Anti-EU campaign suffers embarrassing fail when ‘Vote Leave’ battle bus is slapped with a parking ticket
Activists had only been gone for about 30 minutes when their big red vehicle was given the penalty
ANTI-EU campaigners were given a vote to leave they definitely didn’t want – as their official ‘battle bus’ was slapped with a parking ticket.
The red campaign bus was parked on one of the main roads in Harrogate while activists handed out flyers.
Sign-carrying supporters had barely been away from the vehicle for 30 minutes when it received the ticket from a council parking enforcer near the famed Betty’s tea room.
Harrogate borough council leader Richard Cooper said: “The ticket was issued to the Vote Leave campaign bus because it was parked illegally.
“It is a high profile reminder that everyone, no matter who they are, should park their vehicles legally and responsibly.
"In the interests of balance, I must make it clear that had this been a Remain campaign battle bus then we would also have ticketed it."
Representatives from the group were canvassing the town centre as part of a national drive to encourage the country to vote to leave the EU on June 23.
Vote Leave regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, Tom Banks, told the the ticket was a mistake and was removed shortly afterwards.
He said it was legal for the bus to park in that area because it was representing one of the official campaigns and would not have to be paid.
Members of the campaign had hoped for appearances by high profile supporters of the leave campaign such as former Mayor of London Boris Johnson or former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith.
Yesterday Boris Johnson joined campaigners on the battle bus in York and managed to convince a protester not to egg him as he delivered an anti-EU speech by telling him ‘people are growing hungry’.
He used the event to defend his remarks about the regulation of bananas, saying there are four Brussels directives relating to the fruit.
After the campaign stop he then travelled to the Ginetta sports car factory, where he said the Remain camp were ‘rattled’ and accused them of pumping out propaganda.
But this leg of the campaign was led solely by activists from the Yorkshire and Humber branch.
Nigel Farage has been vocal about how he has been frozen out by Vote Leave and he says the Brexit campaigners believe he is toxic to their cause.
Instead of trying to join the red battle bus he has his own UKIP branded purple and yellow one and is touring the country signing posters which display the message ‘We want our country back’.
It was in Dagenham yesterday, Dudley today and will be travelling across the country in the next few weeks before the referendum on June 23.