FORGETFUL FRANK FAILS TO FILL IN FORM AND ***** UP!

A BLUNDER by Lib Dem councillor Frank Doran has caused red faces amongst his yellow colleagues in the run-up to next Thursday's council elections.

Forgetful Frank failed to renew his entry on the city council's electoral register and was left unable to nominate his party colleague Inspector Clueless, Richard Marbrow.

The more cynical have conjectured that this was a deliberate mistake by Frank, a former desert rat.

But we can reveal that Frank simply ****ed it up (there's an alarming amount of alliteration in this post already, ed)

Forgetful Frank managed to ignore three letters from the council asking him to return a form confirming he still lived at 37 John Lennon Drive and was still eligible to vote.

Perhaps he was arrogant enough to think that the council staff would put it through on the nod for him?

But they didn't. They followed the rules instead.

So it came to pass after the requisite period, that forgetful Frank was removed from the electoral register altogether.

Thankfully for him, he had ticked sufficient boxes on his nomination form when he was last elected in 2004.

That meant his failure to appear on the register did not mean he would be thrown off the council (do not cry 'shame' at this point, ed)

It was only when he came to sign clueless colleague Marbrow's nomination papers that he finally discovered his oversight.

His mistake has now been rectified and he is back on the register.

And he will also be able to vote for his bumptious colleague if he wants.

(But will be part of a very small, steadily dwindling group, addicted to pizza and pomposity in equal measure, if he does, ed).

He has not, however, been able to nominate his clueless colleague as he was too late to do this.

(Which numbskull did nominate him then? ed)

But here's an intriguing thought - could Frank's failure to respond to the three letters delivered to 37 John Lennon Drive be accounted for by the fact that he does not actually rest his weary head there at the end of a long hard day?

And if he is not there, where is he? (Afghanistan again? ed)

Clearly he doesnt pop round to collect his mail often enough!

thanks for the help with this post...

COVER UP SENDS AN EMAIL ABOUT HIS JOLLIES - AND LEAVES THE SMILING ASSASSIN IN CHARGE (gawd help us!)

EMAIL SENT BY COVER UP TO EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS AND COUNCILLORS....

Dear Colleague

As from Monday 2nd April I will be on two weeks annual, returning to the office on Monday 16 April. During this time I will out of the country and will not be able to access emails, though these will be regularly reviewed by my office and they will able to assist with any queries in my absence. The Deputy Chief Executive for April is Phil Halsall who will be the contact for any urgent issues that arise during this period, his office contact number is 225 2347.

Regards

Colin Hilton

ELECTIONS OFFICER COLIN COVER-UP GOES OFF ON HIS JOLLIES, WHILE LIVERPOOL GOES TO THE POLLS

CURRENT city council chief executive Colin Hilton has jetted off on a luxury five-star holiday in the middle of the local election campaign.

Nothing too surprising about that - except that Colin Cover-Up is getting paid £25,000 a year as Chief Returning Officer for those very same council elections.

So if anything goes wrong with the elections this year - lost ballot papers, poor access to polling stations, a fuss over postal votes - we can phone up Cover Up at his luxury hotel and be assured of his immediate attention.

It shows that nothing very much has changed since Henshaw was in charge.

Avid readers will recall that Henshaw got rid of the previous Returning Officer, Charlie Lasham on trumped up charges, so he could then pocket the £25,000 a year Chief Returning Officer fee and puff up his ego by reading out the results on election night.

Soon after knifing Lasham, Henshaw disappeared on a luxury holiday in the middle of the campaign.

Then 200 residents of a tower block in Everton found they had been missed off the electoral register and couldn't vote because of his incompetence.

Imagine Henshaw's fury and embarrassment when he returned from his £6,000 sojourn to find the Mersey Mart had splashed on the story complete with a glossy picture of his sunshine retreat in the Caribbean.

We can only hope the same fate befalls Cover Up who has also pocketed the £25grand Chief Returning Officer's fee and then buggered off to the sunshine. Like father, like son.

COUNCILLOR RICHARD KEMP, THE ARCH HYPOCRITE, ABUSES HIS POSITION AGAIN...

LIB DEM Councillor Richard Kemp is fond of complaining about the actions of other councillors.
In particular, we are told, Councillor Kemp (or Clever Dick to his mates) seems to object to some councillors emailing their colleagues from their place of work. (more of this in the future, ed)
So, imagine our surprise and consternation when the email missive below arrived for our perusal.
For it has originated from none other than Councillor Kemp, architect of the Boot Estate fiasco, self-styled housing 'expert' and arrogant tosser.
And what's this????????
Has he really abused the computer of the PLUS Group (the parent company for CDS Housing) and their email facilities, to send out his self-important thoughts about council business????
Shurely shome mistake, Clever Dick?

Complaints about this abuse of position and facilities, should be sent to The PLUS Group Chief Executive Ken Perry. Preferably by EMAIL. Here's his contact details:

Email: ken.perry@plusgroupltd.org.uk

Telephone: 0151 708 4611

And here's the Kemp email about Everton and Liverpool (talk about an own goal! ed)

From: richard.kemp@plusgroupltd.org.uk [mailto:richard.kemp@plusgroupltd.org.uk]

