You see, Liverpool CC has received two stars out of four from the Audit Commission for 2008, along with the judgment that as a council it is ‘improving well’ and is no longer ‘the worst financially performing city council’. While this rating still leaves LCC in the bottom 20 per cent of the UK’s councils, it’s a distinct improvement on the slamming it received last year.

Housing, funding and governance were in the firing line for 2007′s Comprehensive Performance Assessment, whereas the number of people quitting smoking (it seems my efforts count for nothing) and recycling are the only areas highlighted in this year’s report as under par.

In fact, the report is fairly glowing, and includes this pleasing passage.

More young people are gaining GCSE qualifications, crime levels have fallen, more people are being helped to get jobs and recycling has increased. Improvements to services for older people have been made. The Capital of Culture has had a positive impact on the city, particularly the local economy. Services are easily accessible and neighbourhood working is having an impact.

The Council has a strong focus on continuing improvement. There are clear priorities for improvement and the Council is working well with partners to develop long-term plans up to 2024.

The Council has improved its corporate governance and financial management arrangements. The Council provides adequate value for money and is strengthening its arrangements to secure continuous improvements in cost and quality.

It’s not all good news: there seems to be a lot of work to be done on housing and ‘use of resources’.

But on the day when the council also announced a rethink on plans to introduce parking charges in the city at night-time and old enemy Jason Harborow – who has managed to hover over the city like Banquo’s Ghost over the last year – finally landed himself another job, Warren Bradley must be fairly pleased with himself.

Bradley received a qualified clean sheet last week by an investigation – which called him ‘naive’, ‘unwise’ and showing ‘a lack of good judgement’ – into whether he conspired with Deputy Mayor Mike Storey to bully Culture Company boss Jason Harborow out of his job and make him a scapegoat for the failed Mathew Street Festival.

In the email Bradley reveals that he nearly quit during the investigation and, in time-honoured fashion, takes a pot-shot at the media for its ‘vitriolic’ coverage.

In even more time-honoured fashion – for Liverpool City Council anyway – the email was subsequently leaked, though it is not clear whether by friend or by foe. After the last two years Bradley probably doesn’t know which is which anyway.

Anyway, I’m sure Bradley will see the funny side – it was a leaked email that kicked off the last 18 months’ worth of nonsense.

Although quite what was so vitriolic about press coverage, apart from pointing out that Bradley had been stupid to host a clandestine meeting with a former council employee who was in the process of suing the council, is debatable – barring the decidedly damning host of blogs that sprung up around the original Evil Cabal website.

Nevertheless, some of the coverage is almost valedictory: ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’, says Dale Street Blues. I’m not sure I agree. As the Standards Board report notes, Bradley may have damaged his reputation with the Harborow affair.

It seemed clear that as of last year’s elections his star wasn’t exactly riding high, after a desperate marriage of convenience was required to keep the Lib Dems in power. After this affair Bradley may limp along for another year of absurd photo opportunities, but the sharks will be circling.

From: Bradley, Warren (Leader of the City Council)
Sent: 05 February 2009 13:34
Subject: PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL – Standards Board

Dear All,

In case you haven’t heard already, I have today been informed of the outcome regarding the allegations that were made about me to the standards board for England.

The outcome is that I have NOT breached any of the ‘code of conduct’ and NO further action will taken against me.

Can I thank my colleagues who stuck by me throughout the last 18+ months; it has put a tremendous strain on me and my family, and at times I was minded to throw my hand in.

The press coverage has been vitriolic against me and I now hope I am given the opportunity to a response.

Thanks again, I feel slightly relieved to say the least.

Best wishes

Warren 

Â

Previously Storey had been found guilty of breaching the Members Code of Conduct by disclosing information about Harborow’s health to the Echo’s Joe Riley, and received a slap on the wrist.

In clearing Bradley, the ethics officer said only that he had been ‘unwise and possibly’ naive and revealing an ‘lack of good judgement’.

Aside from some fairly low-level nonsense about rude emails, the nub of the matter is a meeting between Bradley, Mike Storey and Lee Forde – who was at the time suing the council – at Bradley’s house. Forde had formerly been the events manager for the Matthew Street festival.

Theories abound on exactly what the three discussed at this meeting, but Bradley claims they simply discussed the reasons behind the collapse of the Mathew Street festival and a related report.

The Standards Officer, quite remarkably, says that ‘conflicting accounts’ made it impossible to establish exactly what was discussed. The obvious implication is that three different stories were presented as to exactly what went on at the meeting.

The background behind all of this is a long-standing power-struggle between Storey and Harborow that led to both attempting to sabotage each other’s pet projects, the results of which were the eventual collapse of the Mathew Street festival.

At that point Bradley waded in with a number of emails to council Chief Exec Colin Hilton apparently demanding Harborow’s removal, having taken a lot of flack for the festival’s cancellation. Some time afterwards is the mysterious meeting between Bradley, Storey and Forde.

Frankly, the whole affair has been exposed as petty and deeply childish, more Carry on Cleo than I Claudius. While it’s all rather pathetic, and casts the council in an even worse light than previously, it would arguably not be a significant problem if it weren’t for the fact that Liverpool received a damning audit at the end of 2008 and its council is rife with bullying.

In that context the fact that some small-fry empire-building is getting in the way of running the city is inexcusable, regardless of Bradley’s qualified clearing.

Liverpool Daily Post’s blog, Dale Street Blues, has the whole report from the ethical standards reports, but there are some of the more interesting excerpts below.

In sending the email the ethical standards officer did not consider that Councillor Bradley was being deliberately malicious or insulting, but was genuinely concerned, along with others, about the festival’s sudden cancellation. The ethical standards officer did not consider that Councillor Bradley failed to treat Jason Harborow with respect.The ethical standards officer took the view that, as council leader, Councillor Bradley would have been expected to comment on the festival’s cancellation and that it was not unreasonable of him to hold the Culture Company to account.It was not the ethical standards officer’s role to judge whether Councillor Bradley’s opinion on the Mathew Street report was valid, although she did consider that Councillor Bradley had been given specific legal advice in relation to talking about Jason Harborow and that his comments were therefore unwise.On 18 November Councillor Bradley met Councillor Mike Storey and Lee Forde at his home. The ethical standards officer considered that Councillor Bradley arranged the meeting to discuss the perceived failings of the Mathew Street report and to give Lee Forde the opportunity to present Councillor Bradley with any evidence he might have in relation to it. Councillor Bradley has recognised that his meeting with Lee Forde was unwise and possibly naïve. The ethical standards officer considered this to be particularly so as Lee Forde was in the process of taking out an unfair dismissal case against the council. However, conflicting accounts of the meeting made it impossible for the ethical standards officer to conclude exactly what was discussed.The ethical standards officer considered that during the period under investigation, Councillor Bradley’s conduct occasionally suggested lack of good judgement, and that it contributed to Jason Harborow feeling undermined in his role.

• There’s plenty of muck-raking blogs about Liverpool city council and satellite characters around. While I make no claims for their veracity, the most entertaining is this one.