Starmer and Badenoch’s lunchtime sandwich split

Badenoch is not alone in her deep dislike of sandwiches.

Earlier this month, actor Anna Maxwell Martin told The Sun, external: “If I’m on a set and sandwiches are brought on — it’s hard for me to even say that word — I’d have to say ‘get that out’.”

Scrutiny of their food preferences can lead some politicians into a state of indecision.

In 2009, then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown dodged repeated questions from parenting website Mumsnet about his favourite biscuit. He later said he liked “anything with a bit of chocolate”.

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher adopted a diet consisting of 28 eggs a week to help fuel her successful general election campaign.

She also used food as a diplomatic tool, refusing to allow a break for dinner at a European Council meeting until a decision had been made.

Rishi Sunak sometimes abstained from food altogether, telling the BBC that fasting once a week was “an important discipline for me”.

“It means that I can then indulge myself in all the sugary treats I like for the rest of the week.”