Sent: 02 April 2007 13:30

To: Radford, Steve

Cc: Dean, Alan; Fearnehough, Alan; Walker, Alan (Councillor); Makinson, Andrew; Tremarco, Andrew; Rothery, Anna; Hines, Ann; Collinge, Barbara; Mace, Barbara; Fraenkel, Beatrice; BentonJ@parliament.uk; Williams, Ben; Turner, Berni; Ousby, Bob; Lenton, Chris; Newby, Chris; Eldridge, Colin; Antrobus, Dave; Hanratty, Dave; Irving, David; Jones, Doreen; Knight, Doreen; Clein, Eddie; Allen, Elaine; ellmanl@parliament.uk; Kemp, Erica; Clucas, Flo; Cooke, Frank; Doran, Frank; Prendergast, Frank; Ben-Tovim, Gideon; Hulme, Graham; Williams, Hazel - Councillor; Jobling, Ian; Phillips, Ian; Ian Macdonald; Spriggs, Jack; Corbett, Jane; jane.kennedy@parliament.uk; Clein, Jan; Seddon, Jean; Lang, Joan; Anderson, Joe (Councillors /Municipal Buildings); Hanson, Joseph; Clucas, John; Coyne, John; McIntosh, John; Mullen, Josephine; Afford, Karen; Turner, Keith; Firth, Kevin; kilfoylep@parliament.uk; Reid, Kiron; Sidorczuk, Laurence; Buckle, Linda-Jane; Baldock, Louise; Kelly, Malcolm; Kennedy, Malcolm; Fielding, Marilyn; Storey, Mike; Stewart, Nadia; Small, Nick; Mills, Norman; Holleran, Patricia; Keaveney, Paula; Walton, Pauline; Brant, Paul; Clark, Paul; Clein, Paul; Millea, Peter; Allen, Peter; Roberts, Richard; Kemp, Richard; Marbrow, Richard; Oglethorpe, Richard; White, Richard; Quinn, Robbie; Johnston, Roger; Gould, Ron; Bailey, Rose; Gladden, Roz; Sullivan, Sharon; Kelsey, Sarah; STAPLETONJ@parliament.uk; Hurst, Stephen; Munby, Stephen; Monkcom, Stuart; Marshall, Tom; Gould, Tina; Best, Vera; Bebb, Violet; wareingr@parliament.uk; Bradley, Warren (Leader of the City Council)

Subject: RE: Keeping Everton in the City

Ian and Members,

You may recall that some years ago when I had responsibility for this I made continual efforts to get Everton to come and talk with the Council. After a year without even getting an acknowledgement I gave up. Liverpool replied to the initial letter within hours of receiving it.

Cllr Richard Kemp,mobile 07885 626913

The rottweiller McElhinney joins the lecture circuit - on behalf of Liverpool city council

HERE is some semi-intelligible, self-serving, hypocritical rubbish about a conference which is being held next month in London.

No doubt the cost of attending will be almost equivalent to McElhinney's weekly expenses claim.

However the conference, which is apparently about giving the public a better deal, will not cost anything like the millions which McElhinney's corruption cost the council taxpayers of Liverpool.

However, there is also an item at the end, which may be of further interest, since there appears to be some considerable doubt about who McElhinney is employed by and therefore accountable to.

You can skip all this tosh and go straight to the highlighted bit if you like.

Following the recent recommendations of Sir David Varney, which calls for service transformation through a better service for citizens and businesses and a better deal for taxpayers, CCA will host a public sector seminar on 24 April 2007 in London to examine the implications of the Varney report and to offer defined solutions to the challenge of best practice service delivery to both employees and citizens.BBC Broadcaster Liz Barclay, will represent the citizen in her role as chair, challenging presenters and delegates with their needs, demands and frustrations in mind. Hearing almost daily from people who are perturbed by the level of service they receive, Liz is ideally placed to carry out this role and add the customer dimension to all elements of the programme.Anne Marie Forsyth, Chief Executive of CCA, said: "The Varney recommendations will have a gargantuan impact on how the public sector delivers it services in the next decade and we have created a programme which will deliver key educational learning outcomes on the challenges of change and the role of best practice."Having already gone through a significant consolidation programme, Nick Lodge, Director of Customer Contact at HMRC, will share his approach to the next stages and will discuss if it is possible to deliver great service with fewer employees.With local authorities operating 50% of public sector contact centres, an interactive panel debate will look at how they meet the challenges that arise due to services becoming increasingly complex and rising demand from citizens. You will hear how our panel of local authority contact centres have effectively implemented change with in their centre and will understand what impact this has had on employees and citizens alike. Panel members include Dan Paul, Gateshead Council; Paul Twine, Westminster City Council; David McElhinney, Liverpool City Council, Isabelle Bignall of Cardiff City Council and Robert Irons, COI.
Additional Information
Numbers for this event are limited. To register your attendance or to find out more, tel: 0141-564 9384 or email events@cca.org.uk - events@cca.org.uk

So the question is this - is the rottweiller McElhinney representing Liverpool city council or not? And if so, why hasn't anyone from the city council had the bottle to discipline or suspend him for the millions he has stolen from council tax payers?

Not to mention the blondes ladies who he has fixed up with jobs. (I told you not to mention that, ed)

SO WHO IS LYING JAYNE? AND IS ANYONE ASKING?

WORD reaches us that Jayne Casey, of The A Foundation, is now denying that she handbagged £25,000 for lying about in a bed at St George's Hall.
She has laughed off the blog's post and claims that she was paid nothing for her appearance at the dismal launch of the Culture Company's programme (sic) for 2008.
This is the opposite of what senior people at the Culture Company have been gossiping about for the last two months. They have been privately outraged at the way money is routinely wasted by the Harbarrowboy.
So someone is lying.
But who?
Jayne has been dismissive to journalists who have tried to ask her about the cost.
Sadly most journalists then seem to have abandoned any hope of finding out the truth.
None seem to have had the gumption to ask the Culture Company for the total cost of the 2008 launch, which of course involved councillorsd quaffing free booze and canapes.
Nor has anyone asked how much was paid to consultants, like Jayne, who were involved in the launch.
A Freedom of Information question would have put the Culture Company on the spot a bit.
And if they resorted to the council's usual tactic of breaking the law and refusing to answer, it might have given us a little clue about whether Jayne was paid £25,000 or not. (Perhaps it was £24,999? ed)

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: SENSATIONAL NEW PICTURE OF ONE OF THE ROTTWEILLER MCELHINNEY'S FAVOURITE BLONDES...

VICTORY FOR THE BLOG: City Council forced to stop Careline answering calls about turkeys

Liverpool city council has been forced to stop its Careline staff from answering calls about Bernard Matthew's infected turkeys.

