Poor judgement must not continue (From Times Series)

Poor judgement must not continue

10:28am Friday 27th August 2010 in

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Barnet Council leader Lynne Hillan has included councillors’ huge pay rises in the “difficult decisions” the council has to make (‘Council pay hike will be scrapped, Times Series, August 19).

But to an ethical mind, the decision was obviously and transparently easy — there should be no such awards when the whole country is involved in cutbacks.

With the ceaseless daily announcements in the media of the exceedingly parlous state of the country, it can only be the “lame-duck leadership” that appears to have been unaware of the national situation.

Councillor Alison Moore sums it up by calling it enourmously poor judgement (‘Tories don’t know what people need, say Labour’, Times Series, August 19). Our streets contain glowing notices that the council is listening to the people of Barnet, but it has taken a cosmic shout to bring to Cllr Hillan’s attention that allowance increases are not on.

But it would appear that alone was not anyway loud enough. A real-life challenge appeared on the horizon — Mark Shooter’s admirable six-point detoxification programme and bid for the leadership of Barnet Council.

Humiliation apart, it’s Cllr Hillan’s enourmously poor judgement and seeming inexperience that should prompt reflection and reconsideration in the light of which she must stand down.

Bryan Fairfax, Redbourne Avenue, Finchley Central