Local MP up for top political award

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 22nd Jan 2008

Local Liberal Democrat MP, Dr Evan Harris, has been nominated for a prestigious Channel 4 Political Award.

Dr Harris, an outspoken campaigner on free speech, equality and other human rights issues, and a champion of science and evidence-based policy making, is in the running for the award of Campaigning Politician of the Year alongside Parliamentary colleagues Jon Cruddas MP, Stephen O'Brien MP, and Anne Snelgrove MP.

Dr Harris said:

"It is an honour to be among 4 people selected from over 1,000 MPs and peers nominated for this award."

Previous nominees have been nominated for a single issue but Dr Harris has been told that he is in the running for the width and diversity of the campaigns he has run, from teaming up with Rowan Atkinson to defeat the Government's controversial plan to outlaw the incitement of religious hatred, through his success in persuading Gordon Brown to support an opt-out system of organ donation, his recent victory on the abolition of blasphemy and his leadership of a national science campaign which forced the Government to back-down on their proposed ban on human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

"Campaigning can be a thankless task - plugging away in support of issues, often for years, until you achieve any success. In the process you make many friends and of course a few enemies, particularly when you are fighting for unpopular or unfashionable causes.

"All the campaigns which have been recognised in this nomination have been entirely cross-party. Success is never single-handed and my campaigning achievements owe a great deal to my research staff and supportive colleagues inside and outside Parliament."

Related Link:

Full shortlist for the Channel 4 Political Awards.