History Forum / General / British History / April 2006

"Labour Spent $13K on Cherie Blair's Hair"
Apr 21, 2006

By BETH GARDINER
Associated Press Writer

LONDON

"Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party spent $13,700 on hairstyling
bills for his wife, Cherie, during last year's monthlong general election
campaign, a newspaper reported Friday.

The party would not comment on the report's accuracy, but suggested
there was nothing wrong with such expenditures.

"So what?" a Labour spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of
anonymity in keeping with party policy. "Mrs. Blair worked fantastically
hard during the election. ... She is enormously popular with the party and,
don't forget, we won the election."

The Times newspaper said the party had listed the styling bills as an
election expense _ $490-a-day for a month of campaigning _ in its mandatory
declaration to the Electoral Commission.

The commission declined to comment.

Cherie Blair, who uses the surname Booth in her professional life as a
lawyer, has long had her hair done by Andre Suard, a stylist at the upscale
Michaeljohn salon.

Tony Blair's official spokesman said the prime minister's wife paid
for Suard herself whenever she brought him on official government trips. But
he declined to comment on the report, saying party events that occurred
during a campaign were a separate matter.

Because Britain does not have an official role equivalent to that of
the U.S. first lady, prime ministers' spouses have to shoulder many costs
associated with their position in the public eye.

Cherie Blair, whose clothing and appearance are often mocked by the
British media, has been criticized in the past for her reliance on a pricey
hairstylist.

Christopher Meyer, Britain's former ambassador to Washington, recalled
in his recent memoir that the Blairs held up their Concorde's departure from
Andrews Air Force base after a visit to Camp David because her hairstylist
had been left behind.

"A helicopter brought him posthaste to Andrews as the rest of us
kicked our heels," Meyer wrote."
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DSH

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