On this day in 1975, Margaret Thatcher became the first female leader of the Conservative Party.
Yesterday, with 85 days to go until the General Election on 7th May, the Labour Party unveiled their response. According to The Grauniad, “a bright pink minibus of female Labour MPs will tour constituencies to talk to female voters around the kitchen table”.
A pink bus. To talk to women. Around the kitchen table. In the year 2015. Courtesy of the Labour Party.
The pink bus is the brainchild of the Labour Party deputy leader and feminazi-in-chief Harriet Harman.
Mx Harperson believes the van will help the party connect with women who did not vote in 2010.
But Twitter users have attacked it as "patronising" and "sexist".
Mx Harperson said she "signed-off" on the "eye-catching" colour scheme for the minibus, which will tour 70 constituencies across the UK in the run up to May's general election.
The bus made its first campaign stop at an Asda supermarket in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, where Mx Harperson and shadow minister for women and equalities Gloria De Piero chatted to shoppers and had a cup of tea with some of the store's female workers.
Her chat was interrupted by a man who said he did not think it was right that men were being excluded from the conversation, but Mx Harperson said the women told him to "shove off" because "they wanted to talk to us and they wanted us to listen".
Mx Harperson was also harangued by a man wearing a T-shirt which read This Is What A Victim Of Feminism Looks Like.
Harriet Harman's pink bus hits the campaign trail
11 February 2015
BBC News
Harriet Harman has hit the campaign trail in her pink battle van - amid a storm of ridicule on social media.
Labour's deputy leader believes the van will help the party connect with women who did not vote in 2010.
But Twitter users have attacked it as "patronising" and "sexist".
Ms Harman said she "signed-off" on the "eye-catching" colour scheme for the minibus, which will tour 70 constituencies across the UK in the run up to May's general election.
The bus made its first campaign stop at an Asda supermarket in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, where Ms Harman and shadow minister for women and equalities Gloria De Piero chatted to shoppers and had a cup of tea with some of the store's female workers.
'Silly and patronising'
Her chat was interrupted by a man who said he did not think it was right that men were being excluded from the conversation, but Ms Harman said the women told him to "shove off" because "they wanted to talk to us and they wanted us to listen".
Ms Harman was also harangued by a man wearing a T-shirt which read This Is What A Victim Of Feminism Looks Like.
Opinion about the van among shoppers in Stevenage was mixed.
Nicola Dinnage from Stevenage, said: "I think it's silly and I think it's patronising."
Harriet Harman and Gloria De Piero arrive in Stevenage
Asda shopper Bobby Smith interrupted a discussion in the store's cafe to tell Ms Harman: 'You're dividing up men and women'
Mr Smith demanded to know if Labour was planning to also have a blue van to appeal to male voters
But Beverley Gould, from Knebworth, said it is "very patronising", adding that she has not voted in the last two or three general elections "because none of them represent me".
Earlier, Ms Harman defended the bus's pink colour scheme, telling ITV's Good Morning Britain: "The reason why it has to be eye-catching is that there is a big hole in our democratic politics. In 2010 at the last general election 9.1 million women didn't vote and that's because they just don't think that politicians have any interest in their lives."
She said the message she wanted to get across to women was: "Use your vote, use your voice because politics is too important to be left to only men voting."
She also revealed that the 16-seat minibus would sometimes be driven by a man, adding that there was a team of three drivers, two female and one male.
"Rest assured, I won't be driving it," she added.
Asked by The Huffington Post if the pink colour scheme was patronising, she said: "Well it doesn't have big eyelashes on the front. We don't care. Actually it's got to look like itself. Because it's new; it's different."
Labour claims the "Woman to Woman" bus tour is the first political campaign aimed specifically at women.
But Twitter users have poured scorn on it and shared spoof pictures comparing the van to a Barbie doll toy and the car in the ads for car insurance company Sheila's Wheels.
And female van drivers interviewed by BBC Newsbeat gave the van a cool reception, with one saying "It's a bit patronising and seems like a bit of a cop out".
Do you really want this lot in power? The use of a pink van sparked comparisons to when Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry was accused of sneering at the white working class after she tweeted a picture of a white van outside a house with England flags hanging from the window during the World Cup. Last week shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt got into hot water after appearing to criticise nuns as teachers on BBC Question Time
After a difficult week of criticism from business leaders who used to back Labour, Ed Miliband might be glad to have the support of Barbie
Labour MPs have previously complained about the way toys marketed at girls are only available in pink
Some suggested the pink bus was like the car used by Penelope Pitstop in Wacky Races
This mocked up photo refers to the child abuse scandal in Labour-run Rotherham where young girls were repeatedly groomed by Muslim men
"Is it not magenta or something?" joked Ms Harman, adding: "It is a very nice looking bus... it is the correct colour. This is a One Nation Labour colour."
She said that while Labour would be highlighting policies on issues such as childcare and domestic violence, David Cameron and the Conservatives had nothing to offer female voters.
But the Conservatives joined in with the social media criticism of the campaign.
"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 backbench MP Caroline Dinenage,
"This is clearly just another divisive gimmick that the electorate will see through".
And the Lib Dems said "women voters won't forget Labour's car crash record on the economy just because Harriet Harman turns up in a pink van".
With 84 days to go until the General Election on May 7th, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg took part in a game of rugby today
BBC News - Harriet Harman's pink bus hits the campaign trail
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