And you thought gas was expensive

[DavidMn]

So I'm watching the news this morning and this story comes across about how British PM Tony Blair's wife had a hair stylist bill during his recent re-election campaign of $14,000! She mustve wanted to look damn good for the cameras!

[bretonbanquet]

£275 per day that was. She wasn't an MP, not even a candidate. Unelected, uncalled for. She's just a hanger-on with dubious views, and a tendency to offload them at inopportune moments.

God preserve us and our so-called democracy

[madformac]

The annoying thing here is that she earns far more than her husband, the Prime Minister, as she is a Queens Counsel (QC) lawyer.

So she can easily afford to pay for it but its another example of abuse of priviliges. Besides which even a $14,000 hairdo is a waste of money when it has a face like her's underneath it... She should apply for plastic surgery on expenses IMO, that would be a better use of taxpayers money.

[tynan88]

How does this hair bill fall under tax payers money? Are election campaigns publicly funded in the UK, or was it actually under the PM's allowance that she received this?

$14,000 isn't alot for Mrs. Blair like was mentioned she is QC and can afford it, and just because the bill was revealed it doesn't mean it tax payers money.

[bretonbanquet]

In this case, the bill was put under election expenses, and so supposedly covered by the Labour Party. But it does look like the line between Labour Party expenditure and Government (taxpayers' money) expenditure is pretty blurred. Anyway if they're prepared to blow thousands of pounds on utter trivia like this, then it's a good indication of how they waste taxpayers' money as well.

After all the fuss over rich donors to the Labour Party being illegally given knighthoods and other honours for doing so, the Government would like to avoid any further bad publicity by forcing the taxpayer to pay for political parties and their uncontrolled spending. So in future the taxpayer may well be paying for all this kind of thing anyway.

I am waiting for Cherie Blair's hairdresser to get a knighthood for his sterling work for our wonderful leader's wife. In fact I reckon Tony deserves a knighthood for having to look at her every day.

[irishgrl]

Good Grief! post a pic so we can see what all the venom is about!

[bretonbanquet]

Here she is:



Though I think this one is a better likeness:

[wondergirl9847]

Those pics...good lawd!

If I had $14,000 to blow, it wouldn't be on my stupid hair.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by bretonbanquet

Here she is:



Though I think this one is a better likeness:

gotcha! I understand! *holy MOLY!* I cant see how simply fixing her hair costs so much! I mean, its short and there's not much style to it. I could see justifying the expense if she had, say, a spiral perm and coloring done....but her hair is basically blah? What the heck does her stylist DO?

[tynan88]

Awww come on they are very bad pictures of Cherie! I don't think she looks that bad, however she always does look extremely awkward when she is dressed up and out in public.

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by tynan88

Awww come on they are very bad pictures of Cherie! I don't think she looks that bad, however she always does look extremely awkward when she is dressed up and out in public.

thats odd, considering she is an attorney

[bretonbanquet]

Originally Posted by tynan88

Awww come on they are very bad pictures of Cherie! I don't think she looks that bad, however she always does look extremely awkward when she is dressed up and out in public.

You didn't think I was going to try and find a nice photo, did you?

[tynan88]

You didn't think I was going to try and find a nice photo, did you?

Hehe...don't tell me you're a tory now

Cherie has sparked a lot of controversy over the years in Australia, and is well known here because she has done a few speaking tours, got paid a sh*tload and then was apparently quite unco-operative.

Also she was linked to the Australian con man through the apartment buying she was doing in the past.

I think it is ashame where the Blair family are now, from an outsiders perspective it appears that Blair has done so much good, but will always be remembered for following Bush in to war, would you consider this right?

[bretonbanquet]

Originally Posted by tynan88

Hehe...don't tell me you're a tory now

Cherie has sparked a lot of controversy over the years in Australia, and is well known here because she has done a few speaking tours, got paid a sh*tload and then was apparently quite unco-operative.

Also she was linked to the Australian con man through the apartment buying she was doing in the past.

I think it is ashame where the Blair family are now, from an outsiders perspective it appears that Blair has done so much good, but will always be remembered for following Bush in to war, would you consider this right?

Never been a Tory Actually I'm politically independent with a general dislike for all parties.

Cherie Blair does have a reputation for being difficult and a bit full of herself, and she has caused problems for Tony Blair with occasional idiot comments like when she said she understood why Palestinian suicide bombers blow people up in Israel. Recently she also made a speech in New Zealand and twice referred to her audience as Australians They weren't impressed and moaned because all she wanted to do was sell copies of her book...

Blair will only really be remembered for dragging Britain into a war that nobody wanted, after misleading the nation about Weapons of Mass Destruction and holding on so tight to the apron strings of Mr Bush. Shame for him because he desperately wants to be remembered as a great Prime Minister, but the longer the Iraq situation goes on, the worse his reputation will be.

Another thing he is doing which might turn him into a very unpopular figure in the future is initiating measures which will lead to ID cards and a National Identity Database. This is designed to combat terrorism / illegal immigration / welfare fraud etc but has been proven to be usless in all these cases. It's going to cost billions and billions and achieve very little except pi**ing everyone off by demanding the public to give fingerprints / iris scans etc AND pay plenty for the privilege. Blair is also trying to reduce the need for his government to consult Parliament before changing or introducing laws (because he's tired of opposition to his ideas) - therefore creating a possible vehicle for some awful totalitarian government in the future.

Overall, Blair could one day be seen as the man who dropped Britain into a whole world of pain if he's not careful.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by bretonbanquet

Here she is:



Though I think this one is a better likeness:

The woman needs a little more fat in the face!