John Denham gives Tory Ealing "Best Achieving Council" award

Communities Secretary John Denham presided over the Municipal Journal Awards which included the award of Best Achieving Council to Conservative-run Ealing. Congratulations to Ealing which has recently given residents a Council Tax rebates and introduced a bold experiment in scrapping unnecessary traffic lights.

Denham announced that his Department would sponsor an award next year for: "Environmental sensitivity in waste collection." This was a response to the Daily Mail's campaign against wheelie bins.

Some awards had curious titles and I can't find details on why particular awards were given. My council, Hammersmith and Fulham, won the prize for: "Most Effective Political Team Achievement." Thanks very much, Mr Denham. We have certainly been in the political firing line, not least in terms of the barrage of lies told about us by DCLG Ministers. But we march towards the sound of gunfire.