The Foreign Policy Centre, in association with the Webb Memorial Trust and the New Statesman, were pleased to announce this year's Webb Essay Competition. Submissions were invited on the subject:

Can politics remain secular?

Judges included:

TESSA JOWELL MP, Secretary of State, Dept. of Culture, Media and Sport; DOUGLAS ALEXANDER MP, Minister for Europe; ZIAUDDIN SARDAR, Writer, Broadcaster and Cultural Critic; DALEEP MUKARJI, Director of Christian Aid; LINDSEY HILSUM, Diplomatic Editor of Channel 4 News; CHRISTINA LAMB, Author and Correspondent for The Sunday Times; HILARY MANTEL, Novelist; TARIQ MODOOD, Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy at the University of Bristol; JOHN KAMPFNER, Editor of the New Statesman; RICHARD RAWES, Webb Memorial Trust.