Meet this year’s judges
Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP
Karen has been an MP for 15 years and in that time has been a Minister in the Government Whips office, a Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury (a senior Whip), a Minister in the Home Office and Secretary of State for both Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Northern Ireland. As the Minister for Modern Slavery and Organised Crime and then the Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime, she was proud to take both the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the Serious Crime Act 2015 through their parliamentary stages.
As Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery and as a Trustee of the Human Trafficking Foundation, she has championed these causes both inside and outside parliament.
Karen was Chair of the House of Commons Procedure Committee from February 2020 to September 2024 and is currently Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, a cross-party committee of MPs responsible for scrutinising the work of the Home Office and its associated bodies.
The Rt Hon. the Lord Brady of Altrincham
Graham Brady was an MP for 27 years and the Chairman of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs for 14 years, during which he served with 5 Prime Ministers and became the longest serving Chairman ever. Famously, he ran the process for Conservative leaders to be removed and new ones elected. His ringside seat at the centre of British politics through a tumultuous time is described in his memoir, ‘Kingmaker’ which became an instant Sunday Times bestseller. He was made a knighted in 2018 and appointed to the Privy Council in 2023, when he was also awarded the Freedom of the City of London. After standing down at the 2024 General Election, he was created Rt Hon The Lord Brady of Altrincham PC in the dissolution honours.
The 1922 Committee is the principal conduit for communication between Conservative MPs and the Prime Minister and Conservative Ministers and its Chairman advises the Prime Minister on the mood of the party whilst ensuring that Ministers have an opportunity to speak to colleagues and to listen to their views on policy. The ‘Brady Amendment’ had the distinction of being the only positive motion related to Brexit to achieve a majority in the Commons during the 2017-19 parliament.
Graham previously served as a shadow minister, for Employment, then Schools, and Europe. He served on the Education and Employment Select Committee from 1997-2001 and the Treasury Select Committee throughout the banking crisis.
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Following her degree from Edinburgh University, Wendy joined Lothian and Borders Police in 1999, serving for 12 years as a Police officer. During this period she also worked part-time as a Communications Lecturer for the then Lauder College (now Fife College). She then worked at MoD Caledonia, Rosyth, as the Scottish Regional Employment and Training Manager on their military resettlement contract, supporting service veterans into positive employment outcomes before moving to work as a Capability Manager for Diageo. She became the first female Board Member of the Camanachd Association (the governing body for the amateur sport of shinty) in 2017.
She was elected to Parliament for the constituency of North East Fife in 2019 and retained her seat in the 2024 election. Wendy is the deputy leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and is the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip. She has previously held roles including spokesperson for Work and Pensions, and a member of the Scottish Affairs Select Committee.
During her time in Parliament, Wendy has passed the Carers Leave Act, and has been calling for more money to be available for charity through her Private Members Bill on lifting the cap on the amount that charity lotteries are able to fundraise. She is also highly involved in the All Party Parliamentarian Groups for standing up for Afghan Women and Girls, and promoting the golfing and Scotch Whisky industries. She has led cross party efforts to combat sleaze in Parliament and make it a safe and welcoming working environment, and is now working to get justice for Harrods survivors.
Jordan Eagle
Jordan is a Senior Political Campaign Manager at Total Politics, where she helps organisations engage with parliamentarians through media titles such as PoliticsHome and The House Magazine. She develops creative campaigns that connect Parliament, policymakers and business, helping clients communicate effectively to political audiences.
Before joining Total Politics, Jordan worked in Parliament for a Shadow Minister, managing campaigns and communications, including working on the campaign to bring Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe home from Iran. Her work there earned her her very own nomination for Staffer of the Year (London) at the Parliament’s People Awards.
Jordan studied Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway, University of London, followed by an MSc in Media, Power and Public Affairs, for which she received the 2020/2021 prize for the best overall result. Her first campaign at Total Politics was shortlisted for Commercial Partnership of the Year at the 2024 Professional Publishers Association Awards.
Dame Meg Hillier MP
Meg Hillier is the Member of Parliament for Hackney South and Shoreditch and Chair of the Treasury Select Committee. The committee examines the expenditure, administration and policy of HM Treasury, HM Revenue & Customs, and associated public bodies, including the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority. Meg also chairs the Liaison Committee – a committee comprised of all select committee Chairs. It considers the overall work of select committees, promotes effective scrutiny of Government, and questions the Prime Minister.
From 2015-2024, she was Chair of the Public Accounts Committee – the cross-party committee that scrutinises the value for money of public spending and holds the Government to account for the delivery of public services. First elected in 2005, Meg has been a Home Office Minister and Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.
Alan White
Alan White is Editor in Chief of The House magazine and PoliticsHome. He previously spent seven years as a senior reporter and then news editor for Buzzfeed UK, winning the RTS Scoop of the Year award in 2016. He is the author of Who Really Runs Britain, a study of the UK’s outsourcing industry.
The Baroness Young of Hornsey OBE
Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey was raised in foster care in north London. She studied Drama, later becoming an actor.
In 2004, Lola was appointed as an independent Crossbench member of the House of Lords. She chaired the Man Booker Prize judging panel in 2017.
Lola is currently Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, and her memoir, ‘8 Weeks: Looking Back, Moving Forwards, Defying the Odds’ was published in November 2024.
With special thanks to:
The Rt Hon the Lord McFall of Alcluith
Judge of The Lord Speaker’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Lords
John has been in Parliament now for more than 35 years, having been the MP for Dumbarton (and later West Dumbartonshire) from 1987 to 2010. Prior to this, he worked as a mathematics and chemistry teacher in West Scotland. He held several roles while in the Commons, including as a party whip, Northern Ireland minister, and for nine years the chair of the Treasury Select Committee. Following his retirement as an MP, he was elevated to the House of Lords, where he became Senior Deputy Speaker in 2016. Elected as the fourth Lord Speaker in 2021, he pledged to promote the House of Lords as a vibrant second chamber which is open, transparent and engages with the wider public. He will be standing down as The Lord Speaker on February 1, 2026.
With special thanks to:
The Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP
Judge of The Speaker’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Commons
Speaker Hoyle’s world has always revolved around politics. In 1957, he attended his first Labour Party conference as a baby with his late father, Lord Doug Hoyle; who was a long-standing MP and then ennobled in 1997. Lord Hoyle passed away in April 2024.
Speaker Hoyle became the youngest ever councilor to serve Chorley when elected in 1980 at the age of 22. He then became Deputy Leader of Chorley Council and the Mayor of Chorley in 1997-1998, before winning the seat of Chorley as its Member of Parliament in 1997. He was the first Labour MP to represent the constituency for 18 years.
As a backbench MP, Speaker Hoyle served on the Trade & Industry Select Committee, the European Scrutiny Committee. In 2010, he was elected by fellow MPs to the position of Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means (the first time that elections had been held for this position).
Speaker Hoyle was elected as Speaker of the House of Commons on 4 November 2019, following the resignation of former Speaker John Bercow.