A Labour-supporting university student has launched a Jeremy Corbyn Toby Jug – securing 50 orders within 24 hours.
Alexander Kirk, from Lincoln, has commissioned a pottery firm famous for its depictions of British prime ministers to produce the collectible – with a choice of a red or a “non-political” blue tie.
The 19-year-old hopes the jug – which has a red flag as its handle – will turn a profit, helping him fund his university tuition fees and make donations to the Jo Cox Foundation.
Available in a £32.95 open edition with black jacket and a red tie and two 250-piece limited editions, the Corbyn jug is being made by Stoke-on-Trent’s Bairstow Manor pottery.
Mr Kirk, who is studying geography at King’s College in London, chose the Hanley-based firm because of its long-standing reputation for creating hand-crafted jugs of political figures.
“I have been involved with the Labour Party since I was 12,” Mr Kirk told the Press Association. “I am interested in collectibles and I thought it would be good to commission a Jeremy Corbyn jug.
Alexander Kirk hopes the jug – which has a red flag as its handle – will turn a profit (Alexander Kirk/PA)
“The pottery designed it and got the moulds ready for it, and they will all be hand-painted in the UK.
“The thinking behind the blue tie was simply that he has worn a blue tie before – I understand the connotations with the opposite party but that’s not what we are going for.”
Roger Bairstow, owner of Hanley-based Bairstow Manor Collectables, says the Corbyn pots have “no chance” of overtaking the firm’s number one seller.
“He’s never going to catch Winston Churchill,” Mr Bairstow asserted. “He is an industry on his own – there’s no question he’s the biggest seller.
“After that, it’s Maggie Thatcher – all the rest have got a long way to go to get anywhere close.”
Among the pottery’s previous lines is a piece named Brexitannia, depicting Theresa May with Michael Gove at her feet.
“In the past we have done Ed Balls and Ed Miliband as Laurel and Hardy – that one didn’t sell very well and Corbyn will definitely sell better,” Mr Bairstow predicted.