Tory candidate uses red posters with no mention of Conservatives

Robbie Moore is running again to be MP for Keighley and Ilkley - PjrNews / Alamy Stock Photo

A Tory candidate is using red posters with no clear mention of the Conservative Party to promote his campaign.

Robbie Moore, who is running again to be MP for Keighley and Ilkley, has been accused of an act of “straightforward conmanship” by using Labour’s colours to deck out his own placards.

The sign, which reads “I’m backing Robbie” on a red background, contains no obvious mention of the Tories. While the picture is unclear, it is likely that the party’s name features in the legal disclaimer in small print at the bottom.

Alastair Campbell, Sir Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, suggested Mr Moore was impersonating his Labour rival, John Grogan, because he was “ashamed” of his own party.

Sharing an image of the poster on X, formerly Twitter, he said:

Mr Moore was first elected to Parliament in 2019, when Boris Johnson swept to victory with a landslide. His old seat, Keighley, where he held a wafer-thin majority of 2,218, ceased to exist following the boundary changes in 2024.

The signs say 'I'm backing Robbie' on different coloured backgrounds - OLI SCARFF/AFP

He is the second Tory candidate to be accused of co-opting the Labour brand after Robert Largan, who is seeking re-election as an MP in High Peak, Derbyshire, posted an election advert on social media in front of a red background with the words “Labour for Largan”.

In small font in the bottom left corner it said that the ad was “on behalf of Robert Largan, of High Peak Conservatives”.

Tory candidate Robert Largan used a red poster with the words "Labour for Largan" - X (Formerly Twitter)

Mr Largan captioned the post: “So many local Labour voters have told me they’re going to vote for me, because they want to keep me as their local MP.

“There have been so many that I’m launching a new Labour for Largan club.”

The Conservative politician faced backlash on social media for the posts, with one user claiming he was “pretending to be a Labour candidate”.

Another said: “Totally pathetic … have you got a Reform for Largan one too?”

Ministers distance themselves from party

Last week, a separate analysis found that Grant Shapps is among dozens of Tory candidates ditching the Conservative brand in their campaign adverts.

The Defence Secretary is one of at least three Cabinet ministers who have distanced themselves from the party in some of their promotional material, opting instead to lean into their personal reputation as local MPs.

Grant Shapps did not use references to his party on one advert

Dame Andrea Jenkyns put Nigel Farage on her election material

However, the candidates did use Tory branding elsewhere.

Sky News looked at Facebook and Instagram promotions from 521 Labour and Tory candidates from May 1, some three weeks before the election was called, to June 12.

It found that 376 adverts contained official branding, meaning the use of the party’s logo and colours, 104 had some form of partial branding, and 41 had no branding at all – 38 of which were Conservative.

Mr Moore has been approached for comment.

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