Who has been voted the most influential person in the public eye during lockdown?

In a recent survey, the rapidly expanding vehicle breakdown provider startrescue.co.uk asked 4,500 people: ‘Who in the public eye has been the most influential during lockdown?’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson came out top with a majority vote of 24.1%.

One startrescue.co.uk customer commented:

“Boris Johnson has remained realistic, supportive and informative throughout lockdown despite contracting the virus himself.”

The second most influential person during lockdown is the former British Army officer, Captain Tom Moore, who has been congratulated for his achievements in raising £32.7 million for the NHS as he approached his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic (10.8%).

Following closely behind with 9.7% of votes are the NHS workers themselves, who are fighting the coronavirus pandemic every single day.

Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, came in fourth (3.9%), and British fitness coach Joe Wicks came fifth (3.7%).

From the results, a clear pattern emerges, with government bodies and health professionals receiving votes for having the most influence on people during lockdown. Other top influencers in this category include:

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock (2.3%)
The Queen (1.7%)
First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon (1.6%)
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak (1.5%)
45th US President, Donald Trump (1.1%)
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Dominic Raab (1%)
Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern (0.7%)
Doctor, Hilary Jones (0.6%)
Labour Party Leader, Keir Starmer (0.5%)
Doctor, Jennifer Harris (0.5%)
MP, Jeremy Corbyn (0.3%)
National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government, Professor Jason Leitch (0.3%)
Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo (0.3)

Many celebrities or ‘TV personalities’, journalists and presenters were also mentioned for their influence during lockdown. The most frequently occurring names include Piers Morgan (2.4%), Ricky Gervais (0.7%), Martin Lewis (0.6%), Stacey Solomon (0.5%), Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (0.5%), as well as Gary Barlow (0.3%). Tom Morgan (0.3%) and American actor Tom Hanks (0.3%). David Attenborough, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Dame Judi Dench, Kirstie Allsopp, Noel Fielding and Russell Brand were also mentioned.

At a time where the rise of social media is said to have eclipsed the popularity of TV, it might come as a surprise that the majority of answers referenced within startrescue.co.uk’s survey were either government bodies or personalities encountered regularly on the radio or television. The few social media influencers or YouTube stars who were featured include Irish YouTuber Jack Septiceye, parenting vlogger Louise Pentland, the beauty, fashion, and lifestyle vlogger Anastasia Kingsnorth and Canadian YouTube personality Linus Sebastian.

Approximately 3% of people listed volunteers, keyworkers, their wife, mum, husband or children as their biggest influence during lockdown.