Who is not at work today?

Thursday 1 October. H&F council staff will be looking around to see which of their colleagues is not at work today because they refused to tear up their terms and conditions (see previous hfconwatch blogs).

Another fine example of Tory rule in H&F which will no doubt be showcased at the Conservative Party conference next week as an example of things to come for all public service workers.

King Street consultation omits key details

Tory H&F council has announced a three day consultation in October for one of the biggest developments in the borough - the so-called King Street 'facelift' replacing the ugly town hall extension.

However the Tory propaganda announcing the consultation on 15-17 October fails to mention the controversial elements of the development. There is no reference to the demolition of the Thomas Pocklington Trust housing for blind people; there is no mention of the loss of the Virgin Cinema; and there is no mention of the promised Waitrose which may mean that the Tories have done a deal with Tesco.

Have your say next month before it's too late. But make sure H&F council tells you the whole story first.

H&F council on telly again

Notorious H&F council made another appearance on BBC London news last night. This time the Tories were exposed for their plans to redevelop the West Kensington estate with local residents up in arms about the council's shenanigans.

No doubt more coverage of H&F council will follow when the BBC catches up with the planning farce concerning a housing development south of the Goldhawk Road. The Tories granted it permission despite vigorous opposition by local residents and the fact that it will lead to the eviction of internationally renowned local businesses including Innocent Drinks, makers of smoothies.

Council staff given jobs ultimatum

Hundreds of H&F council staff have been told they have less than one week to accept new terms and conditions or lose their job.

The council claims that 94% of staff have signed an acceptance form - see previous hfconwatch blogs - after much cajoling.

The remainder have been told that if they do not accept by 5pm on Wednesday 30 September, their service with the Tory council will end that day and they should not come to work on 1 October.

You can fool some of the people some of the time...

As previously reported, George Osborne and other national Tories say that to understand how a Conservative Government might behave you need to look at councils like Tory H&F.

When Channel 4 News reported this recently, H&F Tories gave two examples of why this was the case: the Westfield shopping centre and the new Shepherds Bush library.

All very strange because both of those achievements were negotiated and started by the last Labour council. The Tories obviously couldn't think of anything that they'd actually done themselves.

Unfortunately Channel 4 News was hoodwinked into broadcasting those examples as proof of Tory efficiency and commitment to value. You can fool some of the people...

H&F out done by Tory rivals

H&F council is in danger of being outshone by other Tory councils in the run-up to the party conference season.

With national Tories saying they want to emulate Conservative councils, we can expect massive spending cuts, asset stripping and hikes in service charges if a Tory government was elected.

All this has happened in H&F. But now other Tory councils are getting high profile recognition for their indiscriminate cuts - not least 'easycouncil' in Barnet.

Perhaps H&F Tories aren't flavour of the month after all.