The ugly face of British politics: how you look counts Even Tony Blair's first government, which ushered in an era of spin over substance and Blair's babes, was a dismal time. The cabinet photo taken to celebrate the election of 1997 is not easy on the eye. Indeed, it is a gallery of jowly, bug-eyed, jug-eared gargoyles: Robin Cook, Derry Irvine, Frank Dobson, John Prescott, Clare Short and Ron Davies, a man whose attractiveness shone so dimly he felt forced to indulge in "a moment of madness" on Clapham Common. But now, it would appear, we voters want a bit of buxomness on our ballot paper, and a soupçon of sexiness at PMQs. We have entered an age when poor old plasticine-faced Ed Miliband is accused of being "too ugly" by John Humphrys on the Today programme. Dr Caitlin Milazzo, a lecturer in the Department of Politics at Exeter University and co-author of the study, admitted it was a shame we had sunk so low. But she explained how they had chosen 75 constituencies in the 2010 election, ensuring that the first and second-placed candidates were of the same gender and ethnicity. These 75 pairs of photographs were shown to a selection of Americans - to ensure local prejudices were divorced from the decision making - who were then asked who they were most likely to vote for. In 55 per cent of cases the one who was more attractive (scientifically measured, of course) was chosen, while in marginal constituencies the looks of the candidate became far more important - swinging victory in 72 per cent of cases. Did the good citizens of Corby pick Louise Mensch for her principled stance against media barons and wind farms alike? Or because she's a hotty with a forehead hewn from marble? Voters, hang your collective heads in shame - when your pencil hovers over the ballot paper, all thoughts of inheritance tax, badger culls and disability allowance vanish to be replaced by lustful thoughts about Chuka Umunna, a man whose skin is smoother than an otter, and Charlotte Leslie, whose mane of honeyed hair makes the Timotei girl look positively mousey. The findings suggest Charlie Elphicke, the MP for Dover, won not because of his championing of a community-run port, but because of his rugged public school looks. Especially when he was up against the Labour incumbent, Gwyn Prosser, a man who looks a bit like a garden gnome that has been inflated with a bicycle pump. Intriguingly, the study found that Tories were considerably more attractive than Labour or Liberal Democrat politicians - a finding that has not surprised Francis Boulle, the founder of SexyMP.co.uk, a website that asks readers to vote for who they would be most likely to cuddle up to on the green benches with. "Capitalism makes you beautiful, socialism promotes mediocrity," he claimed yesterday. Tory Central Office refused to comment on whether they were actively seeking out genetic perfection in future parliamentary candidates. But Dr Milazzo suggests this is not such an absurd idea: "Especially in marginal seats, when often the candidates" policies are more similar, and they are often both local figures. What are you left with? It may not be fair, but those hoping to be picked in the 2015 general election need to forget door knocking, and hit the treadmill.