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Big_Ted-
Not sure that was the intention but the original post that was being defended was banding Nige in with Thatcher and Blair so....
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Martin Luther, not Martin Luther King.
They were eg of people who imo were not just inevitable actors in the movement of history, but people who altered what happened because of who they were.
To preempt the next question, no of course I don't think our leaving the EU is as significant as the Reformation.
But I don't think the referendum or UKIPs traction was inevitable. If say James Goldsmith had lived longer, or Kilroy was in charge we wouldn't have had the outcome we did Imo.
onyerbike
hugo7
He made UKIP mainstream. Got into the EP and then leveraged the funding system to expand UKIP. If UKIP had a random nobody who sections of the population didn't relate to and all of the media didn't love they would have never posed a threat to the Conservatives. If they didn't pose a threat to the Conservatives, Cameron wouldn't have called the election. Neither would the ERG lot would have never had the juice they did when they did.
I'm not generally a believer of the the Great Man theory, but at certain points someone comes along who pushed and shaped things because of who they are, whether that's Martin Luther or Hitler. Sure someone else could have done it and the ingredients were there. But sometimes the way an individual operatates is what changes things.
From a UK perspective he and Blair have probably had the greatest impact on my life, and imo our society.