A press release just dropped into my inbox: I’d not known a word about it before, but it brought a huge smile to my face (and a wee bit of pride too). Every year, ‘Morgan Stanley’ Great Britons awards are given for seven categories of achievement in public life, and in the awards press release (which I’ve reproduced below) I’m being suggested as one of the nominees for campaigner of the year.
The irony is it’s sponsored by Morgan Stanley, which, amongst other things, is a provider of credit cards. Considering my nomination is mainly based on the work this site’s done in raising people’s awareness of how they take companies on and deal with their debt, alongside reclaiming campaigns like credit card charges and ppi reclaiming (plus council tax and bank charges) the irony looms large.
Now I know at this point its supposed to be bad form to say “I’d love the award”, but let me be honest, I would; of course, a part of it is for career and ego purposes and I’m not going to deny that; but it also provides an additional platform for raising bigger issues – from the woeful state of financial education to the suspension of bank charges reclaiming – and the fact a big bank’s paying makes it even better.
Next step is to get the nominations, if any MoneySavers fancy nominating me at the Great Britons site that’d be fantastic; looking at who else is there… I need all the help I can get.
Campaigning & Public Life in 2007
Morgan Stanley celebrates Great British achievements for the fourth consecutive year.
London, 6 October, 2007, Morgan Stanley today announced that nominations have opened for the Morgan Stanley Great Briton Awards 2007, offering each member of the public the opportunity to put forward the British person they believe has made an exceptional contribution to their field over the past year.
The Awards, now in their fourth year, seek to explore, express and celebrate Britishness in the field of Campaigning & Public Life as well as across six other categories including Arts, Business, Creative Industries, Environment, Science & Innovation and Sport.
In 2006, 16 year-old Laurie Pycroft was awarded the Campaigning & Public Life Morgan Stanley Great Briton Award for his Pro-Test movement which promoted and supported animal testing in medical research. Jamie Oliver won the award in 2005 following his astonishing energy and determination in persuading schools, the Government, parents and society at large of the need to change school lunch menus from junk food into nutritious meals.
This Award recognises the countless individuals who work with steadfast determination on community issues or fight to correct social wrongs. At a time when the British population is evolving so rapidly, focusing on and celebrating people who best represent Britishness in any given year, gives the nation a real feel for what it means to be British.
Who will win the award for their contribution to Campaigning and Public Life in 2007 – will it be Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England and the UK’s Chief Medical Adviser, since 1998 or perhaps Martin Lewis, the award-winning TV & radio presenter, national newspaper columnist and bestselling author, who set up the website MoneySavingExpert.com? Nominations for the Campaigning & Public Life Morgan Stanley Great Briton and all other categories can be made now at http://www.greatbritons.org.
Following public nominations, category judging panels will select a shortlist prior to the final judging panel selecting the overall winners of each category. The winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony held in central London in January.”
