Tories embrace the oak in effort to modernise image
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Conservative Party could be about to undergo a greenmakeover by replacing its torch logo with a spreading oak tree.
The Tory leader, David Cameron, has ordered the rebranding exercise to give the party a softer image. Officials said the "mighty oak" was the frontrunner among the suggestions for a new logo to be adopted by the Tories in time for the annual Conservative Party conference in October.
The image was shown to party workers behind closed doors yesterday but news of the rebranding exercise leaked out on a website for Conservative activists.
One party official said the torch was being replaced because it reminded voters too much of the negative image of the Tories' past. The party leadership is clearly hoping that the spreading oak tree logo will be more "cuddly" than the torch, which was adopted in the 1970s. The torch reminded critics of a design celebrating the workers of the former Soviet Union.
If the oak tree is adopted, the final image will not be quite as soft as the one that appeared on an activist's website. "The image on the website is very blurred, which may have been copied using a mobile phone to photograph it," said a senior Conservative official. "We are talking about using a clearer image. The oak tree image is one of a wide range of designs on which party members and workers are being consulted throughout the summer."
There are risks about presenting the Conservatives as the party of the "tree". It may prove difficult for Mr Cameron to live up to the green image. He launched his leadership by riding a bicycle to work at the Commons. But this week he admitted he only rode to Westminster once a week. He has resorted to the chauffeur-driven limousine because he has so many papers to read.
The oak proved popular yesterday among Tory supporters. A similar design was backed by more than half of those polled in an internet survey of activists by conservativehome.com.
But some traditional Tory voters were outraged at the idea. "Cameron, don't do this," said one activist. "I hate the look of this tree. The torch was a great symbol and there's no need to change it."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments