Holyrood magazine political awards shortlist announced
MSPs and their staff have been notified of their nominations as the shortlists for the annual Holyrood magazine political awards have been announced.
The winners to be named at the Holyrood Garden Party & Political Awards, held 20 June at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.
The awards, named ‘event of the year’ at last year’s magazine industry awards, were launched by Holyrood magazine in 2018 and this year will also celebrate the 20th anniversary of both the Scottish Parliament and the launch of the fortnightly publication.
With the emphasis on irreverence, the 10 political awards include categories for the most ‘flushable’ motion brought before parliament, the wag of the year and ‘tweet of the year’.
The winner of Lifetime Achievement will be announced on the night.
Holyrood's managing director Mandy Rhodes said: “It has been great to see such a range of nominations for our political awards come in from across the spectrum, and there are so many worthy winners.
"These awards and our garden party represent everything that I want Holyrood magazine to be all about - celebrating the fun as well as the hard work that goes into politics. Good luck to all the shortlisted nominees.”
The full shortlist for each award is as follows:
Backbencher
- Jackie Baillie (Scottish Labour MSP)
- John Finnie (Scottish Green MSP)
- Joan McAlpine (SNP MSP)
Flushable Motion
- Michelle Ballantyne (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Alexander Burnett (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- John Mason (SNP MSP)
MSP of the Year
- Jackson Carlaw (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Joan McAlpine (SNP MSP)
- Christina McKelvie (SNP MSP)
One to Watch
- Alexander Burnett (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Liam Kerr (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Ruth Maguire (SNP MSP)
Political Hero
- Miles Briggs (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Ross Greer and Andy Wightman (Scottish Green MSPs)
- Humza Yousaf and Anas Sarwar (SNP MSP/Labour MSP)
Staffer
- Niamh Burns (Gillian Martin MSP)
- Angela Dulley (Mary Fee MSP)
- Caroline Hickling (Claudia Beamish MSP)
Tweet
- Ross Greer (Scottish Green MSP)
- Joan McAlpine (SNP MSP)
- Pauline McNeill (Labour MSP)
Wag
- Jackson Carlaw (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Derek Mackay (SNP MSP)
- Stewart Stevenson (SNP MSP)
Speech
- Tom Arthur (SNP MSP)
- Jeremy Balfour (Scottish Conservative MSP)
- Kezia Dugdale (Labour MSP)
The awards are decided by a panel of judges which include MSPs, journalists and prominent public figures
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