IQ of a carrot? You could think of some politicians as fruit and veg

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A leading member of Mensa has apologised after calling anyone with an IQ below 60 a “carrot” live on BBC Breakfast.

When asked about the effectiveness of IQ tests at judging intelligence, Mensa member Peter Baimbridge said:  "So most IQ tests will have Mr and Mrs Average scoring 100 and the higher you get, the brighter you are. And if your IQ is somewhere around 60 then you are probably a carrot."

After complaints from viewers, Mr Baimbridge, Mensa and the BBC apologised for the suggestion that people with learning disabilities are vegetables.

But Mr Baimbridge’s unfortunate comment did get me thinking about how his analysis would apply to people with low Emotional Intelligence.

So after a good, long, hard think (five minutes with a cup of tea and a hob nob) here’s my suggested list of politicians and political leaders and what their fruit or vegetable equivalent might be.

Do feel free to add your own suggestions, if you can be bothered.

George Osborne: Potato. A joy to roast.

David Cameron: Toffee apple. Looks sweet. Bit hard to chew.

Iain Duncan Smith: Onion. Can cause tears.

Boris Johnson: Banana.  The ‘joke’ fruit but can easily slip you up. And constipate.

David Milliband and Ed Miliband: Two peas in a pod. One got mushed.

Nick Clegg: Tomato. Is it a vegetable? Or is it a fruit? It doesn’t know either.

Nadine Dorries: Marrow. No one ever knows what to do with a marrow.

Natalie Bennett: Spinach. Not everyone likes it but we all know it’s good for us.

William Hague: Plum.

Nigel Farage and Nick Griffin: Cox. The most British of apples.