Labour's decision to use a pink bus to launch a campaign aimed at female voters has prompted ridicule on Twitter.
The 16-seater minibus will tour the UK ahead of May's election targeting women who did not vote in 2010 as part of a "woman-to-woman" initiative. But Twitter users have labelled it "patronising" and more suited to a "Barbie doll" or "hen night" than the female half of the electorate.
Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman, who is leading the campaign, claims the bus is more "magenta" than pink, explaining that red "looked the same as everything else" and darker red "looked too much like a Pret delivery van".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Here is what Twitter had to say:
OMG! Have you seen @UKLabour's latest #GeneralElection poster for women? #pinkbus pic.twitter.com/L6abQcXngU — AngryBritain.com (@AngryBritain) February 11, 2015
Celebrity endorsement for Ed Miliband:I've never voted Labour before, but now they've got a #pinkbus... pic.twitter.com/02aP0F1Fxz — Peter Thompson (@TheRedRag) February 11, 2015
Following #Labour's brilliant #pinkbus idea, here's their idea to appeal to the 'ethnic vote' pic.twitter.com/iEPX9qK2Df — Bob Smith (@Schmiffy12) February 11, 2015
Labour’s campaign, in one deft picture by @carlamillar1 http://t.co/lwpblNZU1v pic.twitter.com/ZbqPZ9202l — Isabel Hardman (@IsabelHardman) February 10, 2015
The Labour #pinkbus has been done up using MPs expenses. All in good taste. pic.twitter.com/aQNSLjzQeP — LT (@RealTempleton) February 11, 2015
-
Fed cuts interest rates a quarter pointSpeed Read ‘The cut suggests a broader shift toward concern about cracks forming in the job market’
-
ABC shelves ‘Kimmel Live’ after Trump FCC threatSpeed Read ‘A free and democratic society cannot silence comedians because the president doesn’t like what they say’
-
September 18 editorial cartoonsCartoons Thursday's political cartoons include a man who would be king, an inconsistent court, and social media in the trash
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Angela Rayner: the rise and fall of a Labour stalwartIn the Spotlight Deputy prime minister resigned after she underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty
-
The runners and riders for the Labour deputy leadershipThe Explainer Race to replace Angela Rayner likely to come down to Starmer loyalist vs. soft-left MP supported by backbenchers and unions
-
How should Keir Starmer right the Labour ship?Today's Big Question Rightward shift on immigration and welfare not the answer to 'haemorrhaging of hope, trust and electoral support'
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum
