Lib Dem service & action all year round

FocusHigh Barnet No. 45

Only the Lib Demscan beat the Toriesin High Barnet

It’s a two horse raceOn May 22nd there will be localand European elections. The localelections are about who runsBarnet council.

At present the Conservatives runthe Council. It was their decision toremove the cash payment optionfor parking. It was their decision toembark on the high riskoutsourcing project called OneBarnet.. Your current Councillorsare part of that administration andthey voted for these policies.

This year they have decided tosave you 21p a week by cutting

council tax by 1%. This means thatvital services which were alreadyunder pressure are now sufferingdamaging cuts.

The shameful part in all this is thatthe Labour party in Barnet havealso decided to go along with thesecuts. If you were thinking of votingLabour then think again as all youwill get is more of the same.

It’s time to vote for Councillors thatwill stick up for High Barnet,reverse the parking fiasco andwork to renew our High Street.

Your Lib Dem Candidates

DuncanMacdonald

JaneGibson

SeanHooker

Duncan has campaigned locally in Barnet since 2002.He founded the Friends of Highlands Gardens andwas behind the Ravenscroft Park family days (with alot of help from local residents). Duncan was the firstnon-Conservative Councillor in High Barnet, servingfrom 2005 to 2010. He is married with two childrenwho attend QE girls’ school. Duncan is a schoolgovernor at Christ Church school in Byng Road.

Duncan has campaigned against the removal of cashparking and for 30 minutes’ free parking and hasbeen actively involved with local groups to help buildthe community.

Sean has lived in Barnet for most of his life, attendinglocal schools and using local services.

He is a former Barnet Councillor serving for six yearsand also stood for MP three times in Chipping Barnet.Among his achievements Sean pioneered a Councilinitiative to stop the sale of graffiti tools to under 16s.This is now law of the land! Sean cut his teeth inpolitics campaigning to save Barnet A&E an area hestill has keen interest in. He has actively campaignedin High Barnet for a long time, especially on issuessuch as keeping Barnet FC at Underhill , supportingBarnet Market, keeping our police station and for fairparking.

Moxon Street car park before & afterLib Dem parking campaign success

Jane has lived in Barnet for over 18 years. She hastwo children, has been a school governor and hasworked as a committee member on various schoolPTAs. Jane is also financially competent and hasworked as treasurer for various community charities.Currently on the Independent Monitoring Board atPentonville Prison, she is prepared to stand up andfight on the issues. Jane has worked for many yearsfor Barnet NHS but is now employed in the City as aBusiness Process Analyst and would very much liketo see best business practice in operation at BarnetCouncil!

The Conservative 1% tax cut will save you 21p a week! But thecost to Barnet is £1.4 million, which is money being taken fromessential local services. Is it worth it? We can provide so muchmore in High Barnet by FREEZING TAX.

Barnet Liberal Democrats are against the erosion of publicservices. In the latest Barnet Council Internal Audit report, of the17 system audits carried out, 6 received a rating of limited or Noassurance. This is a shocking indictment of the 'One Barnet'outsourcing programme. It would appear that sensitive and criticalelements of running the council, such as its IT systems, are at risk.The Conservative Council has been careless and has been tooeager to offload their responsibilities to Capita (and others) withoutrobust contractual agreements in place.

The Liberal Democrats would reintroduce the 50 NeighbourhoodWardens cut by the Conservatives. These officers ensure that anypotholes, fly-tipping and litter are noticed and dealt with quickly.

The first thing the Tories did after the last election wasincrease their allowances.They have outsourced 70% of services in the One Barnetsell-off, trapping us in costly contracts for the nextdecade.Millions were frittered away in the Icelandic Bank FiascoThey increased parking charges by 150% which wasdeemed illegal, costing millions in legal charges.

The Tory record in Barnet

See what our parkingcampaign has done

Printed by Acculith, Brake Shear House 164 High Street Barnet EN5 5XP. Published and promoted on behalfof the Liberal Democrats by Edgar Eatwell at 108 Daneland East Barnet EN4 8QA, and by Edgar Eatwell onbehalf of J. Gibson, S. Hooker & D. Macdonald (Liberal Democrats) at 108 Daneland East Barnet EN4 8QA,

Return to Barnet Lib DemsFreepost RRLU-CALZ-YLGY, 9 Leeside, Barnet, EN5 2PD

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One Barnet - a HUGE Gamble with Our MoneyBarnet Council's decision to sign up Capita to outsource theback office and regulatory services has had a significantimpact on the way local services are delivered. The public isrightly worried by reports of contractors delivering poor valuefor money, having commercial interests which conflict with apublic sector ethos and a lack of transparency.

External providers, such as Capita, are not necessarily boundby the statutory controls on local government. Transparencyand an obligation to safeguard the public interest are thereforeof utmost importance and the Council must have right ofaccess to information.

Barnet Lib Dem Councillors say that the Conservatives havegambled with our future. Jobs have been sold off to thehighest bidder. Staff development and training look as if theyhave been abandoned, which is having a significant impact onservice provision. It is questionable what influence locallyelected Councillors will have in future negotiations.

The responsibility for providing important council servicessuch as parking, planning, highways, and social services isunclear. Large multinationals have greedily signed contractsas the Conservative administration continues to shiftresponsibility away from the Council in the misguided beliefthat this will reduce costs, but for how long?

We’re listeningall year round!

If you want to find out more about our campaign for a fairer Barnet visit:

www.barnetlibdems.org.ukOr email us at:

Info@barnetlibdems.org.uk

3 good reasons to back theLib Dems on 22nd May...

We offer the only genuine alternative to theTories by putting the quality of public servicesfirst.

We will support Chipping Barnet town centre byintroducing 30 minutes free parking and re-introducing a cash payment method for allcouncil car parks

We have a strong track record defending HighBarnet and the greenbelt; Duncan Macdonald hasrepresented High Barnet for 5 years

Jane Gibson xSean Hooker

The Best choice for our councillors . . .

Duncan Macdonaldxx

If you want someone who will get the job done and make things happen thenvote for Duncan Macdonald and his team. Duncan has a proven track recordof delivering real results in High Barnet.

� It was Duncan who founded the Friends of Highlands Gardens who havesuccessfully obtained lottery funding to renovate the pond.

� It was Duncan who formed the Friends of Ravenscroft Park which heldseveral very successful family days.

� It is Duncan who has led the campaign for 30 minutes’ free parking and thereturn of cash parking.

On the 22nd May you can vote for the man of action and experience or youcan vote for someone you won’t see again for four years.