Why politics has always had a sweet tooth

Pontrefact cakes are liquorice sweets. They are small and black with a medicinal-sweet taste which liquorice lovers adore and everyone else hates. For almost 400 years, they have been made and stamped with a special design. On August 15, 1872, when Pontrefact became the first place in the UK to hold an election by secret ballot, the sweet’s stamp was used to seal the wax of the ballot box until the votes were counted.