Real takes, real voices - Political Podcast Awards return to celebrate the medium transforming news

As more-and-more Brits turn to podcasts for their political news, iNHouse Communications is delighted to announce the launch of The 2026 Political Podcast Awards, sponsored by YouTube, following the success of the inaugural awards in 2025.

Once again, the biggest names in political podcasting will fight it out for honours such as podcast of the year. Entries are now open for podcasts to nominate themselves in nine different categories, reflecting the extraordinary reach and diversity of political podcasts in the UK and around the world.

The winners of 11 awards will be revealed on 28th January 2026 at an exclusive awards ceremony hosted by broadcaster and former MP Gyles Brandreth in Westminster.

Renowned podcaster and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci has been confirmed as keynote speaker.

Entries remain open until 15 October, after which an independent judging panel, chaired by Good Morning Britain’s Head of Politics, Anne Alexander, will meet to decide the winners.

Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications Director and confirmed speaker at the awards, said:

“I’m in the podcast game myself, and I know this has changed the way people get their news. You’re not waiting for something stiff on TV anymore, you’re going straight to the people with real takes, real voices – that’s power.

“It’s going to be, to quote one of my old friends, YUGE!”

Last year’s inaugural awards saw almost 100 entries from a wide range of podcasts with more entries expected this time around. In 2025, the winners included The Rest is Politics, Political Currency, Electoral Dysfunction, the News Agents, The Daily T, and Politics at Jack and Sam’s.

There were also individual gongs, including Sacha O’Sullivan of Politico’s Westminster Insider, for the Rising Star award.

This year also sees the introduction of a new award category: the Student Podcast of the Year, celebrating the extraordinary content produced by up-and-coming podcasters from universities and colleges across the UK.

Chair of iNHouse Communications and founder of the Political Podcast Awards, Katie Perrior said:

“If 2024 was the year of elections, 2025 has been when the whole world seemed to change in ways nobody can quite comprehend. Political podcasts have become more important than ever in reaching listeners with informative content and healthy debate.

“Political podcasts have completely transformed the way the public consumes news, and the appetite for this content seems only to increase every year.

"We were completely blown away by the success of last year’s awards and the quality of the winners. The 2026 awards are going to be bigger and better.”

Political Podcast Awards 2026 – Award Categories

BEST NEWCOMER

There’s been an explosion of great new innovative political podcasts in the last year. This award will go to the podcast judges think has broken the mold and stood apart from the other new kids on the block in the last year.

COMEDY MOMENT OF THE YEAR

Politics doesn’t have to be serious all the time! This award is for the political podcast ‘moment of mirth’ of the year – the event or segment that got the audience smiling.

INTERVIEW OF THE YEAR

This award is for the most impactful podcast interview of the year – one that grabbed attention (and headlines) across the UK.

MOST ORIGINAL FORMAT

This award is for the political podcast format judges feel really stands apart from the competition – engaging its audience and offering something entirely different.

PRESENTER OF THE YEAR

Political podcasts would be nothing without the brilliant political journalists, commentators, and political figures who front them. This award is for the presenter, or presenting team, going above and beyond to engage, entertain and inform their audience.

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Behind every great podcast is a great producer. Whether getting great guests or keeping the show on the road, this award is for the producer judges believe has been integral to the success of their podcast and consistently produced excellence.

RISING STAR

Whilst political podcasts are hosted by senior journalists and well-known politicians, this award goes to the up-and-coming political podcaster who’s shown mastery of their medium in the last year – capturing audience attention and breaking great stories.

STORY OF THE YEAR

This award is for the most jaw-dropping, eye-catching, headline-grabbing story from a political podcast over the last year.

STUDENT PODCAST OF THE YEAR

A brand-new award this year, the Student Podcast award celebrates the unique contributions of students to political podcasting. With a range of political podcasts coming out of universities and colleges across the UK, the judges look forward to seeing entries from up-and-coming young people producing truly brilliant audio content.