The hastily rearranged Finchley and Golders Green Residents’ Forum turned out to be, by all accounts, a rowdy affair. I had another engagement so could not attend. I have seen a number of emails flying back and forth which give the impression that residents were very unhappy with Barnet Council.

I have to say one thing though, I do not approve of residents venting their anger at Council Officers in the way it has been described to me. Council Officers like all workers will of course make mistakes. But there are few organisations Public or Private where staff is placed in the firing line in the same way as Council employees.

I believe that the Politicians who run affairs should be the people held to account. Too often Politicians appear to be content to let the staff take the stick. In the days when I chaired a local Residents’ Forum, I used to make it clear that the Politicians carry the can. I chided members of the audience who had a go at Officers. I reminded them that Officers are bound by rules and are not free to answer back or give like for like.

It is a pity that Cabinet Members from Barnet rarely make an appearance, certainly at the Finchley and Golders Green Forum. They would learn a lot. In my view there is a growing discontent at the way the Council is being run. Although leading Conservative Councillors talk grandiosely about connecting with the citizen, it is my view that the Council is more disconnected than at any time in recent memory.

It is not just our local bloggers who are critical. It is many ordinary residents who are beginning to show their frustration at the way they feel they are ignored, by passed and sidelined. This no good for democracy. You may say that naturally I would wish to do down the present Conservative Administration. But there is also a knock on effect on us all.

Trust in the Council and Politicians breaks down. The Council gets a lot of things right. Each day Council workers get on with their task of keeping services running. Many Councillors from all Political Parties in Barnet work their sock off to help residents with problems much of which goes unsung but the good news and all the hard work is not worth a hill of beans if the Politicians who hold the power let them down.