'Sir Softie' to 'Inaction Man': Eight politician's nicknames explained

Keir Starmer had a new nickname for Rishi Sunak this week.

During PMQs, the prime minister called the leader of the opposition "Inaction Man" and the nickname immediately set Twitter alight.

But it is not uncommon for politicians to get nicknames, from the public, commentators and colleagues.

Here are some other names people have given politicians

1. Leaky Sue

Braverman was described in an unflattering manner in October by Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey. He made the claim on The News Agents podcast after the home secretary was reappointed to her role despite resigning six days prior for sending "sensitive" documents to the wrong person, from the wrong email.

"There's a slight sort of shock that when a Home Secretary resigns for effectively breaching national security, not just the ministerial code, it was far more serious than that, that somehow the new Prime Minister thinks he's okay to bring it back straightaway," Davey told the podcast.

"I'm genuinely gobsmacked by that decision of the new prime minister. And the answers were not forthcoming from the government today."

He added: "Her nickname we're told is 'Leaky Sue' and for a Home Secretary to even have that nickname after a relatively short time in office, I think says it all."

Thanks to her controversial immigration policies, she is also sometimes known as 'Cruella'.

2. 30p Lee

It is Tory MP Lee Anderson who is nicknamed 30p Lee.

He earnt this moniker when he made strange comments in parliament about food banks.

He said that “generation after generation” of people “cannot budget” or make meals properly.

Anderson also said in the Commons that meals could be cooked from scratch "for about 30 pence a day" as he invited "everybody" on the opposition benches to visit a food bank in Ashfield.

He said: "I've got a big bee in my bonnet about food poverty. I'm a big believer that we do need food banks, but not to the degree we've got them.

"Every do-gooder is starting these little projects to make themselves feel good."

He said he had worked with a local chef in his Ashfield constituency to make 172 meals after spending £50 in a supermarket.

"'30p Lee' they named me," he said. "That stuck but in a good sort of way, it got people talking about food poverty.

3. Red Ed

The Daily Mail labelled Ed Miliband 'Red Ed' when he was running for PM, as a way of making it sound like his politics veer towards communism.

The moniker stuck, despite his social democratic policies being nothing of the sort.

4. Maybot

Sketch writer John Crace coined Theresa May the "Maybot" after she gave a car-crash interview showing very little emotion. After that, it was used every time the then-prime minister behaved as if she was not a human being, from awkward speeches to strange media appearances.

Now that Rishi Sunak is PM, he is displaying some of the same robotic traits:

5. Keith

Some people on the left of Labour call the party leader Keir Starmer 'Keith'. It is not entirely clear how this started, but whenever people label him Keith it is always in a derogatory manner and some theories argue it is because he is boring.

6. Mad Nads

It isn't exactly polite, but everytime former culture secretary Nadine Dorries opens her mouth, people on Twitter call her Mad Nads.

The outgoing MP has had quite a few odd moments in her time, from unconditionally defending Boris Johnson to rapping on TikTok.

Its moments like these that make people question her.

7. Sir Softie

Sunak lost the plot in PMQs and displayed year 7 level banter, recently, mocking Starmer's title. At least it is not as bad as Boris Johnson's nickname for the Labour leader - "Captain Hindsight".

8. Inaction Man

This brings us to September 13th's edition of PMQs when Starmer dropped this zinger. After asking him about the alleged terrorist Daniel Khalife who last week briefly escaped from Wandsworth Prison, Starmer said the Tories were “presiding over mayhem in the criminal justice system” and said it showed the PM was ignoring warnings in multiple policy areas, leading to policy failures.

He said that this was also the case in schools affected by dodgy concrete and brought up the case of an alleged Chinese spy working in parliament before brutally roasting the PM and leaving him reeling.

He said: "Probation, prison, schools, China... yet again Inaction Man fails to heed the warnings and then blames everyone else" as MPs jeered in the commons.

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