Nick Henman

It's the night before the election and all three party leaders are still out campaigning. The whole country is of course at home, watching shit telly, so Gordy, Dave and Nicky are probably preaching to their PA. Anyway, we know that Tony Blair once was in a rock band (admittedly they were called Ugly Rumours, but still...), Cameron once dressed daft with his homo erotic band of brothers in the Bullingdon Club and Gordon he....well, never mind what he got up to as a youngster, because he probably doesn't know himself....but now we also know what Nick Clegg did on his adolescent spare time. Tennis. That's him, second from the left, you neo-conservative little social democrat in a cricket jumper! Apparently he also did a bit of amateur theatre. Of course you did mate.

FiP interview on Vogue.co.uk

http://www.vogue.co.uk/celebrity-photos/100428-style-file-miriam-clegg.aspx

Style File: Miriam Clegg
JULIA NEEL 28 April 2010


Miriam Gonzalez Durantez - aka Mrs Nick Clegg - has made a reputation for herself as a no-nonsense woman who works hard and is taken seriously. Whereas her rival wives in the race for Number 10 - Samantha Cameron and Sarah Brown - have been pictured with their husbands in an array of headline-making outfits, international trade lawyer Miriam has quietly gone about her own business.


"I don't have a job I can abandon for five weeks and I imagine that's true for most people," she told the Daily Mail in April of her comparative absence from her husband's side during the campaign.


"Miriam has shown that it's not always best to be everywhere and wearing the loudest colours," says David Hellqvist of Fashion in Politics. "She has been going to work and getting on with life, which has earned her kudos from the press and the public."
Be that as it may, we have seen a penchant for elegantly feminine dresses and neat separates from the Liberal Democrat leader's wife and she's often pictured with her ready-for-anything, across the body satchel by Bimba & Lola.


But does what the leaders' wives wear bear any reflection on the outcome of the election? "What the wives wear is of course irrelevant to Westminster politics and policies," Hellqvist goes on. "But the ladies' looks say something about the person behind the politician, and we are after all in the process of voting for one of them as the new Prime Minister. So they matter very much in that sense. Saying that, though, it is pretty fun seeing SamCam and Sarah Brown competing in their 'Who Can Wear The Most Erdem Dresses Race'."

The Spin / Nick Clegg / AnOther Mag.com

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/228/The_Race_is_On

The Spin | The Race is On
— April 27, 2010—
David Hellqvist tries to make sense of the sartorial choices of World Leaders in his fortnightly column The Spin


Animated Debate still Taken from an animation by El Mysterioso, origianl image by New Folder


The race is on; the General Election is around the corner but the biggest political news to emerge over the last few weeks of campaigning is not the Bordon Brown’s sense of humour – sorry, that’s meant to be Gordon – or David Cameron’s love of the NHS. No, it’s the apparent existence of a third party and its leader, Nick Clegg. I know – who?


Admittedly that’s a bit unfair: most people of course know of the Liberal Democrats, but hard working TV reporters often don’t stop looking until they find an interviewee who sees a picture of Clegg and think he’s the guy who sold them their new car last week. The reason for this change of direction in the election campaign is primarily Clegg’s impressive performance in the two recent Leader Debates. But to be honest, all Clegg had to do was to point at Brown and Cameron and say “I’m not them!”


Also Vince Cable, Clegg’s political wife, helped out. When both other party leaders showed off their spouses at the start of the campaign, Clegg brought along his financial guru for a cuddle and photo opportunities. But the successful marriage makes sense: while SamCam and SarBro fight over the latest Erdem dress, Clegg’s man wife is busy planning the country’s economical recovery.


Speaking of wives, Clegg’s real spouse, Miriam, often refuses to compromise her day job as a solicitor to appear as Lib Dem arm candy. But a recent Clegg interview in GQ suggests that Miriam might want to keep an eye on her husband. Journalist Piers Morgan made the Cleggster admit to having bedded “no more than 30 women,” which might seem as an optimistic figure, but let’s face it, Clegg’s the most attractive one out of the PM wannabe trio.


There is very little to say about how Nick Clegg dresses, except for the fact that if you saw the three party leaders without showing their faces, you would be able to pick Bordon out because he’s got the most generous chest size; Cameron would stick out because of his manicured finger nails; while the only thing to give Clegg away is that awful yellow tie he always wear. Wouldn’t you love it if Clegg and the Lib Dems changed party colours to black, silver or maybe even gold, just anything but…yellow!






