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Exposed by his sandwich

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by Anthony Vigor, researcher
New Statesman - 08 April 2004

Which topic stumps Tony Blair most often? The reform of public services? Iraq? Top-up fees? Asylum and immigration? On these he can usually manage fluent answers. But not on his eating habits.

As a guest on a Sheffield radio phone-in last week, Blair was asked to name his favourite sandwich. As a political question this beats some of the guff he is asked at his monthly press conference. Or even most of what he is asked at Prime Minister's Questions. He cannot avoid the question or get away with half answer. And any answer will be loaded with political symbolism. After all the proverbial beer and sandwiches with union leaders dogged every Labour leader before Blair.

So the PM could opt for the proletarian bacon buttie, albeit without brown sauce. He could claim chicken tikka, with its gentle nod to an imperial past and a firm statement of a multicultural present and future. Or he could confirm the Islington stereotype and suggest Parma Ham with pecorino cheese on toasted ciabatta. No wonder he paused.

William Hague, as Tory leader called Blair a hypocrite on food. The PM had told the Labour Party’s magazine that his favourite food was fish and chips and that he got a takeaway whenever he was at home in his constituency. Yet in the Islington Cook Book (yes, such a book does exist) his choice was ‘fresh fettuccini garnished with an exotic sauce of olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and capers’.

These different answers (to different audiences) demonstrate the political symbolism we attach to food. Food production and distribution is an increasingly hot political issue. Should Blair now answer ‘organic fettuccini’, or ‘fish only from renewable stocks’?

So what was Blair’s favourite sandwich? His answer was clever - the déclassé BLT. Although some questions do remain. What of the vegetarian vote? And what type of bacon and tomato?