joined the conservative party it was not this party – a nasty party. isn’t it telling that of the 31 other councillors only a handful had the decency to contact me expressing also shock and disgust. today have the party group chairman sitting alongside here but not even a squeak – silence is deafening. we have been hearing for some time that deselect ion was discussed last summer and that the exercise should be prolonged to the 11th hour – damage limitation was on mind. momentum has arrived in the conservative party.

however, my time at the council has been overshadowed by the disastrous capita contracts, which is falling apart at the seams. 4 years on issues still keep crawling out the woodwork. this contract represents poor value for money, and the residents are being fleeced. i believe my deselection by daniel thomas is motivated by my scepticism of the capita contracts.

today’s public questions and current media reports vividly illustrates the complete incompetence of capita.

the contracts are a shambles and a disaster and performing badly and council taxpayers are being fleeced by capita .

some examples:

the new depot – this has been badly mismanaged but cllr thomas should be more worried about his own dire performance. the disaster we have seen with bin collections these last two weeks are because of his disastrous management of the move from the mill hill depot to the abbots depot and

having to pay over the odds. he is the chair of arg committee, and it is now apparent that there is not enough room for the repair of vehicles, and i understand there are serious problems with the structures. one cannot put such important projects in the hands of such a useless person. who is going to pick up the tab, not capita but barnet taxpayers?

another example – take the millions paid to capita and which are lost and irrecoverable due to their incompetence on the design of the site in north london – not been made public, why?

next estates …

the list is long but time is against me

i want to thank all the officers connected with this committee and those of the other committees, governance officers with whom i have the pleasure to work with and for the support they extended me in carrying out my councillor duties – very much appreciated.

but returning to my thanks to the chair – although i am finding it difficult i will say only this on behalf of the committee members to thank the chairman for the neutral and inclusive manner he has conducted the meetings during the last 12 months.

this is your last meeting too, as you have stood down from hale. all i can say is that the people of hale will get a significant upgrade in the quality of their representation if they vote for the labour candidates – ernest, rachel and liron. they deserve better

i hope the residents deliver the right result on 3rd may – conservatives losing control.

thank you”