Men telling other men to lose weight is cruel... but is it ever beneficial?

When Peter Mandelson suggested that the Labour leader could do with losing a few pounds, the tut-tutting was deafening. Not so fast, says Simon Mills: when men talk openly about other men’s waistlines, there is a lot more going on under the surface….

Man-on-man body shaming is seen as a big joke for a lot of men (PA/Getty)

Lord Peter Mandelson was on a podcast the other day, talking body politics. “My problem with Rishi Sunak’s fashion is that he wears these skinny suits and narrow ties… and they diminish him,” said the former secretary of state. “Just to be even-handed about it, by the same token,” added Mandelson, “Keir Starmer needs to shed a few pounds.”

Shed a few pounds! Back in the knife drawer, Mandy!

In the House of Commons yesterday, chancellor Jeremy Hunt doubled down on Mandelson’s comments. “I know he has been taking advice from Lord Mandelson, who yesterday rather uncharitably said he needed to shed a few pounds,” Hunt said to Starmer. “Ordinary families will shed more than a few pounds if that lot get in.”