Future Local Lab
Local Government Explained
Local Elections England: 2026
Cllr Awards 2024: Meet the Judges
Cllr Awards 2024: Meet the Judges
Every year, we receive hundreds of nominations for exceptional councillors from all over England, Wales, and Scotland. The winners are selected by our expert panel of judges, drawn from across the local government sector.
We are proud to unveil our prestigious and independent judging panel.
The judges: England & Wales
Colin Copus
Emeritus Professor in Local Politics, Local Governance Research Centre, De Montfort University and visiting professor at Ghent University
Cllr Mike Evemy
Deputy Leader, Cotswold District Council
Paulette Hamilton
MP, House of Commons
Cllr Anne Handley
Leader, East Riding of Yorkshire Council
Matt Jukes
Chief Executive, Kingston-upon-Hull City Council
Cllr Eamonn O’Brien
Leader, Bury Council
Cllr Tim Oliver OBE
Leader, Surrey County Council
Cllr Lezley Picton
Leader, Shropshire Council
Cllr Shantanu Rajawat
Leader, London Borough of Hounslow
Cllr Jim Robbins
Leader, Swindon Borough Council
Hannah Stevens
Chief Executive, Elect Her
Cllr Holly Whitbread
Finance & Economic Development Portfolio Holder, Epping Forest District Council, Deputy Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Integration, Essex County Council and Deputy Chair, CCA
Cllr Ahsan Khan
Deputy Leader, London Borough of Waltham Forest
Cllr Bella Sankey
Leader, Brighton & Hove City Council
Kelly Watson
Head of Local Government Relationships, CCLA Investment Management
The judges: Scotland
Manira Ahmad
Chief Officer, Public Health Scotland
Alison Allen
Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Local Government Association
David Barr
Programme Manager, Democratic Governance, Improvement Service Scotland
Professor James Mitchell
University of Edinburgh
Cllr Tim Pogson
Edinburgh City Council
Cllr Kathleen Robertson
Leader, Moray Council
Alan Russell
Chief Executive, Renfrewshire
Cllr Ian Yuill
Co-Leader, Aberdeen City Council
Cllr Richard Bell
Deputy Leader, Glasgow City Council
Kim Fellows
Briefings for Scotland & International, LGIU
Kelly Watson
Head of Local Government Relationships, CCLA Investment Management
This year’s Awards are only possible thanks to the generous support of our founding partners CCLA.
CCLA is a leading specialist fund manager for local authorities and charities. When they began sponsoring the Cllr Awards they had 22 local authority client accounts. Today they have over 700 and this number is growing every month. CCLA are owned by their clients – their mission is to serve the whole sector, regardless of size.