Podcas

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	President Barack Obama - International Politician of the Year President Barack Obama was the unequivocal choice of the jury for International Politician of the Year. There was overwhelming recognition of the extent to which, during his electoral campaign and following his election last November as the new US President, he has broken the mould of American politics as well as constructively engaging with the international community. The jury commended his skilful and enlightened political leadership at a time of successive global crises. View details
	Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan AM - Lifetime Achievement in Politics The jury chose Rhodri Morgan for a Lifetime Achievement in Politics Award in view of his major contribution to political life in the UK and especially to the recent development of Welsh politics and the Welsh Assembly. Having served as a Labour MP in the British Parliament from 1987 he chose to step down in 2001 in order to devote his energies to the new Welsh Assembly. He is a committed supporter of Welsh devolution. He subsequently became First Minister of the Assembly in 2000. In this role he has consistently demonstrated his willingness to distance himself from aspects of Labour Government policy and look for ‘Welsh solutions for Welsh problems’. View details
	Rt Hon Rev Ian Paisley - Lifetime Achievement in Politics his long political career extending over 50 years and his major impact on the development of Northern Irish politics. Though long renowned for his unwavering commitment to Unionism and hard line position, latterly he played a significant role in the Irish peace process and from 2007 to 2008 he served as First Minister in Northern Ireland’s new power sharing government. As such Ian Paisley is an enduring reminder of the triumph of both personal conviction and principled compromise over violence and hatred. View details
	Dr Tony Wright MP - Parliamentarian of the Year Dr Tony Wright MP was the unanimous choice of the jury for Parliamentarian of the Year. He was elected as an MP in 1992 and the panel particularly commended his achievements as chair of the Public Administration Select Committee from 1999. It observed how under his watch the Committee has worked hard to hold government to account and through its inquiries and reports, such as those on lobbying, and good government, demonstrated the analytic parliamentary function at its finest. Given this track record it is a tribute but no surprise that he has been asked to chair the important new commission on the reform of Parliament. View details
	Heather Brooke - Influencing the Political Agenda The judges chose Heather Brooke for an Influencing the Political Agenda award, in view of her tireless and inspiring campaign to bring details of MPs’ expenses to light. With a background in American journalism, she pursued a 5-year legal battle using the new Freedom of Information Act. Her actions paved the way for the flood of recent revelations and she has provided a role model for investigative journalism. View details
	Joanna Lumley - Influencing the Political Agenda The jury chose Joanna Lumley for an Influencing the Political Agenda award, because of her outstandingly effective campaign on behalf of the Gurkhas. The celebrated actress, whose father served for 30 years with the 6th Gurkha Rifles, has been a leader of the Gurkha Justice Campaign championing the right of Gurkha pensioners to settle in Britain. Through her persistence, charm and media appeal, and skill in exploiting apparent miscommunications within government, she succeeded in appealing to the Prime Minister himself and extracting major concessions for the Gurkha cause. View details
	Rt Hon David Davis MP - Backbencher of the Year David Davis was the unanimous choice of the jury for Backbencher of the Year. The panel commended his courageous decision to resign as Conservative Shadow Home Minister and as an MP in order to provoke a wider debate concerning what he saw as the erosion of civil liberties in the UK, after the introduction of a 42-day pre-charge detention period. In the resulting by-election he successfully made this a campaigning issue and was re-elected the following month. As a backbencher he has continued to campaign for civil liberties, most recently raising the case of Rangzieb Ahmed, a British resident tortured in Pakistan and Morocco with the alleged complicity of British intelligence. View details
	Robert Peston - Political Journalist of the Year Robert Peston was the unanimous choice of the jury for Political Journalist of the Year. The panel pointed to the outstanding significance of his contribution to our understanding of the current financial crisis. As BBC Business Editor he was to begin with a lone voice predicting the coming economic turbulence. His groundbreaking journalism led on the Northern Rock story and again when HBOS got into trouble. As a result of the crisis he has become a household name and the key authority on unfolding economic developments. View details
	Gerald Scarfe - Best Political Satire The jury chose cartoonist Gerald Scarfe for an award for Best Political Satire, in recognition of his extraordinary images, which have influenced the way that we see politics. In a career that has spanned nearly 50 years, 42 of them employed as cartoonist for the Sunday Times, Gerald Scarfe has combined creative anger and superb draughtsmanship to produce his own distinctive and iconic depictions of political vice. His particular targets have included greed, hypocrisy and sycophancy, and his contemporary images continue to hit home, for instance in his rendering of the path to victory in Afghanistan made up of Union Jack-covered coffins. View details
