#pinkbus: five best tweets about Labour's bus for women
Twitter brands Labour campaign 'patronising', but Harriet Harman insists bus is magenta not pink
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
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for November 16Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include presidential pardons, the Lincoln penny, and more
-
The vast horizons of the Puna de AtacamaThe Week Recommends The ‘dramatic and surreal’ landscape features volcanoes, fumaroles and salt flats
-
Asylum hotels: everything you need to knowThe Explainer Using hotels to house asylum seekers has proved extremely unpopular. Why, and what can the government do about it?
-
Will the public buy Rachel Reeves’s tax rises?Today’s Big Question The Chancellor refused to rule out tax increases in her televised address, and is set to reverse pledges made in the election manifesto
-
Five takeaways from Plaid Cymru’s historic Caerphilly by-election winThe Explainer The ‘big beasts’ were ‘humbled’ but there was disappointment for second-placed Reform too
-
The Chinese threat: No. 10’s evidence leads to more questionsTalking Point Keir Starmer is under pressure after collapsed spying trial
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rightsThe Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
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