Sir Keir Starmer has revealed, during a visit to a Kellogg’s factory on Friday, that he sometimes goes by the nickname "Special K".

       Asked by a journalist if he had been “dubbed Special K since your visit here?,” the Labour leader responded: "I’ve been dubbed Special K since I was born.” As if to press his point home (and presumably fearful nobody would understand the reference), the former chief prosecutor added helpfully: “Keir. K for Keir."

       In the pantheon of political nicknames, it may not be a keeper. That is K for Keeper. Margaret Thatcher had the Iron Lady and the Duke of Wellington the Iron Duke; Harold Macmillan was Supermac and William Gladstone the Grand Old Man.

       Being named after a cereal targeted at dieters is probably not one that will resonate quite so well with floating voters. Unless they are floating due to prodigious dieting brought on by eating large quantities of Special K.

       Sir Keir toured the Kellogg’s factory in Trafford Park on Friday morning, meeting business leaders, apprentices and trade union representatives to highlight the problems of distribution, shortages and supply chains that has left supermarket shelves empty and petrol stations short of fuel.

       Boris Johnson, said Sir Keir, was governing "in chaos". That’s probably true but Mr Johnson has a nickname - BoJo or else Boris - that may be preferable.

       Special K, for those interested in their breakfast cereals, was launched in the UK in 1959, three years before Labour’s own Special K was born in Southwark in south London. The “cornflake-based breakfast” has since become synonymous with weight loss, with Kellogg's championing the Special K diet during much of the 1990s.

       “The chaos,” said Sir Keir, “will continue as demand rises in the run-up to Christmas.” The big question now is will the supermarkets be stocking Special K? Or will there now be a run on the lighter cereal thanks to Sir Keir’s stamp of approval.