It is Guido’s duty to once again report on Enfield Council. Having already banned meat, ruined their own finances by giving themselves a pay rise, and recently unleashed cows strapped with shock collars on a public park, the Labour-led council have now proven their return to fiscal discipline by raising council tax by 5%… and immediately splashing £26,000 on renaming their green travel programme. “Healthy Streets” has now become “Journeys and Places”. None of that money was spent on actually improving transport.
Instead, the £26,000 went on “research and scoping for the rebranding project“, redesigning leaflets, and “training the graphic designers” – for some reason. You’d assume graphic designers would know how to do their job already. Apparently not. Renaming a local transport project must be really tough.
The Council website assures visitors “it is still the same programme”, so the only thing that’s changed is the logo…
Readers may remember how “cash strapped” loony left Enfield council voted themselves £36,000 worth of pay rises back in July. Now the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan has been signed off by their cabinet, and Guido can reveal it highlights a £36,000 black hole of “financial pressures” in the Chief Executive’s unit, thanks to the increased Special Responsibility Allowances. If only someone could have warned them…
The leader of loony left Enfield Council has reported the opposition to the police for calling her regime a regime. In an extraordinary outburst on Twitter, Labour Council Leader Nesil Caliskan piled in on a Conservative Councillor who called the Council’s low traffic neighbourhood scheme “undemocratic” as residents did not want them. Caliskan responded to the complaint over its lack of public consultation by saying:
“Conservative Cllrs have repeatedly called Enfield Council a ‘regime’. Insults with islamophobic undertones.
This video says administration is undemocratic & for me to be ‘removed’ immediately. This is hate speech. It’s dog-whistle politics & undermines decent political debate.”
As if that wasn’t enough, Caliskan went on to say:
“FYI, I have reported to police & encourage anyone who has similar hate experiences to do same so we can capture prevalence of discrimination.”
Yes, you read that right – the council leader, who recently lost an appeal over bullying allegations, has called in the police over regular political language. Nesil Caliskan is a complete idiot.
The Labour Group on Enfield Council has this week suspended one of their own councillors after she refused to back pay rises for her fellow councillors. In the midst of the pandemic, with thousands of families in cash crises, councillor Anne Brown abstained as a matter of conscience on a vote to increase the salaries of Labour colleagues by as much as £7,608.
As a result of her abstention, Brown was suspended from the Labour Group at a hearing chaired by Group Chief Whip Claire Stewart on Monday. The Labour Group then voted to support the Whip’s decision.
Guido hears that some of those who benefited from the salary hike voted to uphold the view that Councillor Brown should be suspended without declaring their pecuniary interest – something that could have made them ineligible to vote. Good on Councillor Brown for rejecting Labour’s barmy pay rise plans, a heroic stance. Clearly far more in touch than her snouts-in-trough colleagues…
Last month Guido revealed Enfield Council had become the first in the country to ban meat. In the piece, Guido revealed the council gave minor lip service to taking public views on the plan, “holding a consultation for less than a month in the middle of the Coronavirus lockdown.” It has subsequently emerged just how minor that consultation was…
The council received just sixteen responses to the consultation – eight from climate organisations and only eight from individual members of the public. How very open and democratic…
An eco-warrior administration at Enfield Council is set to become the first elected body in the UK to ban meat in an attempt to tackle climate change. Buried on page 36 of their “Enfield climate action plan 2020” it is spelt out that from December 2020 onwards, “all events held by Enfield Council where catering is provided [will] offer only vegan or vegetarian options”. Guido will be sure to turn down any Enfield Council soirée invitations in future…
The new plan, written by the Labour council’s Deputy Leader Ian Barnes, clearly took inspiration from some hard left universities like Goldsmith’s, who are currently the only public bodies to have implemented such authoritarian policies. Guido understands the council gave minor lip service to taking public views on the plan, holding a consultation for less than a month in the middle of the Coronavirus lockdown. The council cabinet agreed to the plan on 15th July…
Mo Metcalf-Fisher of the Countryside Alliance is unimpressed with the move, telling Guido:
“It’s telling that those behind this illogical proposal have sought to bury what they know will be an incredibly unpopular policy deep within a lengthy document. Banning meat is completely the wrong approach and demonstrates no understanding of how meat in this country is produced, which thanks to UK farming practices, is among the most sustainable in the world.
Enfield Council would do well to actually consult with the farming community as well as their local residents and drop this proposed ban immediately.”
As per usual with left-wing governments, your freedom at steak…
