My David Cameron selfie doesn't make me a hypocrite

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/14/david-cameron-selfie-photo-pm-nandos

Version 0 of 1.

I've faced the same accusation time and again over the last few days. It almost forms the bulk of the comments on the articles that feature the photo I took with David Cameron and the scathing comments I made afterwards about his policies. I am, apparently, a hypocrite. I have let myself down, betrayed my beliefs, and should be ashamed.

So, should I really feel so bad about a silly photo that I took with my friends in a chicken restaurant?

Let me explain. Last Thursday I went to Nando's in Bristol to celebrate my friend Navdeep's birthday. While we were there, David Cameron walked in and had a meal. As he was about to leave, he came over to have a chat with the birthday boy. After I had taken a photo of the PM with Navdeep, I swooped in for a selfie – the very picture that was soon plastered over most online news outlets, and which featured in nearly every paper come Saturday morning.

Some commenters have berated me for not expressing to Cameron my opposition to his policies. As I explained the next day, I am concerned by the discouraging message sent to students by the rise in tuition fees, and by the marketisation of education more widely. I am also alarmed by Cameron's indifference towards the appointment of women into senior political roles.

Nevertheless, I would question whether these commenters would have done anything different from what I did in the three seconds that we were in contact. Also, as I have said, it was my friend's birthday. I wanted Navdeep to have a good time more than I wanted to shout my ideas at the back of David Cameron's head.

As you can probably imagine, I never envisaged that the photo would garner this much attention. It always was, and still is, a joke with my friends. In fact, part of the reason that I took the photo in the first place was precisely because I am not Cameron's biggest fan – I knew my friends would find it hilarious.

I was right; for us it was hysterical that the member of the group probably most openly hostile to coalition policies would be the one to ask him for a photo. If I'd have thought about it, I probably could have guessed that strangers on the internet wouldn't get the joke.

So, what of my facial expression, I hear the pedants cry? Why do I look so enthusiastic? Firstly, as I said at the time, I didn't want to smile. I couldn't betray myself that much. Secondly, some of the blame can probably be cast on bad luck. It was a pretty easy facial expression to achieve in the split second that I was holding up my phone – I didn't want to look miserable, of course; I was trying to have a laugh. Maybe it's just unlucky that I appear so thrilled.

Ultimately, I don't regret the photo, nor my subsequent comments. And it's not up to strangers on the internet to determine what I think about politics, or how I behave with my friends.