Shop with the Conservatives

It really is looking like the dawn of a new era. The Conservative party has opened its online shop and, as far as political merchandising goes, it's a cut above Hazel Blears. Here are the giant umbrellas that "went down really well at conference" (says party spokesperson Amy Jackson) with their obvious but still somehow- too-cheery-to-irk blue skies. Admittedly, the mug looks as if it has come from another merchandising age, but the T-shirts and sweatshirts in poppy colours and grey marl echo American Apparel, and are, if the slogans don't offend you, wearable. The tea towel wouldn't look out of place in Habitat. The "Blue is the new green" bag taps in to the trend for shoppers with attitude, post-Anya Hindmarch's "I'm Not A Plastic Bag". Might Samantha Cameron, creative director of luxury stationers and accessories brand Smythson, have had a hand in all this? "No," says Jackson. "No, no."