Harman defends Labour's bright pink 'women's campaign' bus

Harriet Harman defended Labour's 'woman-to-woman' campaign bus. Credit: ITV/Good Morning Britain

Harriet Harman has denied Labour is "patronising" women by unveiling a bright pink "women's campaign" bus to encourage them to vote.

The deputy Labour leader will spearhead the party's "woman-to-woman" campaign, promising to bring "politics to the school gate and the shopping centre as well as colleges, offices and factories".

She told Good Morning Britain the bus "has to be eye-catching" because "there is a big hole in our democratic politics at the moment".

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.

Harman was left defending the move after questions were asked about the colour of the 16-seater minibus:

Harman has also poured scorn on the Conservatives, saying David Cameron and his party had nothing to offer female voters while Labour would have policies on issues like childcare and domestic violence.

She criticised the Tories for auctioning off a shoe-shopping trip with Home Secretary Theresa May at the party's fundraising Black and White Ball.

Denying that Labour's campaign was "patronising" to women, she said the campaign bus' colour was "different".

'Isn't it magenta or something?' Harriet Harman joked. Credit: EMPICS Entertainment/EMPICS Entertainment

"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 said.

But Conservative MP Caroline Dineage disagrees, saying: