List of nicknames of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
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This is a list of nicknames of prime ministers of the United Kingdom. Since Sir Robert Walpole, most prime ministers have had a nickname which was in common usage at the time they were in office. Many nicknames can be perceived as disparaging although others are complimentary or affectionate.
List of nicknames[]
Robert Walpole[]
Henry Pelham[]
- King Henry the Ninth[2]
Duke of Newcastle[]
- Hubble-Bubble[3]
Earl of Bute[]
- Jack Boot[4]
George Grenville[]
- Gentle Shepherd[5]
William Pitt the Elder[]
- The Great Commoner,[6] in reference to his continued refusal of a peerage whilst in office, though he later accepted the title Earl of Chatham.
Duke of Grafton[]
Lord North[]
Earl of Shelburne[]
William Pitt the Younger[]
- Pitt the Younger,[10] to distinguish him from his father, Pitt the Elder.
- Three-bottle man, in reference to his heavy consumption of port wine.[11]
Henry Addington[]
- The Doctor[12]
Baron Grenville[]
- Bogey[13]
Spencer Perceval[]
- Little P[14]
George Canning[]
Viscount Goderich[]
Duke of Wellington[]
- The Iron Duke[17]
Robert Peel[]
- Orange Peel,[18] a reference to his views on Ireland.
Earl Russell[]
Earl of Derby[]
Earl of Aberdeen[]
- Lord Haddo, in reference to Aberdeen's title before he assumed his grandfather's title of Earl of Aberdeen.
Lord Palmerston[]
Benjamin Disraeli[]
- Dizzy[22]
William Gladstone[]
- Grand Old Man[23]
- The People's William
- God's Only Mistake, used by Disraeli as a mocking alternative to Gladstone's preferred nickname (Grand Old Man).[23]
- Murderer of Gordon, a scathing inversion of Gladstone's preferred nickname (Grand Old Man) following the death of General Gordon at Khartoum. Gladstone had delayed sending Gordon military reinforcements, so was blamed for Gordon's subsequent defeat and execution by the Mahdists of the Sudan.[24]
Earl of Rosebery[]
- Puddin
Arthur Balfour[]
- Pretty Fanny, a reference to his delicacy of appearance and manners.[25]
- Bloody Balfour[26]
- Tiger Lily[27]
- Miss Balfour
Henry Campbell-Bannerman[]
- CB[28]
H. H. Asquith[]
David Lloyd George[]
Bonar Law[]
- The Unknown Prime Minister[34]
Stanley Baldwin[]
- Honest Stan[35]
- Uncle Stanley, from his frequent use of the radio as Prime Minister.[citation needed]
Ramsay MacDonald[]
Neville Chamberlain[]
- The Coroner[38]
Winston Churchill[]
- Winnie[39]
- (British) Bulldog;[40] first given to him by the Russians,[41] it was a reference to his ferociousness and focus.[42]
- Former Naval Person and Naval Person; this was how Churchill signed many of his telegrams to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, first choosing the code name "Naval Person" and later changing it to "Former Naval Person" after he became Prime Minister.[43]
Clement Attlee[]
- Clem[44]
- A sheep in sheep's clothing,[45] an adaptation of wolf in sheep's clothing.
Anthony Eden[]
- The Glamour Boy, in reference to his neat appearance.[citation needed]
Harold Macmillan[]
- Supermac,[46] originally coined by Victor Weisz as the title of an editorial cartoon published in the Evening Standard.
- Mac the Knife,[46] in reference to the Night of the Long Knives.
Alec Douglas-Home[]
Harold Wilson[]
- Wislon[49]
Edward Heath[]
- Grocer Heath[50]
James Callaghan[]
- Big Jim[51]
- Sunny Jim,[51] a homonym of "Sonny Jim", used to patronise an inexperienced person,[52] and to refer to his optimism. Particularly used in the media during the Winter of Discontent of 1978–79, when Callaghan appeared out of touch with the problems people were facing at the time.
Margaret Thatcher[]
- Attila the Hen[53]
- That Bloody Woman or TBW[54]
- Tina (There Is No Alternative), a reference to Thatcher's constant refrain that the market economy is the only system that works.
- That Great Charmer,[55] an anagram of Margaret Thatcher.
- The Great She-Elephant,[56][57] an allusion to Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories.
- The Grocer's Daughter,[58] a double meaning in that she was literally the daughter of a grocer, but also the successor to Edward Heath, "The Grocer".
