Peter Tatchell is Liberal Voice of the Year

I spoke last night at a packed event on 'Gaza. One Year On' in Conway Hall, which has been filmed by Press TV and will also appear soon on the website of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Other speakers included Alexei Sayle, Jeremy Corbyn MP, George Galloway MP and speakers from the trade unions UNITE and UNISON, as well as some people who had been on the recent Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza.

Yesterday we received the news that my Green Party colleague and fellow campaigner for LGBT rights, Peter Tatchell, had been awarded the Liberal Voice of the Year award by Liberal Democrat Voice readers. Nobody deserves this more for his tireless efforts for human rights both here and globally, which has cost him his health. Well done Peter and I hope that your health recovers soon.

Peter Tatchell is Liberal Voice of the Year

Left-wing Green wins vote by Liberal Democrat Voice readers

Peter Tatchell has won Liberal Democrat Voice's third annual Liberal Voice of the Year award for his "tireless and fearless international human rights campaigning."

The runner-up was author and journalist Ben Goldacre. Other contenders were Joanna Lumley, Rory Stewart, Terry Pratchett, Henry Porter, Guy Herbert and Alan Rushbridger.
The two previous years' Liberal Voice winners were Shami Chakrabati (2007) and the campaigners on behalf of Jean Charles de Menezes (Justice4Jean.org) and the Stockwell Shooting Inquest Jury (2008).

See the Liberal Democrat Voice report about the online readers poll result here:
http://www.libdemvoice.org/ldv-readers-vote-peter-tatchell-your-liberal-voice-of-the-year-17607.html

Responding to winning the vote, Peter Tatchell said:

"I am honoured, but quite surprised, to win Liberal Voice of the Year, given that I'm a left-wing Green. It shows that Liberal Democrat Voice readers are non-sectarian and inclusive, putting values and principles above narrow party interests, which is how it should be.

"There are progressive people in all parties, apart from the BNP and possibly UKIP. We should work together more, focusing on what we have in common rather than on what divides us.

"In Britain, the combined supporters of liberal, green and left values constitute the majority. If people from these three political strands cooperated more closely, and if we had had a fair voting system, Britain need never again suffer a Conservative government. We could move the country forward on a progressive agenda for social justice, democratic reform, civil liberties and environmental renewal.

"At the international level, it has been a real privilege to write and campaign in support of the freedom struggles in Iran, Russia, Balochistan, Uganda, Iraq, Somaliland, West Papua, Sudan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia. The democracy activists in these countries are truly heroic and inspirational. I crawl in their shadows.

"One of the things I have learned from my 43 years of human rights campaigning is that no matter how small and weak we may feel, we can all help make a difference. I do my bit for human rights, as do millions of others. Together, cumulatively and collectively, slowly but surely, we are shaping a better world," said Mr Tatchell.

http://www.petertatchell.net/