Better 20th century Tory Prime Minister

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Whatever you think about either politician, I can't come up with a justifiable reason not to pick Churchill.

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Thatcher, at the very least, didn't deliberately neglect to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in Bengal, nor was she an open white supremacist.

Isn't it fair to say, however, that Churchill's overall impact on society was far more of a net positive than Thatcher's, owing to his fight against the Nazi threat? I don't worship Churchill or anything - I think it's fair enough to say the vast majority of his non-war political career were mediocre or botched (his handling of the General Strike, Gallipoli, the gold standard) - but without Churchill, WWII could have gone down a much darker route.

I think you can overstate Churchill's role RE: the Bengal famine. The move sounds ridiculously callous, but other people are far more culpable in the tragedy. British aid would have arrived too late anyway to prevent most deaths.

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Churchill's role in World War II is vastly overrated and if anything was inflated after the fact--the Battle of Britain was won by the inferiority of German fighters and Hitler's decision to bomb civilian targets instead of the airfields, not by a pep talk.

although, I do agree that Churchill was never a great tactician; to say that his role could have been served by any random politician seems myopic. I know that saying Churchill was "inspirational" or "held the nation together" sounds horrendously goofy, but really it's true. George Washington was a lousy military strategist, but we recognise him as the symbol of a revolution. Churchill was certainly a more complicated man than the syrupy portrayal often presented, but I don't doubt that he was a major asset for the allies.

I do understand why people might think it's unfair that Churchill - who had an objectively terrible tenure outside of the war - is so beloved by history, as opposed to various more forgettable, but more noble people. But I also think it's unfair to paint him as having a more negative influence than Thatcher of all people; a woman who divided the nation and lucked her way into reelection twice. The statement:

Thatcher, at the very least, didn't deliberately neglect to alleviate a humanitarian crisis in Bengal, nor was she an open white supremacist.

might as well be

" Reagan at the very least, didn't put Japanese people in camps; nor was he responsible for the Manhattan Project.

Therefore Reagan > FDR "