- The Iron Lady[59]
- Madame Frit, derived from her use of the dialect word frit in the House.[60]
- Maggie[61]
- Maggie the Great[62]
- Milk Snatcher, from mischief-making by a Labour Party conference speaker based on her failure as Secretary of State for Education to completely protect the school milk budget from a treasury raid. The compromise she managed to secure was that free milk at school was only abolished for older primary school children - free milk for secondary school children had already been abolished in 1968 by the Harold Wilson Labour government.[63][64][65][66]
- Mrs Finchley[67]
- Thatch, In the 1980s Ben Elton started a trend for referring to Mrs Thatcher as Thatch, a colloquialism for pubic hair.[68]
John Major[]
- Grey Man;[69] Major "had been considered a decent but uninspiring person who was known as the 'grey man' of politics", with his caricature Spitting Image puppet portraying him as such.
- Honest John
- Prince of Greyness, again referencing his apparent dullness and lack of personality.
Tony Blair[]
- Tony Blur, used during his time in opposition to describe his "clear image" but not what he stood for.
- Bambi,[70] Blair had been the youngest prime minister for nearly 200 years.
- Bliar,[70] associated with the Iraq War. Blair was accused of misleading parliament and the country over weapons of mass destruction
- America's Poodle, a reference to his Special Relationship with the President of the United States, George W. Bush.[71]
- Teflon Tony[72]
- Tonibler, a Kosovan given name derived from Tony Blair due to his role in ending the Kosovo War, but also occasionally used as a nickname for Blair himself.
Gordon Brown[]
- Flash Gordon,[73] in reference to the comic strip hero Flash Gordon.
- Big Clunking Fist, first used by Tony Blair during his final Queen's Speech debate,[74] it was later used by columnists throughout the British media.[75][76]
- Bottler Brown, used in relation to Brown not calling an election in 2007 after previously suggesting he would.[80]
- Golden Brown, as Chancellor, Brown sold 60% of the UK's gold reserves. Used by Terry Wogan and the TOGs, normally followed by Wogan saying "Never a frown with Golden Brown", a reference to the song "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers.[81]
- Gordo.[82] The word means 'fat' in Spanish.
- Great Leader and Stalin, often sarcastically used by Andrew Neil on This Week in relation to Lord Turnbull's description of Brown as a man who operates with "Stalinist ruthlessness".[83][84] The fortnightly satirical magazine Private Eye also had a mock Stalinist decree each issue, Prime Ministerial Decree.
- Squatter in No. 10,[85][86] used as Brown was not elected and after Brown attempted to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats following the 2010 general election.
David Cameron[]
- Dave, Cameron is reported to be known to friends and family as "Dave" rather than David, although he invariably uses the latter name in public.[87]
- DVD Dave, Mr Cameron was reportedly known as DVD Dave because of his love of DVD Box Sets which he enjoyed with his wife Samantha.[88]
- Flashman, a reference to fictional upper-class bully Harry Flashman, used by Ed Miliband during a PMQs debate on reform to the NHS.[89]
- Call me Dave,[90] used since the publishing of his 2015 biography Call Me Dave.
- Hameron,[91] in reference to the "Piggate" allegations.
- Dodgy Dave,[92][93] a nickname trending on social media with the #DodgyDave hashtag after Labour MP Dennis Skinner was sent out of the House of Commons in April 2016 for referring to Cameron as "Dodgy Dave" and repeating it after being instructed to withdraw it by Speaker John Bercow.[93] This came about during the Panama Papers scandal.[93]
Theresa May[]
- Mummy/Mummy May,[94][95] affectionately used by Conservative activists to make reference to her matriarchal powers.
- Bloody Difficult Woman,[96][97][98] originally used by Kenneth Clarke to describe May while preparing for an interview with Sky News, not realising he was being recorded.
- Submarine May,[99] originally used by Downing Street aides to describe May hiding away "like a submarine" during the EU referendum campaign.
- Theresa Maybe,[100] used to describe her apparent indecisiveness and vagueness, such as her use of the phrase 'Brexit means Brexit'.[101]
- Theresa the Appeaser,[102][103] originally used to describe her relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump, particularly after Trump's signing of Executive Order 13769 known as the 'travel ban'. It has also been used since to describe her relationships with other world leaders.
- Maybot,[104][105] used to describe her 'robotic' nature, particularly during the 2017 general election campaign, from which she gained notoriety for frequently repeating campaign slogans such as "strong and stable leadership".[106]
- Teflon Theresa,[107] used to describe her ability to avoid scandals whilst in the politically sensitive position of Home Secretary.
- Lino,[108][109] short for "Leader in name only", used during the Brexit process in reference to May's difficulty in passing her negotiated withdrawal agreement through the House of Commons and her perceived lack of authority as Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative Party.
