Alex Hughes reports.

You may have not noticed, but there’s been a general election in Britian recently. And a general election means it’s open season for the political cartoonists, so here Bloghorn presents a brief summary of the events of the last month or so in cartoon form, starting at the beginning of the election with Dave Brown of the Independent on the runners and riders and the Guardian‘s Martin Rowson on the approaching media obsession.
During the campaign The Guardian‘s Steve Bell talks about drawing at the manifesto launches, the Sky debate, and drawing Nick Clegg, Peter Mandelson and David Cameron (and the cartoon that came from this).

The TV debates may have changed the direction of the election, but they were seen differently by Tim Sanders in the Independent, Dave Brown, Peter Brookes of the Times, Steve Bell and Paul Thomas of the Daily Expesss,whilst Morten Morland of the Times produced a series of short animated responses to each of the debates (ITV, Sky, BBC).

The debates lead to widespread Cleggmania as seen by Stephen Collins in Prospect, Matt in the Daily Telegraph, Martin Rowson and Paul Thomas, and the inevitable media backlash as satirised by Peter Brookes and Dave Brown.

Gordon Brown made what was probably the biggest political gaffe of the campaign by calling a member of the public a “bigoted woman”; Peter Brookes, and Dave Brown, Mac of the Daily Mail, Paul Thomas provided their own takes on Bigotgate.

The election night itself inspired Tim Sanders and Matt, but as we now know it resulted in a hung parliament, as shown variously the Sun‘s Andy Davey, Dave Brown, Matt, Peter Brookes, Paul Thomas and Mac (and even a hung parliament themed game), Gordon Brown’s departure as seen by Nick Garland and eventually the Con-Lib coalition Christian Adams, Tim Sanders, Morten Morland and Martin Rowson.

Looking forward to the challenges for the new Government were Harry Venning’s Clare in the Community and Kal in the Economist, and looking back, Bloghorn‘s very own Matt Buck produced a series of  weekly despatches for the Guardian from the 1710 campaign as seen by Tobias Grubbe (2, 3, 4, 5).  The Times produced a 9 page comic summary of the election campaign available for download here (PDF, 7Mb).

(“Keep Calm and Cameron” cartoon by Nathan Ariss).

The Editor adds: We are bound to have missed many other great examples of cartooning so please do feel free to add things you have seen in the comments. Thanks.

One for our American readers, Steve Bell exhibits work at Lines of Attack: Conflicts in Caricature which opens at Duke University in Durham North Carolina this week. You can read about the show and see a larger selection of  work from the artists taking part. Bloghorn thanks Wendy Hower Livingston who kindly provided us with these tasters below.

Bloghorn notices that when political cartoonists pick the same targets, they often pick the same jokes, or at least variations on a similar theme.

This can be seen in the national press today as three heavyweight cartoonists give their take on Lord Goldsmith appearing before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war.

One: Peter Brookes in The Times suggests he was leant on

Two: Steve Bell in The Guardian thinks pressure was applied

Three: Dave Brown in The Independent on suggests arm-twisting

Of course, all these cartoonists are working at the same time, operating under the same time pressures – there’s no suggestion of copying! – which makes it all the more a fascinating insight into the way cartoonists’ minds work. Thanks to Andy Davey for drawing it to our attention.

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
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Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 9th October 2009.

One: Matt in the Daily Telegraph on the Conservatives becoming more frank

Two: Dave Brown in the Independent on being in it together

Three: Robert Leighton in the New Yorker on driving and texting

Bonus Video: The Guardian‘s Steve Bell explains why he draws David Cameron as a jellyfish

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
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Two political cartoon exhibitions open in London next week, at the Chris Beetles Gallery and the Political Cartoon Gallery.

PeterBrookes: The Best of Times, above, is at the Chris Beetles Gallery from Monday (October 12) until October 31. More than 100 of Brookes’s most recent cartoons from The Times will be on display. Signed copies of the book accompanying the show are available from the gallery.

The Chris Beetles Gallery, at 8 and 10 Ryder Street, St James’s (nearest Tube Green Park or Piccadilly Circus) is open Mon-Sat, 10am–5.30pm.

Drawings by Peter Brookes also feature in Cameron in Caricature, an exhibition of cartoons on the Tory leader David Cameron is at the Political Cartoon Gallery from next Tuesday (October 13) until December 24.

Cameron’s infamous Twitter faux pas, as seen by Morten Morland

The exhibition of 60 original cartoons charts the fortunes of Cameron since he became leader in December 2005. It will feature cartoons by political cartoonists such as Martin Rowson, Steve Bell, Morten Morland, Dave Brown, Peter Schrank, Ingram Pinn and Andy Davey.

The Political Cartoon Gallery, 32 Store Street, is open Mon-Fri 9.30am–5.30pm and Sat 11.30am–5.30pm.

Bloghorn spotted this great work during this week ending the 11th September 2009.

One: Colin Whittock in the Birmingham Mail: Missing the old days

Two: Steve Bell in The Guardian: A sick joke

Three: Gordon Gurvan (GG) in The Spectator:
And what do you do?

