Who inspires you

By Christina Okoli

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Ten years after she was ousted from Downing Street, Lady Margaret Thatcher, who may no long hold much political influence, is still seen as an inspirational figure by the British public, according to a recent poll by Mori.

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The�poll�found that Lady Thatcher, Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa and multimillionaire businessman Richard Branson, eclipsed the likes of Tony Blair and the Pope, to be voted the most inspirational figures in public life.

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Exactly 999 British people were polled as part of a sunday morning television show, aired on BBC 1 called Heaven and Earth. The participants, who were aged 15 and over, were presented with a list of famous names, and asked to choose�two or�three people from the list whom they consider inspirational.

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Names such as Diana, Princess of Wales, Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill and even Jesus Christ were all up for the vote. However, 65% of those polled voted for Nelson Mandela, making him the world's most inspirational figure, according to the British people.

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He was followed at second place by Richard Branson, who bagged an impressive 51 per cent of votes, while Lady Thatcher, the only woman in the top five, came a distant third with 28 per cent.

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Lord Tebbit, the former Conservative Party chairman, said that Lady Thatcher's third place ranking was 'very creditable' and showed that she was still held in high regard by the public.

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However, Britain's current prime minister Tony Blair managed to muster only 14 per cent of the vote, and share fifth place with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey. This is a comparatively poor ranking for the prime minister, and one that Labour strategists will, no doubt, be disappointed with. They may, however, gather some consolation from the fact that, in the run-up to a general election, Mr Blair's Conservative rival, William Hague didn't earn so much as a mention in the poll.

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Along with Nelson Mandela, the only other non-British citizen to feature in the top five was Pope John Paul II, who came fourth on the list. This will be considered a disastrous result for the religious community whose influence has wavered significantly in recent years. And, a glance further down the list shows that Mother Teresa, who earned only 2% of the vote, was pipped to the post by teen singer Britney Spears, for whom a worrying 6 per cent of British people said was an inspirational figure in their lives.

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