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Vote Leave bus
The Vote Leave campaign used a large red battle bus in the lead up to the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. A decal on the side of the bus made the false claim and following pledge that "We send the EU £350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead", accompanied with the slogan "Let's take back control". The bus became one of the most prominent symbols of the campaign.
The £350 million figure, conceived by Vote Leave campaign leader Dominic Cummings, was disputed by the UK Statistics Authority and Institute for Fiscal Studies as well as other media, though Vote Leave continued to stand by the figure, and the bus continued to be featured in news media. Cummings has credited the words on the bus for the Leave campaign's victory, and 42 percent of people who had heard of the claim still believed it was true by 2018.
The bus was a Starliner luxury team coach which was manufactured by German company Neoplan, with its production beginning in Poland and finishing in Germany. Its interior contained air conditioning, multiple screens, DVD and CD player, a fridge and a boiler. It was owned by Acklams Coaches, a coach rental company in Yorkshire, and had previously been used to transport the Pakistan national cricket team during their UK tour. Vote Leave hired the bus for around 30 days according to an Acklams director, costing £400,000 to do so.
On 11 May 2016, the bus began a tour of the United Kingdom, beginning its tour in Truro, Cornwall. There, Boris Johnson stood on the steps of the bus and waved a Cornish pasty; this received criticism as the pasty was protected by the EU's Protected Geographical Indication rules, meaning it could not be made anywhere other than Cornwall while being named as such, though the Leave campaign stated these protections would remain in force.
The bus then set off for Dorset. The bus stopped in Christchurch where he was door-stepped by Michael Crick. Sky News reported on the origin of the bus in the European mainland the same day. The Britain Stronger in Europe campaign also stated that if the UK were not in the EU at the time, the bus would have cost £456,000, more than its actual £400,000 price, due to increased tariffs. Rob Oxley, Leave campaign media director, replied that "Of course it’s a German bus. We want it to run on time", and that Germany would still sell their buses to the UK if it left the EU.
The day immediately after the referendum, on 24 June 2016, the bus was stripped of its branding and was then used by Will Young as his Glastonbury Festival tour bus.
Three weeks following the referendum, the bus was spotted in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, with its Vote Leave branding restored; Paul Acklam of Acklam Coaches, when contacted by Buzzfeed News, claimed that the bus had been hired by "some film company". On 18 July 2016, The Daily Telegraph reported that Greenpeace had parked the bus outside the Houses of Parliament and had then rebranded its text with the words "time for truth" and the hashtag "#comeclean" and stating that it was "covering up the bold-faced lie" with "messages of hope". Greenpeace also asked members of the public to send in messages that would be written on the bus.
On 7 June 2017, the same bus used by Vote Leave with the number plate E14 ACK arrived at Edgbaston Cricket Ground for the ICC Champions Trophy match, again being used by the Pakistan national cricket team. The bus' decal had been changed to the team's colours.
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Vote Leave bus
The Vote Leave campaign used a large red battle bus in the lead up to the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum. A decal on the side of the bus made the false claim and following pledge that "We send the EU £350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead", accompanied with the slogan "Let's take back control". The bus became one of the most prominent symbols of the campaign.
The £350 million figure, conceived by Vote Leave campaign leader Dominic Cummings, was disputed by the UK Statistics Authority and Institute for Fiscal Studies as well as other media, though Vote Leave continued to stand by the figure, and the bus continued to be featured in news media. Cummings has credited the words on the bus for the Leave campaign's victory, and 42 percent of people who had heard of the claim still believed it was true by 2018.
The bus was a Starliner luxury team coach which was manufactured by German company Neoplan, with its production beginning in Poland and finishing in Germany. Its interior contained air conditioning, multiple screens, DVD and CD player, a fridge and a boiler. It was owned by Acklams Coaches, a coach rental company in Yorkshire, and had previously been used to transport the Pakistan national cricket team during their UK tour. Vote Leave hired the bus for around 30 days according to an Acklams director, costing £400,000 to do so.
On 11 May 2016, the bus began a tour of the United Kingdom, beginning its tour in Truro, Cornwall. There, Boris Johnson stood on the steps of the bus and waved a Cornish pasty; this received criticism as the pasty was protected by the EU's Protected Geographical Indication rules, meaning it could not be made anywhere other than Cornwall while being named as such, though the Leave campaign stated these protections would remain in force.
The bus then set off for Dorset. The bus stopped in Christchurch where he was door-stepped by Michael Crick. Sky News reported on the origin of the bus in the European mainland the same day. The Britain Stronger in Europe campaign also stated that if the UK were not in the EU at the time, the bus would have cost £456,000, more than its actual £400,000 price, due to increased tariffs. Rob Oxley, Leave campaign media director, replied that "Of course it’s a German bus. We want it to run on time", and that Germany would still sell their buses to the UK if it left the EU.
The day immediately after the referendum, on 24 June 2016, the bus was stripped of its branding and was then used by Will Young as his Glastonbury Festival tour bus.
Three weeks following the referendum, the bus was spotted in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, with its Vote Leave branding restored; Paul Acklam of Acklam Coaches, when contacted by Buzzfeed News, claimed that the bus had been hired by "some film company". On 18 July 2016, The Daily Telegraph reported that Greenpeace had parked the bus outside the Houses of Parliament and had then rebranded its text with the words "time for truth" and the hashtag "#comeclean" and stating that it was "covering up the bold-faced lie" with "messages of hope". Greenpeace also asked members of the public to send in messages that would be written on the bus.
On 7 June 2017, the same bus used by Vote Leave with the number plate E14 ACK arrived at Edgbaston Cricket Ground for the ICC Champions Trophy match, again being used by the Pakistan national cricket team. The bus' decal had been changed to the team's colours.