Tom Bingham wins Orwell Book Prize
18th May 2011
Tom Bingham, who died last September, has been named winner of the Orwell Book Prize 2011 for The Rule of Law.
The prize is awarded each year to a book that comes closest to George Orwell's own vision of 'turning political writing into art', with Bingham's work chosen by the judges for its 'incise, wise and clear' approach
In the book, Bingham traces the origins of the phrase 'the rule of law' and its relationship with sovereignty and society, setting out eight conditions to capture its essence.
The judges commented: 'It addresses the questions of freedom and order that are not only at the heart of our national debate, but touch on the upheavals around the world. And freedom and order are, of course, central to Orwell's own work.'
Other winners at this year's Orwell awards included Jenni Russell, who scooped the journalism prize for columns published in the Guardian and The Sunday Times, and blogger Graeme Archer, for his posts on the ConservativeHome website.