The Contrarian Prize is an annual prize which has been awarded either annually or bi-annually since its establishment in 2012. The prize promotes the contribution of non-conformist thinking to the British public debate by recognising individuals who have demonstrated independence, courage, and sacrifice through the ideas they have introduced, or stands they have taken. Nominations for the prize are submitted through an online form by the public each year, with the shortlist and winner selected by a panel of judges. The judging panel is chaired by

Ali Miraj Mohammad Ali Miraj (born October 1974) is a British former Conservative Party parliamentary candidate, chartered accountant, and part-time DJ from London. Political career Miraj became a councillor in Ruislip Manor in Hillingdon in 1998 aged ...

, who founded the prize, with other judges including economist

Vicky Pryce Vasiliki "Vicky" Pryce (' Kourmouzi ( el, Βασιλική Κουρμούζη); born 15 July 1952) is a Greek-born British economist and a former Joint Head of the United Kingdom's Government Economic Service. She is currently the Chief Econom ...

, businessman and winner of the inaugural prize Michael Woodford, journalist Izabella Kaminska, and politician

Gawain Towler Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest W ...

The prize: "The Three Politicians"

"The Three Politicians" was originally created in 2007 by Italian pop art sculptor, Maruro Perucchetti, and donated by him in recognition of the inaugural prize awarded in March 2013. The pigmented urethane resin sculpture illustrates the "three politicians" in the form of the three wise monkeys – one who does not see, one who does not speak, and one who does not hear.

List of shortlisted candidates and prize winners

2013 Contrarian Prize

The shortlist for the inaugural prize was announced in February 2013, and the prize was presented by Isabel Oakeshott on 18 March 2013. * Michael Woodford – winner * Giles Fraser * Nigel Farage * Heather Brooke * Peter Tatchell

2014 Contrarian Prize

The 2014 prize was awarded on 2 April 2014. *

Clive Stafford Smith Clive Adrian Stafford Smith (born 9 July 1959) is a British attorney who specialises in the areas of civil rights and working against the death penalty in the United States of America. He worked to overturn death sentences for convicts, and h ...

– winner * Benjamin Zephaniah *

Brian Cathcart Brian Cathcart (born 26 October 1956) is an Irish-born journalist, academic and media campaigner based in the United Kingdom. He is professor of journalism at Kingston University London and in 2011 was a founder of Hacked Off, which campaigns for ...

Douglas Carswell John Douglas Wilson Carswell (born 3 May 1971) is a British former politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, co-founded Vote Leave and currently serves as president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. ...

* Kay Sheldon * Peter Oborne Presented by:

Will Hutton William Nicolas Hutton (born 21 May 1950) is a British journalist. As of 2022, he writes a regular column for ''The Observer'', co-chairs the Purposeful Company, and is the president-designate of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is the chair ...

2015 Contrarian Prize

The shortlist for the 2015 prize was announced in June 2015, and the prize was presented by

Jonathan Dimbleby Jonathan Dimbleby (born 31 July 1944) is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, author and historian. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of television presenter David Dimbleby. ...

on 18 June 2015. *

Simon Danczuk Simon Christopher Danczuk (; born 24 October 1966) is a British author and former Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the constituency of Rochdale between 2010 and 2017. He has co-written two books, ''Smile for the Camera: The Double Life ...

– winner *

Craig Murray Craig John Murray (born 17 October 1958) is a Scottish author, human rights campaigner, journalist, and former diplomat for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Between 2002 and 2004, he was the British ambassador to Uzbekistan during whi ...

* Ed Husain *

George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who is currently leader of the Workers Party of Britain, serving since 2019. Between 1987 and 2010, and then between 2012 and 2015, Galloway was a Member o ...

* Nevres Kemal

2017 Contrarian Prize

The 2017 prize was presented by

Sir Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...

on 16 May 2017. *

Patrick Minford Anthony Patrick Leslie Minford (born 17 May 1943) is a British macroeconomist who is professor of applied economics at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, a position he has held since 1997. He was Edward Gonner Professor of Applied E ...

– winner * Gisela Stuart *

Narindar Saroop Major Narindar Saroop (14 August 1929 – 19 December 2020) was an Indian-born British businessman. He was the eldest son of Chaudhri Ram Saroop, Ismaila, Rohtak, India and the late Shyam Devi. He was educated at the Aitchison College for P ...

* Faith Spear * Nigel Farage

2019 Contrarian Prize

The shortlist for the 2019 prize was announced in June 2019, and the prize was presented by Jeremy Paxman on 25 June 2019. *

Katharine Birbalsingh Katharine Moana Birbalsingh (born 16 September 1973) is a British teacher and education reformer who is the founder and head teacher of Michaela Community School, a free school established in 2014 in Wembley Park, London. Ideologically, she ide ...

– winner *

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

Douglas Murray Douglas Murray may refer to: * Douglas Murray (author) (born 1979), British political journalist, author and commentator * Doug Murray (comics) (born 1947), American comic book writer * Douglas Murray (ice hockey) (born 1980), Swedish ice hockey ...

* David Goodhart *

Helen Pluckrose Helen Pluckrose is a British author and cultural writer known for critiques of Critical Social Justice and promotion of liberal ethics, most notably in the grievance studies affair. Education Pluckrose completed a degree in English literature a ...

The Contrarian Prize Lecture

Following the prize-giving ceremony, an event is held in conjunction with Cass Business School typically in the form of a lecture or discussion featuring the winner of that year's prize.

External links

The Contrarian Prize
- official website

References

{{reflist British awards British lecture series Economics awards Politics awards