Step forward Cllr Robert Freeman!
Of course, Freeman will say, with his usual modesty, that he's not the man but a free vote amongst all the councillors would prove him wrong.
The Dame cannot remember such a successful Mayoral year as that led by Cllr and Mrs. Freeman.
Together they bought great kudos to this council
The fact that Freeman has never been invited to join the Cabinet says much about the rottenness of the way the Council was run under the ill-educated Merrick Cockell.
Cockell, being very thick(and much worse) could not bear the idea of a man of towering intelligence and overwhelming probity working alongside him.
There are others, too, who Cockell was envious of and they too were consigned to non-jobs.
So now we have a council filled with such duds that none are capable of taking on the challenge of turning this council around.
The Dame now turns to another aspect of leadership:the role of the Chief Executive.
The situation is now so dire that the only man or woman capable of saving the council from total implosion is a successful businessman/woman with the necessary turnaround skills....
Someone who would take on the challenge on a more or less pro bono basis.
The Dame will be calling young Simon Wolfson who has so successfully turned around Next.
Another gem of an idea from the wise old Dame
ReplyDeleteThe mess the Council is in would have been ameliorated by having access of the wisdom and good judgment of Freeman...what a waste of talent.
ReplyDeleteNot quite sure whether Ms Wolfson might be the right person. Next is a business, with proper business ethics. Whereas, RBKC is thiefdom, run in accordance with NO basis. You need an untainted, should there be such a person, local government heavyweight to take on the job; with proper understanding of all the applicable legislation. It should be a team of properly experienced Commissioners, with pristine record.....
ReplyDeleteRBKC needs to be turned from a place where the law is treated as an optional extra into one ruled by law. Hornton Street must learn that the Queen's Writ runs even in K & C. Decades of failure in this area is the key reason why the Rotten Borough is so rotten, it kills its residents. One wonders how this matter will be explained to applicants for the post of RBKC Chief Executive. Perhaps, the level of rot is so extreme, applicants will catch a whiff of it and run for the hills.
DeleteAs an ex employee I can say for sure that Cockell and Meyers along with Paget-brown and the trapination kid happily outsources services lost experienced knowledgeable staff and those who did remain completely ignored in favour of contractors
DeleteDear Dame
ReplyDeletePlease do not limit your wise understanding and advice for RBKC to this blog.
We need you to speak loudly and openly in the public domain about what you know, to inform those that can make change for good, to reach all those that do not read this blog.
Thank you.
KCTMO needs to be taken over by experienced property managers who understand property, not the small group of amateur employees currently in place.
ReplyDeleteand when required employ proper engineers/technicians to attend to more complex matters, rather than the cheapest bunch of cowboys, as is the case today... Just walk around and see the abysmally sub-standard quality of their work, for which RBKC paid a top dollar, a big chunk of it going to pockets of employees with vested interests in these cowboy outfits, they may even part-own them...did some make a comment about the gardening mess>
ReplyDeleteKCTMO paid a gardening bill for our block and we don't even have a garden! We think it was signed off by Dominic Davies
ReplyDeleteThere is clearly only one Councillor capable of being leader and that is Robert Freeman. He quietly gets on with the business of looking after the residents he represents. He has statesmanship, integrity, honesty and above all he actually does care for ALL residents. Unlike the majority of the current Motley Crew, he is also intelligent! Pagett Browns Leadership was appalling....ask Nick......and you shall not receive! The only person who could turn this battered ship around and gain the trust of residents is Robert Freeman....no one else.
ReplyDeleteDuring those pathetic "Ask Nick" meetings, heavyweight Cllr Hargreaves' duty was to block or bully any stroppy residents out of the room. Consequently no one was allowed to ask awkward questions. For "awkward" read "meaningful." Result. The Grenfell fire that's killed at least 100 people and traumatised thousands more. Not that RBKC cares a jot. The focus is on finding a replacements for NPB and RFM. The Council really seems to believe the merrygoround will spin on in Hornton Street, music blaring. This will not happen. The citadel has fallen at last.
Delete10:21 is clearly a great judge of men.
ReplyDeleteThe Dame missed another attribute of Cllr Freeman....his wonderfully laconic sense of humour.
The Conservative Group bears a heavy burden by neglecting the talents of their very special colleague. Most were terrified at the prospect of annoying the ghastly Cockell so never rebelled at this gross miscarriage of justice.