Cherie's Hair

State funding for this?

The Labour Party has defended reports Cherie Blair left it with a £7,700 bill for a personal hair stylist at the last general election.

No. I don't think so.

This is what they were so desperate to borrow money for? It's all gone a bit Imelda Marcos, quite frankly. A bit more Imelda Marcos anyway. The reason why the Labour Party had to pay for this?

The money was paid for Mrs Blair's personal hairdresser to keep her immaculately groomed during her husband's election campaign in 2005.

Someone at the Beeb is having a laugh there. Immaculately groomed? I'm surprised they didn't use that photo. You know the one. Cherie probably used that photo as part of her argument to justify her shameless freeloading of course. Because she couldn't possibly do her own hair. Don't you know who she is?

For those who think this isn't a political story, Peter Kilfolye would beg to differ.

This is a real problem. We are almost accepting by stealth a First Lady. We don’t have a First Lady in our constitution, whether the Labour Party constitution or the unwritten British constitution; £7,000 could have been spent on political campaigning. We spent about £3,500 on our election [in Liverpool Walton]. It would be a very healthy contribution in many seats.

He's got a point.

That aside, I've got a nagging feeling that spending nearly £8,000 in one month on a personal hairdresser is just not right somehow, no matter who pays for it. Perhaps it's a sign of my inability to accept the celebration of vacuous consumerism and obsession with image which defines the modern world.

Tags: News, Politics, Tony Blair