The puppet Sooty would be more popular as head of state than Prince Charles or Mr Tony Blair, according to a survey released yesterday. Queen Elizabeth topped the survey by CyberBritain.com, followed by her grandson, Prince William, but in surprise third place was the BBC broadcaster Jeremy Paxman.
Out of 16 candidates put forward in the internet poll, London Mayor Mr Ken Livingstone was voted the least popular to head the country. More than 30,000 people voted over a five day period, choosing both someone they would most like to be head of state and someone they would least like to be head of state, and giving a short reason for their choice. Sooty, a glove puppet favourite with children in the 1960s, ranked fourth favourite in the poll, followed by the entrepreneur Mr Richard Branson, comedian Rolf Harris, footballer David Beckham and ITN newsreader Trevor McDonald. Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy was in ninth place, followed by popstar Will Young, Coronation Street actress Barbara Windsor, Prince Charles and Mr Tony Blair.
In 14th place was Conservative leader Mr Iain Duncan Smith, followed by his colleague Ms Anne Widdecombe and finally by Mr Ken Livingstone. Political and royal figures attracted the most controversy, with large numbers of votes both for and against them. Reasons given for Mr Paxman's popularity included his intelligence and wit, while Sooty won votes because as a puppet he was perceived as more honest than politicians. - (PA)