Former MPs Ed Balls and George Osborne win political podcast of the year
The awards ceremony was presented by broadcaster and former MP Gyles Brandreth and Donald Trump’s ex-communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
Former Labour MP Ed Balls and ex-Conservative chancellor George Osborne have won podcast of the year at the Political Podcast Awards for Political Currency.
Other winners at the Westminster awards ceremony included Sky’s Electoral Dysfunction, which won presenter of the year for Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson as well as comedy moment of the year for an interview with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
The Spectator’s Quite Right! podcast won newcomer of the year, Politics At Sam And Anne’s by Politico and Sky won most original format, while the people’s choice award went to Stripped Media’s The Simple Politics Podcast.
The founder of the Political Podcast Awards, Katie Perrior, said: “What a night. It was fantastic to see so much talent from the political podcast world gathered in one room to celebrate their success in delivering information to the public in innovative ways.
“The strength of the submissions for the awards demonstrates that, despite the challenges faced by the media, quality content and insightful analysis will always stand out regardless of the format.
“Our independent judging panel faced a challenging task in selecting winners from a range of spectacular examples of creativity and editorial excellence.
“Thank you to everyone who submitted entries and congratulations to the winners. We look forward to experiencing even more outstanding material in the coming year.”
Story of the year was shared between Global’s The News Agents and The Financial Times’ Political Fix for investigating the 2022 data leak of Afghan allies resettling in the UK, putting many at risk from the Taliban.
Judges described the tale as “the defining story of the year, characterised by outstanding journalism”.
Jimmy McLoughlin’s Jimmy’s Jobs podcast won interview of the year for an interview with former prime minister Sir Tony Blair, which saw him call for a shift in attitudes towards mental health.
Political Currency’s Ellie Clifford won producer of the year while PoliticsJOE’s Laura Beveridge won the rising star award, and The Feminist Files – a podcast released from the University of Cambridge – took home the first student podcast of the year award.
The awards announced on Wednesday were decided by a panel chaired by Good Morning Britain’s head of politics Anne Alexander, and made up of others including Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen and former Labour adviser Deborah Mattinson.
The awards ceremony was presented by broadcaster and former MP Gyles Brandreth and Donald Trump’s ex-communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
