to think ed milliband is lying about spending 70-80 a week on food

[sazham2]

No way does someone that is a millionaire and earns about 7-8k a week with a family of 4 spend 70-80.

In touch Ed claimed that his family of four spent “probably £70, £80 a week on groceries a week, probably more than that” when hijacked with the perfectly reasonable question on ITV’s Good Morning Britain:

order-order.com/2014/05/20/mili-onaire-eds-cost-of-living-crisis/

Perhaps a better answer would have been 'I'm not going to pretend I know the actual figure. But I do know that the monthly Miliband household budget is tightly managed by . However, we have had to increase it in recent years as it has become harder to keep within whilst ensuring we still eat well as a family. We are fortunate that it is still affordable for us, whereas for many others it is becoming less and less so.'

Hmm, starting to sound a bit preachy now... It's not easy this PR thing.

We all know what the agenda is when these questions are asked, of whichever party leader, namely 'See how out of touch so-and-so is'. It's a pretty crude media play that tells us nothing about whether the victim in question is worth voting for.

I am guessing £70-£80 per week is the amount he claims in expenses and that is where the figure came from?!

Yeah right he spends £70-£80 a week. DH and I together probably earn about as much as Ed Miliband and Justine Thornton. We are both working FT, have no kids, eat outside the home for lunch and frequently dinner much of the working week. We don't waste food but buy what we fancy and including cat food, wine and cleaning products our weekly shop is closer to £100-£120 and that's outside London. If I were to add onto that the emergency purchases made at M&S in Kings Cross station we're probably looking at £150 a week.

Ed has a massive cheek calling Dave out of touch, not just over this but so many reasons. Though he can't really win on this question. If he gives an honest figure, which is probably somewhere around £150, he'll get pilloried for being a champagne socialist. But if he lies rounds the figure down or fudges it he'll be accused of lying, not knowing or otherwise being a numpty.

Personally I think all this 'cost of living crisis' stuff sounds ridiculous coming from a millionaire North London socialist princeling. I would have much more time for Labour if it included more people from actual working backgrounds (or even who have had a proper job at all, ever) rather than second or third generation sons of politicos such as Stephen Kinnock, Euan Blair, Emily Benn, David Prescott and so on.

Yeah right he spends £70-£80 a week. DH and I together probably earn about as much as Ed Miliband and Justine Thornton. We are both working FT, have no kids, eat outside the home for lunch and frequently dinner much of the working week. We don't waste food but buy what we fancy and including cat food, wine and cleaning products our weekly shop is closer to £100-£120 and that's outside London. If I were to add onto that the emergency purchases made at M&S in Kings Cross station we're probably looking at £150 a week.

Ed has a massive cheek calling Dave out of touch, not just over this but so many reasons. Though he can't really win on this question. If he gives an honest figure, which is probably somewhere around £150, he'll get pilloried for being a champagne socialist. But if he lies rounds the figure down or fudges it he'll be accused of lying, not knowing or otherwise being a numpty.

Personally I think all this 'cost of living crisis' stuff sounds ridiculous coming from a millionaire North London socialist princeling. I would have much more time for Labour if it included more people from actual working backgrounds (or even who have had a proper job at all, ever) rather than second or third generation sons of politicos such as Stephen Kinnock, Euan Blair, Emily Benn, David Prescott and so on.

It would be nice if all politicians told the truth.

The truth in this case (as suggested on this thread) is likely to be that he doesn't know. I do lots of the family shopping and I couldn't tell you how much a pint of milk is or accurately tell you how much I spend a week on groceries. However, if I was a politician I bloody would know the price of a pint of milk. I would also know the cost of the average family shop and the actual cost of living in some key cities and towns in the UK. I would know that because it would be my job to know that.

It is possible. I earn a salary that will be near one of theirs and work long hours. I menu plan to within an inch of my life so I don't buy food we won't use and have plenty of meals 2 adults are feed for 21 meals per week and 1 child has 16 meals per week. Including cleaning materials I spend between £45 and £50 per week.

I think we need to decide whether we are talking about a 'normal weekly shop' for food that is to provide for most meals for packed lunches, or something else entirely, as Manatee's example appears to be:

Even if you say 10 pw for cleaning products, which would be a lot for a couple and another tenner for cat food (how many cats do you have - we get the little 20 p trays from Aldi - 28 of these for 2 cats plus some biscuits is probably about 8), that would be about 100 pw for food and wine, that is just breakfast and some evening meals?????

Even if you are living on smoked salmon breakfasts and M&S ready meals, there must be a substantial amount of wine in that amount, so not food really??

I don't think it's reasonable to cite a 150 pw shop that includes booze and luxury food as evidence that rich politicians are out of touch (they are, but that's another issue), or that it's not possible to feed a family on lesser amounts.

