Labour ‘attack ads’, the political campaigns that have cut through and their impact on elections
Labour is continuing to face a backlash over its social media posts criticising Rishi Sunak’s record – but the party is far from the first to use so-called dirty tricks to win over voters.
One of the earliest and most famous attack ads was used by Lyndon Johnson against Barry Goldwater in the 1964 US Presidential election.
Known as “Daisy”, the ad showed a little girl plucking petals from a flower before a nuclear blast filled the screen. “These are the stakes. To make a world in which all of God’s children can live”, said a voiceover by Johnson in the background.
The message – that Goldwater’s approach to the Cold War could lead to nuclear annihilation – was not lost on the American people, who voted in Johnson two months later.
The ad pioneered negative political advertising, which soon made its way across the Atlantic.
Here, Sky News looks at some of the most memorable attack ads in British politics – and their impact on elections.
Labour isn’t working
The ‘Labour isn’t working’ campaign is considered one of the most influential attack adverts in British politics
A decade on from Daisy, a 1979 poster for the Conservative Party declaring “Labour isn’t working” heralded the arrival of US-style political advertising in the UK.
Created by Saatchi and Saatchi, the ad showed a picture of a snaking dole queue outside an unemployment office.
The designers planned to use 100 extras but only 20 from the Hendon Young Conservatives showed up – so the effect was achieved by photographing the same people over again and striping them together.
Labour’s Denis Healey denounced this in parliament, claiming that the Conservatives were “selling politics like soap powder”.
But his criticism served only to generate widespread newspaper coverage of the poster- which came to define Margaret Thatcher’s victorious election campaign.
Labour’s tax bombshell
The Conservative’s ’ 1992 Tax Bombshell poster helped secure another election victory
Maurice Saatchi also developed a poster widely credited with swinging the 1992 election in the Conservatives’ favour.
In response to Labour’s budget plans aimed at leaving eight out of ten families better off, the Tories created a giant poster of a bomb and the tagline: “Labour’s tax bombshell: You’d pay £1,250 more tax a year under Labour.”
It tapped into voters’ concerns that Labour’s tax and spending plans would hurt ordinary people, and helped to propel John Major to an unexpected victory.
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Tony Blair’s eyes
The Blair devil eyes campaign created a lot of noise but ultimately didn’t gel with the public
Not all the Conservatives’ attack ads have been successful. The 1997 Tony Blair’s eyes campaign generated many headlines but failed to prevent a Labour landslide victory.
It showed a picture of a smiling Tony Blair with a strip containing his eyes torn away and replaced with demon eyes. “New Labour, New Danger,” ran the slogan beneath.
An ad industry magazine named it their campaign of the year, claiming it had successfully played on public doubts about Mr Blair as well as generating £5m worth of publicity on the back of £125,000 spend.
But the Advertising Standards Authority received 150 complaints, including one from the Bishop of Oxford.
The image also did not gel with voters. Labour won a 179-seat majority at the 1997 election – ending 18 years of Conservative government
Be Afraid
A Labour poster depicting Tory leader William Hague’s face with the hair style of Margaret Thatcher
In previous elections, Labour adverts were generally seen as being one step behind the more ruthless attacks from their opponents.
But that changed when Blair recruited top ad executive Trevor Beattie – whose famous work included the Wonderbra “Hello Boys” poster and French Connection’s “FCUK” campaign.
Beattie was also the brains behind Labour’s 2001 “Be Afraid” posters depicting Tory leader William Hague with Thatcher’s hair at No 10.
While Blair reportedly had concerns the campaign was flippant, his communications director, Alistair Campbell, persuaded him it was funny while making a “really powerful negative point”.
Gene Hunt
This ad backfired on Labour during the 2010 election
Labour rolled up its sleeves again in 2010, with a poster depicting then Tory leader David Cameron as Gene Hunt, the politically incorrect star of Ashes to Ashes.
Cameron was pictured above the words: “Don’t let him take Britain back to the 1980s.”
But the move backfired when the Tories adopted the image and replaced the slogan with: “Fire up the Quattro. It’s time for change.”
Miliband in Salmond’s pocket
In 2015, the Tories ran ads depicting Ed Miliband as being in the pocket of the SNP
In 2015, having lost the 2010 election, Labour said it would not use Cameron in any of its advertising and focus on “issues not personalities”.
But the Tories made no such promise and depicted Ed Miliband in Alex Salmond’s pocket, in posters warning about the threat of an SNP-Labour coalition.
