The late Frank Dobson was Labour’s candidate in the London Mayoral Election in 2000. He lost to Ken Livingstone who ran as an independent on that occasion.
There were reports, never fully verified, that Labour spin doctors, particularly the late Philip Gould, thought Dobson would do better if he shaved. He refused:
When Frank Dobson refused a New Labour diktat to shave his iconic beard off
The Observer (12th March 2000) carried a pogonophobic Editorial ‘Chin and bare it’ backing the call for Dobson to shave.
It read in part:
Millbank spin doctors are right. Of course Frank Dobson should shave off his beard. The white whiskers even in their latest Versailles trimmed manifestation are an electoral disaster. Women hate beards and always have done… Hairy faces make babies cry…Our only hesitation in pressing for a close shave any further is a strange foreboding that the beard might be concealing something far worse.
Perhaps the Editorial too was tongue in cheek. Then again, perhaps not.
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