Jackie Baillie named MSP of the year at the Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards

Jackie Baillie was named MSP of the year at the Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards 2022.

People from across the Scottish political landscape came together at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden to celebrate the achievements in what has been a busy year in politics.  

The event, which was rescheduled after the passing of Her Majesty the Queen, was a fantastic evening, with 12 awards given out, as well as the lifetime achievement award, which was presented to Professor Sir John Curtice.

Among the winners was Edward Mountain, who won the tweet of the day award for his post that revealed his bowel cancer diagnosis. The political staffer of the year award was presented to the parents of David Hill, a Scottish Conservatives aide who tragically died while playing rugby for the Scottish Parliament’s rugby team in Dublin in March.

Mandy Rhodes said: "The Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards is the 'must attend event' in the political calendar. An evening of great fun when all political hostilities are put to one side and when politicians of all stripes come together to basically celebrate all that we love about politics and to let our hair down a bit.  

“The last few years have been very difficult for us all and last year the garden party was held amid the ongoing uncertainty of Covid and was immediately followed by another national lockdown. This year, the event had to be completely rescheduled within a matter of days following the sad death of the Queen. It has been a monumental exercise but has been absolutely worth it when you see it all come together.  

“I am delighted for all our award winners and particularly for Jackie Baillie who was crowned MSP of the year. Jackie is one of the most deft politicians in the parliament and the judges had no hesitation in picking her as this year's winner. And equally for Edward Mountain, who won 'Tweet of the Day' for his incredibly candid and brave social media revelations about his bowel cancer diagnosis, he proved that Twitter can actually be a place for good."

The winners in full are:

Tweet of the Day: Edward Mountain MSP, Scottish Conservatives

MSP of the Year: Jackie Baillie MSP, Scottish Labour

Political Staffer of the Year: David Hill

Backbencher of the Year: Fergus Ewing MSP, SNP

One to Watch: Neil Gray MSP, SNP

Political Hero of the Year: Pam Duncan-Glancy MSP, Scottish Labour

Flushable Motion of the Year: Christine Grahame, SNP

The Powering Change Award: Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee

Speech of the Year: Richard Leonard MSP, Scottish Labour

Best Scot at Westminster: Stewart McDonald MP, SNP

Open All Hours Award: Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, Scottish Liberal Democrat

Green Giant Award: Maurice Golden MSP, Scottish Conservative

Full details of the awards, including all the shortlisted entries, can be found here. 

All photography by Anna Moffat.