Winston Churchill has been chosen as the nation’s top choice of historic figure to get a pint with, new polling from Long Live the Local reveals.
“I’m not a user of AI generally,” says Beer Today publisher Darren Norbury, “but there was no accompanying image with this press release, so I set ChatGTP to work…”
One in ten chose the iconic wartime prime minister to head to the pub with, in a survey that gives an interesting — if not startling — insight into which historical figures Brits would like to get a pint with.
The second favourite was Queen Elizabeth II, with 4% picking her to get a pint with. Joint third were Princess Diana and Albert Einstein, with 3% picking them. Michael Jackson, Henry VIII, William Shakespeare, and Jesus each bagged 2% of answers overall.
Those who each clocked up 1% included Nelson Mandela, Florence Nightingale, George Michael, Margaret Thatcher, Elizabeth I, and Martin Luther King.
Long Live the Local says the polling shows the unique role pubs play in bringing people together, with the local being the natural place for people to pick when they want to meet some historic icons.
The British Beer and Pub Association’s (BBPA) campaign is calling on government to support the people behind the pint by reducing beer duty, delivering permanent business rates reform, and cutting VAT.
Although a 20% cut in business rates has been announced, taking effect next year, Treasury minister James Murray has cast doubt over any movement on VAT. He told The Sun: “We want to support hospitality, but let’s be upfront about this. If you’re having a big cut in VAT, it costs a lot of money, and anything that we announce, we want to make sure it’s fully funded, and we explain exactly how we’re going to do that. So, when the prime minister announced 20% cut off business rates last month, we said exactly how we were going to pay for that.” He added, though, that he would “not get ahead of anything that might be announced at the Budget”.
Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, 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. The most startling thing about this polling, however, is that Robert Burns wasn’t the top pick because he’d be my first choice to head to the pub with.”
Luke Tryl, executive director at non-profit research agency More in Common, 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. My own choice would be Princess Margaret, though somebody answered ‘the Vikings’, which is a different sort of evening altogether.”
