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Greatest British Prime Minister

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Attlee.

Teveth- I do find 'red' qualities quite attractive in a man, but can you please stop the Tory bashing? Your options weren't THAT impartial.

John Major!

Original post by Teveth

I see two people have voted for Churchill already. How predictable. I bet they're either Sun or Daily Mail readers who know nothing about politics.

Go and kiss one of you beloved immigrants

Reply 23

Laertes

Attlee. Churchill was a bit of a ****.

This Legend!

Original post by iamyourspiritfrombeyondth

I voted for Attlee, but you're not much of a socialist if you hold Blair in such high regard.

What makes you think I hold Blair in high regard?

Reply 26

Toon Fan

Voted for churchill in the end he led Britain through a war that was just and vital, unlike one of your candidates who led Britain to an illegal war.

Reply 27

Time Tourist

How many people picked Clement Atlee to look educated and pretend they know something about British political history?

Reply 28

The_Male_Melons

Original post by Teveth

What makes you think I hold Blair in high regard?

Is there a correlation between how boring you are and how much you support Labour? I thought my teeth tasted funny. What did you lace it with? Pro-plus?

Reply 29

Hippysnake

Original post by Time Tourist

How many people picked Clement Atlee to look educated and pretend they know something about British political history?

How many people picked Churchill because they can't critically appraise for themselves which Prime Minister was in fact, the best but instead decided to go with a famous name?

Reply 30

MagicNMedicine

This topic has been discussed by academics:

http://www.woodnewtonassociates.co.uk/analysis/Papers/Rating%20PostWar%20British%20Prime%20Ministers.pdf

(nb this is since the war)
Results were
1 Attlee
2 Thatcher
3 Blair
4 MacMillan
5 Wilson
6 Churchill
7 Callaghan
8 Major
9 Heath
10 Brown
11 Douglas-Home
12 Eden

the relatively low rating for Churchill on this will have been because the discussion was about post-war PMs, so only Churchill's peacetime office (1951-55) qualified, in this time he was old and his health was not very good.

In fact - just found a study which covers the whole of the 20th century:
http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/poll.aspx?oItemId=661

in this one Churchill ranked 2nd to Attlee

Teveth - are you a student at Leeds? Kevin Theakston, who conducted both of these pieces of research, is Politics Professor there, so you should go and talk to him, he does a 3rd year module in British Prime Ministers which goes into detail in each one.

Reply 31

tieyourmotherdown

For me it's Clement Attlee.

Reply 32

Time Tourist

Older people are often nostalgic for old Labour governments. But really they are nostalgic for that lost society, societies which certain figures in the Labour party spent all of their energy and every waking minute attempting to destroy, and they have succeeded.

Under Attlee we saw the birth of the failure that is multicultural Britain. Attlee was recorded saying idiotic things in parliament like, all the races of the world should mix because then there will be no more wars.

But here is a description of Britain undder Atlee:

Most shops were shut by law on Sunday, the Biblical injunction not to spare the rod was implemented in the (single-sex) schools, sex education was non-existent, abortion and homosexual practice illegal. It was shocking for an unmarried couple to sleep together and a disgrace to have a baby out of wedlock. Divorcées would not be considered for the honours list or the Royal Enclosure at Ascot. Violent young criminals were birched, older ones were flogged, and murderers were hanged. Two years’ National Service was compulsory for 18-year-olds. Small children sat in rows in the classroom and were caned if they misbehaved. This was Britain under the oft-feted Attlee Government of 1945-51.