Haringey CEO appointment update

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on October 15, 2012 at 16:11

Thanks for posting this Pam. I gather that, as I predicted, this meeting has caught several councillors away. (Including my partner Zena Brabazon.) Others may be ill, or have family pressures.

I hope that if members of HoL talk to councillors before tomorrow evening, they urge them to raise serious questions about whether Mr Walkley has been hired to carry out some version of Barnet's Tory policies. And not to be put off either by the party whips; or by the blanket anti-cuts/anti-privatisation 'line' apparently taken by the Haringey Alliance for Public Services.

(Labour councillor Tottenham Hale)

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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on October 15, 2012 at 16:41

the blanket anti-cuts/anti-privatisation 'line'

Alan it is this absolutest unwillingness to concede an inch of ground anywhere, anytime, that is worrying. It doesn't seem reasonable. It's likely comes from a vested self-interest group. The great waste of the 2000s is water under the bridge and now, some cuts in council spending are needed urgently. Many see a need for change in the council, although not all of us see it in the same place/s.

I hold no brief for the incoming CEO, although I continue to regard the salaries of 'top' council officers (nationally) as ludicrous and insulting. His appointment is likely to be approved by a majority, if not unanimously, of our democratically elected representatives.

Give the bloke a chance first. His time at Barnet appears to be used against him, but we all learn from experience and Haringey isn't necessarily going to be the assumed Barnet 2.

the struggle against Government 'austerity' measures - there is an alternative!

Yes, in the short term, the alternative might be to borrow more money, if it were available. This could only be a short-term policy. Soon, such a course would lead to significantly higher interest rates (a risk premium) and/or a simple unwillingness to lend to the UK, as has happened to the Euro-damaged southern European countries. Our current rates are comparable to Germany's and this, plus our non-membership of the Euro, are two of the few positive things going for our precarious economy.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on October 15, 2012 at 17:20

Perhaps Clive, some members of HAPs aren't the only ones with an "absolutist unwillingness to concede an inch of ground anywhere".

I've often suggested you might like to read something - or perhaps view a video - which might give some alternative facts or viewpoint and contradicted your own. Much to my regret your usual response has been to decline my suggestions. I must add that you always do this with impeccable politeness. (Unlike the HAPS person who in Haringey Council chamber shouted at me and Reg Rice through his megaphone. Now there's real open debate for you!)

Anyway, let me try. Joseph Stiglitz is an economist who won a Nobel Prize, advised the U.S. Government, and worked in the World Bank. He's a professor at Columbia. Stiglitz believes in the value of markets, the advantages of globalisation and its potential to improve the lives of millions of people living in poverty.

He also understands and explains why International Monetary Fund (IMF) style austerity is not the only and inevitable response to the global crisis we are going through. And he does this in a very readable and evidenced way as an insider who saw the outcome of the policies of the IMF and World Bank.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

At the very point of crisis when we most need facts, investigation, open minds, and calm forums for listening, questioning and quiet reflection, there's a danger of descending into polarised extremes. Although this is not entirely true. One interesting feature of the Occupy Movement for instance is renewed interest in open discussions, teach-in style.

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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on October 15, 2012 at 22:19

I have previously suggested that the council consider asking itself, what is its purpose? The main purpose currently seems to be self-preservation, especially of jobs and pension entitlements. If the council isn't prepared to take such a hard a look at itself, I've another suggestion, especially since the main agenda seems to be cuts:

Triage

Can I suggest that the council divide up all of its functions in the same way as disaster doctors do. We are facing a national financial emergency, so its not so far-fetched. Thus, council services would fall into one of three classes:

• Those needing attention (services to be decided, e.g. the reflexive spending on legal defence)
• The hopeless cases ("services" to be cut, e.g. the disgraceful spending on PR)
• Those who don't need help (genuine services to be kept largely or wholly intact, e.g. libraries, graffiti-removal)

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Permalink Reply by Seema Chandwani on October 19, 2012 at 0:50

Clive, geniunely interested in this... (hence why I aint called you Victor)

Where does people who need services fit? i.e. Child Protection, Meals on Wheels?

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