'Barnet - the billion pound gamble' Barnet Council’s One Barnet programme gives us the title of this film by– a Billion Pound Gamble, as Barnet Council prepares to award two contracts worth more than £1billion to run 70% of council services for 10 years. Under the One Barnet programme, private companies will pick up fat cheques, local residents will get shoddy services, and local taxpayers will foot the bill. The film also features shocking

Date & time: Wednesday 24 October 2012, gathering at 6:30pm for a 7pm meeting Location: Hendon Town Hall BAPS will be submitting the first batch of petition signatures to the council in the Business Management Overview & Scrutiny Committee. JOIN US IN THE PUBLIC GALLERY

A discussion between residents, councillors of all parties and experts in public administration. 7-9pm, Thursday 8th November at the Greek Cypriot Community Centre, Britannia Road, London N12 9RU A Question Time-type meeting, in order to give the council's leaders, councillors and the public an opportunity to meet with each other and have a  genuine discussion about the One Barnet programme. One Barnet will determine our future in this borough for

Marching Together as a Community For a Future That Works on the TUC's march, Saturday 20 October Join us on Saturday 20 October to say NO to Austerity, privatisation, pay freezes for workers and unnecessary spending cuts! Meeting places in Barnet: Finchley Central Tube station: 9am - 9:15am (sharp) Contact: Kieran 07734 349732 or Donald 07727  748209 Colindale Tube station: 9am - 9:15am (sharp) Contact: Louis 07909 156552 or Vicki 07446 292994

On Monday 22 October at 6.30pm, the world premiere of a new film, "Barnet - The Billion Pound Gamble", will be shown at the iconic Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley. (Doors open 6pm; film shown at 6.30pm, programme ends 8pm. Entry by suggested donation of £1.) The film has been made by US film director Charles Honderick and exposes the chaos being wrought by the policies of Barnet Council. In interviews local residents explain how difficult life has

At a crowded meeting on Wednesday 10 October, the Barnet Alliance for Public Services enthusiastically passed the following emergency resolution: In view of the sudden impending departure of the Chief Executive Officer of the council, Nick Walkley, and the likely collapse of the ONE BARNET privatisation programme, we demand that the cabinet resign forthwith to enable fresh local elections. --- Comment We felt that the borough was now left without

Barnet Council is trying to justify the One Barnet programme by saying that, on the current trajectory, the whole of the council budget will soon be spent on adult and children's social care. To back up this alarming - and alarmist - scenario they produced a so-called 'Graph of Doom', which has been widely reported in the press. John Dix - aka Barnet blogger 'Mr Reasonable' - has analysed the 'graph of doom' and criticises it in this document. The