Many thanks to the 200+ LDV readers who took part in our end-of-year awards, which ran between 23rd and 28th December. Voting was conducted via Liberty Research using the alternative vote method of ranking the nominees for each of the eight categories. We’ll be revealing the eight winners over the next four days. (Not that we’re tying to pad things out over the holiday season; no, of course not).

First, let’s unveil the winner of LDV’s first ever Politician of the Year award. Let’s face it, though, there’s zero sense of anticipation as we all knew full darn well who’d win. And he did. So well done, Vince. For the record, here’s how the voting went:

Vince Cable – 67%
Lynne Featherstone – 15%
Chris Huhne – 12%
Steve Webb – 7%

The second result we’re revealing today is the winner of Lib Dem By-election Performance of the Year. There were five nominees, and it went right to the wire:

Mark Mills (Holywell ward, Oxford) – 16%
Tony Potter (St George West ward, Bristol) – 24%
Linda Chung (Hampstead Town ward, Camden) – 36%
Jane Morgan & Nick Bason (Hale End and Highams Park ward, Waltham Forest) – 9%
Fiona Whelan (Hardwick division, Cambridgeshire) – 15%

Jane Morgan & Nick Bason were excluded, and their votes re-distributed:

Mark Mills (Holywell ward, Oxford) – 17%
Tony Potter (St George West ward, Bristol) – 28%
Linda Chung (Hampstead Town ward, Camden) – 40%
Fiona Whelan (Hardwick division, Cambridgeshire) – 15%

Fiona Whelan was excluded, and her votes re-distributed:

Mark Mills (Holywell ward, Oxford) – 20%
Tony Potter (St George West ward, Bristol) – 33%
Linda Chung (Hampstead Town ward, Camden) – 47%

Mark Mills was excluded, and his votes re-distributed:

Tony Potter (St George West ward, Bristol) – 43%
Linda Chung (Hampstead Town ward, Camden) – 57%

Congratulations, then, to Linda and her campaign team; and, of course, to the other four nominees for their by-election performances.