On Tuesday night Cllr Brian Salinger used his right as a councillor to speak at the meeting of the Children’s, Education, Libraries and Safeguarding (or is it Sell-out?) Committee, a committee on which he doesn’t sit. He held the attention of everyone in the room, seated well back in his chair at the table, his voice booming to all corners seemingly without the aid of the dreadful Town Hall microphones, his clarity of reasoning as evident as his passion for the cause he was espousing: funding for Moss Hall Nursery. Clearly and forcefully he explained to his fellow councillors and to the officers who had drawn up the report on saving money by cutting funding to Moss Hall why the plan was so flawed. He wasted not a word, highlighting that Moss Hall was judged ‘outstanding’ in its latest Ofsted report and the money should be regarded as core funding, not subsidy. You might want to find the video on YouTube so you can appreciate how much good sense he packed into his allotted 3 minutes.

The committee room was packed with supporters of Moss Hall, many of whom had raised questions during the all-too-brief public question time, and who fairly raised the roof with their applause for Cllr Salinger. (This in stark contrast to the angry shouts aimed at chairman Cllr Reuben Thompstone, who refused to extend the question time to allow everyone a chance, obviously caring more for his schedule than for the residents.) There is no doubt that Brian Salinger was sincere in what he said and that he cares about Moss Hall. He is currently chairman of the school, where he has been a governor for 28 years, the same length of time he has been a Barnet councillor. He threw the report on the table, rejecting it as ‘not fit for purpose’. So, you ask, what’s the problem?

The problem is this report will come up for a vote in full council. It is a report prepared by council officers to fulfill the policy of cuts being imposed by the current Conservative administration. In Barnet votes in committees and full council are along party lines. If a councillor disagrees with his or her party’s stance on an issue, they will abstain or even leave the room rather than vote with the opposition. What will Brian Salinger do when it coms to the vote? Will his loyalty to his party override his concern for the children at Moss Hall? He has three choices: (1) vote the party line and help this outstanding school be destroyed, (2) abstain and perhaps salve his conscience or (3) courageously vote against the report. It would be a fine moment for real democracy if Cllr Salinger showed everyone that politics can be about principle, not just party, by taking option three.

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