Tory class war against Burnham simply draws attention to their own privilege
The Sun has gone for Labour leadership hopeful Andy Burnham today over his not knowing the price of petrol.
But would the Tories fare any better?
When asked at a GMB conference in Dublin, the MP for Leigh said a litre of petrol cost £1.60, rather than £1.16, the average cost of unleaded petrol.
As you can see, this is a rather small error – the two numbers even sound similar.
But the Sun continues with the Tory attack-line de jour, accusing Burnham of being too left-wing and union-backed, but simultaneously a posh-boy hypocrite.
At the Dublin conference, the would-be Labour leaders were asked the cost of a TV licence, a prescription, the minimum wage, and the price of a loaf of bread.
What the Sun fails to mention is how its favourite Conservative politicians fare under similar questioning.
When Boris Johnson was asked in 2013 how much a pint of milk costs, his guess was off by 200 per cent. He told the BBC: “I don’t know how much a pint of milk costs. So what?”
Prime minister David Cameron, when asked a few weeks later, admitted that he did not know the price of a loaf of bread. He prefers to make his own bread with his very own breadmaking machine (starting price: £139).
As chancellor George Osborne raised VAT on hot takeaway food in 2012, he was at a loss to remember the last time he ate a pasty from Greggs bakery.
This is another case of the limits of Tory class war rhetoric. By attacking Labour MPs in this way, conservatives simply draw attention to their own privilege and ignorance of the lives of readers and voters.
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
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19 Responses to “Sun mocks ‘Red Andy’ on petrol price. But Cameron didn’t know the price of bread”
Foullaini
So the argument is their man is just as out of touch as our man, that’ll work.
Tony
Ed Miliband forgot to mention the deficit in a speech.
Cameron left his daughter behind in a pub.
Incidentally, Cameron frequently ‘forgot’ the deficit when it came to tax cuts, wars, Trident replacement etc.
JarrowPete
Actually, it shows the rank hypocrisy of the the so called (dare I call it?) “newspaper”…..
Selohesra
Hypocrisy? – you mean like the Guardian & BBC who ran the Cameron Price of Bread Story?
JarrowPete
Yeah, exactly. I may be left-wing but I can spot hypocrisy from ALL parties and organisations when I see it.