Has it come to this? One branch of the Green Party has noted its concerns with the Electoral Commission, after a set of leaflets issued by the Conservatives featured some very interesting design choices.
Tories accused of ‘appropriating’ Green Party identity
The leaflets, which have been issued in Norwich, West Bromwich, Cambridgeshire, and a number of other locations, don’t mention the Tories by name. Instead, they only promote the individual candidates. Even Jeremy Hunt appears on one of the documents.
Almost all of them come with the same heading; “Together We Are Making Progress”. This is then supplemented by a set of achievements claimed by the Conservative Party, and a localised quote about ‘making things better’ in each area.
But what’s the most striking thing about these leaflets? Well, that has to be the colour scheme…
- Here’s the one commissioned for Anthony Browne MP:
- And here’s a whole bunch of them… in all their green glory!
Branches raise concern over ‘extraordinary’ leaflets
The move has been widely panned online. Many have lambasted the campaign for trying to disguise all affiliations to the Tories. Indeed, some sections of the Green Party were quick to issue their grievances – with one branch asking for a formal probe into the matter.
“We think that the Electoral Commission UK needs to look at these Conservative Party leaflets, which are appropriating Green Party colours and our format. Isn’t there some sort of law against this?” | Colchester Green Party
The Bedford Green Party have also raised concerns. They claim to have also seen a number of these leaflets, but none have appeared in their constituency so far. We are yet to receive comment from the Conservative Party on this matter.
“Although we haven’t seen one in Bedford yet, We have also seen extraordinary examples from around the country of Tory leaflets being branded green, looking VERY closely like Green Party leaflets, and without ‘Conservative’ on them.” | Bedford Green Party