9th SME4Labour Annual Excellence Awards · 2026

Britain's Builders — The Finalists

16 categories · 155 finalists · London · 22 June 2026

Click here to vote

Labour Peer of the Year

10

The voices carrying small business into the upper chamber.

  • Baroness Luciana Berger
  • Baroness Brenda Dacres
  • Lord Maurice Glasman
  • Baroness Sue Gray
  • Lord John Hannett
  • Lord Peter John
  • Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon
  • Baroness Carol Linforth OBE
  • Baroness Katie Martin
  • Baroness Shama Shah

Rising Star of the Year

10

The newest intake making an early mark for Britain's builders.

  • Dr Zubir Ahmed MP
  • Johanna Baxter MP
  • Chris Curtis MP
  • Miatta Fahnbulleh MP
  • Natalie Fleet MP
  • Georgia Gould MP
  • Josh MacAlister MP
  • Kanishka Narayan MP
  • Sarah Sackman MP
  • Mike Tapp MP

Backbencher of the Year

10

The unglamorous work of the back benches — questions, bills, campaigns.

  • Kate Osborne MP
  • Tony Vaughan MP
  • Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
  • Liam Conlon MP
  • Lee Barron MP
  • Torcuil Crichton MP
  • Clive Betts MP
  • Julia Buckley MP
  • Emma Lewell MP
  • Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP

Labour MP of the Year

10

Members who turned up for builders, in the chamber and the constituency.

  • Rosena Allin-Khan MP
  • Liam Byrne MP
  • Stella Creasy MP
  • Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP
  • Preet Kaur Gill MP
  • Sharon Hodgson MP
  • Clive Lewis MP
  • Gordon McKee MP
  • Chi Onwurah MP
  • Lucy Rigby MP

Cabinet Member of the Year

10

Senior ministers shaping the conditions every SME operates in.

  • Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP
  • Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP
  • Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
  • Rt Hon John Healey MP
  • Rt Hon Pat McFadden MP
  • Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP
  • Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP
  • Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP
  • Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP
  • Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP

Labour Metro Mayor of the Year

10

Building regional economies from the ground up.

  • Tracy Brabin — Mayor of West Yorkshire
  • Oliver Coppard — Mayor of South Yorkshire
  • Helen Godwin — Mayor of the West of England
  • Sadiq Khan — Mayor of London
  • Kim McGuinness — Mayor of the North East
  • Richard Parker — Mayor of the West Midlands
  • Steve Rotheram — Mayor of the Liverpool City Region
  • David Skaith — Mayor of York & North Yorkshire
  • Claire Ward — Mayor of the East Midlands
  • Andy Burnham — Mayor of Greater Manchester

Labour London Assembly Member of the Year

10

Holding City Hall to account for London's small businesses.

  • Marina Ahmad AM
  • Elly Baker AM
  • Anne Clarke AM
  • Leonie Cooper AM
  • Unmesh Desai AM
  • Lord Len Duvall AM
  • Bassam Mahfouz AM
  • Joanne McCartney AM
  • Sem Moema AM
  • James Small-Edwards AM

Labour Scottish Parliament Member of the Year

6

Making the case for Scotland's small businesses at Holyrood.

  • Jackie Baillie MSP
  • Neil Bibby MSP
  • Daniel Johnson MSP
  • Michael Marra MSP
  • Anas Sarwar MSP
  • Paul Sweeney MSP

Labour Councillor of the Year

10

Closest of all to builders — the loan, the market hall, the relief.

  • Cllr Muhammed Butt — Brent Council
  • Cllr Stephen Cowan — Hammersmith & Fulham Council
  • Cllr Louise Gittins — Cheshire West and Chester Council
  • Cllr Stuart King — Croydon Council
  • Cllr James Lewis — Leeds City Council
  • Cllr Vince Maple — Medway Council
  • Cllr Peter Mason — Ealing Council
  • Cllr Anthony Okereke — Royal Borough of Greenwich Council
  • Cllr Liam Robinson — Liverpool City Council
  • Cllr Bella Sankey — Brighton & Hove City Council

Labour Council of the Year

9

Turning local government into local growth.

  • Cardiff Council — Cllr Huw Thomas
  • Coventry City Council — Cllr George Duggins
  • Leeds City Council — Cllr James Lewis
  • Liverpool City Council — Cllr Liam Robinson
  • Manchester City Council — Cllr Bev Craig
  • Nottingham City Council — Cllr Neghat Khan
  • Plymouth City Council — Cllr Tudor Evans
  • Preston City Council — Cllr Matthew Brown
  • Sheffield City Council — Cllr Tom Hunt

CLP of the Year

10

The movement's foundations — organising and listening in communities.

  • Birmingham Yardley CLP
  • Bristol North West CLP
  • Cardiff South and Penarth CLP
  • Edinburgh South CLP
  • Glasgow North East CLP
  • Leeds East CLP
  • Liverpool Riverside CLP
  • Manchester Central CLP
  • Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West CLP
  • Nottingham East CLP

Socialist Society of the Year

10

Bringing expertise and conscience to the movement.

  • BAME Labour
  • Fabian Society
  • Jewish Labour Movement
  • Labour Animal Welfare Society
  • Labour Movement for Europe
  • Labour Party Irish Society
  • Labour Women's Network
  • Scientists for Labour
  • SERA – Labour's Environment Campaign
  • Society of Labour Lawyers

Labour Friends Group of the Year

10

Building bridges across communities and borders.

  • 1987 Committee
  • Africans for Labour
  • British Muslim Friends of Labour
  • Kurds for Labour
  • Labour Asians Society
  • Labour Friends of Israel
  • Labour Friends of Kosovo & the Western Balkans
  • Labour Friends of NATO
  • Labour Friends of Palestine & the Middle East
  • Sikhs for Labour

Trade Union of the Year

10

Organising the skilled workforce every business depends on.

  • Community Union
  • CWU
  • FBU
  • GMB
  • Prospect
  • TSSA
  • UNISON
  • Unite the Union
  • USDAW
  • ASLEF

SME Business / Trade Association of the Year

10

Turning thousands of frustrations into one clear ask.

  • British Beer & Pub Association
  • British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA)
  • Federation of Master Builders
  • Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
  • Institute of Directors (IoD)
  • Make UK
  • National Federation of Fish Friers
  • Road Haulage Association
  • Short Term Accommodation Association
  • Trade Association Forum

Entrepreneur of the Year

10

Who took the risk, made the payroll, and built something real.

  • Karen Alcock
  • Hatice Beton
  • Pete Bowyer
  • Atta Haq
  • Lord Peter John OBE
  • Christian Klapp
  • Kevin McKeever
  • Paul Nicholson
  • Katie Perrior
  • Kalpesh Solanki