Leona Lewis voted most influential woman of the past 100 years

Leona Lewis has beaten off the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Emmeline Pankhurst and Princess Diana to be voted the most inspirational London woman of the last 100 years.

The poll, carried out by the Metro for International Women’s Day, saw the warbler taking a massive two-thirds of the votes, beating historical icons such as writer Virginia Wolf and Millicent Fawcett, the founder of the women’s suffrage movement, hands down.

In second place was Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts, closely followed by Maggie Thatcher, firefighter Dany Cotton and Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh.

Bemused readers took to the internet to express confusion as to how the pop star managed to triumph over esteemed novelists, politicians and activists.

One commented on the article: “Her contribution to society over the past 100 years has been immense.

“Apart from winning a singing competition… she has also posed for a number of photo shoots and managed to change her ‘look’ on a number of occasions.

“I look forward to Matt Cardle being voted the most influential man of the last 100 years.”

Another posted on Twitter: “Conclusion: Leona Lewis is the only woman readers have ever heard of.”

All 35 women in the poll are being featured in an exhibition called Our Woman, Our London at London’s City Hall.