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Among the various prime minister-themed Toby Jugs sold at the Houses of Parliament gift shop, Sir Keir Starmer’s figure emerged as the bestseller in 2025. These 11cm tall jugs, each priced at £35, represent the last 22 prime ministers starting from Conservative Andrew Bonar Law. Starmer’s jug led the pack with 116 units sold, which included 32 sales within Parliament and another 84 through online orders.
Behind Starmer, Boris Johnson held second place in popularity with 48 sales, followed closely by Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, each moving 46 pieces. When looking at a broader five-year window, Johnson remains the perennial favorite with 425 jugs sold, trailed by Churchill at 305 and Thatcher at 279. Andrew Gimson, the author of “Gimson’s Heroes: Brief Lives from Boudicca to Churchill,” commented on Johnson’s enduring appeal, noting, “What this reminds us is that he cheers people up, and he still has that ability to tease the establishment, to do what the establishment doesn’t want, and to make jokes at moments when other people are being pious and solemn and dreary.”
Other notable figures in the top ten include Sir Tony Blair (160 sales), Liz Truss (154), Clement Attlee (123), Harold Wilson (119), with Starmer also appearing again in eighth place with 116, followed by Rishi Sunak (106) and Theresa May (99). On the lower end of the popularity scale, Sir Alec Douglas-Home, who served less than a year from 1963 to 1964, ranked as the least popular seller over the last five years, with only 25 jugs sold, including two in 2025. Gimson reflected on Sir Alec’s modest nature, recalling a railway encounter where Sir Alec wittily responded to a comment about his brief tenure as prime minister.
The production of these jugs is handled by Bairstow Manor in Stoke-on-Trent, a pottery run by Roger Bairstow. Roger shared that his fondness for Churchill led him to create many figurines and jugs of the former prime minister, which were sold to places such as Blenheim Palace. From these beginnings, the range expanded to include all prime ministers, starting with Tony Blair in 1997. The market for these jugs shows a fascinating mix of reasons behind purchases—ranging from genuine admiration to ironic gift-buying—as noted by Ann Thorpe, an auctioneer at Dartmoor Auctions, who observed that some buyers may opt for these jugs as quirky gifts or for occasions like Secret Santa
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