Morning:
20°c
Johnny Depp has become, in his young middle age, like a star of the movies’ golden period
Secret deal hatched by News of the World to hush up details of phone-tapping was sealed in a tiny room at the Royal Courts of Justice
More...
Cheryl bashes Cameron's 'cool' credentials
Last updated at 09:05am on 15.12.06
Cheryl Tweedy on David Cameron: 'Do I fancy him? No!'
Girls Aloud have given Tory leader David Cameron the thumbs down.
Band member Cheryl Tweedy said Cameron should stop pretending to be "cool" and concentrate on policies.
Earlier this year, he claimed Cheryl was the most fanciable one in Girls Aloud.
But she told the New Statesman: "Politicians know we get listened to by more young fans than they do. That's why David Cameron said he fancied me. He was just trying to be cool. I bet he couldn't name a single song of ours.
"Do I fancy him? No! Politicians should stop trying to be cool and get on with running the country."
Cheryl also dished out some advice to Britain's political parties on how to make themselves more appealing to young voters.
"There should be adverts in the breaks during Coronation Street spelling it out in bullet points: This is what the Conservatives stand for. This is what Labour stands for.
"You know that basically Labour is the working class and the Conservatives are the really kind of upper class, and then everything else is... I have no idea," she explained.
And she added: "I only vote Labour because me mam does."
Cheryl is no fan of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"We are too young to really remember the excitement of Labour getting into power. All we know is what's happening now, which is that Blair equals George Bush and the war in Iraq," she said.
Bandmate Sarah Harding complained: "We need to make politics more user-friendly. It just isn't talked about in normal magazines and newspapers. We never get asked who we'd vote for."
But Nicola Roberts chipped in: "I know there are programmes on late at night when they have debates and stuff. But young people are not going to choose to watch them. It's boring. No 18-year-old wants to watch Gordon Brown doing his whole speech - turn it over!"
Elsewhere in the interview, Cheryl - married to England and Chelsea star Ashley Cole - slagged off the WAGs, saying: "Footballers' wives are just as bad as benefit scroungers. It's just a higher class of scrounger."
Girls Aloud are not the first band to go political.
The Spice Girls famously declared their support for Margaret Thatcher during an interview with The Spectator in 1996.
Reader views (9)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
Well, whatever you might say about their lack of political depth, their approach to publicity isn't actually very dissimilar from Cameron's — Ghosthunting With Girls Aloud on ITV2 as a way of promoting your greatest hits album, anyone? Expect to see "Cam-marooned In A Haunted House With Desperate Dave" on Living TV anytime soon...
- Jonny, London
But Cheryl luv, your fans are too young by approximately 12 years to vote so Camerons comments can't really be interpreted as trying to win over young voters can they. But hey, you are quite pretty and I dont mean that in a trying to be cool way...
- Michael Smith, West London
"Girls Aloud are not the first band to go political."
I can barely contain my laughter.
That interview constitutes 'going political' does it?
I'm sure the Tory party won't lose too many nights sleep after those damming comments.
- Ben, London
So, apparently he just trying to be cool and probably couldn't name one of their songs. I be surprised if he could name one of their 'songs' as he's not a tone deaf 9 year old girl. Why anyone else would be aware of the manufactured drivel that the record companies spew out through this selection of talentless glamour models?
- Andy, Bow
Next week Cheryl will be giving her views on the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Physics, and telling us about Dostoevsky's debt to nineteenth-century English social commentary.
- Ollie, London
I like the comment about Cameron not knowing the name of one of "our" songs - excuse me but I thought that Girls Aloud just took other peoples songs and then murdered them!
- Rich, Cambridge,UK
Cheap shot, Cheryl, but why not concentrate on your terrible voice? And as for `not fancying' David Cameron - looks to me like the guy has had a lucky escape!
- Ted, Shetland
What an embarrassing interview - they come across as totall airhaids! Ridiculously huge generalisations, no political knowledge at all, and apparently no interest in the world around them. I totally agree with Ben that this a truly sad reflection of the nations intellect.
I am the same age as Cheryl Cole, and am appalled to have her and her kind talking on my behalf or agegroup.
The icing on the cake is that footballers wives are a 'higher class of scrounger'. Cheryl, I think you are confusing class with money, which are entirely different things and something nearly all WAGs seem to be completely devoid of.
- Sophie, London
"You know that basically Labour is the working class and the Conservatives are the really kind of upper class, and then everything else is... I have no idea," she explained.
And she added: "I only vote Labour because me mam does."
Wow, stunning insight there from Cheryl, I look forward to her comments on more domestic and world affairs.
Has it really come to this when an uneducated and arguably completely untalented oik from Newcastle is given over as some voice of authority to the nation's youth when it comes to matters political?
No wonder this country is going downhill.
- Ben, London
