It has plenty of celebrity followers, but now Harris Tweed has a new unlikely ambassador.
Keep an eye on future Commons appearances, because Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday promised to wear a jacket made out of the iconic cloth – beloved by Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and former Dr Who Matt Smith – after visiting the main manufacturer of the Clo Mhor, meaning ‘Big Cloth’ in Gaelic.
After receiving some lengths of the ancient fabric from Harris Tweed Hebrides at Shawbost on the Isle of Lewis, Mr Corbyn cheekily rebranded his party’s slogan.
“I believe in clothes for the many not the few,” he quipped.
Mr Corbyn began a tour of Scottish constituencies with a visit to the Western Isles and said he planned to visit Scotland “every month”.
He was met by an old colleague, the former Labour minister Brian Wilson, who served in Tony Blair’s government including as an energy and a trade minister.
Mr Wilson said: “Jeremy was keen to learn about Harris Tweed and our business.
“We were pleased to see him. We told him business is good – Japan’s down a bit but the UK’s up.
“Overall it is very good at the moment.”
Mr Corbyn, who was accompanied by his wife Laura Alvarez, said he was “very keen to get a Harris Tweed jacket”.
The politician even stamped a length of blue tweed under the watchful eye of Kenny MacLennan, from the Harris Tweed Authority, which authenticates the cloth with the coveted Orb trademark.
Mr Corbyn carefully guided an iron along the tweed to seal the mark.
The Labour leader wants to use his visit to the Western Isles to highlight Labour plans to “rural-proof” policies in government, so that all laws are assessed on their impact on rural communities.
Mr Corbyn said: “Rural communities have been taken for granted for too long.
“There has been chronic under-investment in transport, broadband and public services, with rural infrastructure and industry neglected.
“Labour will invest in transport, broadband, public services, housing and environmental and coastal protections – vital for the economy and the rural way of life.”