Franklin Roosevelt once remarked that "in politics, nothing happens by accident." It's a quote that springs to mind upon seeing the new 'Independent Group' dining out together in Nando's.

Last night Chuka Umunna tweeted a group selfie of him and the group enjoying a cheeky Nando's (branch unknown) after their inaugural meeting. The restaurant soon trended on social media as people waded in to ask 'lemon and herb or extra hot?', as well as taking the group to task for ordering chips without peri salt.



But is a half chicken and macho peas ever really just that when it's shared by a group hoping to maximise their public appeal and transform British politics?

If the cross-party cohort were looking to hone their 'down to earth' credentials, Nando's is a smart choice. A far cry from the starched tablecloths of Westminster, it's an affordable chain with branches that stretch the length of the country. It serves unpretentious and culturally ambiguous food (it's Portuguese cuisine but a South African chain). It's not table service, but also not really fast food. You get your own cutlery, and have to pay before you get your food.

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First @TheIndGroup meal out before votes tonight at Nando’s! pic.twitter.com/Qxdrk75Mx6 — ChukaUmunna (@ChukaUmunna) February 25, 2019

Anyone sceptical about the impact of politicians food choices need not look far into the annals of history. Remember Ed Miliband malfunctioning when faced with a bacon sandwich, or David Cameron's hotdog, eaten like a human prototype with a knife and fork? What you eat, and how you eat it, has become a test for how normal politicians really are.

You can imagine their WhastApp group brainstorming where to pick for the auspicious occasion. Pizza Express is too metropolitan elite (an American Romana is now £13.50 - just saying), while Weatherspoons might seem too performatively working class. Nobody is going to believe Anna Soubry orders a 20 nugget box at McDonalds. Nando's on the other hand - Nando's can be all things to all people.

As a 2010 Guardian article about how it conquered Britain surmised,"its chicken is the urban youth food of choice" with rapper Chipmunk (remember him?) telling them: "Even though you do get posh people in Nando's, it doesn't outlaw any social class." Quite.

David Cameron eating a hotdog with a knife and fork in 2015 Getty Images

Though the chain's early days slogan - “have fun and then make money” - isn't exactly For The Many, Not The Few, it has since caught up with woke marketing with the cockerel with your table number stamped on it, apparently, symbolising "faith, justice and good fortune".

Undoubtedly there will be some sort of peri peri backlash in the next 24 hours - perhaps Momentum will learn that Nando's has a secret trust in the Channel Islands - but you can't please everyone. And when it comes to eating out, a cheeky Nando's is as close to a centrist restaurant choice as there can be.

So did they manage pull off looking normal? Most of the joking about Anna Soubry

ordering a salad or the lone wing roulette drifting in the middle of the table seemed good natured. Only one outlier gave them away as Nando's novices. As someone tweeted on spotting their bottled water: "U realise it’s free refills at the machine? I’ve never seen something more out of touch."

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