How will history judge Barradell?

But looking back on John Barradell’s tenure as chief executive of Brighton and Hove City Council, has he actually delivered?

Speaking to those in key positions in the city, it would appear no.

Much has changed since his appointment to the £170,000-a-year post in the summer of 2009.

For a start his salary has since been reduced to £161,500 by a commitment to provide a living wage to the lowest-paid council workers.

But there has also been a change in mindset from the politicians to whom he ultimately answers.

Central to his pitch to the cross-party panel of councillors during the interviews in the summer of 2009 was a promise to improve services for the city while saving money.

On paper, with Government cuts looming, it appeared a win-win for all.

But the central plank, “intelligent commissioning”, has proved to be an expensive experiment which has simply not worked.

Whose fault that is is very much open to debate.

Mr Barradell came from Westminster City Council with a big reputation for getting people around the table and making things happen.

Among his successes was improving community safety and working with businesses to regenerate the West End, which included the creation of a diagonal crossing at Oxford Circus.

Much of this collaborative approach has been brought to Brighton and Hove.

After 100 days in the job, Mr Barradell produced a document which outlined his vision to create a “city the council deserves”.

Within the introduction, it said: “Nearly everyone I have spoken to shares a common endeavour – to make Brighton and Hove a great city because they have a strong passion for the place.

“This sense of pride is also apparent in the results of the recent Place Survey, which said that more than four out of five people (86%) like their area as a place to live.

“While many people often speak highly of the city as a place to live, not as many are willing to speak highly of the city council.

“Our reputation is not as it should be – despite the fact that we provide over 800 services to residents every day.”

Council restructure

Central to achieving this was a restructure of the council to ready the local authority for when the most severe local government cuts hit. More than £1 million was spent on getting rid of four directors and replacing them with a quartet of £125,000-a-year strategic directors.

The advert was looking for people to “say no to the status quo”.

But, nearly two years on, complaints about how the new system is supposed to have worked are frequent both within and outside the Town Hall.

As The Argus has revealed, there have been few, if any services, which have actually been “commissioned” under the new structure.

As for the strategic directors, one is to leave for another post while another is to receive a pay-off to depart as the local authority looks to save money.

As a number of Town Hall sources have crudely said: “It’s like rats leaving a sinking ship.”

Public events

To his credit, Mr Barradell has got people talking to each other and sharing their knowledge.

His desire to get people involved has also led to democracy in general being improved.

As he frequently used to say at public events: “It’s not my council, it’s yours”.

Following his lead people of all ages have been invited to have their say in issues that affected them. The new customer service centre in Bartholomew Square is also reporting increases in customer satisfaction levels.

But is it really right that after three years in a job, a council leader praises a chief executive for creating a community event known as People’s Day as one of his most important achievements?

Reading between the lines, it implies perhaps the relationship between the council’s new political leader, Jason Kitcat, and the head of its paid staff is not as hunky-dory as it should be.

This backs up the general belief from a number of important people in the city that it is dealing with the politics which has perhaps found Mr Barradell wanting most.

Coming from a business background with a stint at a one-party council, the partisan nature of Brighton and Hove was always going to be a challenge.

When he was appointed, the council was under a minority Conservative administration fiercely challenged by three opposition groups. Last May this changed again when the UK’s first Green council was formed.

With many of the members never having been councillors before – never mind running a budget of more than £700 million – strong leadership has been needed more than ever.

Throw in the fact that the Greens registered the biggest opposition to the “intelligent commissioning” model and it was clear something had to give.

Yet throughout his time, Town Hall insiders have spoken with frustration at not being able to get things done.

Most who have met Mr Barradell talk about his personable nature and ability to think big.

But the strong will required to get those of different political ideologies and interests to agree on a decision has at times been missing. The occasional necessary “headbashing” has rarely happened.

Perhaps the ceremonial standing of the Corporation of the City of London with its apolitical members will suit Mr Barradell better.

As for the city he will leave behind, it will be a rudderless ship floating on a course set by a now departing captain.

For whoever takes over the steering wheel, quick and decisive decision-making is a must if Brighton and Hove is not to be left stranded in choppy waters at this, one of the most difficult times it has faced for decades.