Politics might be show business for ugly people but new research suggests Australian MPs on the right could be more attractive than those on the left.

A new study published in the Journal of Public Economics has found the attractiveness of political candidates correlates with political views, and that in Europe, the United States and Australia it's the conservative politicians who are better looking.

Australia's living former prime ministers at the 2014 memorial service for Labor legend Gough Whitlam in Sydney. Credit:Dan Himbrechts

Researchers in Germany and Prague found that just as good-looking people are likely to earn more and those with higher incomes typically oppose redistributive government policies, voters use beauty as a cue for conservatism in low-information elections.

Using new research and a 2009 paper by federal Labor MP Andrew Leigh and Australian National University senior lecturer Amy King, the study suggests explanations for the hot or not trend, including that good looking people receive better treatment than other people in society and therefore see the world as more just.