Gammon was last seen on dining tables in the 1970s, often crowned with a slice of withered pineapple. Now it’s back on the menu as the insult of choice among the Corbynite left — and it provides a key insight into the psychology of the Labour leader’s outriders.

Activists hurl the term at white, puffy, pink-cheeked, angry, middle-aged men who they think resemble the outdated dish. You know the type, the Corbynites wink: the blokes ranting about Brexit and Russia on Question Time. People who rate Jim Davidson and laugh at jokes about shirtlifters. Boorish petrolheads who worship Jeremy Clarkson.

Many activists seem more focused on goading their rivals than on policies LEON NEAL/GETTY IMAGES

The left-wing commentator Matt Zarb-Cousin, the confident 28-year-old who used to be Corbyn’s spokesman, is an enthusiastic advocate of the term. He recently explained