General Election 2015: The battle buses (and a Smart car) take to the road
It's all about the seats – bus seats, that is. As the election campaign hits top gear the main parties are hitting the road in 'battle buses', a feature of elections since the 1940s. But who has the best one and what does each vehicle reveal about the party behind the wheel?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Liberal Democrats
Battle bus: A 42-seat Van Hool.
Appearance: Extremely yellow. The eye-catching design was created by two art students.
Slogan: “Stronger economy, fairer society, opportunity for everyone”
Key features: Satellite transmitter that allows Nick Clegg to conduct radio interviews on the move; lighting system with “disco mode”.
Weaknesses: Size – it got jammed on a narrow road in Oxfordshire.
Ticket to ride: Journalists pay £750 a day to climb aboard.
Conservatives
Battle bus: A Spanish-built Irizar.
Appearance: Big, blue and decorated with union flags.
Slogan: “On the road to a better future”
Key features: Leather seats, plasma TV screens.
Ticket to ride: The Tory bus is strictly invitation only, but journalists who make the cut enjoy complimentary sandwiches, tea, fruit and coffee.
Greens
Battle bus: A modified Routemaster.
Appearance: Bright green, naturally.
Slogan: TBC
Key features: The Greens’ battle bus runs on chip fat and vegetable oil.
Weaknesses: Unknown as yet.
Ticket to ride: Party members welcome, but it will only be on the road for the final two weeks.
Labour
Battle buses: A Mercedes coach and two Fiat Scudo Panoramas.
Appearance: The coach is silver, Ed Miliband’s Fiat is gold and Harriet Harman’s is (controversially) pink.
Slogan: “A better plan, a better future”
Key features: Agility. The Fiats can navigate roads too narrow for the Mercedes.
Weaknesses: One of the Fiats broke down on the first day.
Ticket to ride: Journalists pay £100 a day to ride with Labour luminaries.
Ukip
Battle bus: The party doesn’t have one.
A Ukip-branded Smart car was sighted at the party’s campaign launch on Canvey Island, Essex, in February, but a spokesman told The Independent on Sunday that its leaders would be travelling on public transport “just like the rest of us”.
The Independent has got together with May2015.com to produce a poll of polls that produces the most up-to-date data in as close to real time as possible.
Click the buttons below to explore how the main parties' fortunes have changed:
All data, polls and graphics are courtesy of May2015.com. Click through for daily analysis, in-depth features and all the data you need. (All historical data used is provided by UK Polling Report)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments