Reshuffle sexism: The Downing Street catwalk for men

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David Cameron’s reshuffle was seen by many political pundits as attempt by the Prime Minister to be seen as “female friendly”, to detoxify the Tories and claw together a Cabinet a little more representative of the population.

“It’s not a good day to be a white middle-aged man” said the BBC. Cameron culls the “male, pale and stale” read another headline. Meanwhile the Mail declared it “Ladies Day” in Westminster and produced a two page spread dissecting the flashy fashion of these cabinet cuties.

With instances of sexism so often making the front pages, it felt unfair to exclude the male ministers from this Downing Street catwalk. True, the strictures of the suit mean men have less chance to flex their sartorial creativity (just another example of how men are oppressed in our society).

Yet this is no excuse to treat them with such vestiary prejudice. Too often we judge these men by their policies, rather than what they wear, how many children they have, and whether they flash any thigh. It’s just not good enough.

The boys were kitted out specially for the big reshuffle too. Squinting in the sunlight, his spiked silver thatch catching the sunlight, Michael Gove left Downing Street yesterday bereft of the Education Secretary position he has held for the last four years, but with a new role as Chief Whip.

His choice of clothes gave nothing away about what he thought about his new persuasive post, his tie was muted, a subtle blue spot designed to allow him to blend into the background.

However the same could not be said of Philip Hammond, whose rosy cheeks and serious suit showed a man who was very much pleased as punch with his position as Foreign Secretary. Let’s look at what the boys wore. No doubt there were some blushes amongst the new appointees as it appeared they all chose to wear very similar outfits.

Disclaimer: This is a very sexist and utterly unhelpful way to cover politics. We hope the ridiculous gallery revealed that.