Esther Ghey has received a Pride of Britain Award for campaigning in memory of her daughter, Brianna Ghey, and it is recognition that is both deeply deserved and heartbreakingly necessary.
Brianna, aged 16, was murdered by two teenagers in Culcheth Linear Park in February 2023. No parent should ever have to turn such devastating loss into public work, meetings, policy arguments and national campaigning. Yet Esther has done so with extraordinary purpose, keeping Brianna at the centre of every step.
Her first campaign, Peace in Mind, was launched with the Warrington Guardian and later became the Brianna Ghey Legacy Project. It has raised money for the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP), starting in Warrington, while pushing for better mental-health support for children nationwide.
Esther has also spoken plainly about the dangers children can face online, the need for stronger social-media regulation and more meaningful parental controls on phones. Frankly, it should not take bereaved parents repeatedly standing in front of cameras and politicians for the tech world to accept that its platforms are not harmless playgrounds. A few tick-box settings and a cheerful safety page do not amount to proper protection.
She shares the award with fellow campaigners Ian Russell and Ellen Roome, who have sought legal and social-media changes following the deaths of their children, Molly and Julian. Esther said the three are only “the tip of the iceberg”, a grim but important point. Their courage is inspiring; the number of families forced into this position is an indictment of how slowly institutions and online companies move when children’s wellbeing is at stake.
Esther said she was speechless at receiving an award she had watched since the 1990s, describing it as surreal and an honour. She also made clear that the recognition belongs to Brianna and to the people who have supported the work, including donors, volunteers, directors, the Warrington Guardian and the wider town.
That local support matters. Warrington can occasionally argue with itself over just about anything, as any place worth living in does, but when it counts, people have rallied around Esther and Brianna’s memory with real compassion. Culcheth has carried an especially painful connection to this tragedy, and it is right that Brianna is remembered not simply as a headline, but as the young person whose life and experience continue to shape a campaign for safer futures.
Esther’s work has taken her around the country and brought her into contact with political figures including Sir Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham. But she remains clear about where the focus belongs: “This is all because of Brianna, it’s not me - it’s her.”
The award is a national honour, but its message is painfully local too. Brianna should still be here, and no accolade can soften that truth. What it can do is recognise Esther Ghey’s determination to make sure her daughter’s legacy demands more from schools, social-media firms, government and all of us.