Why the Spice Girls inviting Theresa May to their reunion show is not girl power
The Spice Girls say it’s all about ‘people power’ now. But their endorsement of the prime minister suggests they have really, really, really forgotten their original message
Back in the 90s, we had girl power. In 2019, according to Emma Bunton, we have “people power”. So she told The Sun earlier this year, when the Spice Girls announced their long-anticipated reunion tour: “We’re about equality and bringing everyone together.” In the same interview, Geri Horner heaped praise on Theresa May, insisting: “We don’t have to agree on politics … You can just support a woman doing the best she can.” This week, Horner doubled down on her support of the PM by personally inviting her to the Spice Girls’ London shows. Downing Street says May is “considering” the offer.
If you’re feeling deja vu, it might be because the first “the Spice Girls are Tories!” scandal was more than 20 years ago. When the Spectator interviewed the group in 1996, Victoria Beckham came out as a Eurosceptic, saying: “The Euro bureaucrats are destroying every bit of national identity” (opinions she has since denounced), while Horner, most notoriously, declared Margaret Thatcher “the original Spice Girl”. Earlier this year, in the Sunday Times, Horner bestowed that mantle on a different figure: Winston Churchill.