Mrs Angry makes complaint about Cllr Coleman's "sexist" comment at Barnet Council meeting

2:54pm Wednesday 12th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Emma Innes

Mrs Angry makes complaint about Cllr Coleman's "sexist" comment Mrs Angry makes complaint about Cllr Coleman's "sexist" comment

Barnet blogger, Mrs Angry, has written to the leader of Barnet Council and to the mayor to complain about the “sexist” comments made by Councillor Brian Coleman at last night’s council meeting.

During the meeting, which took place at Hendon Town Hall, Cllr Coleman caused outrage by referring to the people in the public gallery as “the sad, mad and a couple of hags”.

Mrs Angry, whose real name is Theresa Musgrove, has written to Cllr Richard Cornelius, and to Cllr Brian Schama, to complain about these comments.

She said: “It was completely unacceptable and he should have been made to apologise.

“Where shall I start? I thought his behaviour was appalling.

“His comments were offensive and very derogatory.

“They were sexist and ageist.

“The councilors owe respect to us as the people who voted for them.

“It is totally unacceptable.”

Cllr Alison Moore, leader of the Barnet Labour Group, has also complained about Cllr Coleman's comments.

It has just been announced that she has made a formal complaint to the council's monitoring officer and has asked the council leader to insist on an apology from Cllr Coleman.

She said: "This sort of behaviour is simply unacceptable.

"As a woman I found the reference he made to two female members of the public utterly offensive, and was shocked to see male members of the Conservative Group laughing as he said it. 

"As councillors we have a duty to treat all members of the public with respect, and to have regard to our obligations under the equalities legislation."

She added: "Cllr Cornelius was seen smiling and applauding at the end of Brian Coleman's speech - did he agree with his behaviour?

"I call on the Leader of the Council and of the Conservative Group to distance himself from these remarks, and this behaviour, and to direct Cllr Coleman to publically apologise."

Cllr Coleman’s comment was greeted by shocked shouts of “appalling” from the public gallery.

Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Cohen called for the controversial character to apologise.

He said: “Cllr Coleman has insulted me by insulting members of the gallery.

“I hope he will reconsider his remarks and apologise now.”

However, despite being given an opportunity to apologise by the meeting’s chairman, Mayor of Barnet, Cllr Brian Schama, Cllr Coleman refused to do so.

Cllr Cornelius, leader of the council, said: “It was a difficult meeting where feelings ran high but an individual councillor has to be responsible for his or her words.

“It is for Cllr Coleman to decide whether he wants to make an apology.”

Comments(32)

pravinshah1 says...
4:58pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Councillors have to be responsible for their words and must have respect to the people who voted for them. It is no excuse to say that “It was a difficult meeting where feelings ran high”. If Councillor Brian Coleman has any self respect, he should at least apologise to the community. However, I think he has no ability to be elected as a councillor.

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Dr Julia Hines says...
10:36pm Wed 12 Sep 12

Speaking as the other woman referred to as an "old hag" I am equally appalled by his behaviour.

I consider his comments to be hate speech.

My complaint will be with the council tomorrow.

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Don't Call Me Dave says...
12:46am Thu 13 Sep 12

If you consider Brian Coleman’s comments to be hate speech, your complaint should be made to the Police who are the appropriate authority for such matters. How many more complaints to the council will it take before people realise that the Standards Committee is as effective as a chocolate teapot?

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pravinshah1 says...
9:40am Thu 13 Sep 12

The Standards committee because of the nature of its assessment sub-committee which is made up of one independent member of public and two local councillors who consider the complaints about the conduct of their councillors in the authority and the secrecy surrounding their work, the public confidence in their work has not been high particularly as the initial assessment by them determines the next stage of investigating the complaint about the conduct of a councillor. The experience of Harrow Council for Justice confirms this see: (http://www.hcrj.org
.uk/News%20Page%2022
.html & http://www.hcrj.org.
uk/News%20Page%2021.
html)

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Headabovetheparapet says...
10:04am Thu 13 Sep 12

It comes as no surprise to me that Mr Coleman could use such language. He has a total disrespect for the human race, and considers himself to be above us all in Barnet. The man is loathsome. He cannot squirm his way out of this by saying that the words were misrepresented. A couple refers to the two women aforementioned. Nasty, condescending and totally wrong from a public servant. Sadly Mr Coleman only serves himself!!

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
11:36am Thu 13 Sep 12

Brian Coleman's behaviour brings disgrace not only to himself, but to the local Tory party, and to Conservative politics generally. The real insult is not simply what he said, but the fact that fellow councillors and the leader have failed to censure him. This indicates absolutely clearly that they condone his behaviour, and his attitudes towards women and indeed the electors and taxpayers of this borough. They demand respect from the public, as well as their over generous allowances, yet refuse to acknowledge that their first duty is to show respect to the people they represent. And they will learn just how much respect the residents of this borough have for them at the next elections, when there will be no safe Tory seat left in Barnet. Can't wait, can you?

