St Helens MP Conor McGinn named Politician of the Year at PinkNews Awards 2018

The Labour MP and Conservative peer Lord Hayward were both honoured for their work across the political divide to extend equal marriage to Northern Ireland.

Mr McGinn, who was born in Northern Ireland, submitted a bill in the House of Commons to bring equal marriage to the region, while Lord Hayward submitted counterpart legislation in the Lords.

LGBT+ campaigners have praised the pair’s efforts to secure equality via Westminster, given the absence of a devolved government.

Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive collapsed in January 2017 and is yet to be restored due to divisions between the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin.

The two politicians were presented with their joint prize by Commons Speaker John Bercow at the awards event in Westminster.

Conor McGinn gave a speech after recieving his award

Accepting the award, Mr McGinn said: “It’s overwhelming to receive this award on behalf of all those LGBT couples in Northern Ireland who still aren’t treated equally.

“I hope this sends a very strong message to government here that the issue isn’t going away.

“This is not about people getting married or even being gay, this is about people being equal.

"We are absolutely determined to do it, however it is possible.

“Thank you to all the organisations working to ensure we get marriage equality in Belfast as we do in London and Dublin.”

Mr McGinn, the MP for St Helens North, has said he hopes his bill will keep up pressure on the UK government to act on the issue.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also attended the event

He added that in the absence of a Northern Ireland Assembly, Westminster has a “moral and political duty to act and bring in legislation to end this discrimination once and for all.”

Mr McGinn and Lord Hayward introduced their two private members’ bills on the issue in March 2018.

The bills have kept the issue on the political agenda and also earned backing from across much of the political spectrum in Northern Ireland.

Lord Hayward added: “Conor and I will not rest. To the ministers in this room and politicians from other parties, we want equality in Northern Ireland and we deserve equality in Northern Ireland.”

The Conservative peer founded the country’s first gay rugby club, the Kings Cross Steelers, and has been a prominent supporter of LGBT+ rights in the House of Lords.

Former Labour leader Tony Blair presented the Lifetime Achievement Award

The other nominees in the category were Equalities Minister Penny Mordaunt, Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, the SNP’s Christina McKelvie, Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill and Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Naomi Long.

The sixth annual PinkNews Awards ceremony was hosted at Church House in Westminster.

Speakers at the event included Home Secretary Sajid Javid, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.