What is gesture politics?
The expression “gesture politics” generally describes the promotion of symbols and/or empty promises to attract public attention.
Examples of Gesture Politics
Taking the knee
In June 2020, then-home secretary Priti Patel said she does not support fans and footballers “taking the knee” in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, telling broadcaster GB News: “I just don’t support people participating in that type of gesture politics”.
In response, England footballer Tyrone Mings accused Ms Patel of “stoking the fire” of racism. Mings’ retort followed a slew of racist abuse levelled at fellow footballers Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka after England’s defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
Clap for Heroes
The weekly round of applause for key workers held during the pandemic, dubbed “Clap for Heroes”, has also been criticised as gesture politics. Critics argued that the NHS has been underfunded and its workers underpaid, decrying the clapping ritual as hollow. The wave of industrial action in the NHS in 2022 and 2023 heightened scrutiny of the gesture.
Imperial Measures
Reported plans to revive the imperial measurements system in the final months of Boris Johnson’s administration were widely criticised as a distraction tactic and gesture politics. The prime minister, under pressure from the Partygate scandal, was reportedly preparing an announcement that British shops would be allowed to sell products in pounds and ounces to coincide with celebrations for the Queen’sPlatinum Jubilee.
Cones Hotline
In 1992, prime minister John Major’s “cones hotline” emerged as one of the most ridiculed policy ever to be introduced by a British government. It was a telephone hotline to allow members of the public to enquire about roadworks on the country’s roads and report areas where traffic cones had been deployed on a road for no apparent reason. The hotline was criticised as a waste of government resources, costing several thousand pounds per year to run.
Taxing the rich
In the United States, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was criticised for going to the 2021 Met Gala, one of New York’s swankiest events, wearing a dress emblazoned with the slogan “Tax the Rich”. She explained the decision as an opportunity to extend the reach of her anticapitalist politics, writing on Instagram: “The medium is the message … The time is now for childcare, healthcare and climate action for all”.