The move followed the huge flap caused at the Municipal Buildings following our last 'Its not bootiful' post.

The council has now told the rottweiller McElhinney that specially trained social services staff should not be used to answer calls on behalf of DEFRA.

Instead, they should continue to answer calls about children at risk and the most vulnerable people.

The council are now able to truthfully deny that Careline staff are working for DEFRA.

But they WERE answering such calls - until we made it public.

Our post resulted in a flurry of activity at the MO, with leading councillors asking serious questions and worse, demanding truthful answers (!) and even the Echo motivated to make a few tentative enquiries.

But the Echo were easily fobbed off with some careful phrasing and the bureaucrats are now drawing up an unitelligible report to confuse and therefore quieten down any unruly councillors.

Meanwhile McElhinney, chief exec of Liverpool Direct Limited at MisadVenture Place, has escaped as usual with just a verbal ticking off from 'Cover Up'.

The much heralded fight with Peter Cosgrove never materialised (predictably, ed).

However, the LDL contract with DEFRA over the turkey flu outbreak in Suffolk continues (isn't that worth an Echo story then? ed) with council staff, seconded to LDL, continuing to handle calls.

ITS NOT BOOTIFUL! - THE ROTTWEILLER MCELHINNEY STARTS AN ILLEGAL TURKEY SHOOT!

Liverpool City Council staff have been forced to work on the Bernard Matthews turkey crisis in Suffolk!
Specially trained social work staff who normally handle calls to the council's Careline have been ordered by McElhinney to take calls about bird flu instead!
Liverpool call centre staff have also been instructed to take calls as part of a contract the evil McElhinney has negotiated with DEFRA.
(Christ almighty, no wonder the council's own services are so bad, ed)
Careline is the social services call line for those vulnerable people who cam sometimes be in desperate need of help. It is also used to alert the proper authorities if someone is in an emergency.
(It is NOT for turkeys, ed)
But instead of answering such Careline calls at McElhinney's lair in (Misad)Venture Place, council staff are now taking calls about a mangey turkey outbreak miles away from Liverpool.
Staff are appalled at what they have been ordered to do - but dare not stand up to the evil rottweiller.
His 'yes sir, no sir' sidekick - Councillor Richard 'Inspector Clueless' Marbrow - is well aware of what is going on and has done his best to hush it all up.
Until now.
What makes the lucrative contract with DEFRA (how much is that worth then? ed) even more scandalous is that McElhinney (left) is acting illegally in forcing staff to comply.
(Doesn't it just show everyone that the arrogant **** has still not learnt his lesson and thinks he can get away with murder? ed)
Staff have been denied annual leave so that the LDL contract with DEFRA is covered.
Staff from the One Stop Shops have also been offered overtime to make sure the contract is covered.
Staff have even been taken out of the One Stop Shops during their normal working hours to help take calls.
But there is some good news...
McElhinney is shitting himself because city council Assistant Executive Director Peter Cosgrove has been informed of what has gone on.
Cosgrove is one of the genuinely good guys and although considered weak by some, would love to get McElhinney bang to rights.
Cosgrove has been copied into some damaging email correspondence which McElhinney sent to staff and the rottweiller has now gone off the deep end to try and cover his tracks (again, ed) .
In an attempt to bully and intimidate staff he has launched his own personal investigation into who forwarded what email, to whom and why.
The Head of Human Resources, Collette Hannay, has also become officially involved and is aware of how McElhinney has broken the law (she won't do anything about it, ed).
Not surprisingly, the thieving rottweiller has now enlisted his long-standing accomplice, the smiling assassin Hasitall to try and dig him out of the turkey shit!
It is all very hush hush and in the end, Colin 'Cover Up' can probably be relied upon to sweep up all the turkey shit into his fancy pigeon loft at the back of the MO.
So that's why we are telling you now...
And we would just add:
Isn't it about time that the city council put its own house in order FIRST?

HEY, WE HAVE AN EXCLUSIVE PICTURE OF JAYNE CASEY AND HER £25,000 BED! YOU JUDGE IF THE CULTURE COMPANY HAS SPENT TAXPAYERS MONEY WISELY...

At St George's Hall, Jayne Casey in action on the £25,000 bed (is this what's known as a foursome then? ed) and above right in an earlier, presumably less profitable, incarnation...

Question: How much did it cost the Culture Company to get Jayne Casey into bed for the night? Answer: £25,000 (apparently)

FRANKIE SAYS LET'S ALL GO TO HOLLYWOOD AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.... said...

hey Tony, guess how much Jayne Casey was paid by the Culture Company to loll about on a bed for the night?
A cool £25 grand!!!!
You will remember that Jayne, once of the pop group, Big in Japan and now of The A Foundation and the 'Independents District' and a well known extremely gobby scouser who is also a bit loopy, was one of the, ahem, 'stars of the show' when the Culture Company launched its programme for 2008 in St Georges Hall?
This was when they spent a huge amount of money, God knows exactly how much on balloons, glitter and free nosh and booze for the invited guests including a number of leading Lib Dem councillors of course who were quick to get their noses in the trough.
But it is now common knowledge in the Culture Company that they paid Ms Casey an astonishing £25 grand to turn-up and do her stuff.
She was apparently one of the self-styled 'artistes' they hired to entertain the hoi polloi during the night.
Jayne's artistic contribution to the event's festivities took place in St George's Hall's small ballroom which was got up like a bordello, all crimson satin, lace and feathers and a huge bed.
She proceeded to invite passers by to join her on th bed. Not sure how many took her up on this, however.
This was all to do with some film she was promoting, but it was completely lost on me. And it seemed to me that harbarrowboy was desperate to have the self-appointed 'independents' on board for the launch.

so he probably reckoned £25 grand was cheap to make sure Jayne didn't go all gobby over culture and have a go.

not that jayne could be bought off by anyone, oh no.

hope this isn't too libellous for you Tone, but i thought people should know who and what their public money is being spent on when the council are making 50 million quids worth of cuts in services. No doubt even more money has been equally well spent...

