The Conservatives have been rushing to delete a campaign poster after their attempts to big up Britain led to widespread derision on social media.
A graphic released by Tory Party HQ used a medley of images intended to show that the UK still has international clout post-Brexit, despite comments from experts elsewhere to the contrary.
But it had to be pulled after people were quick to point out holes in the graphic that render it utterly meaningless.
Featured in the picture collage was a picture of the England football team alongside a prime minister with record low ratings, a Swiss-owned container ship, a US fighter jet and a large image of a smiling King.
It was released after respondents to the Global Soft Power Index 2024 by the consulting firm Brand Finance ranked Britain as the second most powerful country in the world after the US.
Elsewhere, pictures of Christopher Nolan, the film director with dual US citizenship who won his first best director Oscar last month for Oppenheimer, featured in the medley, despite government cuts to performing and creative arts in higher education.
It also failed to feature a single woman, leading John Nicolson, an SNP MP, to post: “Apparently there are no women in the ‘second most powerful country in the world’”, on social media.
Commentators also noted how all modes of transport featured in the picture were not explicitly British.
They included the F-35 fighter jet, made by the American company Lockheed Martin with a small UK input, and the Eurofighter Typhoon, made by a consortium from Spain, Germany, the UK, and Italy.
A container ship, the MSC Zoe, is owned by an international cargo company with headquarters in Switzerland. It was built in South Korea.
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP, said the campaign post was an example of “utter incompetence”.
