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Liam O'Dell
Oct 11, 2022
Jamie Oliver says he has 'no faith' in Liz Truss to tackle child health
BBC Radio 4
Jamie Oliver could be at risk of becoming part of the “anti-growth coalition” shunned by Liz Truss, after he said he has “no faith” in her as prime minister to tackle schoolchildren's access to food.
The chef and campaigner made the remarks to Nick Robinson on the Tuesday edition of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme as he underlined the importance of child health.
He said: “I have no faith. We have been tracking her views for six, seven years - she’s not going to change.
“She has a view, that’s it. I think the older me can be a bit calmer, because she will be a ship that passes in the night, and I’m actually quite calm about the whole thing.”
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Blimey.
Twitter has since praised Oliver for his comments, which have been described as “remarkable” and “spot on”:
\u201cBlimey- it\u2019s taking @jamieoliver to explain to the government how long term growth works\u201d— Rory Cellan-Jones (@Rory Cellan-Jones) 1665470702
\u201cWell, Jamie Oliver knocked that interview out of the park. Knowledgeable, driven and compassionate. Brilliant. #r4today \ud83d\udd25\u201d— Eddie Burfi (@Eddie Burfi) 1665471349
\u201cJamie Oliver is more sensible than all the ministers put together. What an eloquent nice man ! #r4today\u201d— Johnny Foreigner. (@Johnny Foreigner.) 1665470830
\u201cJamie Oliver is on the media today talking about the need for more kindness in politics and a real focus on children\u2019s health and nutrition.\n\nHe\u2019s so anti-growth it\u2019s a disgrace.\u201d— Siobhan Benita \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b (@Siobhan Benita \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf3b) 1665471506
\u201cJamie Oliver on R4 just described Truss as either a ship that passes in the night or a shit that passes in the night, I couldn\u2019t tell and I\u2019m fine with either.\u201d— Buck Frexit! \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0e\ud83d\udc1fFBPE #GTTO #PR (@Buck Frexit! \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udf0e\ud83d\udc1fFBPE #GTTO #PR) 1665470680
\u201cJamie Oliver on the Today programme, talking about child poverty - God he's on his shit. He's just ... a good person. Weird how unfamiliar that phrase feels.\u201d— Caitlin Moran (@Caitlin Moran) 1665470956
\u201cPut Jamie Oliver in the Cabinet.\u201d— Dino Sofos (@Dino Sofos) 1665470574
And given the so-called “anti-growth coalition” is basically a list of people the Tories don’t like that much - including Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and “militant unions” - we can’t help but feel like Oliver’s comments will see him added to the elite group too.
If you somehow missed it, the new Tory phrase was unveiled during Ms Truss’ first speech to the Conservative Party Conference as party leader last week, in which she branded the coalition as “enemies of enterprise”.
She told party members in Birmingham: “I will not allow the anti-growth coalition to hold us back.”
Other individuals and organisations mentioned by the PM as being part of the group included “the vested interests dressed up as think tanks, the talking heads, the Brexit deniers, Extinction Rebellion” and two Greenpeace protesters who interrupted her speech to ask “who voted for this”.
In fact, The Independent asked Downing Street if Oliver was a part of the anti-growth coalition, and they did not rule it out.
Ridiculous.
After Oliver’s latest intervention, we can’t help but feel like we know for definite now.
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