Tories parade their military attire

As the reputation of Westminster sinks ever lower and our elected masters seem able to do even less, candidates for political office seek outside areas by which they can bolster their credentials. Once it might have been the Church: now it’s often business. But one evergreen way of commanding instant respect in Tory circles is a connection, however tenuous, with the Armed Forces.

Unsurprisingly therefore, those leadership candidates with such a connection have been doing their upmost to mention their service at every available opportunity. Take Tom Tugendhat, the man who’s quipped that his ‘biggest weakness’ is ‘talking about the army too much.’ He proudly sported the tie of his former regiment, the Special Boat Service, last night in the Channel 4 debate. Unfortunately, while such sartorial attire likely goes down well with the average Tory member, not all in the military community are similarly impressed. Mr S has heard all kinds of grumbling from army sorts, with one former Forces man moaning that ‘it’s like the porter guy from Serco in a hospital telling people he’s a brain surgeon.’