Earlier this week, Pagefield hosted the second instalment of its Parliamentarian Awards, with Theresa May, Darren Jones, Rachel Reeves and Tracey Crouch announced as the winners.
Theresa May won ‘Speech of the Year’ for her commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and 70-years of service. As well as paying tribute to the “most remarkable” person she had ever met, May chose to share a light-heated anecdote with the House on how she had dropped a plate of cheese in front of Her Majesty at a garden party.
Darren Jones was announced as the winner of the ‘Select Committee Chair of the Year’ for the impact he has made as Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee. Jones was praised for his strong and attention-grabbing performances and astute questioning of the Government over their handling of the energy crisis and his investigation into the Post Office Horizon scandal. His leadership on the Committee has seen him rocket up the rankings of influential Labour MPs and even tipped for a role in Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet should there be a reshuffle ahead of the next election.
Tracey Crouch was the well-deserved winner of ‘Backbench MP of the Year’. Amongst a tightly contested shortlist, Crouch came out on top for her diligent work in conducting the major independent Fan-Led Review of Football Governance. Following the review, Crouch’s ten key recommendations, including the establishment of an independent regulator, were all taken on by the Government. Just last week, the Government unveiled its Football White Paper – A sustainable future – reforming club football governance – which seeks to turn Crouch’s recommendations into legislation.
Finally, ‘Frontbench MP of the Year’ was awarded to the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves. Reeves has been responsible for rebuilding Labour’s economic credibility and transforming perceptions that under Starmer’s leadership Labour was light on policy. As such, her championing of policies including Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan and Great British Energy has received plaudits across the political spectrum, including somewhat surprising praise from the former Conservative Chancellor George Osborne.
Oliver Foster, Chief Executive said:
“To even the most seasoned observers of Westminster politics, 2022 was a chaotic year unlike any other – three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors and several weeks of economic chaos to boot. But throughout the year, there were – as always – individual parliamentarians who shone through, and so we wanted to expand our awards this year to recognise that breadth and depth, across both Houses. We are looking at this year’s winners as representing the very best of our political scene – those who, despite the chaos and uncertainty, continued to serve constituency and country with vigour and determination. Warmest congratulations to all the winners.”
The awards were presented by the Sunday Times’ Political Editor, Caroline Wheeler, to a packed audience at the National Liberal Club in Westminster.
A panel of political experts helped to judge the awards – Jason Groves, Political Editor of the Mail on Sunday; Ailbhe Rea, host of POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast; Seb Payne, Director of Onward; Giles Winn, a former Special Adviser to Phillip Hammond when he was Chancellor and now advisor to Pagefield; and Rebecca Lury, a Partner at Pagefield.
To read the full report, including all shortlisted parliamentarians, you can do so here.
