A Manchester illustrator says the Conservative Party uses his portrait of Andy Burnham without permission after the image appeared on water bottles handed out at the party’s conference in Birmingham. The bottles featured the cartoon slogan “Bottler Burnham,” alongside “0% strength,” and were distributed to journalists.
The artist, Stan(ley) Chow, says he was not asked for consent and that the party’s use of his work amounts to copyright infringement. He has indicated he is taking or will take legal advice. The cartoon had previously been made by Chow for campaign material in the Makerfield by-election in June, where Labour used a version of his artwork.
Across the outlets, the focus differs slightly: the BBC and Guardian emphasise the artist’s claim about lack of permission and his move to seek legal advice or call lawyers, while HuffPost highlights the staged nature of the “Bottler Burnham” conference stunt and includes details from the artist’s public statement. The reporting also notes Chow’s earlier disputes involving similar political uses of his work.
