SCOTTISH Labour’s Jackie Baillie has been named the Herald’s politician of the year, while Tory Cabinet Secretary Alister Jack scooped the award for best Scot at Westminster.
The pair took home the two top awards at a ceremony held by The National's sister paper in Edinburgh on Thursday.
Baillie, the deputy leader of Scottish Labour, was given the top prize over her boss Anas Sarwar – who won in 2022 – and First Minister Humza Yousaf.
She was credited with helping Labour to win the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, which saw the party double their number of MPs in Scotland to two.
In her speech, Baillie described the vote as an “earthquake”.
She said: "It is an unexpected honour to be named as The Herald politician of the year.
“The truth is that I could not have done my job without the support of my constituents, my fantastic staff and my boss, Anas Sarwar.
“This has been a year that will go down in the history books – a new first minister, countless political scandals, and a by-election that caused a political earthquake.
“We are not complacent but the trend in the polls is very encouraging. The tectonic plates are shifting and Scottish Labour is back in business.
“Change is coming. I promise I will continue to do all I can to stand up for my constituents and deliver that change across our country."
Scottish Secretary Jack (below) took home the award for best Scot at Westminster, beating SNP group leader Stephen Flynn and LibDem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain, the MP for North East Fife.
Judges at the awards picked Jack due to his veto of Holyrood’s gender reforms – which is currently being challenged in the courts – and his work on the two “green freeports”.
Elsewhere, Tory MSP Jamie Greene was named debater of the year, while Labour’s Michael Marra picked up the one to watch award.
SNP rebel Fergus Ewing picked up awards for politics in business and community MSP of the year, while the SNP’s Kenny Gibson picked up committee MSP of the year.
Green co-leader and government minister Patrick Harvie scooped an award for being a green champion.
Katie Hagmann, an SNP councillor in Dumfries and Galloway who also serves as the resources spokesperson for Cosla, won the award for Scottish local politician of the year.
John McFall, a Scottish peer serving as the Lord Speaker in the upper house, won a lifetime achievement award.
Tory MSP Liz Smith won an award for best campaign of the year for pushing for a public enquiry into rogue surgeon Professor Sam Eljamel.
