Steerpike Steerpike

Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year 2021, in pictures

Jamie Lorriman


After eighteen months of Covid, it was with a sense of relief and joy that MPs, peers, bag-carriers and hangers-on descended on London’s Rosewood Hotel. After all the twists and turns of the pandemic’s politics, ministers and opposite numbers enjoyed the chance to break bread and hear from some of Parliament’s leading figures collecting gongs at tonight’s awards. The guest of honour at the shindig was the recently-defenestrated Robert Buckland, liberated from high office and now enjoying his new-found freedom on the back benches. And it was with great delight that he dispensed the awards all evening, with heavyweights and grandees dispensing jokes and jibes alike.

Sajid Javid (Comeback of the Year) wanted to thank those who had helped him become Health Secretary: ‘The Prime Minister, my wife… and the CCTV guy at the Department of Health’ he said, to roars of laughter, though not from Matt Hancock’s corner. Carolyn Harris (Campaigner of the Year) suggested: ‘I’ve got more friends here tonight than I would at a Momentum conference’ while Chris Bryant (Speech of the Year for his intervention on Owen Paterson) told the audience: ‘Some of you shouldn’t really be applauding because you all voted the wrong way’. Nadhim Zahawi (Minister to Watch) meanwhile looked back on his own political journey: ‘How did a boy from Iraq end up on these shores without a word of English at the age off and become the Secretary of State for Education? This is the greatest country of the world, my friends.’

Baroness Bertin (Peer of the Year) joked ‘I spent the early years of my career trying to crash this party’ while Rishi Sunak (Politician of the Year) hailed The Spectator as ‘our best weekly current affairs magazine’ and thanked us for repaying the furlough money. Just another £399 billion left to go, he said. Jacob Rees-Mogg accepted the Parliamentarian of the Year award on behalf of David Amess.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

Topics in this article

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in