	Jon Stewart - Best Political Satire This year the jury has chosen Jon Stewart and the Daily Show for an award for Best Political Satire. This show has consistently combined satirical humour with trenchant coverage of such topical developments as the 2008 Presidential election campaigns and the emerging financial crisis. Segments of the Show from "Indecision 2000" to Mess O’Potamia have framed important policy issues in a significant way. American and international politicians (including Barack Obama while running for President) have been queuing up to appear on the show. No wonder the New York Times asked ‘Is Jon Stewart the Most Trusted Man in America?’ View details
	The Daily Telegraph - Political Publication of the Year THE JUDGES SAY The Daily Telegraph was the jury’s unanimous choice for Political Publication of the Year, because of its key role in exposing details of MPs’ expenses. Through its investigation and carefully timed revelations the paper helped to orchestrate the political story of the year, drawing attention to the systematic abuse taxpayer-funded expenses system by a significant number of MPs. View details
	Newsnight - Political Programme of the Year THE JUDGES SAY BBC Newsnight was the jury’s unanimous choice for Political Programme of the Year. The panel commended BBC Newsnight for the consistently high quality of its reporting and the range of its stories . The content was always interesting, presentation was imaginative and topics were treated in depth. View details
	Prof Robert Hazell - Political Studies Communication Award The jury’s choice for this year’s Political Studies Communication Award was Professor Robert Hazell. As Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, since 1995, he has consistently worked to develop the constitutional reform agenda, to communicate these ideas to government and more generally to inject academic rigour and principle into public debate. The panel further noted the scope and timeliness of his reform interests, including devolution, freedom of information, and reform of the House of Lords. View details
	Prof Richard Rose - Lifetime Contribution to Political Studies Professor Richard Rose was the jury’s unanimous choice for the Sir Isaiah Berlin Prize for Lifetime Contribution to Political Studies. Over his long professional life, spanning almost five decades, his contribution to the field of political studies has been phenomenal. He has been extraordinarily prolific. Many of his works are essential reading and help to define the discipline, across a range of subjects, including but not confined to, comparative parties and elections, the politics of the UK, the growth of government and comparative public policy. At the same time he has contributed significantly to the development of political studies as a profession, in recognition of which the Political Studies Association made him an Honorary Vice-President in 1986 and presented him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. View details
	Prof Alice Brown - Special Recognition Award Professor Alice Brown was chosen to receive a Special Recognition Award in light of her exceptional contribution to the study of Scottish politics over an extended period, together with her important impact on policy. The jury commended her deft elision of the theory and practice of politics. The combination of her research findings and advocacy of women’s political representation helped to ensure the promotion of this cause in the context of Scottish devolution. As Professor, then Vice-Principal of Edinburgh University and as Scottish Public Services Ombudsman she has helped to shape constitutional debate and policy within the UK. View details
	Prof David Denver - Special Recognition Award The jury chose Professor David Denver for a Special Recognition Award in light of his major contribution to political studies. Jury members noted his widely acknowledged professionalism and excellence in both teaching and research. They commented on his unrivalled ability to set the standard in British election studies, question received wisdoms and render the complexities of his field accessible to students. They also noted his important work to make electoral research accessible to a range of audiences via EPOP and his encouragement of younger members of the profession. The jury noted that David Denver is seldom short of opinions but they are always shared with good humour and more often than not with telling wit. View details
	Prof Matthew Flinders - W J M Mackenzie Prize 2008 THE JUDGES SAY This is a weighty and erudite work of considerable scholarship on a topical subject of relevance to all students of politics, not just those focused on the analysis of British Politics and Governance. It challenges many conventional understandings of local government and the politics of delegation, developing a fresh and original theory of delegated governance. The scholarship is impressive, and the argument developed is bold, original and compelling. The author draws on a very wide range of relevant sources, including research conducted as a Whitehall Fellow within the Cabinet Office. The great strength of the book, however, is that although it is richly empirical in focus it is also theoretically sophisticated. It is a work of theoretically informed empirical research, in the very best tradition of British political science. It deserves to become a core reference point in the study of contemporary governance and should be required reading for students and practitioners of politics alike. View details

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