When traversing the drainage pipe that leads to Barnsworth, the player can spot graffiti that reads "PAY NO POLL TAX" and "DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD!" These reference slogans from opponents of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

The former references the Community Charge, a controversial policy of the Thatcher administration that resulted in her 1990 resignation following widespread protests (it was ultimately replaced by the Council Tax three years later). The latter message references a campaign by anti-Thatcherites following her death in 2013 to inflate the chart position of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead", a song from the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, under the pretense that the BBC would be forced to play it over the radio. The network ultimately compromised by including a brief snippet in a news report about the campaign. The presence of both references ties in with the game's setting in Northern England, where anti-Thatcherism is particularly pronounced.

Barnsworth, the game's setting, is loosely based on Barnsley, a market town in South Yorkshire, England and the hometown of the game's developers Coal Supper.