The Kent town of Sandwich has a surprising new ‘president’, in the form of Gemma Collins, after Walkers took over the local area to host the ‘Big Sandwich Vote’ this Sunday, with thousands of residents turning out to have their say in the decision.

After a year of playful debate, which sparked much discussion online, Walkers wanted to decide once and for all: should sandwiches be eaten with crisps IN them, or OUT?

And who better to decide than the residents of a town called Sandwich. After over 1,500 locals turned out to vote – equating to over a third (34%) of the town’s residents, meaning one in every three people voted – Sandwich has spoken: the answer is Crisp IN.

The vote rounds up weeks of fierce campaigning which included the release of an official campaign video, featuring the likes of Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Ed Balls and hosted by Munya Chawawa.

Sunday’s vote was spearheaded by ‘Crisp IN’ Party Leader, Gemma Collins, and ‘Crisp OUT’ champion, Fred Sirieix who joined forces with Walkers to take over the town of Sandwich for the all-important decision. And a lot was at stake, as the town’s mayor had promised the honorary Presidency of Sandwich to the winning party, as well as considering a potential byelaw to ban the consumption of crisps out of sandwiches in Sandwich on 19th June for evermore.

After a day of crisp-fuelled antics, which saw Fred and Gemma proceeding through the town on potato tractors to rally up supporters, and Gary Lineker leading the proceedings on top of an open air bus, the final votes were counted, with team Crisp IN victorious. It is now official – crisps belong IN your lunchtime sandwich, not out.

Walkers decided to hold the vote after its crisp sandwich campaign last year sparked an ongoing debate about how the iconic crisps and sandwich duo should be eaten, with Walkers even launching crisp sandwiches in Subway for the first time.

According to the brand’s data, 2.3 billion crisp sandwiches are consumed in Britain each year*, equating to up 35 crisp sarnies each year per UK adult, or 1-2 a month. When it comes to the preferred combination, a cheese sandwich on white bread, with ready salted crisps was revealed to be the UK’s top crisp sandwich of choice.***

Gemma Collins, Crisp IN party leader, said:
“This is the biggest and best accolade I’ve ever won in my life – I’m coming to Sandwich every year from now on. I’m the Sandwich president now hunnies! At first, I said I ain’t getting involved, but how can I not? I knew that the people of Sandwich would make the right decision – and that’s crisp IN, hunnies! The GC was born to be president, and I can’t think of a town I’d rather rule over. Think I’ll treat myself to my favourite combo – that’s Cheese & Onion crisps with salad cream on white bread – to celebrate!”

Fred Sirieix, Crisp OUT party leader, said:
“I’m a purist and believe sandwiches are sacred – you don’t mix wine & water, so don’t mix crisps and sandwiches! But the people of sandwich have spoken, and the verdict is that crisps belong IN sandwiches. I guess rules are meant to be broken, so I’m off to treat myself to my first-ever crisp sandwich to honour the result!”

Gary Lineker, Walkers frontman, commented: “I’m team #CrispIN all the way! As a lot of people know, I’m a lifelong advocate of crisps and for me there’s no better way to enjoy them than between two slices of bread. Armed with my clear favourite flavour, Salt & Vinegar crisps in a roast chicken sandwich makes for a formidable partnership!”