Winner of Politician of the Year award to receive £3,000 to donate to local charity

The Civility in Politics Awards are back for a second year “to shine a spotlight on those in politics who behave with courtesy and decency to one another”. They include a £3,000 prize for a winner to donate to a charity within their constituency.

In partnership with the Jo Cox Foundation, the aim of the awards is to provide recognition “for something that is too rare right now – working across the aisle”. 

The awards were set up in the face of a fractured political atmosphere in the UK, characterised by hostility.

Four awards

The awards are made in four categories and are given to political figures who demonstrate different aspects of civility.

‘Politician of the Year’ is open to people who hold elected office.

‘Bridge-Builders of the Year’ is open to two or more people who have worked across divides.

‘Campaigner of the Year’ is open to individuals and organisations who are not elected.

This year there is a new award, the Daniel Stevenson award, which is open to nominations from politicians to celebrate the contributions of an elected politician in a different party to themselves.

The awards are open to nominations for people beyond Westminster and at any level of government

Donation to charity

The winner of ‘Politician of the Year’ will receive a £3,000 prize for them to donate to a charity within their constituency. In 2020, the judges gave the award jointly to Steve Baker and Ken Clarke, who gave it respectively to a local Women’s Aid and a local Maggies. 

The organisers state that “we hope that the chosen organisation will communicate that they received these unrestricted funds thanks to their representatives’ civil behaviour.”

Nominations are open

Nominations to the Civility in Politics Awards are now open via a form. A shortlist will be announced in January, along with an award ceremony in January 2022.

The Civility in Politics Awards Steering Group and Judges come from a cross (and no) party background, with a broad range of views on Brexit both during the referendum and since. They, and all the judges, are donating their time in kind.

Launching the awards, the Steering Group said:

“We came together as a cross party group to create reward and acclaim for thoughtful, reflective public debate that reaches across the aisle and seeks to improve civil discourse. In an environment where belligerent tribalism could triumph, we believe that politicians have a particular responsibility to resist that”.

• Do politics and fundraising mix? (6 May 2010)
• Jo Cox MP appeal is “largest and fastest growing UK campaign” on GoFundMe (19 June 2016)
• Scholarship for campaign bootcamp launched in memory of Jo Cox MP (23 February 2017)

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/3nJ1H79