Manchester illustrator Stanley Chow says he is taking legal advice after accusing the Conservative Party of using his portrait of Andy Burnham without permission at the party's conference in Birmingham.

Attendees were handed water bottles featuring the image and labelled "Bottler Burnham" and "0% strength", along with sweets branded "Andy Panders' People Pleaser Pick N Mix".

Chow created the portrait for Burnham's 2021 Greater Manchester mayoral campaign. He said the Conservatives did not ask for permission to use it.

"I was stunned and angry when I saw what they had done. It is childish from them. I am taking legal advice," he told the BBC. "I'm very disappointed. It's frustrating that an institution like the Conservative Party has no idea that they are infringing copyright."

A Conservative Party spokeswoman said the bottles were not on sale and were handed out to attending media in goody bags. A Conservative Party source told The Independent the claims were "nonsense", insisting the drawing was "done by our designers".

Chow has also previously accused Reform UK of using the same image in AI-generated campaign posts. A Reform UK spokesman said at the time that posts had been removed "in good faith and without any admission of liability".

The artwork has been widely used by Burnham, including during the Makerfield by-election in June 2026.

Sources: the BBC; Stanley Chow; the Manchester Evening News; The Independent. This article was produced with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources above.