To wish Sir Keir and his wife would not hold hands when working

This is from today: outrageous behaviour from someone "working, especially in a very senior position." (to quote @marshmallowfinder )

Maybe they'll re-adjust their opinion now and cut Starmer (and Obama and Biden and Macron and, and, and.... ) some slack

It’s rather sweet.

....but according to some on here, unforgivably unprofessional

Can we sack them?

It’s rather sweet.

Queen Camilla just reached for King Charles's hand at the State Opening of Parliament. I'm guessing they didn't as your permission OP? So I'm reporting it to you for your approval or otherwise. Terrible isn't it?

Unelected spouses are part of the protocol - they typically have a charity oriented program, and their presence/absence frames some meetings as more worked focused and some as more social focused.
On top of that, being top representative of a country often means lots of traveling, so they are less separated when they take part of their home with them.

And as has been said 500 times on this thread already, it is normal for world leaders to hold hands with their spouses on these occasions. You may not like it, but it is. When you're a new world leader on the stage, you go along with the conventions.

Not while you're working, especially in a very senior position.

If that's the worst habit they have, I don't care. Holding hands with your partner isn't bad it's quite normal.

I think it's genuinely embarrassing that you can't see the difference between a major international diplomatic summit, and a regular work trip.

Do you not understand the role of a prime minister, of a government minister? You seem to think it is like me going to the Swindon branch of my company!!

Do you not understand that being in that room, building relationships, meeting people, conversing are all important for our country's future ability to be heard when issues or opportunities happen? And that since time immemorial taking partners has been part of it. The Queen understood all this, played a part too.

It's happened for time immemorial, it's nothing new!

Right?? The majority of other people who go on a work trip, are not allowed to take their partners, so why us it ok for leaders of countries!!

Thhhiiiissssss!!!

It would be naive to think it's anything other than a publicity stunt.

The fact that women leaders don't do it (or do it less) because it might make them seem less capable is just another example of conscious and unconscious bias reinforced by patriarchal norms.

Tbh the interesting thing will be if it continues to go up. Most leaders in the West are really really unpopular!

Noononoo. That’s my take on it. Definitely a PR optic and reductive one at that.

Yes it’s always the male heads of state that hold hands with accompanying wives. I don’t remember May, Thatcher, Merkel holding hands with their spouses on official visits. They wouldn’t have tolerated it. It is cringey. And it enforces the the reality that the women are just there as decorative privileged appendages. It’s work, we didn’t elect a couple, their private life is their business. It’s a PR optic. We will never achieve real equality whilst we put up with it.

Yawn.

With his attitude to women expressed repeatedly you will have a lot more to worry about in the future. What do you mean? well Gender Recognition Certificates. I'm a female where is my changeroom, toilet etc. Just wait.

https://x.com/AdamBienkov/status/1811662224374555063

Keir Starmer's net favourability ratings rise to +7, post election. For comparison, Boris Johnson, who recently described Starmer's ratings as "shockingly low" had net ratings after the 2019 election of -4.

The moment someone starts hinting and going on about the 'mainstream media' you know you're into tinfoil hat territory.

Boris always looked confident - actually, over-confident I'd say. But look where that got us? All sound and fury signifying nothing.

Naughty old Boris skipping along the beach with Carrie holding hands at the G7.... bet you hated that!

(Must go and look up at your comments on that at the time, if I could work out how to search for it!)

Hmm. Not sure if you've read the thread but I'd say the same about handholding (whilst at work/ representing the country, not skipping down the beach as a pp's parents do) be it Keir, Sunak or Johnson.

'Lobbing insults' at politicians is par for the course. Truss is a lettuce anyone?

Holding hands sometimes is OK. But it's when certain couples can't seem to go anywhere without clutching their partners hand that seems a bit off. I don't necessarily think the Starmers or the Obamas fall into that category, because they don't seem to be doing it all the time. But some really do appear to be doing it to make a statement of sorts.

Oh the bitter taste of defeat. Dear me. One might think that many of you are surprised and resentful that Tory sticky fingers have finally been prised from the open treasure chest of public money. Fourteen years should have been sufficient, surely? And all that's left to you now is to lob personal insults at the Starmers? Such paucity of imagination, you should be embarassed by these childish taunts but no: shame remains an unknown concept. Unsurprising.