Keir Starmer renounces vegetarianism, endorses salmon on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the man widely tipped to win the UK’s general election later this year surprised viewers by cooking tandoori salmon on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch last weekend.
Starmer’s choice of dish has raised eyebrows, given his previous commitment to vegetarianism. While he has recently started eating fish again, making him a pescatarian, his wife Victoria remains a strict vegetarian.
In 2020, Starmer cited health and environmental reasons for giving up meat, stating, “Eating meat wasn’t right for the body and the planet.” However, he confessed to struggling with the decision, especially missing foods like bacon sandwiches and chicken curry. Last year, he reintroduced seafood to his diet, finding it “too much” to avoid entirely.
As he prepared the tandoori salmon, Starmer shared that he finds cooking “really relaxing” and typically cooks on Saturday evenings.
Presenter Tim Lovejoy expressed surprise that Sir Keir appeared on the light entertainment cookery show instead of addressing serious policy questions like his colleague Wes Streeting. This has led to suggestions that Sir Keir, similar to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, is prioritising softer media appearances to appeal to casual voters rather than political enthusiasts.
Earlier this year, Starmer’s diet came under scrutiny when Labour grandee Lord Mandelson suggested he should lose some weight. On the How To Win An Election podcast, Mandelson remarked, “Keir Starmer needs to shed a few pounds.”
