Trying to remain casual and relaxed, Ed Miliband told ITV’s presenters on Good Morning Britain how much his household spends weekly on its weekly shop.
“We probably spend £70, £80 a week on groceries at least, probably more than that,” he told the nation, before being slapped down by presenter Susannah Reid, who told the squirming Labour leader:
“The average weekly bill for a family of four is more than £100. So you’re going to be spending significantly more than £70 or £80. People would say one of the problems with politicians is they are actually talking about something but out of touch with the reality – and the reality is that it’s much higher than you have quoted.”
Later in the day, he backpedalled in an interview on BBC Radio Oxford, saying: “Well, I said this morning it was on the basic groceries, the basic fruit and vegetables, about £70 or £80 – the total shopping bill was slightly higher than that, obviously. On the basics, I was saying it was about £70 or £80 but the overall shopping bill would obviously be higher.”
Here he is on Good Morning Britain:
To be fair to Ed, when mayor of London Boris Johnson was asked by Jeremy Paxman how much a pint of milk costs, he dismissed it with, “So what? I don’t know how much a pint of milk costs, so what?” This mole can’t imagine Ed being so curmudgeonly about his groceries.
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