UK cartoonists don't get enough recognition and these are the only awards specifically to honour their contribution to the nation's sanity

Paul Gravett, Cartoon Arts Trust

Top political cartoonist was Martin Rowson, whose work appears in the Guardian. The Sun's David Gaskill was runner-up.

Meanwhile, Charles Griffin was named best caricaturist for his illustrations in The Sun and The Mirror. Second prize went to Jonathan Wateridge of the Spectator.

The winners were chosen by a celebrity panel, among them Julia Somerville, Kenneth Baker, Professor David Starkey and comedian Arnold Brown.

Paul Gravett, project director of the Cartoon Arts Trust, said: "UK cartoonists don't get enough recognition and these are the only awards specifically to honour their contribution to the nation's sanity."

Jury member Arnold Brown said the social commentary in cartoons was under-valued.

Julia Somerville was a judge

In part, he said, this was because Britons tended to regard cartooning as a pastime rather than a vocation.

He said: "Punch has gone downhill - there's no place for good, biting humour except in the quality dailies and the Spectator and New Statesman.

"There are good social commentary cartoonists around, but only in magazines with a relatively small readership.

"We need something like the New Yorker, where cartoonists are given a [bit of] dignity and respect."