Churchill set to win Greatest Briton

The Evening Standard ^ | November 22, 2002 | Patrick Sawer

[MadIvan]

Winston Churchill is poised to become the Greatest Briton when voting closes in the BBC2 poll on Sunday night.

He currently lies in third place behind Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Princess Diana but a late surge in voting is expected to put him in pole position.

There has been a rush of between 90,000 and 100,000 votes for each of the top 10 candidates in the Great Britons series. Tonight, former Northern Ireland secretary Mo Mowlam makes the case for Britain's great wartime prime minister.

A BBC2 spokeswoman said: "Brunel is ahead by quite a margin but he is not unbeatable. There are 90,000 votes between Brunel in first place and Churchill in third, with Diana slightly ahead of Churchill in second place."

Voting will close at 10.45pm, as Anne Robinson and Peter Snow present the closing arguments. The programme will feature some of the candidates' descendants and celebrity backers, including Churchill's granddaughter Emma Soames, and David Bellamy supporting Charles Darwin. The result will be announced around 11pm.

Behind Churchill is Darwin, then William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, John Lennon, Elizabeth I, Horatio Nelson and Oliver Cromwell. When Diana shot into second place, critics argued the show's format was ill-suited to serious assessment.

Then it was revealed that students at Brunel University had tried to push their man to the top with block voting. But the rows have not stopped Britons flocking to vote.

[MadIvan]

"Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy." - Winston Churcill, October 29, 1941

I voted for Winston a very long time ago - I don't need to see a programme to convince me. He remains Britain's saviour and one of our finest orators and literary minds.

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[Tijeras_Slim]

Bravo Winston!
I'd be interested to see who was 2nd, and the margin.

[Poohbah]

An amazingly gifted orator and wordsmith, especially when you consider that he was extremely lysdexic.

[carton253]

Ivan,

I'm a huge Diana fan... but she's second? I don't understand that at all...

She was pretty, had a wonderful wardrobe, and did good things.

Churchill... not enough adjectives to describe his impact on the 20th century.

As we say across the pond... What are the British thinking?

Have a great day.

[MadIvan]

Well the voting takes place after a series of programmes on the "Greatest Britons" - apparently the Diana one was pretty emotive, and she has her fans in this country.

Regards, Ivan

[Snuffington]

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

What the ?????

[jocon307]

Who in heaven's name is Isambard Kingdom Brunel? I have never heard of him, unlike all the others in the top however many. Help - pure information needed!

I voted in this poll, I can't remember who for tho'

[laconic]

Sorry, Ivan, I'd have voted for Elizabeth I. She took one of the poorest countries in Europe and turned it into a powerhouse that laid low mighty Spain. Discovery, the arts and the individual all flourished under her reign as never before.

[MadIvan]

He was an engineer - built a lot of bridges and railways.

Regards, Ivan

[Poohbah]

Brunel ought to be right behind Churchill.

Geeks of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your TCP/IP stacks!

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Ivan, can we ex-colonists vote, or is this just for Brits? If we can, could you give us a link? The thought of Diana beating out Churchill is appalling.

[carton253]

Well... I'm a fan over here.

[Snuffington]

Thanks Ivan. I just looked him up. The Thames Tunnel and all that. A nice solid man. Nothing wrong with him. But the greatest Briton of all time?

That would be like Americans voting for Charles Bulfinch as the greatest American of all time.

Churchill, Newton, Shakespeare, Cromwell, Nelson, Darwin, and Elizabeth I, I can see belonging on such a list. Lennon and Pricess Diana are obviously nods to pop culture, but that sort of silly thing always appears on such lists. But Mr. Brunel getting his name on this list in the first place may be his greatest achievement of all.

The BBC believes Mr. Brunel was a greater Briton than Alfred the Great? Greater than Francis Drake? Greater than Robin Hood? (just kidding)

[MadIvan]

You can vote here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/greatbritons/web/index.shtml

Regards, Ivan

[paul in cape]

Genealogy site finds links between Bush, Churchill and Princess Di

[wimpycat]

What are the criteria for "greatest" Briton? I think Winston Churchill is a good choice, but we might be a little biased due to our proximity in time.

Where does Shakespeare come into all of this? If he's not in the top 5, there's something wrong with you people. If the criteria include greatest impact and influence on society, I would include Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Henry II and Edward I (for their foundation of the legal system, the creation of a martyr and major pilgrimage site, giving Geoffrey Chaucer something to write about), and even Oliver Cromwell (for his impact on the Irish, if nothing else), Samuel Pepys, who was British to the bone, a charter member of the Royal Society, and laid the foundation for the great British Navy, thereby enabling Britain to become a great colonial power. I could go on and on. All of these would be very credible choices.

Diana doesn't even register a blip on the screen in the big scheme of things.

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Thanks and FReeped for Sir Winston!

[wku man]

Thank you, FRiend. The poll has been Freeped by this Yank, and Churchill's the man.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[WhiskeyPapa]

Give Diana "sweetest Briton" or something. Churchill led Britain through its darkest days. He's the one.

I recently saw "The Gathering Storm" with Albert Finney in the lead role. He was great, it was great, and Churchill is the greatest.

Walt