I am mostly thinking UK based politicians and not oustanding in the art of plonkerism.

Mandelson. Legend.

Tony Blair.

IDS.

Thatcher

Ernie_lynch

Gerry Adams

TandemJeremy.

Well… Nick Clegg has achieved an entire political career in the compressed timescale of a year.

He must win some kind of award for that

Thatcher

Is Nick Clegg the ultimate boom and bust politician?

Tony Blair. Like it or not.

Bobby Sands

Alex Salmond, for his work in liberating a downtrodden nation from the yoke of imperialist subjugation.

Is Nick Clegg the ultimate boom and bust politician?

I’m afraid not. That award goes Gordon Brown’s way

Tony Blair. Like it or not.

Yeah, Iraq and Afghanistan were moments of brilliance.

‘outstanding politician’ is such a multi-faceted phrase, isn’t it? 😆

Blair, the &^%$

Yeah, Iraq and Afghanistan were moments of brilliance.

He kept winning elections though. Maybe because, like Thatcher, he was gifted an absolutely unelectable shambles of an opposition.

Actually, depressingly like Call-me-Dave now. Can you ever see things getting so bad that you’d want Ed at the helm?

Gotta be another vote for the prince, Mandelson – can’t but be impressed at his indefatigability 🙂 though Blair, for all his faults, was undoubtedly a political genius,

as a parliamentarian and constituency MP, then Hague’s still very impressive – and credit to the man who never was, David Davis.

Honourable mentions to those of an older generation than myself – Alan Clark, Robin Cook, Blunkett, Salmond… and a sorely missed John Smith

Perhaps in reality, the greatest politicians have been the men behind the scenes – Bernard Ingham, Gus O’Donnell, Al Campbell?

Bobby Sands

He has been an inspiration to me.

This summer’s BigBikeBash; bring it on….

Robin Cook?

How about Major based solely on having a constitution strong enough to boff Edwina Currie?
LOL at elf

Thatcher – outstanding in both good and bad ways. A visionary politician who wasn’t afraid to make bold decisions and actually seemed to believe that what she was doing was right.

Hitler was similar in that way so it isn’t necessarily a good thing though.

can you define our generation?
Mandy, Thatcher, Blair, Campbell, Salmond, Adams [ seriously look how much better the situation is now than then]
Jusry still out on Dave – he will loose his temper one day and it will be bad for him – ie worse than just patronising female labour MP’s
Clegg will be remembered
Not all for the right reasons

A definition – Thatcher is the earliest one that can be included in our generation.

For me, it’d have to be Eric Heffer

Rupert Murdoch. Nobody else even comes close.

actually…… There’s no contest

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjAyazqtQj8[/video]

Silvio Berlusconi?

“Tucker’s Law” is worth a search on youtube, NSFW, obviously!

George Galloway

or

Thatcher, then Blair. Both very successful by their own measures. Also think about how polarised people’s opinions of them are…they had an impact. I mean who get’s worked up about John Major (Edwina Currie excepted)?

The British politician I most respect is Tony Benn. The man talks a lot of sense.

Tommy Sheridan.

I wonder what his tan looks like these days, don’t think the bar-l has a salon!

You never said “good” or “bad” just “outstanding”,
therefore..

Gordon Brown

On so many levels.

President Barlett.

Thatch / Blair.

Dode Galloway or John Smith

To me, the word outstanding suggests an element of the positive, with integrity and achievement etc. So in that rather loose definition, Thatcehr….???!!!! The woman absolutely destroyed the UK through ideological pettiness, so no way would I agree.

In my definition, I think Mo Mowlem would be it.

+1 Mo Mowlem