Alex Hearn, co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism, said: “People claiming that Labour’s policies don’t positively impact the Jewish community have been proved wrong.
“Cheaper gherkins are the kind of policy your bubbe would have written. My only question is whether it applies to the big ones in the jar, because if it’s those sad little cocktail ones, I’ll be writing to my MP.”
Gherkins are having tariffs cut by 12 per cent (Image: Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis KC was also delighted by the prospect of cheaper baby pickled cucumbers, telling the JC: “Burnham’s largesse on gherkins classifies as the nicest thing he has ever done for the Jewish community.”
In his Budget, Healey pledged to suspend the 12 per cent import tariff on the green, tangy Jewish favourites.
Mrs Elswood gherkins are grown in the Netherlands and Germany, and imported into the UK.
A 670g jar of the brand’s Hamisha gherkins costs £3.10 on the Waitrose website and £2.85 on the Tesco website.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch reckons only 4p will be knocked off the price of a jar, which is a lot less than 12 per cent.
Reacting to the Budget in the House of Commons, she said: “Really, is that it? The Prime Minister came in promising to reverse ‘40 years of neoliberalism’; instead we got 4p off gherkins.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham insisted: “We are taking on the big challenges facing the country. But that doesn’t mean losing sight of the everyday problems that cost people money or simply aren’t fair.”
Mr Pickle, who rose to stardom as the Board of Deputies official pickle during the first Jewish Culture Month between June and July, gave the JC his verdict.
He said: “As the official mascot for Jewish Culture Month, I was slightly surprised to be approached by the JC to comment on last week’s Budget. Let’s just say I’m more accustomed to the red carpet than the Chancellor’s red box.
“However, having done a little research, I was moved to discover that my fellow gherkins had played such a prominent role in the Government’s plans.
“I’m a cultural icon not an economic guru but even I could tell you that as a political catchphrase, ‘pickles for the people’, would provide a boost for Burnham.
“Whether they are sweet dill or lacto-fermented, pickles of the world will unite behind this rallying call. In fact, I am taking this opportunity to announce our own political movement, to be called the New Green Party. Join us and you will never again cry briney tears of despair.”
Mrs Elswood has been contacted for comment.
