Jeremy Corbyn's favourite biscuit

I don't know the book I read is called "Pure White and Deadly by John Yukon. I read it in the 70s and made drastic changes in my diet for a bit, since then of course I have had 3 kids and adjusted things, but I can see that if you were the sort who stuck to things it would make you anti-sugar. And he does have an allotment.

I don't see why he's particularly in need of support. He's bound to be re-elected leader of the Labour party as Owen Smith doesn't seem to have convinced enough voters that he's a better choice.

'Totally anti-sugar' except for shortbread and his home-made jams!

And of course his dingy damp towel quality didn't matter at all while he was a backbencher objecting to everything and achieving bugger all. Sigh. Wish he'd go back there.

Oh I do love directness like that. Thank you, phoenix

The man is an oik, with the charisma and personality of dingy towel that has been used for drying the dog after a muddy walk in the rain on a wet Wednesday in Wigan.

Apologies to dingy towels and Wigan.

I think the "totally anti-sugar" was just audience pleasing. He needs to find favour where he can, and we all know what this generation of mums think about sugar. Can't blame him. He's a politician. A particularly needy-of-support one at the moment too.

Hmm, maybe, trisher, but I prefer even politicians to allow for complexity. Most of them do, or appear to. Rock hard unbending utter conviction makes me think of martyrs and despotic autocrats. I prefer to keep my distance from that kind of thing.

I like the idea of the dog biscuit thought that was so funny. No I would never trust a man who doesn't eat biscuits.

I'm with Jeremy, shortbread all the way. Yes, I have often been forced, out of politeness, to eat something I don't like. Coming from a Ukrainian family it's the height of bad manners to refuse food.

But maybe politicians shouldn't thatbags. And almost certainly the media wouldn't let them get away with it. Can you imagine saying you were anti-sugar only to be seen scoffing a packet of hobnobs later on?

Stansgran, seriously?

I was on a plane with Ant and Dec and didn't know who they were. Everyone was terribly excited and the plane was going to Newcastle. I worry about a man who has been discarded by three women or who has discarded three women. That is gone through the hooha of marrying and divorcing three times.i also think biscuits are quite important and tells you a lot about people so Gordon Brown was right to hesitate.

And there you have it! Why JC seems weird to me: Utter Convictions about complicated stuff. Unreal, naive, awkward, simplistic, or something else not helpful in a politician in his position (or all of those things).

Normal people allow shades of complexity to mess with their Utter Convictions.

I don't know maybe it is just a principle. I read a book called (I think) 'Pure white and Deadly" about sugar consumption years ago and I am definitely anti-sugar, unfortunately I don't have the conviction to carry this out!!

What are we to make of JC's answer then? Yes, definitely some virtue signalling as to the anti-sugar bit ( What normal person, other than a diebetic, would say that) but also, shortbread......is this an overture to La Sturgeon, all things Scottish?An appeal to the Scots to vote Labour? A home-spun kind of biccy?

The problem with asking a politician a question ( even a harmless one) is that they calculate before answering. Ask me what my fave biscuit us and I will say ( without a moment's thought) a plain choc digestive biscuit, ask a politician, and they think....hmmmn,what sounds populist, what sounds virtuous, what sounds like may be the most popular biscuit in my constituency etc etc.So you rarely get a true answer.

PS i think he has a certain political naivety too.

One can cut down on sugar (or anything else) without declaring the one's "totally anti-". The totally anti- bit is excessive and therefore seems like virtue signalling. What's wrong with saying one's trying to cut down on sugar or eat less sugar but one does like an occasional shortbread. Just a normal answer.

But, then, I guess JC is probably totally anti- quite a few things so maybe saying that comes naturally to him.

I still think he's odd and a rotten Labour leader.

Polly - I do wonder how someone can survive decades in politics and still get away with being regarded as 'naive'.

Jingle not sure she had a favourite biscuit. She did think nursing mothers could be persuaded to attend political meetings by offering them a cup of tea but I don't think there was a biscuit.

I think JC really does not use spin - he is naive and aswers genuinely without thinking through the impact of his aswers. If he pretended to know who Ant and Dec are or chose a cheap biscuit to appeal to working classes that would not be genuine!
He clearly is trying to cut down on sugar and is unaware that it is considered virtue signalling or hypocritical!

That's interesting Trisher, thank you. ?. Where I once worked we had a shelf with the complete set of the Oxford Dictionary in the office and there was one particular member of staff who if he came across an unusual word would be in to check it out. I kept him busy with Ulster-Scots words as he wanted to know whether they derived from Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon, Latin or whatever. He was a pedant and stored his findings to prove the point if the occasion should arise in the future. I really enjoyed seeing him go through the process and hearing his conclusions. I don't know what happened to that beautiful set of dictionaries due to office moves. Probably sitting dusty on a different shelf and never consulted these days.

Hobnobbing to me is hanging out with your betters. Interesting that it has an older and different meaning.

I don't think "forcing a biscuit" on someone literally means pinning them down and shoving it in their gob (or does it?)

My grandma would take a person insult if anyone refused her cake. She would offer it many,many times and then even if you still refused she would cut a slice and shove it under your nose. Now that was forcing !