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Will Tristram Hunt’s business-savvy wife be voting Labour?

It was his contempt for nuns that got shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt into trouble on last week’s Question Time, but there was another notable line worth revisiting. A tetchy Hunt hit back at an audience member who accused him of failing to understand the needs of small business owners, struggling to pay their bills:

‘My wife runs a small business, so I know about the challenges facing small business in my family, so don’t give a lecture on that.’

Now that Hunt has brought his wife into the debate, Mr S wondered how tough life has been for Mrs Hunt, the small business owner. Juliet Thornback is a designer of upmarket homeware. Her company, Thornback and Peel, ‘create beautiful, intricate hand screen-printed pieces for the home’ and they don’t come cheap.

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Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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