Hadn’t we all agreed sometime around 2001 that winking was no longer a thing? Pretty sure we’d reached an unspoken consensus that winking was at best patronising or, worse, creepy? And, in the hands of the wrong person? Well, you saw what happened yesterday.
Dominic Raab, the man in charge of the country when Boris is having sinus surgery or off on a diplomatic visit to Madrid, winked at his Labour counterpart Angela Rayner during PMQs in the House of Commons. The ick factor was instant, seismic and felt across the nation, with “I feel soiled” and “Guess that’s one way to dry the nation’s vaginas indefinitely” two of the most relatable responses.
Forget the classcist undertones for a second (he was goading Rayner - a working class woman - for going to the opera), and focus, if you can bear it, on the physical act of The Wink (which Raab insists was actually directed at shadow Scotland minister Ian Murray sat next to Rayner). Is there a more covert symbol of entitlement than someone having the gall to casually throw in a mocking wink during a debate in the Commons? It reeks of boys’ club cliquery.
Perhaps it was a moment of madness, but Raab’s wink will haunt us (and probably him) forever.
Here are some of the best reactions…
Women everywhere shuddered
Just seen that Raab wink. Guess that’s one way to dry the nation’s vaginas indefinitely. #toomuch?
— jennylandreth (@jennylandreth) June 29, 2022
Show a little respect, please Raab
Raab's wink at Rayner is nauseating. She is the DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION. But apparently not to him.
— Tanya Gold (@TanyaGold1) June 29, 2022
One Twitter user said it was ‘sexism and classism all in one foul swoop’
Very classy @DominicRaab
— Samara Barnes - Rossendale West & Hareholme (@SamaraBarnes1) June 29, 2022
Sexism and classism all in one foul swoop. Get back on your sun lounger sweetheart 😉
Toby Perkins MP said he felt ‘soiled’
I will never unsee Dominic Raab’s wink from the despatch box at Angela Rayner.
— Toby Perkins MP (@tobyperkinsmp) June 29, 2022
I feel soiled 😷
Another said that they thought the wink proved being a grad of both Oxford and Cambridge didn’t mean anything
What's the wink about?#DumbDomRaab-the living example of that being a grad of both Oxford and Cambridge-don't mean jackl!!!!#DominicRaab https://t.co/YjyesG49rU
— Bonnie Greer (@Bonn1eGreer) June 29, 2022
The video in ‘sickening slow motion’
Now in sickening slow motion
— Kieran (@kearneykd) June 29, 2022
(@DominicRaab to @AngelaRayner)#wink #PMQs pic.twitter.com/JfIVu6Q4YF
The whole thing was pretty ‘shoddy’
You have an issue with a working class women going to the opera though. Shoddy, why did you wink at her?
— Jonny R Hayes (@Hayes1Jonny) June 29, 2022
Brush up on your opera, Dom!
"My advice to the Deputy Prime Minister is to cut out the snobbery and brush up on his opera. The Marriage of Figaro is the story of a working-class woman who gets the better of a privileged but dim-witted villain."https://t.co/csJvSb9ju5
— Megha Mohan (@meghamohan) June 29, 2022
WHAT A WINKER
Going to assume WHAT A WINKER has already been taken? https://t.co/JtXEJaHEX9
— Graeme Demianyk (@GraemeDemianyk) June 29, 2022
That wink was definitely more than ‘just banter’
Anyone who thinks Dominic Raab's wink was "just banter" needs to go and educate themselves on misogyny and power dynamics...
— Adam Fare 🖤🤍💜 (@adamfare1996) June 29, 2022
And if you still think it's okay after that, then you're part of the problem.
Totally ‘bizarre’
Did I just see Dominic Raab wink at Angela Rayner mid answer? Bizarre. #pmqs
— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@MrJohnNicolson) June 29, 2022
Sexy rather than sexist?
Was @DominicRaab wink sexist? I’m not a fan of Angela Rayner and thought the wink was sexy rather than sexist if I’m honest😉
— Paula London (@misspaulalondon) June 30, 2022
What are you thoughts? #raynerlovedit #angelarayner #winkgate #dominicraab #pmqs #PMQs pic.twitter.com/vrCBRwW1Bc
So, what was the purpose of this wink at a female MP?
What was the purpose of your wink at a female MP? pic.twitter.com/wNVuY2vxuH
— CenGin. #FBPE (@CenGinLondon) June 29, 2022
The wink that ‘beggars belief’
Everything about @DominicRaab is wrong - his moral and intellectual weaknesses heading the list but todays ‘ wink ‘ beggars belief . https://t.co/e2ATMxUaHD
— Sue Grose (@sue_grose) June 29, 2022
One said they ‘loved’ the cheeky wink
While another just labelled him a ‘disgusting person’ for the action
You’re a disgusting person @DominicRaab #wink
— Tom Primrose (@tomprimrose) June 29, 2022
