Henry Zeffman, who has just finished his PPE degree at Brasenose College, has won the 2015 Anthony Howard Award for Young Journalists. As part of this prestigious award, Henry will undertake three fellowships for the Times, the Observer and New Statesman. The award was announced recently in the Guardian newspaper.
During his time here, Henry was JCR president during his second year of his PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) degree, and was well liked and respected across the whole of College. On winning the award Henry commented: “I'm delighted and honoured to have won the 2015 Anthony Howard Award for Young Journalists. I was fascinated by politics before I came to Brasenose - I studied PPE, after all. But my interest was sharpened by all the conversations I had with so many people in all walks of college life about politics - big and small. I even witnessed my share of political skulduggery as JCR President, though I'm sure that's not a patch on Westminster. I'll miss Brasenose immensely, but I'm very excited about the challenges ahead.”
Applicants for the prize were judged by the broadcaster, journalist and author Jeremy Paxman; historical fiction writer and former political journalist Robert Harris; constitutional expert Peter Hennessy; BAFTA-winning producer Jeremy Isaacs; and biographer Claire Tomalin.
The prize was established in memory of the writer and broadcaster Anthony Howard, who is recognised as one of the most acute political commentators of his generation and a familiar face and voice on TV and radio. To win the award, Henry submitted a proposal on a 5,000-word piece on an aspect of British politics and government, displaying the qualities that Howard most looked for in a writer: flair, imagination and wit. Henry chose to address the question of whether career politicians who have lost their seats will stay engaged in politics.
Read more about PPE at Brasenose.