Posted in: Comics | Tagged: andrew neil, awards, british political cartoonist awards, cartoons, london, martin ronson, steve bell, westminster
The British Political Cartoonist Awards 2014
People ask what I do when I'm not writing Bleeding Cool. Which kinda takes up around 18 hours a day. Well, on Sundays, I take a little time off, to draw a cartoon. For the British political blog, Guido Fawkes.
As a result, I found myself invited as a guest to the British Political Cartoon Awards last night. I'm not nominated of course, don't be ridiculous, but I was invited into the throng. And I suddenly found myself a little nervous.
Why? Well, my biggest influences as a cartoonist when I was a child, weren't comic books, but political cartoons. Mostly in The Guardian, which meant Gary Trudeau and Steve Bell. I used to copy, trace Bell constantly, and my Margaret Thatcher is, well, his Margaret Thatcher. My John Major was his John Major. And everyone's Tony Blair is his Tony Blair.
And last night he won for the best political cartoon of the year. Presented by Andrew Mitchell MP of the recent Plebgate scandal, I was in the back room of the awards and managed to film the recent from the point of view of everyone in the second room. The winner of Political Cartoonist of the year was The Times' Morten Morland.
Here's the video, with one juicy bit of gossip from Guido Fawkes removed… it's almost like you were there. Wine and mince pies and all.[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zxj-NRqZX0[/youtube]After that, it was a wander to the Adam Smith Institute's party where I collared Andrew Neil, and then a few halves in the Westminster Arms. I ended up walking over the wrong bridge home…