There are few events Steerpike enjoys more than Westminster dog of the year. The competition returned today – post-Brexit and post-Covid – for the first time since 2018, with dozens of MPs entering their pooches. Hosted by the Kennel Club and Dogs Trust, it aims to raise awareness of canine-related issues and offer parliamentarians a chance to compete for the prize of top dog in SW1.
This year’s event though was, understandably, overshadowed by the killing of Sir David Amess, a life-long dog lover and long-standing supporter of the awards. He entered his French bulldog Vivienne into this year’s competition just weeks before his death. His friends and fellow MPs Andrew Rosindell and Mark Francois today brought her along in his honour after thousands of people chose in the public vote to name her dog of the year.
Some MPs withdrew their entries out of respect for their fallen colleague; others kept theirs in and urged support for Vivienne, clad today in her ‘Make Southend a city’ shirt. Unsurprisingly,
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