I WAS appalled and disappointed to hear that Stanley Henig was forced to step aside from his nomination as an Alderman at last weeks annual meeting of the city council.

It is a sad day when such a cross-party civic event is used as a political axe-grinding vehicle.

The Green Party, through Dr Whitelegg and the normally sensible Jon Barry, have used it as a headline grabbing cheap shot in the run-up to the European Elections.

They have done themselves, their party and our district no credit.

They say their actions were because of the handling of council matters including the Blobby' affair and were not personal. But this assertion is surely far from the truth. It is petty politics of the lowest order, coming as it does from a group of wise-after-the-fact activists who have the luxury of never having been there.

Of course Blobby was a debacle. But let us not forget that all but one city councillor voted for it.

Cllrs Barry and Whitelegg miss the point entirely. The honour of becoming an Alderman is not given to reflect the decisions you made, but the service you gave.

Stanley Henig served the district as an MP and a councillor. He devoted his life and his energy to the service of our community and does not claim to be perfect. Bestowing the honour of Alderman would have been in keeping with the best traditions of recognising that service.

He took the entirely honourable decision to step aside because he did not want to take the emphasis away from a day of recognition for Cllr John Day, the new Mayor. Councillor Day, whom I know personally, would see the merits in that decision. I think the district will struggle to see the merits in the stance of the