--- title: John Oliver Slams How UK Labour Party Woos Women Voters description: "You are trying to appeal to adult some voters the same way that Mattel attempts to appeal to 8-year-olds" canonical: https://time.com/3718491/john-oliver-labour-party-women/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-23T12:49:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:55.272Z og:title: Watch John Oliver Slam the Way Britain's Labour Party Woos Women og:description: "You are trying to appeal to adult some voters the same way that Mattel attempts to appeal to 8-year-olds" og:url: https://time.com/3718491/john-oliver-labour-party-women/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c27e1243e31a3b9/698780808e0601768745a719/john-oliver2.jpg?branch=production&width=626&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 626 og:image:height: 352 og:image:alt: john oliver og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch John Oliver Slam the Way Britain's Labour Party Woos Women twitter:description: "You are trying to appeal to adult some voters the same way that Mattel attempts to appeal to 8-year-olds" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c27e1243e31a3b9/698780808e0601768745a719/john-oliver2.jpg?branch=production&width=626&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch John Oliver Slam the Way Britain's Labour Party Woos Women > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d1a04cc2-1db1-4d45-aaa1-7bb39e7ae626&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: The Barbie Bus [Watch (HLS stream): Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: The Barbie Bus](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dWisH97J.m3u8) (0:32)  _Published 2015-02-23. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: The Barbie Bus_ by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Feb 23, 2015 12:49 PM UTC by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Feb 23, 2015 12:49 PM UTC John Oliver is not impressed with how the Labour Party has decided to court women voters. On Sunday’s episode of _Last Week Tonight_, the HBO host slammed a pink van that the party has designated for female outreach—now dubbed “The Barbie Bus.” “Wow, it is a little insulting that you are trying to appeal to adult some voters the same way that Mattel attempts to appeal to 8-year-olds,” Oliver said. “And at least Barbie’s pink bus had the good sense to unfold into a sweet hot tub and party den combo. That thing was sick.” Watch the full segment below: ## Transcript The Labor Party has been defending the color it's chosen for a minibus which is being used in a campaign to try to attract female voters. [ LAUGH ] The deputy labor leader Harriot Harmon has defended the decision to use the color on the vehicle already nicknamed the Barbie Bus. [ LAUGH ] Wow. [ LAUGH ] It is a little insulting that you're trying to appeal to adult women voters the same way that Mattel attempts to appeal to eight year olds. [ LAUGH ] And at least Barbie's pink bus had the good sense to unfold into a sweet hot tub and party den combo. 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