Liberal Burblings

From The Times:

A Conservative parliamentary candidate for one of the safest seats in the country has used a doctored campaign photograph that appears to have removed wrinkles and patched up her smile.

The assistant of Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative candidate for Gosport, took her photograph to a digital laboratory to turn the snap into a billboard election poster.

Speaking to The Times today, the 38-year-old candidate insisted that she had not intended for her photograph to be airbrushed.

She said: “The photograph was taken by a friend in my front garden and was not of a good enough quality. They [the lab] cut out the background, flipped it round so that it would work well on a billboard and it looks like they tweaked the colours on the face.”

She denied that the lab had airbrushed facial wrinkles or whitened her teeth: “If I had wanted to look cool and cute, I would have worn more make-up and had a professional job done.”

The doctored photograph comes six months after the chairman of the Gosport Conservative Association said that he would be happy to have a female candidate “if they are attractive”.

The poster image — which is stuck on a billboard near the constituency — shows Mrs Dinenage with fewer wrinkles and smoother hair.

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