It is astonishing how the right-wing press can spin a story. This Daily Mail piece provides so many shocking details about David Cameron's family and lifestyle but focuses instead on a criticism of the Labour Party. Cameron's mother-in-law reportedly belittled Labour's women MPs and ministers by criticising their helmet-like hair. There are 17 female Conservative MPs (out of 193 – just under 9%), 94 female Labour MPs (out of 350 – 27%), 9 Lib Dem (out of 63 – 14%). Rather than praise the more representative nature of the Labour Party in parliament, Lady Astor chooses to comment on their hair and condescending them by remarking that it must be ever so hard to work in the House of Commons. In all honesty I see no reason why an MP who clearly works hard shouldn't have a practical haircut, not everyone can lounge about on chaise-longues all day and have their coiffure tended to by personal servants.
The Mail article also tells an out and out lie that Samantha Cameron's mother married Viscount Astor in 1976 and had Samantha and two boys. She did marry the Tory peer but any idiot can work out that Samantha Cameron is not 33 (or younger) and that in fact she was divorced from Samantha's father before re-marrying in 1976. But then I suppose divorce doesn't go down to well with Daily Mail readers.
The original Telegraph interview it was sourced from paints an interesting picture. The article is mainly about the tragic loss of Astor's grandson (not about Hazel Blears' hair as the Mail like to think) for which much public sympathy has deservedly been shown. However there are some enticing insights into the lives of the Cameron entourage. "Women of my generation weren't really expected to go out and work," claims Lady Astor. Incorrect. Women of her class weren't/aren't expected to go out and work. After the Second World War women workers, whilst not the norm, became much more accepted, even (dare I say) married women. I should know – Lady Astor, aged 60, is slightly younger than my own mother who worked until giving birth to her first child and, whilst postponing any career, continued in part-time and voluntary employment.
Lady Astor began to "tire" of her jewellery business and so started working for Smythsons stationery. Samantha used to come and work for her (of course the Tories have a history of nepotism), when she left "they decided to take her on full time, but it was really because she was so good." I'm not doubting Samantha Cameron's credentials, but her impression in the media as the Creative Director of a successful stationery business provokes thoughts of an independent woman rather than one born with a silver spoon in her mouth.
Her comments on the NHS, that it is talked down, whilst complimenting it strikes me as hypocritical – after all it is the right who criticise the public sector and eulogise the private sector. On education too she seems wildly out of touch: "it's appalling what we are doing now for our children - people have to scrimp and save to send their children to private school." No, people do not/cannot scrimp and save to send their kids to private school. The other option is to raise taxes and improve the state school system. Something both Labour and Tories seem incapable of doing properly.
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