Clodagh Finn: It’s a duel to the death with arrogance, not just wallpaper

Nothing offends quite like a politician’s swaggering hubris and sense of superiority

Carrie Symonds and British prime minister Boris Johnson, who have been caught up in wallpapergate.

To my shame, I googled Lulu Lytle, the designer behind the lavish refurbishment of British prime minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat because I simply could not visualise gold wallpaper that costs £900 a roll.

If it is crass to spend more than seven times your budget on ostentatious décor at a time when so many are struggling, it is equally crass to gawp, but then lockdown has sharpened our obsession with interiors. More than that, it has made us feel somehow entitled to snoop around the homes of politicians because the private sphere is regularly on view, partially at least, thanks to the prying lens of Zoom.