Former Cabinet Minister and TV presenter Esther McVey marries fellow Tory MP Philip Davies

Tory MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies defied the virus gloom yesterday by tying the knot in a Westminster ceremony.

Former Cabinet Minister and TV presenter Ms McVey wore a distinctive white percher hat with partial birdcage veil and a custom-made dress from Philip Armstrong as she married Mr Davies in Parliament’s historic St Mary Undercroft chapel.

Meanwhile, the Doncaster-born groom, 48 and MP for Shipley, wore a suitably true blue suit.

Former Cabinet Minister and TV presenter Esther McVey, pictured left and right, wore a distinctive white percher hat with partial birdcage veil and a custom-made dress from Philip Armstrong as she married Mr Davies in Parliament’s historic St Mary Undercroft chapel

But marrying during the pandemic came at a price, as the couple, who have been dating for five years, had to uninvite dozens of guests to meet Covid rules limiting wedding parties to 30 – and ditch plans for a gospel choir. 

Liverpudlian Ms McVey, MP for Tatton, joked: ‘When [the guest list] shrinks by this much, so does the cost. And surely a Yorkshireman could see the silver lining in that.’

She added: ‘You wait 52 years to get married and along comes coronavirus. I said to Philip, maybe the big guy in the sky is trying to tell us something. But Philip doesn’t always get my dark sense of humour!’

Other designs from Knutsford-based Mr Armstrong, whose wedding frocks sell for about £7,000, have been worn by A-listers including Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and Mel B.