A new survey commissioned by the Long Live the Local campaign found one in 10 respondents would most like to head to the pub with the wartime Prime Minister.
Join our new WhatsApp channel: The Morning Round-Up
Get the biggest pub trade stories straight to your phone. Listen to our one-minute daily news briefing and receive breaking news, exclusives and sector updates throughout the day. Remember to turn notifications on in the top right corner!
Join the channel here.
Queen Elizabeth II was the second most popular choice, with 4% of the vote, while Princess Diana and Albert Einstein shared third place on 3% each.
Michael Jackson, Henry VIII, William Shakespeare and Jesus each received 2%.
Other nominated historic figures were were Nelson Mandela, Florence Nightingale, George Michael, Margaret Thatcher, Elizabeth I and Martin Luther King.
The polling, conducted by More in Common, highlighted what the campaign described as the “unique role” pubs play in bringing people together.
No consensus
More in Common executive director Luke Tryl said: “Ask Britons who from history they’d most want to share a pint with and you get Churchill, Boudicca, Ramesses II and Joey Essex, which is to say you get no consensus whatsoever – even Churchill, the nation’s top pick, was chosen by only one in ten.
“That shouldn’t worry us, though, because the pub is also one of the few places left where the public thinks we can still have lively but healthy debates with one another.”
Among 18 to 24-year-olds, Napoleon was a particular favourite, with 6% choosing the French military leader.
Meanwhile, Elvis Presley was particularly popular among 55 to 64-year-olds, with 5% choosing the singer. He was also selected by 3% of respondents aged 45 to 54.
Other popular choices included Marilyn Monroe, Nostradamus, Boudicca, Bruce Lee and Oscar Wilde.
While most respondents interpreted “historic” as referring to people who are no longer alive, several living figures also featured, including Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Joey Essex.
Ongoing challenges
Other popular choices included John Lennon, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, William Wallace, Samuel Pepys, Wat Tyler, Ramesses II, Jack the Ripper, the Kray Twins, the Pope, Joan of Arc, Avril Lavigne, Cleopatra, Frida Kahlo and Madonna.
The Long Live the Local campaign launched in 2018 to raise awareness of the UK’s pub closures.
It now has more than 250,000 supporters across the country and has helped put issues facing pubs on the political agenda.
Supporting the campaign, trade body the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has called on the Government to support the pub sector through beer duty reductions, business rates reform and VAT cuts.
BBPA CEO Emma McClarkin said: “We’ve all imagined what it would be like to share a pint with some of history’s most famous faces, and this polling shows how we see the local as a place we can meet anyone and everyone.
“We’re calling on Government to continue their promising support for our sector by cutting beer duty, delivering permanent business rates reform, and reducing VAT.”
