Cllr Ruby Sampson is a councillor for Cockfosters Ward on Enfield Council.
Food for thought: what do Labour MPs have against McDonald’s?
When I was at university and we had an MP guest speaker, the hallmark of their relatability was asking them what their ‘go to’ drink was at the pub. Could we imagine having a pint with them?
Your order at Maccies, Maccy Ds or McDonald’s has also become a way for politicians to be seen as ‘normal’. For example, Rishi Sunak was asked what his McDonald’s order was during the 2022 Conservative leadership contest. He unfortunately named something that had been off the menu for two years. Unsurprisingly, as the Chancellor, he hadn’t had much time to frequent McDonald’s with his kids!
Last month reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework were announced and fast-food outlets were once again the swinging piñata.
In the chapter on promoting healthy and safe communities, a revised policy stated that local planning authorities should refuse applications for hot food takeaways and fast-food outlets that are near where children congregate (unless in a designated town centre).
Hot food takeaways are a beautifully ambiguous guise for unhealthy food – yet ‘hot food takeaway’ could be a soup from Pret or hot pasta from Coco Di Mama or a heated Subway sandwich. Not generally the biggest threats to children or public health but all could be impacted by a punishing policy for hospitality businesses.
This is the latest in an emerging pattern, particularly within the Labour Party, of seeing businesses like McDonald’s as being inextricably linked to the rise in childhood obesity.
I sit on Enfield Council, where a Labour councillor repeatedly tables a motion calling on the Council to ‘limit the opportunities that young people have to eat fast food’ and ‘resist the opening of new hot food takeaways near schools.’
In Enfield there are 87 primary schools and 35 secondary schools. The economic consequences of this motion would be catastrophic, prohibiting any quick service restaurant opening due to it being practically impossible not to be in some proximity to a school. New investment and business growth would be stifled while simultaneously failing to reduce childhood obesity.
I went to a state secondary school where we walked at least 10 minutes to a fish and chip shop, a kebab shop or bit further to Greggs. At the end of a school term, I might get a portion of chips as a treat after school. But I wasn’t getting them every week. School students aren’t zombies – they have initiative and will just walk further to get to the nearest venue if these new regulations make this necessary.
Education at school needs to come hand in hand with education at home. My first full time job was working as a teaching assistant in a reception class. We taught children about the importance of healthy eating, trying new vegetables as well as doing regular exercise.
We also made a 3D model of a mouth with teeth and children took turns learning how to brush this, which they all really enjoyed. This is undoubtedly an important part of our education system which promotes a healthy lifestyle from a young age.
But I saw pupils greeted at the end of every school day by a family-size bar of chocolate. I saw parents pack lunch boxes full of biscuits and sweets. I saw children aged four start school with fillings or rotten teeth.
As a country we have gone down a rabbit hole that absolves parents of personal responsibility to inspire healthy eating habits in their children. Although the Conservatives like to point the finger at the Labour Government for paternalistic policies, the Conservatives don’t have the moral high ground on ‘nanny state’ policies having brought in mandatory voter photo ID and calorie labelling on restaurant menus.
None of this is new. But why has McDonald’s become a scapegoat?
Recently, a new Labour MP, argued against a new McDonald’s opening in a vacant brownfield site in his constituency. I would argue this isn’t the role of an MP. But would he be that vocal against a Starbucks? A Wasabi? A Nando’s? Some locals are in favour of the scheme, which McDonald’s claims will create up to 100 full time and part time jobs and generate an annual £45,000 in business rates.
Many McDonald’s open from 6am until midnight, or some for 24 hours, meaning they remain one of the only outlets open for early breakfasts or a late night snack. For shift workers to students, they provide not just hot food but a safe space for those in the nighttime economy when other outlets have shut their doors. We saw Greggs in Leicester Square suffer from sausage roll-gate, showing the lifeline McDonald’s provides for late night revellers looking for something to soak up the booze.
Some of the anti-McDonald’s sentiment stems from the mentality of ‘not for the likes of us’ – and this must change. MPs of all party colours must understand cancelling McDonald’s is not the magic bullet to ending obesity. A McDonald’s happy meal is not the breadcrumb trail Hansel and Gretel will follow to the house of greed, fillings and childhood obesity.
McDonald’s employs over 17,000 people, providing flexible work for single parents, carers and students. They have trained 20,000 apprentices since 2006, including 2,445 between 2018 and February 2024. They offer a range of opportunities from hospitality industry skills to corporate apprenticeships in finance, digital marketing, project management and data science. McDonald’s apprenticeship programmes are recognised in the NAS Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2023 and Rate My Apprenticeship Best 100 Apprenticeship Employers.
It’s also a cheap hot meal. A happy meal is only £4.09. They have a super saver menu which includes a hamburger for only £1.59 or a double cheeseburger for £2.69. Where else can you get a meal so reasonably priced nowadays?
Do the MPs that turn their noses up at a McDonald’s in their constituency also reject a McDonald’s breakfast on the go at party conference? Have they never gone to a chicken shop after a night out?
My advice to MPs: just eat a burger. If you want to represent the people, don’t scorn the people.