The artist behind a well-known cartoon of Andy Burnham has lashed out at the Conservatives after they seemingly used the image on conference freebies.
A goodie bag handed out to journalists at the Tory party conference includes a bottle of water branded ‘Bottler Burnham’ and a small tub of sweets with the name ‘Andy Panders’ People Pleaser Pick N Mix’.
Both feature a picture of the prime minister that is heavily reminiscent of Stanley Chow’s artwork – albeit with subtle changes, such as lengthening the eyelashes.
Burnham has used the cartoon frequently, including as his profile picture on X for a long time before entering Downing Street.
It also played a major role in his Makerfield by-election campaign this summer, appearing on the ‘For Us’ posters that popped up across the constituency south of Wigan.
After learning about the bottled water, Mr Chow posted on Instagram to say he could take legal action over the use of the image.
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He wrote: ‘It seems like @conservatives have been using my artwork without my permission at their conference party…
‘Regardless of whatever your political allegiances are, it’s still copyright infringement… I’ll be seeking legal advice.’
Mr Chow later told the Manchester Evening News: ‘They have not taken my IP rights into consideration, and have just done that.
‘The Labour Party could have owned that image, they could have infringed the Labour Party’s copyright. But the fact is, I licensed it to the Labour Party and it was okay for them to use.’
He pointed out that he had previously taken legal action against Reform UK over their use of the cartoon.
Nigel Farage’s party posted an AI-generated picture on social media showing asylum seekers on a small boat holding up ‘Vote Andy, For Us’ signs with Mr Chow’s illustration.
Reform later said it was removing the posts ‘in good faith and without any admission of liability’.
The Conservative Party Conference began on Sunday with a speech from leader Kemi Badenoch.
Among the other items included in the media goodie bag were an invitation to the ‘Birmingham Tapestry’ – an 80-foot parody of the Bayeux Tapestry depicting events since the 2024 election – and a brown envelope containing chocolate ‘Bitcoin’ addressed to Nigel Farage.
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