Last night saw some of the UK’s most senior Parliamentarians attend our inaugural awards ceremony hosted by the affable Sir John Hayes MP and the brain injury charity Headway.
With awards for Frontbencher, Backbencher, Peer, Intervention or Speech, Campaigner, Staffer, PR Stunt of the year and lifetime achievement awards up for grabs, the evening was our chance to recognise the work of parliamentarians and their dedicated staff.
Kicking off the evening, with Frontbencher of 2024, the nominees were, Kevin Hollinrake “For bringing forward long overdue legislation to quash the wrongful convictions of hundreds of innocent post office operators tragically caught up in the Horizon scandal”, Pat McFadden “The ultimate political fixer who is sent out to defend the Government in the toughest situations”, Angela Rayner “For championing a programme of planning reform to unleash home building in the UK, with a target of 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament”, Wes Streeting “For his settling the long running junior doctors strike, securing additional money for the NHS and commitment to reforming the health care system” and Munira Wilson “For her commitment and championing of Education, Children and Young People”. 
Winning, Kevin Hollinrake [pictured], thanked parliamentnews.co.uk before talking about the injustice experienced by the hundreds of sub-masters wrongly convicted.
Next up was Peer of the year and we were delighted to be joined by a number of the nominees including Lord David Alton of Liverpool.
Lord Jackson [pictured], was named as the peer of the year, narrowly beating Baroness Claire Fox, and Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson and Baroness Margaret Eaton who were unable to attend the event.
His nomination read: “Lord Stewart Jackson deserves to be recognised as peer of the year. His dedication, forthright and at times witty contributions have made him a popular member of the Lords and one of the most engaging. His frequent media appearances also show his professionalism when dealing with journalists and why he is seen as a safe pair of hands, able to defend his Party’s policies, even when he is on a tricky wicket, while being able to deftly shift the spotlight on to his opponents. He be an excellent choice for your award”.
Speaking afterwards the presentation, his colleague Lord Graham Evans said: “Stewart had a reputation as forensic interrogator of government legislation and policy as a Member of Parliament and he has continued at pace with this reputation in the House of Lords.
As the assembled Parliamentarians enjoyed mince pies and Prosecco, attention turned to the more light-hearted award for Publicity Stunt of the Year. Nominees were Sir Ed Davey who had three nominations, the rapping MP Dawn Butler and Nigel Farage.
Sir Ed Davey was the unanimous winner, with his nomination reading: “[He] could so easily have been nominated for other categories of your awards, however I wish to nominate him for his General Election publicity stunts. Politics is often a drab business which frankly turns off most voters, especially during the General Election when Labour and the Conservatives spent all their time slinging accusations about their spending plans. The liberal democrats used their wit and wisdom to highlight important issues about the negligent water companies dumping sewage in our lakes, rivers and seas and other environmental issues. He put these issues on the agenda and forced the other parties and the media to respond and in doing so brought us all a little joy into the General Election campaign. So, I want to put forward his paddle boarding and cycling stunts”.
Unable to attend due to parliamentary business, his front bench colleague, Munira Wilson MP [pictured alongside Vikki Slade MP and Chris Coghlan MP] accepted the award, praising her boss and the Lib Dem General Election campaign.
Next up was the award for Staffer of the Year. An important category designed to recognise the unsung heroes of political work, the hard-working members of staff deal with case work, keep diaries together, draught speeches and questions and provide detailed briefings to their employer. Nominated were: Charlie Douglas, Jenny Symmons, Domino Moore, Ethan Thoburn, Peter Hornsby, Sybil Crowther and Dan Boucher.
The winner was Peter Hornsby, who was nominated by no fewer than 11 people, with one nomination reading: “As the founder of the Parliamentary Chess Club, Peter organised an opportunity for a team from the UK Armed Forces Chess Association (UKAFCA) to visit Westminster and compete in a match against a team comprised of MPs and parliamentary workers. He put a huge amount of time and effort into the visit, including arranging an extensive tour of the parliamentary estate after the match. His meticulous planning for the event ensured the members of the UKAFCA had a very memorable visit they will remember for many years to come”, well done Peter.
Then on to the Life Time Achievement Award. Nominees were: Father of the House, Sir Edward Leigh, former Lib Dem Leader Tim Farron, Sir Chris Bryant, Sir Christopher Chope and John Glen.
Announcing the winner John Hayes, could not conceal his delight that his friend and mentor, Sir Edward [pictured alongside him] had won, reading from two of the nominations he said: “Sir Edward is now father of the house. He has over the last 10 years worked tirelessly to try and get something for R.A.F. Scampton and continues to do so. This is to allow sorely need heritage and business creating jobs for the area. He is a people’s man and is extremely well liked within his constituency. He is down to earth and says it as it is. He should be backbencher of the year”, adding from a second that “Sir Edward has always been passionate defender of his constituents and our country. More than that he has stood up for traditional values, even when they were unpopular or seen as old fashioned. He has served our country with dedication for over 40 years”.
Moving on to the coveted Backbencher of the year, the nominees were: Mark Francois who seemed to revel in his description as “Chairman of the ERG, famously pugnacious, he was one of the Spartans who stood against Westminster Group Think and voted against Theresa May’s poor Brexit deal”, former MP Dean Russell, the popular Rebecca Long-Bailey, Marsha De Cordova and Mary Glindon.
Winning, Mary Glindon [pictured] said she was shocked and humbled to have been nominated but wanted to thank the judges and parliamentnews.co.uk for the award which she promised to proudly display in her Westminster office.
Mary’s nomination read: “First elected in 2010, Mary has been an outstanding constituency MP. Born and bred in the northeast she has served the people of Newcastle upon Tyne east and Wallsend campaigning against the bedroom tax, raising of tuition fees and cuts to the education maintenance allowance. Locally she works incredibly hard helping constituents in tackling problems from housing to health. A member of three select committees and five APPG’s no one works harder for their constituents or in parliament. It would be great to recognise her work with this award.”
On to the Parliamentary Intervention or Speech of the Year. Nominees were: Chris Coghlan, Sarah Russell, Rosie Duffield, Jim Shannon and Sojan Joseph (pictured).
The winner was, Rosie Duffield for her stance on the removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance from pensioners. Her nomination read: “A rare politician who will not only stands up for her beliefs, but when her party abandoned its principles and betrayed millions of pensioners she was moved to resigning the whip. Her excoriating letter of resignation is already legendary and this is why this intervention, above all others should be recognised by your judging panel and magazine”.
Completing the evening was the Campaigner of the Year award. Nominees were Nigel Farage MP, Matt Vickers, Vikki Slade, Bill Esterson (pictured) and Rachel Gilmour.
Winner was Nigel Farage, who was unable to join the event, but sent his apologies with his award being collected by his researcher Ethan Thoburn.