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paisley says...
1:24pm Thu 13 Sep 12

Mrs Angry, shut up

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
1:44pm Thu 13 Sep 12

'paisley': good to see some support for Brian Coleman, and some reasoned debate.

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nlygo says...
11:10pm Thu 13 Sep 12

this is all about political banter

get over it!

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
4:23pm Fri 14 Sep 12

ah, the pro Barnet nlygo: North London Government Officer?

Presumably you would think a homophobic comment, or an antisemitic comment acceptable as 'political banter' too.

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james smyth says...
6:16pm Fri 14 Sep 12

A man who speaketh the truth and if you dont like it as it is said ,then you know where the door is ,even easier is to not bother turning up in the first place.
The truth hurts some people and then they bleat on to anyone that will listen as to how hard done by they are.
About time they got a life and put all their efforts into something constructive.

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
6:57pm Fri 14 Sep 12

what 'truth' are you babbling on about, Tory loving troll 'James Smyth'? And do try harder with your grammar and punctuation, 'James' , please ...

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nlygo says...
10:33pm Fri 14 Sep 12

by the way mrs angry, i'm not a north london young government officer

however i am both jewish and gay

and i would like to be young again :)

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Headabovetheparapet says...
11:26am Sat 15 Sep 12

It saddens me deeply to read denials and support for a self serving public servant, who clearly suffers from a narcissistic personality disorder. It just shows that Brian Coleman's supporters are very similar to him in their utter disregard for what is acceptable behaviour. Perhaps if they spent more time worrying about how they are going to get Barnet out of the criminal mess they have imposed on our dear town, and less time baiting a person who has got more guts than the lot of the shower put together, we may see some improvement in the dire and dismal place we all live in. Mrs Angry I salute your bravery. The rest of you negatives on this blog, grow some!.

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
2:41pm Sat 15 Sep 12

Nlygo: you're gay, Jewish, and an older citizen - wonderful - all things to celebrate, rather than denigrate.

If anyone dared to insult someone gay, or Jewish, Coleman would be the first to condemn them: he and many of his Tory colleagues, however, think for some reason that it is acceptable to insult women. It is not, and this only demonstrates how out of touch they are with the attitudes of the vast majority of decent people.

Thanks, Headabove ...

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NoToMob Member says...
12:34pm Sun 16 Sep 12

For the life of me, I cannot see why any normal decent person would condone Colemans behaviour. He is an extremely offensive Bully who brings nothing to the Borough of Barnet except deep deep shame. It is high time this Misogynist is booted out of public office for good, along with any public official who believes this is an acceptable way to behave.

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Mr unreasonable and always looking for fault says...
8:16pm Sun 16 Sep 12

It's very telling that Dr Hines is keen to be someone that Coleman's remarks were aimed at. I gather there were quite a few people in the gallery, why does she offer herself as the one who Coleman referring to? Seems to be hoping she was by the sound of it. Attention seeking, that's why. Victim status. Both her and 'Mrs Angry' want to be the 'victims' of Coleman and are actually quite pleased about all this so it can fuel their daft hatred of him further!!

Mrs Angry has made rude remarks about all sorts of people on her blog, including what could be considered as ageist comments in her obvious dislike of young councillors partly because they are young for instance.

Hypocrites the lot of them! Makes me laugh how seriously they take themselves.

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Rog T says...
12:06am Mon 17 Sep 12

Mr Unreasonable,

Erm, has it not occurred to you that Coleman insulted everyone in the public gallery, so they all have the right to feel insulted. Doh !!!!!

And as to people taking themselves seriously, surely Brian Coleman AKA "The King of Bling" is unsurpassed. A man sacked by the people of Barnet in the GLA election, is truly the master of the art

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Dr Julia Hines says...
2:45pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Hi Mr Unreasonable.

I am not keen to be one of the people he insulted. I was one of the people he insulted.

He looked straight at me and Mrs Angry when he made his comment, just as he was looking at other individuals he labelled mad and sad. He also made hand gestures to emphasise who the comments were directed at.

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Mr unreasonable and always looking for fault says...
6:09pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Hi 'Dr' Hines,

I've just watched the video and how you can see exactly where his eyes were aimed at from that distance is beyond me! And his hand gestures did not point at people, it was simply waving as spoke, his arm was raised not outstretched.

I point this out not in defence of Coleman but in dismay of people always seeking victim status these days, offended by the slightest name calling. Coleman's comments are wrong but the fuss that follows is pathetic. Some people have to much time on their hands.

