The Battle to Become Britain’s Next Prime Minister Is Suddenly All About Fashion

Americans are sometimes under the impression that politics in the U.K. couldn’t possibly be as petty and underhanded as proceedings in the United States. They’d be sorely mistaken, as the race to the bottom in the Tory leadership contest continues to prove.

Now, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has lashed out against the aesthetic choices of Rishi Sunak, former chancellor, and one of two candidates—alongside Foreign Secretary Liz Truss—to succeed ousted Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Insiders Admit Race to Be Next U.K. Prime Minister Is Headed for ‘Five-Star Catastrophe’

On Twitter, Dorries taunted, “Rishi visits Teeside in Prada shoes worth £450 and sported £3,500 bespoke suit as he prepared for crunch leadership vote,” a transparent attempt to knock Sunak’s campaign platform, which is based heavily on a descendant-of-immigrants, started-from-the-bottom-now-we’re-here success story.

In contrast, Liz Truss, Dorries’ chosen candidate, “will be traveling the country wearing her earrings which cost circa £4.50 from Claire Accessories,” Dorries said. (In fact, both candidates have been derided for inventing hard-luck personal narratives although they both come from comfortable backgrounds.)

“FFS Nadine! Muted,” tweeted Guildford Conservative MP and Sunak supporter Angela Richardson. (Dorries, aka “Mad Nads,” currently focused on the controversial sale of British broadcaster Channel 4, is herself a frequent target of criticism, derision, and satire—as seen in actor, singer and comedian Sooz Kempner’s series of witty video sketches.)

Anyway, is there anything that’s really so wrong about indulging in a little Prada, especially if your aspiration is to assume Britain’s highest elected office? As The Guardian’s Nesrine Malik pointed out in a new column, hyper-awareness and hypercriticism of class background and class signifiers as a means of determining a candidate’s worth are integral to the British electoral process.

In other words, Parliament members on both sides of the aisle will find any excuse to discredit one another, and Dorries’ luxury clothes-knocking is a perfect example: Why would a man of the people wear Prada?

Ironically, in 2007, Dorries told The Guardian that “I will wear cheaper clothes but there are things I will not compromise on, like my £6,000 diamond earrings.”

In 2017, Dorries told another outlet she favors purses from high-end brand Mulberry and that she buys “clothes at the start of each season, rather than monthly, so I do two big hits a year where I probably spend over £1,000.”

When he firmly held control of the prime minister’s office, Johnson’s style was frequently described as “shambolic,” “rumpled,” and determinedly unkempt. Perhaps Conservatives hoping to replace their shaggily blond former leader with a new model have intuited that this look appeals to the public, and are trying to steer their peers away from appearing too polished.

In the spirit of transatlantic understanding, The Daily Beast has reached out to British Vogue and GQ for comment.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.