Labour criticised over bright pink 'women's campaign' bus

The Labour Party is facing accusations of "patronising" female voters after unveiling a bright pink "women's campaign" bus.

The bus will be used in a national effort to reach out to women, with the party's deputy leader Harriet Harman promising to bring "politics to the school gate and the shopping centre as well as colleges, offices and factories".

The bus is due to visit 70 constituencies before the general election, as Labour targets women - including the 9.1 million that did not vote in 2010.

However, the colour has prompted complaints that the party was playing up to gender stereotypes, with some pointing out the similarities to a Barbie vehicle.

When asked about the bus at a press briefing, Harman and shadow women's minister Gloria De Piero both chose to describe it, respectively, as "magenta" and "cerise", the Telegraph reports.

Harman told the briefing: "We wanted to mark that this was something different. We wanted it to look conspicuous and therefore a white van was not going to do the job."

She added: "It is a very nice looking bus.... It is the correct colour. This is a One Nation Labour colour."

Labour has yet to respond to ITV News requests for comment following the criticism.