Jenni Russell last night picked up the Orwell Prize for political journalism for her columns in the Sunday Times and The Guardian
Judges said Russell was awarded the prize for her analysis and comment on topics including class, Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown, and the disabled
The judges said: ‘Jenni Russell was the stand-out journalist in an outstanding field. Her empathy for the world beyond Westminster gives her writing an extra dimension often lacking in political insiders.
“There is an overriding humanity to her work, whether she is covering the death-throes of the last Labour government or the birth-pangs of the Coalition.”
The blog prize went to Graeme Archer for his posts at ConservativeHome.
Archer is the first blogger to win the prize who does not write under a pseudonym, and was commended for his coverage of issues including the Coalition Government and the rights of gay couples.
The judges said: ‘Graeme Archer is a blogger with wonderful elegance and clarity.
‘Whether he writes on party politics or just about what he sees around him in Hackney, he is sharply observant and invariably thought-provoking.
“His posts are engaging or disconcerting in turns, regardless of the political views of the reader.
The late Tom Bingham – a former Master of the Rolls and Lord Chief Justice – won the Orwell book prize for The Rule of Law.
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