The nominees for the fifth annual PinkNews Awards

Sep 26 2017
Written by Joseph McCormick

The fifth annual PinkNews Awards will take place on 18 October, and PinkNews is delighted to unveil the shortlisted nominees in all awards categories.

The awards will take place on 18 October from 6.30pm at a central London location.

It will celebrate the contributions of politicians, businesses, campaigners and community groups to improving LGBT+ life in the UK and beyond.

The fifth year the PinkNews Awards has taken place, the event will be bigger than ever with new categories and a more extensive shortlist of nominees.

PinkNews Awards

Use the link below to vote for your favourites

The Campaigner of the Year award includes a shortlist of individual nominees who all continue to fight for LGBT+ acceptance at home and abroad. This includesthe CEO of trans charity Mermaids, Susie Green, ‘FindMike’ founder Jonny Benjamin and co-founder of UK Black Pride Lady Phyll, among other hardworking and passionate campaigners.

The Community Group of the Year Award also features a shortlist of incredibly important organisations which seek to change the lives of LGBT+ people through their day-to-day work. The shortlist includes LGBTQ Muslim charity IMAAN, Love Equality Northern Ireland and Out and Proud African LGBT.

Speaking at the event will be Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, and other high profile speakers still to be announced.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said ahead of the event: “I’m proud to be taking part in this year’s PinkNews Awards. London is seen as a beacon of inclusion around the world and, as Mayor of this great city, I have seen first-hand the amazing contribution that London’s vibrant LGBT+ community makes to the life and soul of the capital.

“This year’s awards are particularly special as they mark 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales. There is no better time to celebrate the great achievements of members of the UK’s LGBT+ community while also reflecting on the huge challenges that LGBT+ people face both at home and abroad.

“Same-sex relationships are still illegal in 72 countries around the world, and punishable by death in eight. This serves as a sober reminder of the freedoms that we can sometimes take for granted. The PinkNews charity partner, the Kaleidoscope Trust, do important work to fight anti-LGBT+ injustice around the world. I fully support them in their fight to enable the LGBT+ community everywhere to live openly and freely and without fear of persecution.

“As Mayor of London, I am committed to equality and to ensuring that the capital celebrates our diversity and inclusiveness – sending a message around the world, loud and clear, that London is open to everyone, regardless of background, gender or sexuality.”

Lorraine Kelly added: “I’m so delighted to nominated for this prestigious PinkNews Award.

“The LGBT community has always been so supportive of both me and my show and that means such a lot.

“I’m also looking forward to a fabulous evening.”

And Victoria Derbyshire commented: “We are totally over the moon that the Victoria Derbyshire programme has been nominated for a third time by readers of PinkNews. I hope it shows how committed we are to coverage of LGBT+ stories that affect people’s daily lives. Thank you so much to all of the readers and viewers.”

Patrick Harvie MSP said of his nomination: “I’m thrilled to have been nominated for this year’s PinkNews awards. It’s been a huge privilege to contribute to the Scottish Parliament’s progress on equality, but all parties have far more to do if we’re to consign prejudice and hatred to political history.”

LBC’s Maajid Nawaz adds: “This nomination continues to remind me of the power of radio and its intimate ability to impact the listener on the key issues of our day. I’m incredibly humbled because I feel standing up against hatred and bigotry is the most natural thing to do. Having a platform to do that is a privilege. I’m delighted to be able to represent LBC to the wider world in this way.”

Click here for the form to vote for your favourites for the PinkNews Awards 2017

The PinkNews Awards is generously supported by Lloyds Banking Group.

Jeremy Corbyn and Lorraine Kelly PinkNews Parliamentary Summer Reception (Photo by Chris Jepson for PinkNews)

Karin Cook, Lloyds Banking Group Director, Operations and Executive Sponsor for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, said: “We are delighted to be the headline sponsor of the 2017 PinkNews Awards.

“At Lloyds Banking Group, our goal is to become the best bank for customers; a company that reflects the diversity of modern Britain in our workforce, and provides an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone,” she continued.

“Ensuring our LGBT colleagues are engaged is important in meeting our commitments on inclusion and diversity as part of our Helping Britain Prosper Plan.

