Jacqui Smith and I have taken a perverse pride in describing our offering as the 'yet to be award winning 'For the Many Podcast''. Well, no longer. No, we're not being cancelled, but we have won an award!
It's the Civility in Politics Award for 'Co-operation of the Year'. Snappy title for an award, eh?
In making the award to Jacqui and me the judges said:
In almost every episode, Iain and Jacqui disagree vehemently and yet remain good friends. As one of their nominators said, ‘it’s the only political news right now which makes me feel better about the world, rather than despairing.
And in her virtual acceptance speech, Jacqui said...
I love politics and I want more people involved. That means showing that it is possible to hold strong views; argue for them and yet still recognise the humanity (and humour) of those who disagree. That’s what For the Many is all about.
And I followed her in saying...
I’ve long been frustrated by the decline in public discourse, so what did I do? Start a podcast and write a book about it! Jacqui and I have built an audience because people know that although we are different sides of the political divide, we recognise that the other is motivated by good intentions, even if they’re wrong. And it helps that we like each other too! My book WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG: SHOUT LESS, LISTEN MORE is out in a fortnight and it seeks to explore why we can be so horrible to each other and then suggests 50 ways we can reverse the trend.
We've recorded nearly two hundred episodes of the podcast now, and I don't think we've had a cross word in any of them. Having said that, if West Ham beat the Villa at the weekend, well, Jacqui may not be able to contain herself...
More on the awards HERE.
