We have received phone calls, emails and social media posts demanding that one of the shortlisted entries has their nomination disqualified. A variety of allegations have been made, none of which can be repeated without making statements that are potentially defamatory. To our knowledge, no regulatory or other expert body has found them to have substance.
To be clear, the SMK National Campaigner Awards invite nominations each year, from which a shortlist is selected under each category. It is the responsibility of nominators to ensure that the information they submit is accurate. None of the information subsequently submitted to us contradicts the original nomination. To our knowledge, no regulatory or other expert body has found them to have substance.
We have been told that no nomination should be permitted if there are any other, more worthy, campaigners in the same field. That is not how these Awards work. We select shortlisted entries based on the nominations we receive for recent activity. The nominations process is open to anyone.
It is rare that any campaign or campaigner achieves change alone. Decades of campaigning can take place, by different people and organisations, before progress is made. In that sense, as campaigners we are all building on the efforts of others. The SMK National Campaigner Awards are not intended to negate that.
Being shortlisted is a recognition of recent efforts by a person or campaign, and we see no reason to remove any nomination at this time.