Beard Liberation Front
Press release 13th December
Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266
LABOUR’S CORBYN WINS PARLIAMENTARY BEARD OF THE YEAR FOR RECORD 5TH TIME
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn has won the Parliamentary Beard of the Year poll for a record 5th time.
He was the winner of the original award in 2001 and while his beard may be a little more restrained these days, it has been a consistent presence on the Parliamentary backbenches for over 30 years.
Corbyn got 46% of the vote beating Respect MP George Galloway (18%) by several beard lengths.
Former winner and LibDem MP John Thurso was third with 11% while two Welsh MPs Tory and Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb and Labour’s Paul Flynn were tied for fourth place on 7%.
Several hundred people cast votes in the on-line poll and to prevent any attempts at gerrymandering people were only allowed to vote once.
The Award goes to the MP or Peer whose hirsuteness has made the most Parliamentary impact in the public eye during the year underlining that beards are an increasingly powerful force in Parliament even with a largely clean shaven Coalition Government.
The Campaigners say that there has been a significant rise in hirsute Parliamentarians in recent times although Stephen Crabb is the only Cabinet member with a beard. He has polled well for a first year in the running.
BLF organiser Keith Flett said, Jeremy Corbyn’s beard has shown sustainability and resilience over many years of Parliamentary gibes about his appearance but he now finds himself at the head of an increasingly hirsute Parliamentary body
Previous Winners
2001 Jeremy Corbyn
2002 Charles Clarke
2003 Robin Cook
2004 Frank Dobson
2005 David Blunkett
2006 George Galloway
2007 Jeremy Corbyn
2008 John Thurso
2009 Tom Watson
2010 Gerry Adams
2011 Jeremy Corbyn
2012 Jeremy Corbyn/John Randall
2013 Julian Huppert
Parliamentary Beard of 2014 Short List
Jeremy Corbyn [Labour, Islington North]
Stephen Crabb {Conservative, Preseli)
Frank Dobson [Labour, Holborn]
Paul Flynn [Labour, Newport West]
George Galloway [Respect, Bradford West]
Dai Havard [Labour, Merthyr]
Julian Huppert [LibDem, Cambridge]
John Randall [Conservative, Uxbridge & South Ruislip]
John Thurso [LibDem, Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross]
John Trickett [Labour, Hemsworth]
Kmflett's Blog 
[…] so disastrously missing from the current contest. He’s also one of the most likable MPs – and five-time winner of parliamentary Beard of the Year, which must count for […]
[…] Islington will have even heard Corbyn’s name before he threw his hat—which alongside his award-winning beard, is something of a trademark—into the ring for the position of Labour’s next […]
[…] trying to engage people on a policy level, and all they want to ask about is his parliamentary Beard of the Year awards (he once described his beard as “a form of dissent” against New Labour) and his membership of […]