One of the pre-election cycle’s less anticipated controversies has taken a fresh turn with Ed Miliband’s confirmation that he does indeed have two kitchens in his north London house – but he says he only uses the smaller one.
News of the Milibands’ culinary extravagance emerged when the Labour leader and his wife, Justine, were photographed by the BBC drinking tea in a small, spartan kitchen at home.
After Sarah Vine, a Daily Mail columnist, mocked the pair for having such a “forlorn” room, another columnist, Jenni Russell – who is a friend of the Milibands – leapt to their defence.
Russell explained (in a tweet that Labour’s first family might not have entirely appreciated) that the Milibands have two kitchens. The one pictured, she wrote, was the “functional kitchenette by sitting room for tea and quick snacks”.
Ed Miliband's kitchen is lovely. Daily Mail pix: the functional kitchenette by sitting room for tea and quick snacks.
— Jenni Russell (@jennirsl) March 12, 2015
Asked on Twitter if the Milibands really had two kitchens, Russell said the smaller one was more like a “tea prep area”.
In his first comments on a storm that, while minor, risks painting Miliband as out of touch with everyday concerns, the Labour leader said they barely used the bigger kitchen – the one Russell called “lovely”.
“The house we bought had a kitchen downstairs when we bought it,” he told the Birmingham Mail. “And it is not the one we use. We use the small one upstairs.”
Pressed on why he was pictured in the smaller kitchen, he said: “This is the kitchen Justine and I use.” He added: “I think Justine would probably say she wishes I’d spend more time in the kitchen.”
