A Labor MP has launched a campaign to cut the price of Freddo chocolate bars to 5p.
Patrick Hurley, who represents Southport, said he launched the petition after speaking to pupils at a school in his constituency.
Announcing the move on social media, “For Fredo, 20p is too much, especially with the cost of living crisis,” he said.
The 18g Cadbury chocolate bar was first introduced to the UK in 1973 and re-launched in 1994, then priced at 10p.
For more than a decade, the price of Freddo’s has been stuck at 10p, without rising in line with inflation.
Prices have started to rise since the mid-2000s and currently cost around 30p.
However, the 10p Freddo has achieved nostalgic status and the price increase has prompted outrage, sometimes tongue-in-cheek.
Hurley told the BBC he was inspired to launch his campaign after speaking to pupils at a local school in his constituency.
“The girls are very knowledgeable about political issues, including euthanasia and the Middle East.”
However, he said one of the students also asked him if he could start a petition to reduce the price of Fredo’s Bar to 5p.
Hurley said he didn’t expect the campaign to be successful, but the petition was “a cute, slightly whimsical, light-hearted thing we can do” that might help get young people involved in politics.
“If you start talking about the gas bill, the average 14-year-old might lose interest, but if you talk about the price of a chocolate bar…”
The Southport MP added that he had “got to know Fredos better than anyone else” since announcing his candidacy.
A spokesman for Cadbury parent company Mondelēz International said: “It’s great to hear young people getting involved in politics.
“It’s also important to note that as a manufacturer, we do not set retail prices for products sold in stores.
“What we can say, however, is that our manufacturing costs have increased significantly since the launch of Freddo in 1973 and cocoa prices are at record highs, all of which need to be taken into account.”
The price of cocoa, the main raw material for making chocolate, has increased driven Dry weather affects harvests in West Africa.