Thursday, February 15, 2007 11:03:00 AM

In a spin over summer pops....

AND AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY THERE HAVE BEEN SO MANY FREE PUFFS FOR THE ARENA IN THE ECHO AND THE POST IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS....

Jane said...
Guess who the spin doctor for the new arena is Tony?
None other than your old friend Jon Brown, who worked so assiduously on behalf of Chas at the infamous lobbying meeting with the Harbarrowboy, way back when the evil cabal website was running rampant.
Dunno whether Brown had to formally tender for the job, or how much it was worth, but he was an obvious shoe-in being so close and friendly to Chas, I would have thought.
Makes it much easier for Chas for them both to have the same PR person, when he brings back the Pops at the arena next year.
And won't that be hunky dory for everyone then?
Lots of loverly cash...

Monday, February 12, 2007 11:48:00 PM

Another interesting contribution about the Summer Pops. (also gives us a great excuse to use this picture again...)

Fair play said...

vis-a-vis the summer pops and halsall's mate chas...

why was it that six weeks ago at an entirely different meeting, the harbarrowboy and his american accomplice kris donalson were telling anyone who would listen that if chas didn't get the Pops then no-one would.

and that he was the best person to do it again in 2008.

what did they know and when?

and i thought these decisions were made by councillors?

what a stitch up, aided and abetted incidentally by your mates at the daily post who swallowed a briefing from the council and chas cole, hook line and sinker. portraying him as a great benefactor for giving us the pops for the last six years (how much did he make?) and again trotting out the line that his was the best tender!

it is literally unbelievable.

aside from the two press releases that were sent out on this, halsall was very active in talking to journalists....

Sunday, February 11, 2007 6:58:00 PM

good conspiracy theory...

tom said...
im surprised that you have not said this before, but the cuts crisis is all part of the smiling assasin halsall's revenge.
as you have rightfully said already he has been in charge of the council's finances for the last six years so any crisis with cuts is his responsibility.
except what is going to happen to him? nothing. they cant touch him for it. this he knows.
so he haS gone out of his way to manufacture this financial cock-up firstly to embarrass warren bradley, who the assassin loathes, ands then secondly once this has all sunk in, halsall will ride to the rescue with a balanced budget showing bradley how indispensable he is
and how he can dig the lib dems out of a financial hole at any time. or put them in one. simple really.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007 9:58:00 PM

WILL THE SECRET TAPES TOPPLE BRADLEY, STOREY AND CLARK?

ASTONISHING but persistent rumours are sweeping the city about secret tapes which reveal the inside story of the campaign against Henshaw's evil cabal.
The series of tapes are rumoured to heavily incriminate current council leader Warren Bradley, (below left, on the phone interestingly enough, ed) former leader Mike Storey (centre) and the city's first citizen in 2008, Councillor Paul Clark (right)
The gang of three are all said to feature in the secret tape recordings (wow, shades of Watergate, ed) of phone conversations they made between April 2005 and September last year. Then they suddenly stop, for some reason.


The city's chattering classes have been agog in recent weeks with feverish and growing speculation about what the tapes contain - and when, and if, they will ever be made public.
But according to one informed source, the tapes allegedly provide the inside story on council leader Warren Bradley's role against Henshaw's evil cabal.
It's claimed the tapes show how Bradley was secretly involved in bringing evidence against Sir Diddy's rottweiller, Dr David McElhinney, who is still on the council's payroll.
At one point Bradley is alleged to have been taped confirming that all of the allegations on Tony Parrish's legendary liverpool evil cabal blog were true.
He then goes on to say McElhinney "should be in Walton Jail" for the crimes he has committed and the theft of millions of pounds from council taxpayers. (good for him then, ed)
But unfortunately, any publication or broadcast of the tapes would inevitably mean a full-scale investigation by the Standards Board which governs the conduct of councillors in England and Wales.
They would also raise the question of Bradley's actions as leader of the council, his relationships with senior council staff and also bring into question his personal behaviour.
The tapes would also beg the question of why he has done nothing to remove McElhinney or his accomplice, the smiling assassin, Halsall from their lucrative sinecures with the city.
Insiders believe that the tapes are potentially so explosive and so damaging they would inevitably spell the end of Bradley's short tenure as Lib Dem leader.
They would also raise questions about why Bradley sacrificed the city's best interests for a quite life at the Municipal Buildings and condoned the loss of millions of pounds in public money.
(This at a time when the council is now planning massive cuts, ed)
Observers say if the tape rumours are true, Bradley would have to resign.
A similar resignation fate could also befall Storey, whose political career would be dealt a fatal blow by a second appearance before the Standards Board.
Rumour has it that on the secret tapes he tells the full story of his battles with Henshaw and his attempts to bring McElhinney and Halsall to justice (what's so wrong with that, then? ed)
Publication would again underline Storey's helplessness and weakness as a politician and his failure to force new chief executive Colin 'Cover Up' Hilton to take any action.
Storey is also said to be remarkably indiscreet about some of his senior council colleagues on the Executive Board and Hilton, as well as giving the shocking low-down on the appointment of Culture Company chief executive Jason The Harbarrowboy (bloody hell, I can't wait for this! ed)
The role of Councillor Clark, a barrister, and a close colleague of Bradley and Storey is just as interesting.
According to one astounding rumour, Clark, who is due to be Lord Mayor in 2008, could face action from the Law Society as a result of what the tapes reveal.
At one point Clark is also rumoured to have admitted, in a damning indictment of the Lib Dem regime at the Town Hall: "We couldn't run a piss-up in a brewery."
The tapes are said to be 'absolutely lethal and political dynamite'.


We await further developments with great interest....
(Can we quickly sort out how to broadcast audio on this blog? ed)

LIVERPOOL'S 800TH BIRTHDAY FIREWORKS - LET'S ALL GO OUT TO DINNER, SHALL WE?

LIVERPOOL'S firework display to celebrate the city's 800th birthday is set to be a damp squib.

