On his best orotund form in giving his talk at the Institute of Historical Research, Lord Jenkins found time to comment on other political figures as well as Gladstone. Focusing on his successor Lord Rosebery - previously noted chiefly for owning the Derby winner twice during an administration lasting little more than a year - he argued that Rosebery had one even greater distinction: "He was almost certainly the nastiest man ever to be Prime Minister". Some claim, given the competition.