Ed Miliband: 'The bacon sandwich didn't lose me the election'

3 June 2021, 13:16 | Updated: 3 June 2021, 13:37

Ed Miliband: I don't think I lost because of the bacon sandwich

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband tells LBC it was not the infamous bacon sandwich photograph which dashed his chances of being Prime Minister.

The photograph was taken in May 2014 for the Evening Standard during the first stop of his two-day campaign tour, and within a week Mr Miliband was parodied online and by multiple media outlets.

The fated photograph became a source of sustained commentary about the former Labour leader, with many people interpreting it as evidence he was out of touch with the public, prone to error and unable to perform simple tasks.

The image became the source of many internet memes throughout 2014 and 2015 and it was used on the front page of the Sun, the country's most read newspaper, the day before his head to head with David Cameron in the general election.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband tells LBC he has now embraced Brexit

Six years on, Ed Miliband told LBC, "I joke about the bacon sandwich. I don't think I lost because of the bacon sandwich.

"I lost for deeper reasons than that, and in a way I shouldn't console myself by thinking it was just because of the bacon sandwich."

He gave some friendly advice: "I do say don't eat on camera. To anyone on camera, I am the paradigm lesson: don't eat on camera."

His brother, former Foreign Secretary David Miliband, was also parodied for arriving at the 2008 Labour conference holding a banana in a peculiar fashion.

Later that same year, bananas were served at the Conservative conference with stickers bearing Miliband's face.

Watch the full interview below.

Matt Frei quizzes Ed Miliband on Labour, Brexit and the bacon sandwich