Why, we can hear you speculating...?

1) Because firework displays are a tired old cliche, usually trotted out by lame brains with no better ideas?
or
2) Because, (typically, ed) 'Jase' and the Culture Company dickheads didn't consult anyone about their great display until after they had officially announced the plans?
or
3) Because the dolts at the Culture Company forgot that it doesn't get dark until quite late actually, in summer?
or
4) Because the city's little kids will all be safely tucked up in bed and fast asleep when this firework display finally starts? (shurely shome mistake here, ed)
or
5) Because it will be way past the bed time of the city's grannies?
or
6) Because even the city council have called for it to be scrapped?
or
7) Because the display won't be a patch on London's spectacular New Year's Eve celebrations which lit up the Thames?
or
8) Because (typically, ed) the Culture Company have hyped it all up to be the 'biggest in Europe' when it will be lucky to be the biggest in the North West?
or
9) Because having a fireworks display on August 28th is generally a pretty unimpressive way in which to celebrate the historical significance of Liverpool's 8ooth birthday, fails to take account of the practical difficulties, demonstrates a spectacular lack of originality and dearth of ideas but which the Echo will nevertheless, no doubt hail as a major triumph for Liverpool's world renowned cultural offer. (knoworrameanlike, ed)
No, the firework display will be a damp squib for none of these reasons, especially.
(Although all of them are individually and collectively true, obviously, ed)
The main reason that the firework display will be a damp squib will be because the mastermind behind this incredibly unoriginal idea will not even be in Liverpool to witness his handiwork backfire!
That's right.
Colleagues say that former council leader Mike Storey will be away at his usual six-week-long family holiday in France.
(Are you sure he is not going away because he is frightened of all the noise that those bangers will make? He has never been renowned before for his personal courage, has he? ed)
Storey's absence makes his defence of his own idea for the summer fireworks all the more bizarre, some would say hypocritical.
Here it is, from the Echo:

Cllr Mike Storey, who is overseeing the city’s birthday celebrations, is happy with the arrangements. (oh, that's all right then, ed)

He said: “In terms of the light, the event takes place two months after mid-summer so it should not be a problem. (we'll see, ed)

“Firework displays are always difficult in the winter, but in the warmer summer climate we will not need to worry about fireworks blowing over or the event being called off. (is that a promise then? ed)

“We are expecting a massive turnout (where? ed) and plan a wonderful night when people can go out for a meal and then take in the display later in the evening. (you what??????????Are you paying then, Mike?????! And for those of us who can't afford to dine out on August 28th? I know, why don't we all pop around to yours for a barbie and you can treat us to some of those truffles, foie gras and that excellent cabernet you brought back from France last time? Oh, I forgot, you won't be home in time, will you? ed)

“There is no better way to celebrate Liverpool’s birthday than a spectacular event for Liverpudlians, visitors and a huge television audience.” (yes there is - you just couldn't be arsed to come up with something suitable and because the talentless mob you have put in charge of Culture haven't got any original ideas. And just how huge will this vast television late-night audience be then? Just those anoraks like me who watch the late night North West headlines on the Beeb? ed)

We shall leave the final word to Councillor Tina Gould, who, surprisingly, spoke sound common sense when her committee called for the whole idea to be scrapped.

“We felt fireworks have been done to death and something with a lasting legacy could be arranged with the same money. It is billed as being the biggest display in Europe, but having seen the New Year event in London, I do not think it will be."

MARK MY WORDS! Daily Post gets a new Editor

CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Thomas on being appointed as new editor of the Liverpool Daily Post.
Thomas is that rarity in the Merseyside media world - a journalist who is serious about his trade and genuinely cares about the future of Liverpool and the way that it is governed.
He is also rare amongst his fellow Liverpool scribes in actually being interested in what goes on (or doesn't, ed) in the corridors of power and trying to cover it in his paper!
Thomas it was, in May 2005, who first published the exclusive details of evil Henshaw's threats to the then leader of the council, Mike Storey.
From that point on Henshaw's attempted coup d'etat was doomed to failure.
Having become public knowledge thanks to some judicous and well-informed leaking to the Post by at least one council employee, the diddy dictator's days were well and truly numbered (well done, all concerned, ed).
Of course, ever since then, the Post has consistently put the Echo to shame with its revelations about the evilcabal and the goings on at the Town Hall.
Thomas has never been any fan of Henshaw's personal style of bullying, threats and intimidation and has been well aware of all the sordid, ugly tactics used by the cabalists.
His personal views are well known, even if he has been constrained from expressing them in the pages of the Post.
But he has ensured that the Post keep tabs on it all - and maintains an informed and knowledgeable perspective.
We will, of course, hammer the life out of him if he seeks to take the Daily Post downmarket to keep the Echo company.
Or if he gives up the Posts's interest in the city council and Culture Company.
We will also take him apart if the Post's sponsorship deal with the Culture Company stops it exposing the failings of 2008. Which is a concern of journalists.
But somehow we don't think that will happen. Given the restrictions Thomas has to work within, we think the Post is in good hands.

AN INTERESTING COMMENT ABOUT SIR DAVID HENSHAW WHICH DESERVES A WIDER AUDIENCE....

Anonymous said...
to get serious for a minute...you should know that Sir Diddy has run as fast as his little legs will carry him to his solicitors, following the post on the henshaw evil cabal blog about the Guardian lecture. he is threatening writs, libel actions, injunctions, judiucial reviews and all kinds of other legal jiggery pokery to again try and close the blog down. his solicitors are brabners again. This has all come from a colleague of his wife (who is herself a nice person, given who she lives with). Sir Diddy is also apparently in regular contact with Mceilhenny and halsall and the three of them met for dinner before xmas at a hotel in Cheshire - but i doubt whether Diddy paid! One bizarre thing - he has also been talking to the cops to see if he can persuade them to do something. he says he is being persecuted! The irony of it! He is really worried about the Guardian lecture and whether anyone is going to take the piss out of him publicly in front of the great and the good and has seriously talked to someone from the guardian about improving security or pulling out! christ knows who he thinks he is. but his solicitors have advised him to carry on. He is apparently furious at Finnegan and the Tony Parrish campaign, which appears to have had a big impact at westminster amongst labour mps and in other local councils. according to the girls, henshaw is afraid that he is now regarded as being completely persona non grata and worries constantly about important people snubbing him. which must be true!
but the best news is this - they are talking about leaving liverpool and moving somewhere else! hurrah!
anyway, watch out for the lawyers lads - even though he is full of the usual bluster, you never know what he will do when he gets in a tizz. and he has got the money. will try to keep you up-dated on any other developments...