“The PinkNews Awards provides a platform to recognise the contributions of politicians, businesses and community campaigning groups towards advancing the UK LGBT agenda, and we are proud to partner with PinkNews to celebrate the progress that has been made over the past year.”

She added that the awards “also provide us with an opportunity to address what more needs to be done to ensure true parity for LGBT people in the UK.”

Speaking ahead of the event, PinkNews CEO Benjamin Cohen said: “It is incredibly important to mark 50 years since homosexuality was partially decriminalised.

“PinkNews wants to celebrate strides made from the 1967 Act onwards including the eventual equalisation of the age of consent, same-sex marriage and the Gender Recognition Act, among other legal and societal changes.

“It is also vastly important to note battles still to be won. It is still illegal to be gay in 72 countries around the world and many LGBT people suffer under laws introduced during the British Empire, which is proof that we need to redouble our efforts to improve the lives of LGBT+ people at home and abroad.”

Previous winners of PinkNews Awards include former Prime Minister David Cameron, former Labour leader Ed Miliband and BBC journalist Victoria Derbyshire.

Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, Good Morning Britain’s Susanna Reid, Olympic hero Tom Bosworth and Former First Minister Alex Salmond have also picked up PinkNews Awards.

Check out the full shortlist of nominees for the 2017 PinkNews Awards below:

Campaigner of the Year

Seyran Ates – Founder of the Ibn Rushd-Goethe inclusive mosque in Berlin
Jonny Benjamin – Mental health campaigner, founder of the ‘Find Mike’ campaign
Susie Green – CEO of Mermaids trans charity
Lewis Oakley – Bisexual campaigner – PinkNews and Bi.org contributor
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (Lady Phyll) – co-founder and trustee of UK Black Pride
Edwin Sesange – Co-founder Out and Proud African LGBTI

(click here for more information on the Campaigner of the Year nominees)

Politician of the Year

Hannah Bardell MP – SNP MP for Livingston
Baroness Barker – Lib Dem peer
Lord Ray Collins of Highbury – Labour peer
Stephen Doughty MP – Labour and Co-op MP for Cardiff South and Penarth
The Rt Hon Justine Greening MP – Conservative MP for Putney and Education Secretary
Patrick Harvie MSP – Scottish Greens co-convener and MSP for Glasgow
Lord Scriven – Lib Dem peer
John Swinney MSP – Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Education and MSP for Perthshire North
Annie Wells MSP – Conservative MSP for Glasgow

(Click here for more information on the nominees for Politician of the Year)

Broadcaster or Broadcast of the Year

Coronation Street – ITV
Doctor Who – BBC
Loose Women – ITV
Lorraine – ITV
Maajid Nawaz – LBC
Orange is the New Black – Netflix
Sense8 – Netflix
Transparent – Amazon Prime
Victoria Derbyshire – BBC

(Click here for more information about all of the Broadcast nominees)

Community Group of the Year

IMAAN Center – Leading LGBTQ Muslim Charity
Just Like Us – LGBT+ Charity for Young People
KeshetUK – Charity working for LGBTQ inclusion in Jewish life
Love Equality NI– The campaign for civil marriage in Northern Ireland
Mermaids UK– Family and individual support for gender diverse and transgender children and young people
Opening Doors London– London-based charity offering support to older LGBT+ people
Out and Proud African LGBT (OPAL) – OPAL is an African Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex rights and human rights activist charity
The WOW Network – Working to Support, Guide and Connect with LGBT women at work
UK Alliance for Global Equality– A coalition of UK-based civil society organisations working together to promote and support progress in global LGBT rights

(Click here to read more about the nominees for Community Group of the Year)

Special award for 50th Anniversary coverage of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality

50 Shades of Gay (Channel 4)
Against the Law (BBC 1)
Britain’s Great Gay Buildings (Channel 4)
Convicted for Love (Channel 4)
Gay Brittania (BBC Radio 4 Extra)
Growing up gay (BBC)
I’m Coming Out (BBC 3)
Is it safe to be gay in the UK? (BBC)
Man in an Orange Shirt (BBC2)
Prejudice & Pride (BBC)
Prejudice and Pride – National Trust
Queer Britain (BBC 3)
Queers (BBC 4)