Brian Coleman: Paying half the rent of the single mum he berated
I don’t want to be seen hounding Barnet and London Assembly Brian Coleman on this website but his latest outburst takes more than the biscuit. The man who takes £128,000 from the taxpayer in council allowances – he’s probably about the third highest paid councillor now – has recently berated a desperate single mum with a six-year-old son for complaining that she is facing a £150 a month rent rise to £1100 a month.
She wrote to him for advice as she said ” out of desperation in the hope that someone can offer me guidance”. Mr Coleman was unsympathetic to say the least. Ms Sharada Osman wrote back surprised at his lack of empathy.
Mr Coleman told her ” I am afraid you have to live in the real world where the country has no money and residents will have to deal with their own issues rather than expecting ” the system” to sort their lives out.”
What Mr Coleman did not tell her was that he was living in a subsidised flat, courtesy of the Finchley Methodist Church charity, where he doesn’t even have the responsibility of painting his windows.
His rent is £546 a month – half that of Ms Osman. In the real world – the rest of the road-people are paying £1100 a month, according to local estate agents.
Don’t believe me. Well his fair rent agreement is a public document obtainable on-line from the Valuation Office Agency. Search Electronic Rent Register and put in N3 1ND and you can read for yourself and even print your own personal copy.
Then I might suggest – as Mr Coleman seems finally to have got over his technophobia and can use e-mail, send him a e-mail about what you think about it. His work e-mails are
Westminster Confidential 
This is only the icing on a massively big cake of hypocrisy and greed on the part of Mr Coleman. As a Barnet resident I have to put up with his megalomaniac rulings like having to pay by mobile phone to park (he’s taking away the pay meters), selling off playing fields, removing any/all speed restrictions, paying his massive taxi bill, oh not to mention presiding over bankrupting the London Fire Service…. and the MetPro debacle – a private security firm sans contract who were enlisted to prevent residents attending the passing of the massive Barnet cuts and outsourcing of services. He is a self-serving elected representative and is, in my view, extremely worrying.
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Spot on again. Thanks for your hard work.
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Left/right/liberal/conservative/labour all cut from the same cloth. They want to control you and take your money, These people are rulers not leaders. Democracy is tyranny without liberty. Freedom from.
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I doubt he’s ever had to worry about how to pay his rent in his life!
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As a part-time student, Ms Osman gets housing benefit for the majority of the existing rent but she still needs to find £100 to cover the shortfall
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/money/2011/10/19/generation-rent-faces-crisis-as-there-are-not-enough-properties-and-fewer-mortgages-available-115875-23497925/#ixzz1bhTll3GT
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It looks like Ms Osman likes having her cake and eat it. If her HB cannot fund her rent, then move to somewhere cheaper. It’s not exactly rocket science. Also everyone should have an “emergency fund” set aside for rainy days. I cannot imagine any 39 year old that doesn’t have a spare 2,300 for unexpected expenditures. That is unthinkable. Anything can happen so one always needs some funds set aside. Again not exactly rocket science. Lastly, I have a full time job, but common sense dictates that I live by my means, hence if I were her I would NOT be living in a 2 bed maisonette.
Maybe it’s time Ms Osman started being more sensible with money.
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