News story

20th April 2004

MP's Website nominated for Prestigious Award

Northavon MP Steve Webb's website has been nominated for the prestigious New Statesman New Media Awards 2004.

The New Statesman has been running its New Media awards since 1999, promoting sites that embrace new technology, fresh thinking and creative management. Steve Webb's previous site was highly commended in 2002, and his upgraded site has been nominated this year as a fine example of "innovation and efficiency".

The MP's website, along with his email and text messaging service, has also been highlighted as one of the "cream of the crop" in the magazine's Nomination of the Month. It is cited as a "good example of an elected representative using new media to interact with their electorate".

Steve Webb said:

"I am delighted to have been nominated for this award. I aim to be as accessible to local people as possible, and I use my website as an important tool to keep my constituents informed.

"I also regularly consult local people for their views through more traditional methods such as leaflets as well as an e-mail group which now has over 2,600 members and which is growing all the time. I believe in harnessing a mixture of old and new technology to provide the best possible service to my constituents. New members are welcome to join simply by e-mailing their name and address to stevewebb@cix.co.uk

"The people I represent, who pay my wages, have the right to know what I do in their name and on their behalf. The website is one way of making sure that they can do that. It is regularly updated, with details of local and national campaigns, my speeches and questions in Parliament, and information on how to get involved."

The prizes for the winning nominations in the New Statesman New Media awards will be presented in London in July.

Note to editors:

Full details of the New Statesman's awards can be found at:
www.newstatesman.com/newmedia