Credit where credit’s not due

Sonia Gable | Wednesday, 7 November 2007 Source: Searchlight

The BNP's three Kirklees councillors are trying to bask in other people's glory, having achieved nothing useful themselves. After Kirklees Council was awarded four stars in its Comprehensive Performance Assessment, the BNP website claimed: "Our hard-working BNP councillors in Kirklees – Cllr Colin Auty (pictured), Cllr Roger Roberts and Cllr David Exley – prove how well BNP councillors work for their areas by being part of this top rating of four stars for Kirklees Council.

Councils are given a star rating based on how well they are delivering services for local people and communities. Mostly this is down to council staff rather than the councillors, who decide policy rather than manage service provision. Even where councillors' decisions have influenced the outcome, three councillors from a minority opposition party obsessed with denying equal opportunities to all residents have hardly helped enhance the council's performance.

The BNP reports the Leader of Kirklees Council saying that the accolade could not have been awarded without the hard work and dedication of "everyone". He was probably too polite to point out the truth, namely that the award was won despite the presence of three BNP councillors not because of it.