It was originally billed as a gaffe when David Cameron was asked in an interview how much a ‘value’ loaf of bread costs in a supermarket, and didn’t know. He thought it might be “north of a pound” whereas apparently it’s 49p. He recovered well by saying that his family made their own bread fresh every day in a Panasonic bread-maker, so they never bought bread from a shop. Boris Johnson then helped him out by admitting he didn’t know the price of milk, and that basically the two of them had better things to do than go round supermarkets comparing prices. Well said, Boris. I’d rather the PM secured an economic recovery for the nation than saved a few pennies for his family, and I’d prefer the Mayor to keep London moving than to push his own trolley. I’d rather they knew the prices of gold and Brent Crude than those of bread and milk.
I personally have no idea what a ‘value’ loaf costs. The only sliced bread I buy is a medium, last-extra-long, brown loaf costing 90p, and I use it to make English summer pudding. I regard white sliced bread as having no redeeming features, but I can see how it might appeal to parents with hungry children. As for milk, I buy only semi-skimmed goat’s milk costing £1.55 for a litre, which must be about 88p a pint. I do wish interviewers would stop this silly nonsense of calling our leaders “out of touch” if they don’t shop personally for the groceries. I have no idea what regular sliced bread and milk cost, and don’t need to in order to make pertinent comments on the state of the economy.
Filed under: Updates |
Madsen Pirie 
‘I have no idea what regular sliced bread and milk cost’. You would if you were struggling to make ends meet, like so many people these days. No different from knowing what your energy bill is.
The price of staple food and other essentials goes a long way to reflect the state of the economy. Hence the questions..
Not really. My point was that I don’t know their price because I don’t eat them. I DO know the price of wholemeal bread and goat’s milk…
I certainly know the price of bread and milk and I also know the current rate for Brent Crude ($109.50 this minute). I am appalled at the way filling stations jack up petrol prices the day Brent Crude rises a dollar or two BUT when it falls it takes days or even weeks to come down. Incidentally, three years ago I was paying Tesco £2 for a 500gm tub of Lurpak butter, current price in Tesco £2.98…..a rise of 49% and a small white loaf has risen by 45% in the same period. This is Tory Britain where the PM is earning £160k P/A and he can’t relate to his hard working strivers many of whom haven’t seen a wage increase in three years. Our leaders are out of touch with ordinary people and that includes the hard working striver middle classes whether they know it or not.