Seen some kick off about this because they’ve decided it’s telling them they must use titles. By all means drop Sir & call him Starmer: most UK papers do. But if you’re offering your opinion on UK politics & call him “Prime Minister Starmer”, it sounds like you don’t know much about UK politics 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway yes, titles are very silly and I don’t think we should have them either, though I’m less opposed to granted lifetime honorifics like Sir than I am to hereditary aristo ones like Earl, Duke etc. And don’t get me started on the House of Lords. That thing needs to go.
It's funny how things like the Presidential Medal of Freedom, or the various Knights of the French Republic, are obvious analogues for UK lifetime honours, and people are very reluctant to go "Yeah, that's exactly the same".
Remember when Blair wanted to rename it the Order of British Excellence?
Yep! I actually don’t think that was a terrible impulse, though it’s more than a bit cringe, and I’d rather it was renamed something that broke with the imperial association entirely rather than just making the existing initials stand for something less offensive.
Blair also got rid of the BEM which was given to working class oiks, only for Cameron to bring it back in order that working class oiks could get a gong. The thought that these horny handed sons & daughters of toil could get an MBE didn’t occur & they get theirs from the Lord Lieutenant not the King
A friend did a film with Ben Kingsley, and they’d say “Sir Ben,” and he’d say “oh, no, no please – just Ben.” And then the assistant would hiss, after he left the room: “You *must* say ‘Sir Ben’.”
Don't know much about UK politics? Surely not? I like it when Americans, who confer titles like "President" and "Governor" for life, and have an obsession with dynasty that's genuinely sinister, snottily inform europeans they "abolished titles" or whatever. It's honestly very funny.
It's basically the House of Lords with 9 members and no Parliament Acts, providing they can find an excuse in a 200+ year old document with noone allowed to say "oh come off it"