Thursday, January 11, 2007 2:34:00 PM

The Harbarrowboy - future MP or first elected Mayor ?

Are you sitting down?

Then please prepare yourself for a nasty shock....
Word reaches us that Jason Harbarrowboy, aka as the Chief Executive of Nothing, harbours strong political ambitions!
(Pass the smelling salts, someone! ed)
It appears that 'Jase' - for this is the nomenclature which he apparently favours - is already putting in place his bid for power, post 2008.
Those in the know say that the Harbarrowboy has specifically enlisted the support of a London-based Public Affairs agency, LLM Communications in his campaign.
Although LLM have had no noticeably favourable impact on Liverpool's standing in Westminster (didn't the Government tell the council to go away in short jerky movements when Bradley held out his begging bowl for £8million quid for extra 2008 bobbies? ed), it seems that 'Jase' has availed himself of their 'strategic political advice.'
It is alleged that the Harbarrowboy is old friends with one of LLM's Directors and the pair have been masterminding his bid to rule the world for the last 12 months.
The Harbarrowboy is now said to be eyeing up potential seats all over the country while cosying up big time to the movers and shakers in Westminster.
Apparently those of, shall we say, a 'long in the tooth' disposition are the MP's who are being specifically targetted by the Harbarrowboy who wishes to be viewed as an anointed successor.
(This is known as ambulance-chasing in the trade, ed)
However, there are several things that are not known about this unexpected development:

1) How much LLM are being paid by the people of Liverpool for their services?

2) Whether LLM were appointed in accordance with the council's strict procurement rules and regulations?

3) Whether the Harbarrowboy used the Culture Company's confused status as a separate entity to avoid the rules and simply phoned up his mates in London and offered them the gig?

4) Whether any relationships or conflicts of interests have been declared by anyone?

5) Whether any councillors have had any involvement in this murky matter?

6) Whether this is another example of Harbarrowboy's lobbying for a private company (shades of CMP and the Summer Pops again, ed).

The most important, intriguing and baffling question of all is this, however:

"Which political party will the Harbarrowboy be representing?"

Or more likely "Who the **** will admit the Harbarrowboy to their ranks?"

• Cameron's new-look Conservatives? (Jase is a bit vulgar for the old Etonian, methinks, ed)

• Gormless Gordon's charisma-free administration, post Blair? (Anything's possible I suppose and interestingly, LLM are said to be connected to certain Labour establishment figures, ed)

• 

• Or Ming's meandering middle of the roaders ? (I would have thought our old friend Councillor Storey might have had some strong representations to make to Ming. And anyway Ming won't last the year as Leader, ed)
  

• 
  

Perhaps, in reality, (some mistake here, surely? ed) 'Jase' believes that 2008 will be such a triumph that he will be carried shoulder high by a grateful populace to the door of the Town Hall where the good burghers of the city will have stumped up enough cash and goodwill to enable him to stand as an Independent?

Or maybe 'Jase' secretly fancies his chances of riding the crest of a tsunami of popularity to become the first elected Mayor of Liverpool? (ohmygawd! ed)

Remember, you read it here first....Oh, what interesting times we do live in.

Editor's note: Readers of this particular posting are now advised to go and lie down in a darkened room for several hours while pressing a cold compress to their tortured brows.

WHAT A SWELL PARTY THIS IS....

Who = Liverpool Direct Christmas Party
what = Rip off the public and sweeten up the staff
where = Adelphi Hotel
when = 15th December 2006
why = Coz they can
Comments = Starts 7pm, Macca will be there and his hench men and women withquite a lot of blonde women??
Hot and Cold Buffet
Top prizes to be won, e.g. Shower accessories, Boxing gloves, signed photograph of the EVIL CABAL.
Come along on the night to see where your council tax money goes?
contact = Rottweiller industries, Swiss Bank account number 4532896456

CHRISTMAS TRIP TO COLOGNE

We hear that the venerable Lady Doreen Jones is off with her Planning Committee on a fact-finding trip to Liverpool's twin city of Cologne within the next few days.
Not sure exactly what facts need to be found in Cologne, but since we are a European Capital of Culture in just over a year, presumably some members of the council have carte blanche to travel all over Europe investigating things.
By complete co-incidence, Cologne's internationally famous Christmas market will be open when the Liverpool delegation arrive in Germany, so it won't all be work. They may well be able to pick up one or two festive treats.
Makes it all seem worthwhile, somehow.

Colin 'Cover Up' tells a tall Storey

WORD reaches us that Colin 'Cover Up' has found a new excuse for failing to take action against the evil cabal.
Seems the new £200,000 a year chief executive is blaming former Council Leader, Mike Storey for his 'do nothing' approach.
Hilton is telling anyone who will listen that he could not take action against the rottweiller McElhinney or the smiling assassin Halsall, because to do so would implicate Storey.
(Eh? ed)
Colin 'Cover Up' reckons he has been powerless to bring the cabalists to justice because Storey is a mate of new leader Warren Bradley.
(I am still not following this, ed)
He claims that bringing the McElhinney/Halsall pair of robbers to book would have also brought Storey down.
(How much further down could he go then? ed)
Hilton says they were only allowed to perform their nefarious deeds while Storey was Leader of the council and therefore he would be held responsible if they were brought to justice.
(What about Henshaw then? ed)
Good question. Colin Cover Up seems to have forgotten that Sir Diddy was the evil mastermind behind the cabal and all their wrong-doings, robbery, coup d'etats, theft, blackmail, lies, deceit, threatening behaviour, etc, etc.... (insert any other relevant crime or misdemeanour, ed)
So Hilton is apparently seriously asking other councillors to let him off the hook for his failure, because actually, he is only acting in the interests of the former Leader!
Any thought of holding Henshaw publicly to account for the waste of millions of pounds in public money and the disgraceful abuse of power wielded by the cabal, seems to have escaped the new chief executive's £200,000 a year mind.
(Can't think why, ed)

THE THIEVING ROTTWEILLER MCELHINNEY'S LUXURY SHOWER: THE COVER-UP CONTINUES....

