'Fancy dress' consultant wanted

Labour spent £300 on Star Trek costumes

A fancy dress store wants to hire a political student to advise them on relevant costumes.

It follows an Electoral Commission report this week into how much political parties spent on costumes in the 2005 election campaign.

Angels Fancy Dress said there was huge interest in lizard costumes following a Labour campaign satirising Tory leader David Cameron's "chameleon" qualities.

The West End store wants politics students to get in touch.

Its director, Emma Angel, said: "More and more, customers are becoming keen to get fancy dress items for parties which reflect political news stories.

She added an adviser could help pre-empt trends for the general public.

But she added it would also help them "anticipate the requirements of political parties keen to get more and more fun and flamboyant in order to appeal to swing-voters."

Last year, the Labour Party spent £299.63 hiring six Star Trek costumes, while the Conservatives spent over £3,000 on importing American Groundhog costumes.