Return of the Iron Lady: Mensch unleashes her inner Thatcher

With her forthright tweeting on the "greatness" of Margaret Thatcher and eager defence of the former prime minister's legacy, suspicion was already strong that Louise Mensch sees a little of the Iron Lady in herself. Now, it seems, the Conservative MP is also not averse to looking a bit like her.

The author turned Parliamentarian is declared the "spiritual grand-daughter of Margaret Thatcher" by GQ magazine in an interview published this week accompanied by pictures showing her in one of Mrs T's staple looks – the ruffle-necked blouse. Mrs Mensch, 40, has previously criticised the scrutiny of appearance that female politicians suffer compared with their male counterparts and tells the magazine, in apparent jest, that it is "kind of annoying" she has yet to be promoted to the Government. The MP, who admitted recently that she had taken Class A drugs in her 20s while working in the music industry, distances herself a little from the Thatcherite tradition by describing herself an advocate of "social liberalism married with economic conservativism".

Nonetheless, she has made little secret of her admiration for her political heroine. In a series of tweets last week, the MP joined the debate about whether to grant Baroness Thatcher a state funeral, noting that she is arguably the most powerful woman to have held office.