THE city council continue to treat taxpayers with contempt as they try to cover up the rottweiller McElhinney's misuse of public money.

Consider this question which Tony Parrish sent to the city council last month under the Freedom of Information Act.

What was the cost of the shower facility installed at LDL in Venture Place for the use of the LDL Chief Executive?

This is the council's full reply. We couldn't resist adding our own comments.

ANSWER:

A shower was not installed at Venture Place for use by the Chief Executive of LDL. (oh aye? ed)

The installation of the shower was carried out as part of works being carried out on the third floor of Venture Place, specifically installation of a toilet for visitors attending at the offices. (Our emphasis. What they are trying to do now, is cover up the cost of the shower amongst other necessary works which were carried out - it's a simple sleight of hand which the hated McElhinney has repeatedly used to disguise the full cost of some of his favourite little projects. In other words, the council are now claiming that the shower was installed on the third floor because they needed to provide toilet facilities! Must remember to have a shower next time we take a leak, too. Of course, the third floor, by complete co-incidence, is the same floor as McElhinney's office.)

The council's answer continues:

Venture Place, was the only main city centre building without a shower facility although being staffed twenty four hours a day. (So what they are asking you to believe now is that a shower was installed NOT for the chief executive so that he could go on his little mid-day runs, but because visitors to the office might need to take a shower.
Do they think the people of Liverpool are mad?
We can well understand that many visitors to Liverpool Direct Limited might actually need to take a shower AFTER they have met McElhinney, but that is an entirely different matter. (Most of the staff would want to go through a fumigation unit too after they had spent any time in McElhinney's presence, but there is no suggestion that a fumigation unit is going to be built specifically for them, is there?)
The city council are apparently seriously claiming that a shower needs to be built for staff because the building is staffed 24 hours a day! Why?
Think about it for a minute - no one is working 24 hours a day, they all work normal eight hour shifts, so why should they need to take a shower?
Do they not come to work clean? Do they get so very dirty and sweaty answering the phone?
Does any other office worker in Liverpool who is working a normal eight hour shift need to take a shower?
So why does one need to be built here then?
Especially when there are perfectly acceptable public showers in the gym at Millennium House, round the corner?
Answer: because McElhinney wanted one for his own personal use after his mid-day run.)

The council's answer ends:

The cost of the shower was £2,310 (Was it bollocks! They have buried the cost of the shower in the cost of the other works they had to carry out. They are simply lying. So much for integrity.)

We are sorry to spend so much time on the small matter of a shower for the LDL chief executive, but it is important for a number of reasons.
It shows that McElhinney continues to abuse his power, position and public money.
It shows that the city council is fully prepared to cover-up for him.
Worse than covering-up, they are also prepared to treat the people of Liverpool with utter contempt and breathtaking arrogance in asking them to swallow this utter fabrication of a story.
It would not be a credible response even for Walter Mitty.
And chief executive Colin Hilton says he is concerned about the city council's ethics? Yet he is prepared to approve flagrantly dishonest answers like this? Don't make us laugh!

Colin 'Cover Up' blunders over "whinging" email

New chief executive Colin 'Cover Up' Hilton has been left red-faced after a blunder with his emails.
Given what has gone before, you might have expected the new £200,000 a year chief executive to have been a bit careful about what he wrote on his computer (you never know and I wouldn't want to alarm anyone unduly, but it would not be beyond the bounds of remote possibility for that thieving rottweiller, Dr McElhinney to have "persuaded" his IT chaps to let him secretly read any council employee's private emails when he was relaxing after taking a shower in his evil lair in MisAdventure Place, ed)
But not a bit of it.
And now Cover Up has been forced to make a grovelling public apology to Labour Councillor Rose Bailey for describing her as a 'whinger' in a confidential email to council leader Warren Bradley and Lib Dem Councillor Marilyn Fielding (the rottweiller's poodle, co-incidentally, ed).
The blunder begins after Fielding was given a good going over by Labour at the last full council meeting for missing a vital public meeting in Croxteth over anti-social behaviour.
The opposition had merrilly pointed out that Fielding's absence from such an important meeting was at odds with her repeated public protests against anti-social behaviour (in other words, they were calling her a hypocrite, ed)
Fielding (left) was clearly wounded by this attack and dashed off an email to her leader Bradley and chief exec Hilton the following morning, complaining that she had been left in the lurch and not given proper information about the meeting (blaming someone else as usual, ed).
Whereupon the mighty chief executive decided to reply in terms which were not exactly impartial, lambasting Labour Councillor Bailey as being a 'whinger'.
Unfortunately he compounded his error with another - he stupidly copied the email to Councillor Bailey as well as Bradley and Fielding!(he would be dangerous if he had sense, ed)
Uproar ensued in the Municipal Buildings with minions running all over the place, overturning tables and files, in a desperate attempt to try to retrieve the errant email.
Too late, it arrived safely in front of Labour Councillor Rose Bailey, who was to say the least, a bit perturbed at the chief exec's unfortunate language and lack of political impartiality.
Hilton then had to hang his head in shame like a naughty schoolboy as he received a huge dressing down from Labour leader Joe Anderson.
Then he had to make a monumental apology to Councillor Bailey.
One insider said: "He got off very lightly with just saying sorry. It brought him down a peg or two to say the least. And at least he knows how Mike Storey felt when his emails got into the wrong hands! On this occasion it wasn't a sacking matter, but Hilton might not be so lucky next time!"

