UK election Campaign: Labour hit the road in a pink bus to 'reach out' to women, UK election News updates, United Kingdom general polls, UK Election news 2015

UK election Campaign: Labour Party hit the road in a pink bus to 'reach out' to women

Senior Labour figures will tour the country in a pink bus to “reach out to women” ahead of the election and create a “Domesday Book" of women’s electoral wishes.

Harriet Harman announced plans for a dedicated women’s campaign bus, which will visit 70 constituencies before May, asking women what they want from a Labour government.

The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party insisted that the plan was not “patronising”, saying that the campaign would focus on key issues like childcare, family care, equal pay and tackling domestic violence.

Launching the women’s campaign, Ms Harman said it was important that the 9.1million women who did not vote in the 2010 election had their voices heard.

"We believe that this election will be a watershed for women in this country. Women had been making progress in their lives with the backing of the last Labour Government,” said Ms Harman. “But now, with this Tory-led government that progress is stalling and the clock is being turned back on equality.”

There was, however, some debate over the precise colour of the 16-seater van.

At the launch, Gloria De Piero MP, the shadow Minister for women and equalities, thought it was “cerise”, while Ms Harman said it was “magenta”.

Pink was chosen so that it stood out from other vehicles in traditional Labour red. White vans were rejected, not because of the Emily Thornberry debacle, but because “we wanted it to be conspicuous,” said Ms Harman.

"We looked at a darker red, but it looked like a Pret A Manger van," Ms Harman added.

Ms Thornberry, the former shadow attorney general, resigned after she posted a photograph of a white van on social media.

At the launch, which was also attended by Lucy Powell, who is coordinating the election campaign, the MPs compared their approach to the Conservatives.

The Tories recently auctioned off the chance to go shoe-shopping with the Theresa May, the Home Secretary, at a fundraising event. Ms Harman said Labour wanted women to be “part of the discussion” instead.

However, the Conservatives hit back, questioning the use of a pink bus.

“The wheels have come off the Labour bus. Getting Harriet Harman to drive around the country in a pink van to try and attract the female vote is as patronising as it gets," said Caroline Dinenage, the Conservative MP for Gosport. "This is clearly just another divisive gimmick that the electorate will see through.”

Last year, Chi Onwurah, the Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central, said that pink and blue toys were unfair and perpetuated stereotypes.

“Why should girls be brought up in an all-pink environment?" she asked. "It's now got to the point where it is difficult to buy toys for girls in particular, which are not pink, princess-primed and/or fairy-infused.”

The van will be driven by a “balanced” mix of men and women over the course of the campaign, although it will be driven by a woman on the first day of the tour, which begins in Stevenage.

According to Labour projections, if the party wins a majority, 43 per cent of its MPs will be female. Over half of Labour’s 2015 target seats (53 per cent) have female candidates, while 65 per cent of Labour’s retiring seats have women PPCs.

Labour analysis has shown that only 25 per cent of Conservative candidates in their target seats are female.

The Domesday Book was drawn up in 1086, to provide a comprehensive survey of England and Wales.

 src:telegraph

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