An endorsement from the stars is a shorthand way of telling the story of who you are in politics.
A decade ago Labour’s effervescent Newness was all about Liam Gallagher and Eddie Izzard. The Conservatives, by contrast, were stuck at the end of the pier: Ken Dodd and Jim Davidson.
It is sometimes said that the era of celebrity politics is on the wane. When Gordon Brown replaced Tony Blair it was supposed to herald the age of gravity in which austere seriousness reigned over charisma. Remember that day?
Nor, when John McCain attacked Barack Obama as a celebrity, did it do the Republicans much good.
Now, it seems that the Tories are intent on attracting the cool kids again. In truth, the Government and celebrities have been drifting away from each other since Damon Albarn went a bit Old Labour.
Advertisement
Does it matter? Maybe. One American study recently suggested that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement was responsible for approximately one million additional votes for President Obama.
In Britain, researchers from the School of Management at the University of Bath analysed 315 responses from people shown a picture of Kate Winslet, the Hollywood actress, with the caption “I vote Conservative, do you?” against those presented with an equally attractive non-celebrity.
Among those interested in politics, there was no statistically significant difference. But for the rest of the group, 67 per cent said that they were more likely to back the Tories, compared with 48 per cent of people who saw the non-celebrity.
Dr Ekant Veer, who conducted the study, said that with 40 per cent of the electorate not voting, parties used celebrities to “tap in this bit of the market” that might not be reached through other means.
He also pointed out that he did not know how Winslet voted. She is much too smart for that.