THE BALD LEGAL EAGLE AND HIS HUNT FOR OUR HERO

It seems that the city council's forlorn and rather pathetic search for the first ever Tony Parrish is continuing.
Acting City Solicitor Michael Kenworthy has stepped forward for the role of Private Dick as chief aide to Inspector Clueless, Councillor Marbrow.
Kenworthy, fresh from his historic High Court defeat in the Battle of Edge Lane, is leaving no stone unturned in the bid to track down our hero, apparently.
Emails are being scanned, documents examined, files opened, computers logged, councillors questioned and staff hilariously entertained.
Inspector Clueless has been recruited as chief IT expert and fount of all knowledge on all matters technical (shurely some mistake? ed)
Councillors are also being questioned by Kenworthy about what they know and who they know it about (this should be an interesting exchange, ed)
It seems the bald legal eagle Kenworthy has vowed that he will not be happy until he has alighted on his quarry.
"It is my raison d'etre" he opined, to one startled member of staff.
Puffing himself up to his full height of 5'8", Kenworthy jowels reddened with rage as he stamped his feet and accused our hero TP of "making defamatory statements about my staff."
Which leaves us all scratching our heads a bit.
Who appointed Kenworthy as the council's Private Dick?
Which council staff were maligned in such a terrible way?
Surely it can't have been
1) Sir Diddy? (a greedy blackmailer, ed)
2) The rottweiller McElhinney? (a lying thief, ed)
3) The smiling assasin Halsall? (nuff said, ed)
Perhaps it was the council's Head of Internal Audit, Gerry Callaghan, whose integrity shattered in pieces when he snitched to Halsall about the dosssier of evidence against McElhinney. (I thought he had finally retired? ed)
So if not them - and the city council would be a bit madder than usual to defend these cabalists after the £520million KPMG report - then who? And for what? All TP's allegations were true!
Incidentally, our hero is safe and well in a secure house across the water where he is being fed grapes and having his every whim catered for by an army of admiring bloggers.
Perhaps the bald legal eagle thinks he will succeed City Solicitor Grame Creer if he can apprehend the first Tony Parrish?
In which case, his chances of promotion appear exceedingly remote.
In the meantime, we are sure he can have lots of fun in his one-man crusade - it sure beats the hell out of getting whupped by grandmothers in the High Court, doesn't it?

ROGER DODGES CULTURE'S POISONED CHALICE!

WORD on the streets is that Roger 'voice of the people' Phillips has turned down an offer to become Liverpool's cultural Ambassador.
The BBC Radio Merseyside presenter was offered the poisoned chalice by the Harbarrowboy.
'Jase' had been given the go-ahead by Councillors Bradley and Storey after the hoo-hah following Robbing's departure.
But Phillips sensibly said 'no', astutely realising that he would be on a hiding to nothing if he succumbed to the Culture Company's blandishments. (He means public money, ed)
One BBC colleague said: "He was very flattered to be asked, but decided the role was just not right for him.
"After the departure of Robbing Archer, the Culture Company clearly need someone who can be the front man for Culture and who will be trusted by the public.
"Roger fitted the bill perfectly, is very loyal to Liverpool and has no ego whatsoever, which would have been a nice change from all that has gone before.
"But it would have compromised his own editorial independence and caused Auntie Beeb some real problems too."
Both Bradley and Storey were known to be very keen on the trusted Phillips, whose long-standing connections with the Everyman and Playhouse gave him extra cultural credibility.
Bradley, it is believed, had earlier blocked suggestions from the Harbarrowboy that the Cultural Ambassador should be none other than Phil Redmond, lugubrious millionaire ex-boss of Brookside and 'mastermind' behind the preposterous plan for Liverpool to become Capital of Christmas (and an alleged mate of Sir Diddy's, ed).

(A lengthy editorial aside now follows: if anyone else has any other alliterative ideas for Liverpool to become Capital of anything else, can you please forget them and go back to the drawing board? The last thing we want for the next five years is for Liverpool to become Capital of Karaoke, Capital of Car Jacking, Capital of Cream Crackers or Capital of Cobblers (well we might make an exception with that one). Such ideas may well excite the Echo, but they really belong on the cutting room floor of a third rate public relations agency. Now where were we? ed)

Bradley believed Redmond would only use the position to soften up the ground for his bid to become elected Mayor of Liverpoool, post 2008.
So he wasn't going to let that happen.
Now that Roger Phillips has wisely spurned the Culture Company, it's not clear whether the Harbarrowboy will continue to pursue his hunt for another Cultural Ambassador to 'front' the whole show.
Perhaps we will see a glorious repeat of the disastrous Bet Lynch appointment?
Nominations for Ambassador anyone?

IS FLO FLYING THE NEST?

STRONG rumour in the city has it that Flo Clucas, the Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Europe, is preparing to cross the floor to Labour.
The veteran Lib Dem had her nose pushed out earlier this year when she was well beaten into third place in the election of a new leader, after Storey took a powder.
There is no love lost between new leader Warren Bradley and Councillor Clucas, who was, of course, one of Henshaw's biggest fans in the days of the evil cabal.
Henshaw deliberately courted her as a rival power base to Storey and when Sir Diddy delivered his blackmail note to the city, she failed to rally round her Leader.
Then she proceeded to swan around Europe slagging Storey off, according to Labour Euro MP's.
Quite how she would get on in the Labour group if she crossed the floor, is anyone's guess.
Some would see it as a cynical last-ditch attempt by her to get her hands on power before the Lib Dems are booted out.
Others would see it as an egomaniac's last throw of the dice.
Others would see it as complete madness.
The Lib Dems have been busily rubbishing these rumours of defection, but a wise counsellor says caution should be exercised before anyone completely dismisses the idea.
Intriguing....