What have Kew Gardens and Lynne Featherstone MP got in common? Both have been short-listed for the New Statesman New Media Awards 2005.

The New Statesman, Britain’s leading political magazine, announced the nominations last week. Since 1998, these awards have promoted projects that embrace new technology, fresh thinking and creative management in the UK.

The key themes of this year’s awards are “ingenuity, modernisation and accessibility”.They intend to award those who have achieved something of benefit to others, whether in their community or in society at large.

Lynne Featherstone, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green said:

“I am delighted to have my website short listed in the “Elected Representative” category.

“I would like to thank everyone who has worked on the site for their efforts.The site has proved to be an enormously popular means of enabling local residents to find out what I am doing and for them to give me their views, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

“As a local MP, it is absolutely essential I communicate with my constituents, and the internet is an increasingly important way of doing this.”