Friday, December 19, 2008

Oven gloves for sale in the Downing Street Gift Shop

Some have wondered, and some MPs have asked and got nothing in return. I can now reveal the marvellous product list as supplied to me in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Sadly they have avoided giving me the price list simply saying that "prices range from £0.40 for a card, to £49.44 for the No. 10 door model (why would you buy one of those?).

I presume everything else is priced in betwee. The full product list is just over there on the right.

Can you just imagine Sarah Brown in apron and oven gloves (for handling political hot potatoes?) - worse, imagine Gordon!

I wonder how much a Number 10 teddy bear costs? I wonder how much money they put in the wallet for you when you buy one of them?

Now, I just have to reply and ask them why they didn;t answer the questions about sales and the cost price of these little trinkets.

13 comments:

Croydonian said...

Given that the PM himself does not have a key to Number 10, there is a certain irony in flogging Number 10 keyrings.

John M Ward said...

Some useful information in that list. I never realised that "mint thins", for example; although a bruise on the head when I was young told me that "fruit drops"...

(Well, it's Christmas!)

Anonymous said...

Not only does the PM not have a key, from recollection the door does not have a keyhole!

Anonymous said...

£49.44 for the No. 10 door model (why would you buy one of those?

Target practice.

Anonymous said...

Sadly no Gorgon's Depilatory Cream then.

Anonymous said...

keep on going, I think you've uncovered a massive political scandal here.

dizzy said...

OMFG! Really? You think? And there was little old me just looking for a great opportunity to make cheap piss taking jokes at the expense of the Prime Minister. I never considered I might be onto a massive political scandal, I will keep digging, thank you thank you thank you for your support and advice.

Anonymous said...

It's not a trivial task to make money from merchandising even doing it on quite a large scale with experienced commercial management. No way is this profiting the taxpayer.

It is much more like a nomenklatura shop, buying from which is an expression of privilege. You might want to look at the commercial reality (or more likely, unreality) of parliamentary merchandising as well.

It's vile but I think your first instinct was right: just take the piss out of the vanity of the political class. Tacky self-branding isn't a big scandal in a world that supports Bicester Village. The bigger problem is nowadays the public *expects* politicians and civil servants to waste public money on self-serving projects. British public culture is now fully Brazilianised.

Dr Darren G Lilleker said...

I think you are being very harsh, just imagine the joy of owning these wonders, a No 10 candle, I mean what mantlepiece would not be given a touch of class with one othose adorning it - oh ok its crap... I want the bear tho!

Batnovice said...

Does the No10 Door model come with a spare - just like the real thing?

cheddoners said...

Is it run by a 'stani' ?

cheddoners said...

Is it run buy a 'stani' ?

McRaker said...

The first item on the list says it all.(on reflection though it would stretch even the wildest imagination to think of Brown as a 'card')