FWIW, DP and I both work full time and shopping for us including 2-3 cats, mostly from Aldi, but with meat from a naice farm shop, probably costs about 200 - 250 pm, so a family with 2 young DCs could easily do it for quite a lot less than double this amount, particularly as DP is a greedy fucker that eats a lot.

fridge he is a ^polictician, he is supposed to be in touch with the general population and one of the biggest things, facing us at the moment is a financial crisis...do you not think it would be nice for him to have basic knowledge of the cost of things...whether YOU have this knowledge is totally irelevant to me...but the Labour leader? Working class champions...people of the people....???

I think the point is that the Milliband/Thornton household is in the income bracket where £200 a week here or there on groceries doesn't make that much of a difference to their annual income, whether that £200 is spent on cake, organic bread, champagne or jif. Really, does it matter if he shops in Waitrose or goes to Aldi and adds the difference to the cost of his summer holiday?

That is the thing that sets him apart from people on low incomes. I don't think there is anything wrong with this situation and I don't expect him to know the price of a pint of milk. Agree with Quangle, there are other more relevant things for him to be concerned about than the cost of a pint of milk (e.g. the margin that the supermarket takes on that pint of milk).

My point isn't that it's impossible to spend less than £150 a week, just that I think it very unlikely that Ed does. Both him and Justine work FT and are on a pretty solid joint income (must be well north of £200K / year between them).

Certainly for me the fact that DH and I are both working FT means being able to afford luxuries, ready meals, nice-ish wine etc and also not really having the time, inclination or mental space to meal plan very rigorously. The upshot of that is that we could certainly economise if we wanted to but don't, because other things take priority.

Hence our total spend on groceries in an average week is probably £100-£150 including all the items I mentioned, many of which we might be able to trim but only by spending time and mental effort we don't want to spend. As Ed and Justine also work long hours and are paid well I think it's very probable that they are in a similar situation. Was my point

Fridge. I think a lot of people think that Ed Milliband and family must spend a lot more than 100 pw on food, because they do.

Therefore everyone must be spending much more than this amount, and they cannot see how people would spend less because if you buy all the nice things in Waitrose, it is very expensive.

I think this is because many people on Mumsnet are much richer than average (several posters have said they have a similar income to Milliband/Thornton), without acknowleging that this is something like the top 1% of household incomes.

Of course very rich people will buy the most expensive food. But people on average incomes cannot afford this, and will be spending much less.

Also, given that the cost of a pint of milk varies greatly depending on whether you buy Aldi semi-skimmed or Waitrose organic or have it delivered by the milkman, the most efficient way to find out the price of a pint of milk if you are leader of the labour party is to ask a researcher, not to just go out and buy a pint of milk.

Which pint of milk is the best pint of milk will depend on your feelings about animal welfare, organic food, waste and recycling, the economics of farming and the effect of food prices on the economy. That is before you even get into arguments about whether we need to eat dairy products.

It's all a complete minefield.

Like Ed know what he spends on groceries?? He's a man for gods sake, ask my husband what we spend out groceries and he'll say £50? In reality we spend about £150 but I do it online so OH never really has much time to get involved with it!
But honestly Ed Miliband doesn't stand in the supermarket wondering if he should stock up on the 3 for £10 chicken packs and freeze them or decide between Heinz or value beans because if he goes over their weekly budget they won't be worrying how to pay the rent. I spend what I can afford on shopping and do buy treats now and then but I also have to compromise some of the time.
I have lived with no money before and it is awful when you can't eat to ensure your children are fed, but then I think that experience means I will always be careful with money, I don;t think Ed has ever experienced that.

But people on average incomes cannot afford this, and will be spending much less.

Justine and Ed aren't on average incomes.

Well he has exposed himself as a liar (as if it wasn't already obvious) by pulling a number out of his arse rather than admit to not knowing.

And those defending him have exposed themselves as mindless tribalist drones by trying to come up with some daft justification for his lies rather than admit he is a knob.

I agree it's not hugely relevant how much he spends. What is relevant is whether or not he is honest about it. That's what's hacked me off.

What is also very relevant is whether he knows and understands the real challenges experienced by other people. What matters is whether he understands the economics behind the price of milk and how it has been driven down in recent years and how the cost of a ready meal laden with salt and sugar and fat is cheaper than eating healthily. He needs to understand the consequences for public spending in terms of health and social care as a result of some of these economic decisions.

I don't have to be gay to understand the need for gay rights. I don't have to be a person of colour to understand the racism is wrong. I don't need to be poor to know that it takes away choices. I don't have to be disabled to know that disabled people deserve equal opportunities and reasonable adjustments to make their life easier. I just need to keep my eyes open and listen.

Politicians don't need to know exactly how someone else's reality feels, but they do need to have empathy, know the facts and take advice from people who do understand the reality of being that person who is being disadvantaged for something that they cannot help.

I understand Labour's spinners are now claiming the Milibands spend £70 to £80 per week on vegetables! Have they never been told that when you are in a hole you should stop digging.

Oh good grief. What nobbers.

I am imagining In the Thick Of It style hand wringing and then someone having a Bright Idea.