Congratulations to Chris Bryant, joint winner of the 2022 Civility in Politics award. Last night he took home the gong alongside minister Robin Swann, with judges claiming Bryant stood out in a crowded field for his “praise and support from across the spectrum“:

“As Chair of the Standards Committee Chris has been responsible for marshalling commitments from people across the political spectrum to hold those in power to account, striving to maintain standards and facilitate scrutiny, of his own side as well as others.”

Bryant has an unrivalled record of thoughtful and reflective conduct in office. He is a worthy winner. Here are just a few examples of his upstanding behaviour:

This April, in the spirit of bipartisanship and civility, he declared David Frost “an idiot”:

Who was the idiot that negotiated it? https://t.co/arCfbMdQeY

— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) April 13, 2022

Then just six days ago, Bryant again reached across the aisle to mock Frost after the by-election results:

Now do tell us, darling, how it would have been different if you had been the Tory candidate. Such a shame you didn’t feel the need to put yourself up for election. 😞 https://t.co/EftzWL84QV

— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) June 24, 2022

Who could forget the moment he stormed out of the Commons after, according to multiple chamber eyewitnesses, telling Hoyle to “f*ck off”:

To be fair to Bryant, he did eventually return a week later to apologise. No doubt this sealed the deal for the judges yesterday as they handed him a trophy for his efforts. Commiserations to the nominees who missed out this time, including Wes Streeting and Tom Tugendhat. It must be tough to lose an award recognising standards and civility to a man who had to refer himself to the standards commissioner…