Dear Politicians, Your Photos Are Futile, Not Fabulous

In posing for a photograph with a member of the public, politicians want to try and prove that they definitely do not spend their time being taken out to dine in expensive restaurants by owners of multimillion pound companies who are desperate to avoid paying any more tax. But do they realise how stupid they make themselves look?

Obviously, unless you do literally live on Mars, you will be aware of how much politicians love to have a photograph with someone. Be it chatting to patients of a local hospital before it's closed down, or shaking hands with Vladimir Putin before trying to persuade him not to turn the gas off. There seems to be a common principle amongst politicians that the more photos they have with people the more votes they will get.

There is, of course, a very simply reason for this: they want to look like they are connected to the real world. In posing for a photograph with a member of the public, politicians want to try and prove that they definitely do not spend their time being taken out to dine in expensive restaurants by owners of multimillion pound companies who are desperate to avoid paying any more tax.

But do they realise how stupid they make themselves look?

During the unforgettable floods at the start of the year, Ed Miliband (along with what seemed like every other MP in the country) was photographed standing in floodwater wearing an expression that looked so ridiculous it could have come from the 1960s series of Batman. But even before that there was his hilariously awkward photo with Lily Allen, showing that the Labour leader hadn't learnt his lesson when it came to embarrassing photos.

More recently, George Osborne was seen looking terrifying as he stared through a café window at the people who were trying to enjoy their drinks inside. Perhaps he couldn't understand why one of them appears to be laughing. Then David Cameron felt the need to upload a picture of himself using a telephone, seemingly immensely honoured to be speaking to US President Barack Obama. Oh, and not forgetting Grant Shapps who showed that he has absolutely no idea of how to use Twitter by uploading a photo of himself upside down.

Then there's the selfie - a craze that's surprisingly still with us. People across the world continue to revel in taking snaps of themselves looking either beautiful or brutal; millions of pounds was raised for Cancer Research UK by a no-makeup selfie trend; and there's even a frankly awful (although still chart-topping) song called "Selfie".

The selfie provided politicians with another perfect opportunity to present themselves as down-to-earth, modern individuals.

Indeed, last December Barack Obama, David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt took what looked like a very good selfie of themselves. There was just one problem - it was at Nelson Mandela's memorial service, probably not the most appropriate time for a selfie.

And even as recently this week David Cameron took an entirely unflattering selfie with a group of girls which earned him his daily dose of mockery. Personally, I think he looks like he's trying to eat a hot chip.

So, the message to politicians is clear: stop trying to look stylish and cool in photos. With elections on the way, being photographed wearing a clown costume probably isn't going to win you many votes. Although you think that you look either intelligent or with-it, the reality is that you don't.

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