Sir Anthony Seldon talk

In the week I attended a talk by the headmaster and politician historian Sir Anthony Seldon, former head of Brighton College, Wellington and now Epsom College.

One has to admire his energy as he has written and published many political works including a recent unflattering one of Boris Johnson.

He listed the 9 greatest Prime Ministers ( in his view) as:-

Robert Walpole

Robert Peel

William Pitt the Younger

William Gladstone

Lord Palmerston

Lloyd George

Winston Churchill

Clement Attlee

Margaret Thatcher

The problem – as he admitted in such a list – is that, unlike with a film list, you cannot actually have seen many of the candidates but have to rely upon history books and biographies for their achievements.

My late father voted Labour in 1945 but recalled Clement Attlee‘s Premiership without any affection or acclaim.

Later the NHS was regarded as the supreme achievement of his premiership.

The other problem was that Seldon has two lives but not one as an active politician.

I did not agree with much he said – or how he said it – but I did agree with him that we are due another great Prime Minister.