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
7:29pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Ah, my dislike of young councillors, Cllr (Mr) Unreasonable? Unfortunately there are certain young Tory councilllors who have too much responsibility as Cabinet members, without the requisite life experience to give them a wide enough perspective on the hugely important issues they must decide on. Their political ideology is not tempered by understanding of what it is to have to struggle to work, bring up a family, and pay a mortgage or rent,in increasingly difficult times. They are far too quick to be judgemental of those who need support, and some of them have made the most odious statements in council meetings about, for example, people in social housing having no aspirations, or public sector workers not having 'real' jobs ...

As for Coleman,get your facts right - I did not say in my blog that he was referring to me specifically, as I was making notes at the time. I imagine that the chances were that he was, however. It makes no difference: he was deliberately offensive to women and the others in the public gallery, and this is completely unacceptable. If you cannot understand why, that tells us all we need to know about your own attitudes.

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nlygo says...
7:43pm Mon 17 Sep 12

ah poor mrs angry, upset that young people are taking over the world!

its the same as "Am I just getting older or do police these days look like they aren't old enough to drive?"

;)

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Mike NW7 says...
8:09pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Nlygo is just another cowardly troll whose greatest ambition in life is to lick Brian Colemans bottom clean!

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Mike NW7 says...
8:12pm Mon 17 Sep 12

Mr Unreasonable I'd like to point out that Brian Coleman has a lot more time on his hands these days thanks to the voters of Camden and Barnet GLA constituency kicking him out in May. Hopefully in 2014 the people of Totteridge will do the same!

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Mr unreasonable and always looking for fault says...
7:52am Tue 18 Sep 12

Mrs Angry (or Mrs Jealous that some young people have more responsibility than her?).

"without the requisite life experience" when referring to young councillors is ageist, plain and simple. A polite form of ageism but ageism nonetheless. You are assuming things because of someone's age.

"...what it is to have to struggle to work, bring up a family, and pay a mortgage or rent, in increasingly difficult times" - what do you know about certain councillor's backgrounds, upbringing and experience - very little.

Both you and 'Dr' Hines making a fuss over some mild name calling is pathetic and with regards to you, you call people names on your blog but you don't like being called names yourself. Mrs Ageist Hypocrite may be a more suitable name?!

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Rog T says...
12:04pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Dear Mr Unreasonable,

Would you be happy if someone called your mother or grandmother a hag? What about if that person was a public official, who was supposed to represent your mother or grandmothers interests?

I was rather disappointed with Councillor Coleman, given his devotion to his 87 year old mum, that he should treat other women with such utter disrespect.

I tend to agree with your point about young people. If you are young enough, you are good enough. Sadly from what I've seen of Councillor Tom Davey, the youngest Tory cabinet member, he is clearly not good enough. I know many young people in Barnet who could do the job though.

Then again, it is a bit unfair to single Davey out for his age, because we have equally inept fools of all ages in the council chamber.

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
2:19pm Tue 18 Sep 12

Really one should know better than to feed the Tory trolls, but 'Mr'/Cllr Unreasonable needs to decide which point he is trying to make. Either he believes the 'hag' indult was aimed at Dr Hines & me or does not. I repeat that this is immaterial, it was aimed at the public, and is clearly very offensive, just as it would be if a member of the public used the word 'fag' about a gay councillor. Sexist abuse is not 'mild name calling': if you think so that is because you are as bigoted as Coleman. There is a difference between vague impertinence directed at idiotic councillors and the use of sexist, racist or homophobic insults, although this is something clearly not understood by some Tories in Barnet.

As for young councillors, not such a bad thing, but my point was that the responsibility for a Cabinet post may well not be appropriate in someone inexperienced in life as many of the Barnet Tories clearly are. I don't really think we need to be lectured on social housing, or the need for 'aspiration', for example by someone still living at home with mummy and daddy.

Oh, and by the way, not sure why you insist on referring to 'Dr' Hines - she is a qualified medical doctor, as well as being legally qualified - yes, and a woman too, amazing, isn't it?

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NoToMob Member says...
4:40pm Fri 21 Sep 12

So the disgrace of an excuse for a Councillor Coleman has taken to assaulting Women now!
Let us see who wants to justify this act of violence!

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nlygo says...
12:45pm Sat 22 Sep 12

'assault'

methinks not

verbal sparring yes, but not an assault

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NoToMob Member says...
1:28pm Sat 22 Sep 12

Not Mr current affairs are you Nyglo?

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NoToMob Member says...
1:28pm Sat 22 Sep 12

Not Mr current affairs are you Nyglo?

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NoToMob Member says...
1:28pm Sat 22 Sep 12

Not Mr current affairs are you Nyglo?

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