Posted on 09/28/2008 12:29:02 PM PDT by Gunder
They may look like the cast of a Hollywood movie, but this glamorous line-up is being hailed as the future of the Conservative Party.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
With the women decked out in little black dresses from the likes of Yves Saint Laurent and the men in sharply tailored designer suits, they have been transformed into "top Tory totty".
Behind the glitz, however, are formidable political minds.
The group includes several prospective parliamentary candidates and Tatler has marked all out as future members of a Conservative Cabinet.
Youth worker Shaun Bailey, 37, classically trained opera singer Nicola Blackwood, 28, and barrister Joanne Cash, 38, are among them.
The youngest of the bunch is Peter Lyburn, 24, who made history in 2006 as the youngest ever Tory candidate to stand for the Scottish Parliament. Tipped as a future environment secretary, he is passionate about green issues and helping society's less fortunate. "My time spent fighting a political campaign has opened my eyes to a world I don't think many people believe still exists in Britain," he said. "I've seen unbelievable squalor and deprivation in our society. I think we in politics always must remember that it is the bottom 10 per cent of our people who are the most vulnerable and who require the greatest help to better themselves."
Mark Clarke, 31, a former chairman of Conservative Future, summed up their ethos when he said: "David Cameron has made it cool to be a Conservative."
According to Tatler: "The new generation of Conservatives defy any stereotype. They are feisty and impressive examples of how David Cameron's Notting Hill Toryism reaches further than leafy W11.
"Their pin-ups are Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Churchill and Clinton. They refer to 'before DC' as the era when voting Tory was embarrassing. They've come of age at the party's most optimistic time for 20 years."
The Tatler Tories: Future Education Secretary
Charlotte Leslie, 29
A “surfer chick” and Bob Dylan fan, Leslie worked as a researcher on The Weakest Link before moving into politics. She is now prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for Bristol North-West.
Future Chancellor of the Exchequer
Jeremy Brier, 27
A “wunderkind” commercial barrister with a double first in English from Cambridge, now PPC for Luton North. Believes that “Conservatism means championing the poor and protecting the vulnerable”. Hobbies include cooking, listening to Elgar and watching Fawlty Towers.
Future Foreign Secretary
Nicole Blackwood, 28
An opera-singing, half-South African Amy Winehouse fan and PPC for Oxford West and Abingdon. Cites an Afghan women’s rights campaigner as her political hero.
Future Health Secretary
Helen Whately, 32
PPC for Kingston and Surbiton, Whately spent a year teaching in Nepal and five years working for AOL. She is currently a management consultant specialising in healthcare and is expecting her first child.
Future Transport Secretary
Kulveer Ranger, 33
Director of transport policy for the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and party vice-chairman for cities. The part-time DJ was headhunted by Johnson for his work launching the Oyster card.
Future Home Secretary
Shaun Bailey, 37
A youth and drugs worker in his native west London, Bailey runs a charity, chairs his local residents’ association and sits on the Police Community Consultative Group. PPC for Hammersmith who believes poor communities “need a bit more right-wing politics”.
Future Trade and Industry Secretary
Mark Clarke, 31
PPC for Tooting and former chairman of Conservative Future. Clarke is half-Bajan and related to the late Dame Eugenia Charles, the former Prime Minister of Dominica who was known as the Iron Lady of the Caribbean.
Future Defence Secretary
Annunziata Rees-Mogg, 29
A former leader writer for The Daily Telegraph, Rees-Mogg is now PPC for Somerset and Frome. Her fiance recently served in Iraq.
Future Housing Minister
Joanne Cash, 38
A practising barrister specialising in media law, PPC for Westminster North. Lists her interests as yoga and singing country and western.
Future Environment Secretary
Peter Lyburn, 24
Studied agriculture at university and is passionate about environmental issues. Made history as the youngest ever Tory candidate to stand for the Scottish Parliament. Tatler believes he is the man to lead “a compassionate and green Conservative charm offensive in Scotland”.
So Harry Potter, Apu, and three ladies will be running the UK?
Thanks for posting one of the photos. I don’t know how to do that, and when I’ve tried I’ve screwed things up.
Exciting time to be a Conservative in the UK!
As Bill Clinton might say, "It depends on what the meaning of "conservative" is."
Or as Paul Begala might have said, "Stroke of the pen, turn of the printing press--'conservative' is redefined. Kinda cool."
“...oh please...”
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