A but Shaw the point you are missing is that the following were all leaders of the political parties that they used to propelled them to the positions of power they held:

Lenin
Stalin
Mussolini
Hitler

The same cannot be said of:

Oliver Cromwell
Salazar
Franco
Pinochet

They all did what they thought they had to do to secure and save their countries from what they saw as an internal threat, only the ones detailed in the first group felt the need to export their violence and ideals outside of their own borders.

On the EU referendum Backwardsman:

Gordon Brown made a promise to the electorate of the UK regarding a referendum on the EU and reneged on it.

David Cameron made a promise to the electorate of the UK regarding a referendum on the EU and honoured it.

Of the two I prefer by far the type of politicians who honour their promises to the electorate while in power - there is a basic honesty and integrity demonstrated in doing that.