Boris Johnson[]
- Al, used by his friends and family as a shortening of his legal first name.[110]
- Boris, Johnson has been described as one of the few politicians to be more commonly referred to by his given name than his last name.[111]
- BoJo, often used by the press internationally.[112][113]
- BoJo the Clown, a pun on Bozo the Clown, a more pejorative form of the nickname "BoJo".[114]
- Bozza, an affectionate name used by his friends.[115]
- Beano Boris or Boris the Menace, coined by the satirical magazine Private Eye which depicted Johnson as a blond-haired version of Dennis the Menace from The Beano.[116]
- Bonking Boris, a reference to Johnson's reputation for infidelity.[117]
- British Trump or ”Britain Trump”, used to refer to his perceived similarities with former US President Donald Trump.[118]
- Buffoon Boris, a pejorative reference to Johnson's supposed ability to provide amusement through inappropriate appearance or behaviour.[119]
- The Blonde Bombshell, a reference to Johnson's hair colour.[120]
- Makka Pakka after a video of him sanitising a chair whilst squatting was compared to the In the Night Garden character Makka Pakka.
See also[]
- Lists portal
- United Kingdom portal
- List of nicknames of presidents of the United States
- List of nicknames of prime ministers of Australia
- Prime Minister parodies (Private Eye)
References[]
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Churchill responded with alacrity and mild humor, choosing the transparent code name "Naval Person," that he would later change to "Former Naval Person" once he had left the Admiralty and moved to the Prime Minister's Residence at number 10 Downing Street.
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Denis Healey, with characteristic charm, once referred to her as "Attila the Hen".
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It means actually "That bloody woman!" factor in fact.
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And it is why he will tender his resignation from the office of Prime Minister on 27 June this year rather than at the end of next year, which would have given him a longer stretch at the top than the Great She-Elephant herself.
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A Spitting Image sketch had a waiter asking her what she wanted for dinner. 'Steak,' replied the Great She Elephant. 'And what about the vegetables?' Withering the cabinet, she delivered the punchline: 'They'll have the same.'
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Years before she entered Number 10 as prime minister was the one that left her dubbed "Thatcher, Thatcher Milk Snatcher".
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Well, Mrs Finchley—Mrs Finchley!—I'm terribly sorry, Mrs Thatcher! Mrs Thatcher of Finchley[.]
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Mr Blair walked into Downing Street as the youngest prime minister since 1812. His political nickname, at the time, was "Bambi".... The suspicion that Mr Blair misled voters over Iraq has become an accusation of bad faith that has been impossible to shake off. By now a common nickname for the prime minister was "Bliar".
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TONY BLAIR no longer commands. Teflon Tony is dead. [...] Yesterday's defeat in the Commons is a serious blow for Labour's credibility as a governing party.
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Some detractors have jokingly compared him to the fantasy film hero - and partial namesake - Flash Gordon, who rescued earth from attack by Martians.
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The next election will be a flyweight versus a heavyweight. However much the right hon. Gentleman may dance around the ring beforehand, at some point, he will come within the reach of a big clunking fist, and you know what, he will be out on his feet, carried out of the ring
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Shortly before Tony Blair stepped down as prime minister, he warned David Cameron to beware Gordon Brown’s "great clunking fist"
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The Tories will try to stick him with the nickname 'Bottler Brown'. That's a soubriquet he is going to hate, not least because it is a label with history.
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The chancellor has a Macavity quality. He is not there when there is dirty work to be done.... You can choose whether you are impressed or depressed by that, but you cannot help admire the sheer Stalinist ruthlessness of it all.
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So who is the Boris behind the clown? Not Boris at all, actually. The prime minister’s first name is Alexander, or 'Al' to friends and family. Boris, his middle name, is effectively the stage name.
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- ^ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hs2-should-be-a-no-no-for-bojo-v79n066x7
- ^ https://www.afr.com/world/europe/bojo-finds-his-version-of-the-quiet-australians-can-he-keep-them-20191215-p53k1l
- ^ O'Toole, Fintan. "Subscriber Only: Fintan O'Toole: Boris Johnson is the fool who would play the king". The Irish Times.
- ^ Guardian Staff (2 July 2019). "Why Jeremy Paxman thinks we're a nation of 'snowflakes'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
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- ^ Mirror, Voice of the (28 June 2019). "Voice of the Mirror: Boris Johnson's stab at power is like a sick joke". The Mirror. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
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- Lists of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
- Lists of people by nickname
- Nicknames of politicians