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent
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MPs are back in the news again with the release of their heavily blacked-out expense reports, so Bloghorn has a special round-up of the best of the redacted, censored and otherwise obscured cartoons for the week ending the 19th June 2009.

One: Matt in the Daily Telegraph gives us a historical perspective on the story.

Two: Mac in the Daily Mail shows us a sneak preview of the upcoming Iraq enquiry testimony from Gordon Brown.

Three: There’s a brand-spanking new ceremonial role in the Houses of Parliament in Peter Brookes cartoon for The Times…

Four: …whilst Dave Brown lets it all hang out in the open for the Independent

Five: Steve Bell in The Guardian goes with Tony Blair’s knowledge of torture in interrogations.

Six: It’s all done in the best possible taste for Andy Davey in the Sun

Seven and Eight: …and finally, Paul Thomas in the Daily Express and Tim Sanders in the Independent just can’t find the words…

Note: in the spirit of openness, and unlike the Goverment, Bloghorn believes that you should know all about this. Simply highlight the text above to reveal the redacted sections.

The PCO: Great British cartoon talent

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Margaret Thatcher caricatured by Charles Griffin

The Cartoon Museum in London has a series of talks coming up by Kenneth Baker, John Minnion and Steve Bell, to tie-in with the exhibition Maggie! Maggie! Maggie!

Margaret Thatcher – A Unique Phenomenon takes place on Tuesday 16th June, 6.30pm – 7.30pm. From 1985 to 1990 Kenneth Baker was a minister in Margaret Thatcher’s administrations. He is a collector and writer on cartoons and co-curator of the exhibition.

Where There is Discord: The Mrs Thatcher Show is on Tuesday 23rd June, 6.30pm – 7.30pm. John Minnion, caricaturist for the New Statesman, has put together a presentation using caricatures and music to tell the story of the Thatcher years.

Maggie – the Monster from the Blue Lagoon? takes place on Wednesday 1st July, 7pm – 8pm. Steve Bell began drawing Margaret Thatcher in “Maggie’s Farm” and later in “If…”. He has been the chief political cartoonist on The Guardian since 1990. He talks about his three decades of drawing Margaret Thatcher.

Admission prices: Adults £5, Conc £4, Friends of the Museum £3.50. Booking is essential, call 020-7580 8155. The exhibition runs until July 26. The Cartoon Museum, at 35 Little Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London is open Tuesday-Saturday 10.30am to 5.30pm and Sundays 12pm to 5.30pm.

Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell answers the question ‘What do cartoons mean to you?’ at the recent Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival. He and former Conservative Education Secretary Kenneth Baker have co-curated the Thatcher retrospective exhibition Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! which opens to the public at the Cartoon Museum today.

The UK’s National Cartoon Museum is at 35 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HH.

SHREWSBURY UPDATE: Alex Lester, night-time DJ on BBC Radio 2, visited the cartoon festival this year, at the invitation of PCOer Clive Goddard. Here is Alex’s personal account.

Margaret Thatcher caricatured by Charles Griffin

It was 30 years ago today (May 4) that Margaret Thatcher walked through the doors of 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister, quoting the words of St. Francis of Assisi. Opinion is still sharply divided on whether or not she managed to bring harmony where there was discord, or hope where there was despair.

The two contrasting views on the Iron Lady will be represented in an exhibition which opens at the Cartoon Museum in London on Wednesday (May 6) entitled Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Margaret Thatcher – Mother of the Nation or Monster from the Blue Lagoon.

The exhibition, which runs until July 26, is guest curated by two veterans of the ideological battles of the Thatcher years: Kenneth Baker, who served in the Thatcher cabinet from 1985 until 1990, and Steve Bell, political cartoonist for The Guardian who established his reputation as a fierce satirist during the Thatcher Years. No prizes for guessing which view each curator will be taking.

The exhibition aims to show how Thatcher has been both loved and loathed by politicians, the press and the public. The selection of nearly 100 cartoons by 35 cartoonists from across the political spectrum includes works by Bell himself, Michael Cummings, Stanley Franklin, Nicholas Garland, Les Gibbard, Charles Griffin, Jak, Peter Kennard, Gerald Scarfe, Posy Simmonds and Ralph Steadman.

It chronicles her rise to power, the Falklands war, the miners’ strike, privatisation, the poll tax, Europe, her eventual downfall and her long term impact on both the Conservative and Labour parties.

A fully illustrated 100-page catalogue will be available to accompany the show, it includes contributions by the two curators, along with such diverse types as Lord Carrington, Michael Foot, Geoffrey Howe, Ken Loach, David Owen, David Steel and Norman Tebbit.

The Cartoon Museum, at 35 Little Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London is open Tuesday-Saturday 10.30am to 5.30pm and Sundays 12pm to 5.30pm.

The BBC have a short preview piece available here.

And in the interests of balance, and because you probably can’t turn your computer monitor upside down …