Future Local Lab
Local Government Explained
Local Elections England: 2026
Cllr Awards 2025: Meet the Judges
Cllr Awards 2025: 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
Cllr John Cope
Elmbridge Borough Council and Chairman, Conservative Councillors’ Association
Cllr George Duggins
Leader, Coventry City Council
Cllr Abi Brown
Stoke Council and Deputy Leader of the LGA Conservative Group
Cllr Hans Mundry
Leader, Warrington Borough Council
Cllr Liam Robinson
Leader, Liverpool City Council
Jonathan Flowers
Chair, Non-Executive Director, Advisor
Cllr Neil Nerva
Brent Council and Chair of the LGIU’s Executive Board
Annabel Mullins
Communications Director, ElectHer
David Weaver
Chair, Operation Black Vote
Cllr Richard Kemp CBE
Former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr for Penny Lane ward and Chair for QS Impact and LAMIT
The judges: Scotland
Manira Ahmad
Chief Officer, Public Health Scotland
Alison Allen
Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA)
David Barr
Programme Manager, Democratic Governance, Improvement Service
Professor James Mitchell
The University of Edinburgh
Cllr Katie Pragnall
East Renfrewshire Council
Cllr Gail Macgregor
Group Leader, Chair Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Committee, Dumfries and Galloway Council
Cllr Emma Macdonald
Leader, Shetland Islands Council
Jane O'Donnell
Chief Executive, COSLA
Lee Jagger
Relationship Manager – Local Government, CCLA
Kim Fellows
Commissioning Editor, LGIU
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.