Churchill 'inspired more than King'

Winston Churchill was a 'more inspiring' speaker than Martin Luther King, a poll found

18 August 2013

The British public believe only Winston Churchill was a more inspiring orator than Martin Luther King, according to a poll.

In a survey to mark the 50th anniversary of King's "I have a dream" speech on August 28, researchers ComRes asked people to compare the icon with eight other speakers.

The survey, conducted for the Independent on Sunday and Sunday Mirror newspapers, found 39% believe that Churchill was a "more inspiring" speaker than King.

A further 36% think he was "about the same".

Only 11% say Churchill was "less inspiring" than King, in research conducted with 2,001 people.

President Barack Obama is the highest-ranked living person in the table.

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, emerges in sixth place as the best living British speaker, just ahead of the three most recent prime ministers.

ComRes asked: "For each of the following, please indicate whether you think they were, or are, more inspiring or less inspiring a speaker than Martin Luther King, or about the same?"

The scores show the difference between the percentage saying "more inspiring" and that saying "less inspiring".

They were as follows: Winston Churchill +28; Martin Luther King 0; John F Kennedy -11; Margaret Thatcher -33; Barack Obama -36; Boris Johnson -62; Tony Blair -71; David Cameron -74; Gordon Brown -79.