Cartoon showing Boris Johnson losing control of the country and the government

Prime Minister Boris Johnson sitting in a go-cart hurtling over the edge of a cliff.
Johnson is holding a steering wheel as though he is steering the cart, but the steering wheel isn’t attached.
He is sounding very optimistic and up-beat all the same. Delusional optimism.
The cartoon plays on Boris Johnson’s jokey, boyish, playful personna.

Original (Brexit) version drawn: March 2017
This version drawn: 2nd July 2020

Cartoon reference: a812

A cartoon about the possible danger of refusing to take a knee

Taking a knee is a gesture of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Some people, while sympathetic to the cause of tackling racism, feel that they wouldn’t want to take a knee themselves, either because they don’t agree with all of the aims of BLM or because they feel uncomfortable with there being any obligation to enact the gesture, especially because they feel that the gesture contains some elements of supplication (or that if it doesn’t actually contain those elements now, it may well evolve so that it does in the future). Supplication implies adherence to the cause or a pledge of allegiance rather than simple recognition of it or solidarity with it.
The British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, today (18th June 2020) expressed opinions along these lines, stating that he thought the act contained elements of submission. He has been criticised quite widely for this attitude.
The cartoon shows someone being hit in the face by a custard pie, a metaphor for being ridiculed or humiliated.

Drawn: 18th June 2020

Cartoon reference: a809

Donald Trump caricature as a match with flames as hair.

The cartoon shows Donald Trump as a match. His hair appears as fire or flames

Cartoon reference number: a765

A cartoon that pokes fun at the way that the SNP (Scottish Nationalist Party) and its leader Nicola Sturgeon like to blame their woes on the English.

The blaming of the working class by the middle class for Brexit and the election of Trump

The cartoon shows a middle class man accusing a working class man of prejudiced bigotry, oblivious to the fact that he himself is being a prejudiced bigot.

Cartoon reference number: a754

“Do you remember where you were when trump was first elected?”

A cartoon showing two people in a devastated landscape, with a tattered stars and stripes flag.
One of the people is asking the other if he remembers the time when Donald Trump was first elected as president of the United States (implying that the degraded landscape in which they are sitting is a result of the Trump presidency).

Cartoon reference number: a753

A cartoon showing a man who is regretting voting for Britain to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

The image is partly a comment on the extreme criticism of ‘leave’ voters by those who voted to stay in the EU.

Based on the WW1 recruitment poster “Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?”

Brexit cartoon – the winds of change.

The cartoon shows a British person with a British flag (union jack) blown into his face so that he can’t see where he’s going.

The image may show a person who can’t see the future ahead now that Britain has voted to leave the EU, with the flag representing Britain.
Alternatively, it may show a person who was blinded by patriotism before the referendum and thus voted to leave the EU on those grounds. This doesn’t imply that everyone who voted to leave the EU in the referendum are blinkered nationalists, just that blinkered nationalists probably voted for Brexit and thus managed to get many other Leave voters tarred with the same brush.

Cartoon reference number: a742b

Is the EU in danger of splitting up now that Britain has voted to leave (Brexit) in its referendum?

The cartoon shows an EU flag being torn apart as one of the stars leaves the circle of member nations.
Will the EU fall apart?
Will other member nations vote to leave, especially if they elect nationalist right wing governments?

A political cartoon about the ongoing crisis in Egypt which was originally heralded by the arab spring

In this image the crisis in Egypt is symbolised by an Egyptian pyramid turned upside down (to symbolise the turning upside down of the political order)

This image was drawn at the time of the initial uprising in Tahrir Square, Cairo, which saw the overthrow of President Mubarak.
The inverted pyramid has been used as a metaphor for instability in Egypt in cartoons several times during the current crisis. The concept was conceived independently for this cartoon with no reference to other cartoons. I wouldn’t want to claim that it was the first use of the inverted pyramid though

Scottish referendum cartoon – has the independence campaign opened a Pandora’s box of problems?

The cartoon shows a ballot box with “Scottish referendum” written on one side and “Pandora’s box” on another.