Although Miliband ruled this out, the message cut through to the public and dominated much of the general election debate.
An internal inquiry into Labour’s 2015 election defeat said allowing the Conservatives to raise the threat of the SNP in government impacted the result.
Corbyn ‘chlorinated chicken’
While some political strategists argue negative attacks are key to winning elections, MPs have expressed concern they can drag down standards in public debate, isolating voters.
In September 2019, the Conservatives were accused of “silly playground behaviour” by their own party after launching a campaign depicting Jeremy Corbyn as a chicken over his decision to block an early general election.
The Conservatives’ Twitter account shared a doctored image of the former Labour leader in a chicken suit, with the caption: “Hey (KFC), we’ve found an even bigger chicken than you.”
Brexit bus
Vote Leave’s NHS Brexit Bus claim was one of the most contentious claims during the referendum
Not all of the most memorable political adverts in recent years have been attacks.
The claim that the NHS would get an extra £350m a week if the UK left the EU, emblazoned on the side of a big red bus, was a key element of the successful Vote Leave campaign.
While factually dubious it sent a message to the public that Britain sends a lot of money to Europe that could be spent on domestic issues – something which cut through to ordinary voters.
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As Sky’s political correspondent Rob Powell points out, Labour’s recent controversial claim that Rishi Sunak doesn’t want to see child abusers jailed is a tactic taken straight out of Vote Leave playbook.
Broadly speaking, this works by disseminating dubious and inflammatory content, waiting for a backlash that amplifies the message before sending out spokespeople to stand by the campaign and give it a longer media shelf life.
The result is that amid the maelstrom of outrage and the process of journalists picking apart the accuracy of the suggestions, most ordinary voters only really perceive the core message.
Labour party Tweet
In 2016, that message was that the UK sends a lot of money to the EU.
In Labour’s recent case, it’s that the Tories have gone soft on crime.
UK
Nazi flags, patient ‘sexually assaulted’, ‘dog poo left at whistleblower’s home’: Sky News investigates UK’s ‘worst ambulance service’
A grandmother who claims she was sexually assaulted by a private paramedic on the way to hospital has told Sky News she has been failed by the ambulance service.
Warning: This article contains references to sexual abuse and suicide
It comes as a staff survey of the same service – the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) – heard damning claims of a culture of discrimination and bullying; with allegations of Nazi flags on team video calls and a “boy’s club” culture where whistleblowers are punished.
It’s been more than a year since a Sky News investigation first heard of a culture of rampant sexual harassment and abuse in ambulance services.
These issues have existed for decades right across the country.
But now the GMB union, which represents ambulance workers, is calling on the chief executive of SECAmb, Simon Weldon, to resign.
It’s after a survey of workers heard high instances of inappropriate behaviour and bullying; with a huge fear of speaking out.
It’s led the GMB to call for an independent investigation, with one representative branding the ambulance trust “the worst in the country”.
The trust told us it is committed to working with unions for positive change.
‘I just lay there, terrified’
Juliette was treated by paramedics after she was hit by a car while cycling
Juliette, 65, has spent four years trying to get her local ambulance trust to listen. In 2021, she accused a private paramedic working with SECAmb of sexually assaulting her.
Hit by a car while cycling through Surrey, she remembers lying on the stretcher in agony, afraid to move in case she was paralysed. Two paramedics carried out assessments for around 90 minutes before driving her to hospital.
But as soon as she was alone in the back with just one of them, she claims the male paramedic suddenly told her he wanted to “check her hips”.
“There was no asking, no consent,” she says. And instead of touching her hips, she claims he sexually assaulted her.
“With his left hand, he opened my shorts up – and put his right hand into my cycling shorts.
“Between my legs.”
Juliette says she was left feeling ‘insulted, betrayed and humiliated’
She doesn’t want to go into the details, but she says she temporarily froze, powerless and terrified of what he might do. All the while he stared down into her eyes and said nothing.
“I felt so uncomfortable. Shamed, frightened, shocked. I didn’t want it to continue.”
A letter of formal complaint
She said her brain eventually “snapped into place” and she moved her legs. She claims he then removed his hand, and sat behind her head in silence for the rest of the journey.
“I just lay there – terrified,” she whispers.
She reported it to the police the following day, but with no CCTV in the ambulance, it was her word against his. With no hope of a successful prosecution, the Met Police dropped the case.
South East Coast Ambulance’s response to a request for CCTV images
Then she turned her attention to the ambulance service, hopeful it would act.
