On the campaign trail: Get Branding Done: British PM's odd campaign merchandise
By Kylie MacLellan and William James
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain holds an election on Dec. 12, a political gamble by Prime Minister Boris Johnson who sees it as his best chance to break the deadlock in parliament over Brexit.
The parties are on the campaign trail, traveling the length and breadth of the United Kingdom to drum up support.
Following are some colorful snapshots from the election trail:
DELIVERING THE MESSAGE
What do a donut, a digger, a pair of boxing gloves and a knitted scarf have in common?
All have been printed, painted, woven or iced with the Conservative election slogan "Get Brexit Done" during Johnson's six-week tour around the country.
It is not unusual for political parties to come up with one or two central campaign messages and then plaster them across lecterns, placards and buses.
But while Labour's "Time for real change" and "For the many, not the few" slogans have appeared in the usual places, Johnson's Conservatives have gone to greater lengths to try and ensure their message gets through to voters.
On Wednesday's whistle-stop final day of campaigning Johnson added a few more to the list: a branded apron worn while making a pie and a milk crate used to make an early morning delivery to a voter's house.
"STONG" CAMPAIGN LITERATURE
Much of the 2019 general election campaign has been fought online with targeted adverts, viral videos and even party-political 'fact checking' services.
But for each party's band of campaigners on the ground, little has changed: getting a local candidate elected means knocking on doors and posting leaflets through letterboxes.
When the digital meets the real world, though, the result is not always as intended.
A photo of one leaflet went viral when posted on Twitter because it showed a candidate promising to invest in "insulting" rather than insulating every home.
Another victim of the mailshot misprint was senior Conservative minister Michael Gove, who racked up unwanted retweets and likes when a recipient of his campaign literature posted a typo in the leaflet's tag line: "A Stong Local Voice"
WARM-UP ACT
Campaigning for Britain's first December election in nearly 100 years has often been a cold and wet affair, overshadowing the run-up to Christmas celebrations.
But, in a cold car park in northern England on Wednesday, Labour's transport spokesman Andy McDonald tried to warm up the crowd waiting for party leader Jeremy Corbyn with a little Christmas cheer.
Taking the stage, McDonald performed a reworking of the seasonal classic "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas", popularized by Bing Crosby in 1951.
To loud cheers he crooned:
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
Lots of ho ho ho,
But the prettiest sight to see,
Will be Jeremy by the tree,
By Number 10's front door."
(Reporting by William James and Kylie MacLellan, Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
