Hats (or should that be leather boots) off to Theresa May, who was named Politician of the Year at today’s Spectator parliamentarian of the year awards at the Savoy hotel. “As Home Secretary, May has, at a time of falling Home Office budgets, presided over a fall in crime and immigration as well as the deportation of Abu Qatada,” said the judges. “May’s win follows her receipt of Minister of the Year in 2012.”
Other winners were Tristram Hunt, named the Newcomer of the Year (“The judges noted how his first few weeks in the job have led to him being tipped as a future Labour leader”), and Robert Halfon, who was Campaigner of the Year for his success in having fuel duty frozen for the whole of this Parliament. Tina Stowell was Peer of the Year for her skilful plotting of gay marriage through the House of Lords.
Political Speech of the Year went to Ed Miliband, while Insurgent of the Year was Ukip’s Nigel Farage.
Parliamentarian of the Year was unusually a joint award. It went to all those MPs who defied the whip and voted against exemplary damages for those publications that did not sign up to the press regulation Royal Charter.
