A well-known tv presenter has named Rutland MP Alicia as her politician of the year.

Sophy Ridge from Sky News made the announcement on her regular political podcast.

The award follows the MP, who is due to become a mum for the second time in the New Year, for her campaign to ensure that partners of pregnant women had the right to be present at the birth of their children or at major related appointments.

This was something that many trusts had denied in a bid to curb infection from Coronavirus.

The presenter said of Ms Kearns, who was only elected a year ago at the 2019 General Election: "She's an example of what a backbencher can do to drive policy. For me one of the largest outrages in the last year has been the way pregnant women and their partners have been treated."

"I think its pretty outrageous that so many women have been left to deliver babies on their own, laboured on their own, gone to very difficult scans on their own and miscarry on their own. She's one who has really driven hard to change that policy and make it better."

Ms Kearns responded on Facebook: "I'm honoured to have been named Sophy Ridge's Politician of the Year.

"I want to give an enormous thank you to [journalist] Anna Mikhailova who secured the Mail on Sunday's support for the campaign and is determined to end this injustice, and to Birth Better and Pregnant then Screwed who have campaigned so hard throughout the pandemic on #ButNotMaternity to make sure we get the changes we need.

"I launched my campaign when I found out that not all women were being treated the same. Too many constituents, and tens of thousands of women across the country, were being denied partner support, and it wasn't right that I had my husband's full support because our hospital was following Government guidance and ensuring partners were present, and others across the country did not.

"There's still some work to be done to ensure all NHS Trusts adopt the guidance and I will be working on this over the Christmas period."

You can listen from 31min onwards at http://podfollow.com/sophyridge