Tories beat inflation with glitzy ball

The cost-of-living crisis might be gripping the country but there was no sign of that at the Tories’ summer party last night. Held in the sumptuous setting of Kensington’s Victoria & Albert Museum, the party put aside its various troubles for one night at least – not least claims about a potential conflict of interest for party co-chair and V&A trustee Ben Elliot.

Well-heeled attendees such as property tycoon Nick Candy and his wife singer Holly Vallance were forced to run the gauntlet after dozens of workers from the Public and Commercial Services Union and John McDonnell turned up to picket the event. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries was booed upon her arrival while former investment banker Lubov Chernukhin clearly hasn’t let past controversies trouble her as the largest female political donor in history marched in flashing smiles.

Inside the soirée, there was no sign of any belt-tightening as more than 200 guests tucked into fine cuts of beef, salmon tartare and passionfruit meringues with lashings of red.