Cherie Blair will speak at the Merseyside Women of the Year Awards, appearing at the event in Liverpool for the second year in a row. Tony McDonough reports

This year’s Merseyside Women of the Year (MWOTY) Awards will see Cherie Blair return to  speak for the second year in a row.

The MWOTY awards, a celebration of exceptional women from across the region. They will take place at the Crowne Plaza in Liverpool city centre on Friday, June 30. Pauline Daniels will be the host.

There will be stalls and an exhibition produced by women supported by Savera UK, whose founder and chief executive, Afrah Qassim, took the title of ‘Woman of Courage’ in 2022.

Waterloo-born Ms Blair is a KC and founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. She also spent more than a decade in Downing Street as the wife of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.

For 16 years she has been patron for MWOTY Inspirational Woman category sponsors, Community Foundation for Merseyside. She gives her time to promote the importance of supporting communities.

She will feature in a segment of this year’s ceremony called A Conversation with Cherie Blair. It will take place during the lunch and will see Rae Brooke and Cherie discuss her personal journey, focusing on supporting women in Merseyside and beyond.

Ellie Kerr, founding MWOTY director and original Merseyside Woman of the Year, said: “The MWOTY awards are renowned for shining a spotlight on those women who do not seek the limelight or push themselves to the front, but instead work to make a difference to the people, sectors, and communities they serve.

“We are and have always been a place for these women to be seen, heard, and found.

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“We also seek to inspire other women, particularly younger generations, through sharing the stories of those women who have gone before us, paved the way and continue to lift and fight for other women to this day.

“Cherie is a shining example of that, and we’re excited for her conversation with Rae, who herself has been a longstanding supporter of MWOTY and our mission.”

Ms Blair was also patron of previous MWOTY winner The Lily Centre, which won the Women’s Group category in 2004 for its work supporting women in the region with breast cancer.

She added: “Having been a long-standing advocate of these remarkable awards for many years, I am thrilled to be returning to my hometown and enjoying myself in the company of the exceptional nominees.

“Each of them exemplifies the indomitable community spirit for which the women of Merseyside are rightfully renowned.”

You can click here for more information about the event. Public voting on the shortlist is now closed.