TATTON MP George Osborne has been voted Opposition Politician of the Year at a political awards ceremony organised by Channel Four News.
It was the first political awards ceremony of the year - and by all accounts the Tories had the most to shout about.
The Shadow Chancellor beat off competition from new Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond for the accolade.
Accepting the award, Mr Osborne reflected on the recent revelations about how hundreds of thousands of pounds of Tory donations have been channelled into funding his office: "It's been a remarkable few months, especially since now everyone knows exactly how much is spent on the Shadow Chancellor's office," he said.
"Not to have got a return on the investment would have been rather depressing."
Most of the awards are voted for by the politicians themselves, which often means that party prejudices can dictate the results. But last Wednesday several leading Conservatives confounded Labour's parliamentary majority and scooped the big prizes.
It is the second award Mr Osborne has won. The first was the Spectator's Politician of the Year award given to him at the annual Threadneedle Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year lunch.
The award acknowledged the massive impact of his speech as Shadow Chancellor in 2007 when he announced Tories would slash inheritance tax.
Mr Osborne added: "It was a great honour to receive these awards. It has been a remarkable year or so for the Conservative Party.
"But the change in our fortunes does not come down to a single person or a single speech, it’s a team effort and the superb leadership of David Cameron that made the country sit up and listen to what we had to say."