We’ve seen correspondence between Juliette’s lawyers and SECAmb, which promised to respond to the formal complaint within 25 days. That was repeatedly delayed for several months.
“It was about seven months after the accident. They still hadn’t acknowledged anything to do with the sexual assault,” she recalls.
“They hadn’t answered any questions.”
Eventually, they effectively said the assault hadn’t happened; claiming that Juliette herself had started to remove her cycling shorts, and that “consent was given” for an examination after she complained of a pain in her leg.
She unequivocally denies every detail of this account.
She says it left her feeling “insulted, betrayed and humiliated”.
Why – she asks – would somebody think she had “wasted all this time”.
“It’s too late for me,” she adds, but she is making a stand to help others avoid the same trauma.
Amelia (not her real name) talking to Sky News’ Rachael Venables
Culture of discrimination, harassment and bullying
The GMB represents a large number of the 4,000 SECAmb staff, and recently carried out a survey of their members about their experiences of working life.
From the nearly 900 responses, the union claims they identified a culture of discrimination towards women staff members with sexual harassment, bullying, and a general “boys’ club” culture.
Of those surveyed, 25.6% had experienced bullying and 26% had witnessed inappropriate conduct. Racism was witnessed by 16% and sexual harassment by 17.2%.
What’s more, 80% didn’t feel confident the trust would support them if they flagged concerning behaviour.
‘He’s always been into Nazi stuff’
Ambulance worker Amelia (not her real name) told Sky News she finally blew the whistle on inappropriate behaviour a few years ago after she joined a video call with colleagues to discuss staffing levels.
One of the managers joined them from home. To Amelia’s shock, he appeared on their office screen with a large red, white and black Nazi swastika flag prominently behind him.
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NHS manager joined call with Nazi flag
On his desk was a framed photo of Adolf Hitler, next to what she says looked like a young woman at graduation. On the bookshelves sat a red swastika armband and what she was later told was a World War Two grenade.
She was horrified.
“I kept looking around the room thinking, ‘why is no one saying anything?’… When I spoke to people afterwards they said: ‘Oh yeah… he’s always been into Nazi stuff.”
At first, she blew the whistle anonymously, but was told she’d have to name herself and put in a formal grievance for it to be investigated.
A report seen by Sky News found the manager’s “inappropriate behaviour” should have been challenged, but he still works for SECAmb.
Amelia claims she was isolated by her colleagues, frozen out of meetings and uninvited to team events, saying “it killed my career”.
An independent report found there wasn’t enough evidence to prove that she had been deliberately excluded.
At one point the police were involved, then days later, she says, “I had bags of dog faeces on my doorstep. That went on for a few days, I felt like a prisoner in my own home”.
“Whenever I heard sirens, I got palpitations. I was terrified of who would be in that ambulance.”
‘They become the problem’
When people like Amelia speak out “they become the problem”, says Lib Whitfield, a senior GMB organiser.
Lib started working with the trust eight years ago, after an independent report was published, highlighting behaviours similar to those referenced in this article.
Senior GMB organiser Lib Whitfield
The culture is now the “worst it’s ever been”, says Lib, and she believes it’s the “worst in the country”.
“I am receiving calls every single day from members who are suicidal,” she adds.
Lib says the union has now written to the health secretary, Wes Streeting, with three demands.
“Firstly, we need a full independent investigation into the culture of SECAmb that results in actions and not just words,” she says.
“Secondly, we are calling for the resignation of the current chief executive who has overseen this getting worse.
“And thirdly, we are calling for an interim chief executive to be appointed who is external to SECAmb and who can have external reporting to ensure they are not corrupted.”
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We took these allegations to the ambulance trust, which wanted to point out that the alleged events happened before Mr Weldon took over as chief executive.
It also said it had issues with the way the anonymous survey was conducted.
A spokesperson said in a statement: “We continue to work hard to make SECAmb a safe organisation for all of our people and are committed to drive real change.
“The historic cases highlighted were thoroughly investigated, including through independent external reviews, and we firmly believe these cases do not reflect the views of the majority of our people on how it feels to work at SECAmb currently.
“We continue to engage openly with the whole trust about the further improvements we want to make and about the changes needed for the ambulance sector as whole.
“We remain absolutely committed to working with our unions to achieve this, although this will only happen with constructive collaboration on all sides.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting did not respond to our request for an interview, but in a statement a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This is an extremely concerning report and we are looking closely at it. Sexual harassment or abuse within the NHS is completely unacceptable and must be dealt with appropriately.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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