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Andrew Neil on Winston Churchill: when this country needed a hero, he was there

What would Winston Churchill have made of the hysterical debate yesterday, which tried to boil his legacy down to whether he was a ‘villain’ or a ‘hero’? Mr S wonders if the man who liberated Europe might have been amused at the situation, not least by being called a ‘villain’ by a shadow chancellor who thought it fit to wave Mao’s little red book at the dispatch box.

More clear, is that after all the rubbish talked about Churchill’s life on the airwaves yesterday, including some awful Question Time responses, one man seemed to get the tone just right. Andrew Neil, introducing the political show This Week, gave this monologue on Churchill’s legacy and the difficulty of judging historical figures by today’s standards, last night:

 

The much-needed speech came as it was announced by the BBC that Neil was stepping down as host of This Week, and the late-night politics show will be cancelled in his absence. It also showed why Neil’s presence on the airwaves will be so missed.

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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