David Hellqvist is a freelance journalist for AnOther Man, Dazed & Confused, i-D,ZOO and a Contributing Editor to American website JC Report


The original animation can be seen here

General Tie Competition 2010

Any man who can't tie a tie needs to learn that skill immeditatley. It's a bit like riding a bicycle: once you've learnt you always know how to do it. You might think you're never going to need it, but one of these days you will, and having to ask for help is not on. I'm not suggesting that any of these three gents can't tie their own tie, but I'm interested in how they tie it, and what kind of tie they normally go for.


There's always that classic argument that DC needs a blue tie, GB a red and NC a yellow one. And as you can see, they often feed into these stereo types themselves. But forget about the colour for a while; look at the knot. I'm terribly dissapointed in GB's tie knot; out of these three, he's closest to a Banker Wanker tie. You know, the massivly over sized ones that everyone in the City sports. One wonders what is they're trying to compensate for? It ain't a lack of dosh, that's for sure....


Also, except for the knot, I'm not crazy about the shiny shade of purple he's gone for. Genrelly speaking, fellow gentlemen, avoid purple. It has too much Burton and Bluewater shopping centre about it! Also NC has a too shiny tie, and yellow is rarely a good colour for clothing - even though, in this case, it is his party's fighting colours.


It pains me to say it, but DC is the winner. Blue, out of the three party colours, is by far the most versatile and subtle colour. The Tory knot, surprisingly enough, is also the best one; Where GB's is too big and shiny and NC's a bit too thin and pointy (plus shiny), Cameron has the perfect size and angle...but he looks a bit puffy in the face, doesn't he....

Top Ten Most Fanciable MPs

These are the most good looking MPs in Britain, according to SKY News. Interestingly, Lib Dem's Nick Clegg is the only party leader in the Top Ten, and the Tories have 50% of the coveted spots.


The winner, Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone, commented: "For a woman who stopped counting her age several decades ago, I am very flattered by the compliment. Although, if politics is showbusiness for ugly people, does that mean I'm best of a bad lot?"


(Last year's position in brackets)


1 (2) Lynne Featherstone, 58, Liberal Democrat, Hornsey and Wood Green


2 (7) Caroline Flint, 48, Labour, Don Valley


3 (-) Julie Kirkbride, 49, Conservative, Bromsgrove


4 (3) Adam Afriyie, 44, Conservative, Windsor


5 (5) Julia Goldsworthy, 31, Liberal Democrat, Falmouth and Camborne


5 (8) Nick Clegg, 43, Liberal Democrat, Sheffield Hallam


7 (-) Jeremy Hunt, 43, Conservative, South West Surrey


7 (1) Andy Burnham, 40, Labour, Leigh


9 (-) Theresa May, 53, Conservative, Maidenhead


10 (4) Ed Vaizey, 41, Conservative, Wantage

FASHION IN POLITICS analyses this year's XMAS cards...

Christmas is around the corner, people, and Yuletide cards are sent out in every possible direction. This bunch here is from the leaders of the three biggest parties, plus the Mayor London...

This is Gordon Brown's contribution. Apparently the photograph was taken by some 19 year old kid who'd won the CIWEM Young Environmental Photographer of the Year, but I couldn't care less. Can they not see what it shows? Sometimes I wish Malcolm from The Thick Of It was for real - he wouldn't have let this pass through....No. 10  dangling on a VERY thin thread! So except for wishing us a Merry Christmas, Gordon Brown is saying that he is smoked and that his premiership will be done with when the trees go out...which is in the beginning of January, if I'm not mistaken...

This is David Cameron: as boring and...well, just bloody boring...as you'd expect.

At least Nick Clegg has added some personality to his card. But he should really talk to his kids about their drawing skills; they're 22 and 25 years old after all...

What are you saying Boris? That you're our star? We should re-introduce camels to save carbon emission? That you're Christ? I don't get it, you bonkerous flip-flopper!

This could have been Nick Griffin's Xmas card. But it isn't. But it could have been.

Nick Cowell and Simon Clegg

In more X Factor related news, Tim Dowling asks today on Guardian's website if Lib Dems' Nick Clegg has got what it takes to win, since he looks like Simon Cowell's doppelganger.....Well, do you Nick?