First of its kind research has revealed Britain’s favourite takeaway and it might not be what you expected.
Best for Britain’s jumbo-poll of over 15,000 people reveals that Chinese takeaway has pipped the British classic of fish and chips to the post as the nation’s favourite takeaway, with more than 1 in 4 (26%) selecting the asian cuisine as their top choice. Chinese takes first place across England, Scotland and Wales.
When it comes to the rest, fish and chips is hardly battered, coming in a close second with just over 1 in 5 (21%) respondents picking the seaside speciality as their preferred choice. Ahead of Indian food, which curries favour with 17% of respondents, and pizza, which won a 16% slice of the electorate.
Kebabs were skewered at 7% and at 4%, chicken shops came well down the pecking order. But it is sushi that really gets the raw deal, as the favourite among just 2% of voters. London is the only region where Chinese is not the most popular choice with pizza topping the charts instead.
Using hyper-accurate MRP polling and analysis, Best for Britain can reveal how takeaways rank in every constituency across Britain. In Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where Boris Johnson’s replacement Steve Tuckwell MP launched a controversial campaign to open a fish and chips shop, the meal came in third place after Chinese and Pizza.
There are only two constituencies where something else, other than Indian, makes the top three. In Stratford and Bow, Chicken Shop beats fish and chips and Indian to third place and astonishingly, in Orkney and Shetland, ‘I don’t like takeaway’ tosses pizza and Indian out the running.
People can use The Best for Britain Munch Mapper to see the results for their own constituency.
When broken down by age, there is a clear generational difference, with pizza the most popular choice for those aged 18 - 34, Chinese the favourite among 35 to 54 year olds, and fish and chips on top for those aged 55 and over.
The polling also shows how people’s taste aligns with their politics. While Labour and the Tories might be bitterly opposed, their voters are united on fast food, with both groups favouring Chinese and by almost identical proportions. But while Tory voters are more likely to enjoy fish and chips, Labour voters are more partial to a pizza. The Greens are the only party whose voters chose Indian as their favourite and while still bottom preference, sushi was almost twice as popular among Lib Dem voters than Tory or Labour.
Alternatively, the results can be broken down by news source, to see how takeaway preference differs among the readers of a range of newspapers.
With up to date MRP polling, Best for Britain will be providing more constituency level insights ahead of the General Election, including tactical voting recommendations at GetVoting.org.
Cal Roscow, Director of Campaigns at Best for Britain said,
“After 14 years of Tory failure, something smells off. It's not just time to change the oil in the fryer, it's time to change the Government.
“We know that at the next election having our finger on the pulse of each constituency with up to date and accurate data will be crucial to giving voters the information they need to give the Government a batter-ing and that’s why we poll everything from voting intention right down to their favourite takeaway treat.”
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Methodology
The poll of 15,029 adults for Best for Britain was conducted by Survation between 8th March and 22nd March 2024.
Best for Britain's data tables and MRP analysis.