The idea is that the independence campaign and the vote may have created divisions within Scotland and between Scotland and England.
The aftermath of the campaign may also generate problems within England as the political parties struggle to reconcile the wishes of the Scots with the wishes of the English.
There may also be resentment within England of the perceived privileges that were offered to Scotland in the closing days of the independence campaign.
On top of this, the regions of England that feel marginalised by Westminster and the south east may start agitating for more autonomy.
The whole thing is a veritable Pandora’s box.
If I’d had a vote I’d probably have voted ‘Yes’ to independence, if only to avoid all of the disruptions and uncertainties that will follow the ‘No’ victory.
Finally, I don’t think that the ‘No’ victory will settle the Scottish independence issue. Before long the independence movement may start agitating again. Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, has already accused the UK government of lying in order to secure a victory for the pro-union campaign. A divided Scotland may find that while it’s in a state of agitation it will have difficulty attracting investment and jobs, which will only make things worse.

Margaret Thatcher cartoon
Margaret Thatcher caricature as the mad axewoman

Margaret Thatcher was responsible for huge cuts in the welfare services, hence her depiction as an axe

See another caricature of Margaret Thatcher as the Iron Lady or Mad Axewoman here:
Margaret Thatcher – Iron Lady cartoon

An illustration or logo about the Scottish independence referendum

The people of Scotland will vote in the Scottish independence referendum on 18th September 2014

This illustration can be used to accompany articles about the Scottish independence debate

Alex Salmond caricature

Alex Salmond is the leader of the SNP, the Scottish Nationalist Party.
A referendum about independence of Scotland is taking place in September 2014.

Big Brother thought police cartoon

The Thought Police from George Orwell’s 1984 using cctv surveillance cameras

A cartoon about repressive societies, state control, police states, repression, dictatorship

Cartoon reference number: a501

The sell-off of Royal Mail – cartoon

A comment on the proposed sell-off or privatisation of the UK’s postal delivery service, the Royal Mail.

The cartoon shows person wanting to post a letter to complain about the decline in the postal service. However, the letter box (a traditional red pillar box) is being removed, thus making it difficult for him to send his complaint

Suffragette cartoon – votes for women

This image is about the common criticism that the suffragette movement was primarily concerned with campaigning for votes for middle class and upper class women, and weren’t interested in votes for working class women (At the time of the suffragettes working class men didn’t have the vote)

A cartoon about suffrage, suffragists, democracy

Nigel Farage caricature
Humorous photo of Nigel Farage

Following the success of UKIP in the local elections in the UK, the Guardian newspaper ran this front page, featuring a photo of Nigel Farage and some of the UKIP candidates who had won seats in the local election.

The fold in the paper distorted the photo of Nigel Farage, the leader of UKIP, inadvertently created a bizarre Nigel Farage caricature from a straight photograph.
The distortion makes it look like a photo of Nigel Farage with a strange expression on his face

Margaret Thatcher cartoon
Statue of Margaret Thatcher as Ozymandias
“Look upon my works and despair”

An obituary cartoon following the death of Margaret Thatcher

The phrase “Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair” comes from Ozymandias by Shelley

Margaret Thatcher cartoon
Margaret Thatcher’s funeral

Margaret Thatcher was a divisive figure when in power. This cartoon shows the public lining the streets to watch her funeral, with a protester from the SWP (Socialist Workers Party) waving an anti-Thatcher placard.
The SWP actually used the headline ‘Rejoice!’ on the front page of their paper, Socialist Worker, when reporting Thatcher’s death – this cartoon was created independently of that headline,
This cartoon isn’t so much about Thatcher as about the SWP and their liking for demonstrations.
The joke is that, ironically, the SWP quite liked Thatcher because she gave them a hate figure. I think they’ll miss her

“Rejoice!” was the expression Margaret Thatcher used when Britain defeated Argentina in the Falklands conflict.
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Here’s a caricature I drew of Margaret Thatcher as the Iron Lady or Mad Axewoman (used very extensively by the SWP as it happens::
Margaret Thatcher – Iron Lady cartoon

Margaret Thatcher cartoon or caricature as the iron lady or mad axewoman

This cartoon of Margaret Thatcher was drawn during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership as a response to her policies.
Margaret Thatcher was known by the iron lady (because of her resolve) and the mad axewoman (because of the cuts that she made to the welfare state).
The cartoon was used widely in political campaigns and left wing publications. It featured in the 1981 Big Red Diary, published by Pluto Press, and was used by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in their newspaper, Socialist Worker. See the links below for these images.
A copy of the poster featured in the 2012 film The Iron Lady starring Meryl Streep. The poster even features in the official UK trailer for the film

See this cartoon on a Mad Axewoman protest placard
See this cartoon on an anti-Thatcher political lapel badge

Cartoon reference number: a121