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Winner

Kathleen Carter

‘Reforming the Rent to Own Market’ - Thrive Stockton

Kathleen’s campaign takes on the high interest rent-to-own market operating on high streets and door steps. Such companies offer easy access to electrical and home goods at inflated prices, loaded with high interest payments, insurance, warranty and late payments charges. The customer base is poor and vulnerable and cannot get mainstream credit. Kathleen wants regular payers to be given a lower interest rate and a good credit score, to enable them to then switch to mainstream credit.

Finalists

Stuart Watson

‘Wake up to Prostate Cancer’ - The Prostate Cancer Charity

Stuart has a passionate commitment for alerting men and their families to the risks of prostate cancer. He is doing what he can to ensure that it is properly recognised by primary health care professionals. The ultimate aim is to reduce the number of men who die every year from the disease by early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. This would be achieved through more consistent and effective implementation of the current Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme for General Practitioners.

George McLaughlin

‘Preservation of Prehen Ancient Woodland and Justice for the Community Through Reform of the Planning System’

George is campaigning to protect the Prehen Woodland, one of the last tracts of Ancient Woodland in Northern Ireland, from the continual threat from developers. As a result of his experiences with planners and Government departments, George’s campaign is trying to achieve fairness, equality and justice for those who care about the protection of the natural environment.

Award judges

Esmée Russell

Esmée is the Senior Campaigns Officer at Age UK – a national charity working to improve later life for everyone. Esmée currently leads on two national campaigns ‘Still Hungry to be Heard’ – tackling malnutrition in hospitals and ‘Care in Crisis’ – calling for long term care reform. Prior to working at Age UK, Esmée worked at Mencap on a campaign to stop children with a learning disability being bullied.

Nigel Saxby-Soffe

Nigel has had a distinguished career in finance spanning both the corporate and NGO sector. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG before joining J. Henry Schroder & Co., where he was an Investment Banking Director. In 1994 Nigel joined ActionAid as Director of Finance where he oversaw the development of the ActionAid International federation of international development organisations operating in 50 countries and was responsible for ensuring its financial integrity and improving its financial performance and accountability.

Nigel was a Non-Executive Director of the Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust from 1994 – 2004.

Nigel is married with two children and lives in Sussex. He joined the SMK Board in May 2010 and is a member of the SMK Finance Committee.

John Stewart

John is the chair of the residents’ campaign group HACAN, (Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) was the prime mover in getting the coalition which stopped the third runway at Heathrow together. He also chairs AirportWatch, the national network of campaign groups opposed to airport expansion. In the 1990s, he was centrally involved in the ‘anti-roads’ movement which was opposed to the Government’s £23 billion road building plan. In 2008 the Independent on Sunday nominated him as the UK’s most effective environmentalist