When a nickname really hits its target, there is a satisfying beauty about it: a quippy sobriquet that catches the attention and goes to the heart of some aspect of a person’s character. It is a measure of the Conservative party’s inability to get a convincing hold on Sir Keir Starmer that they have tried tag after tag – Captain Hindsight, Sir Softy, the dismal Captain Crasheroony Snoozefest – but none has yet found its mark.
To real nail Starmer and come up with a nickname that sticks, the Tories should perhaps look across the pond for inspiration. Donald Trump, for all his faults, is in a category of his own when it comes to damning an opponent with a nickname. Crooked Hillary (Clinton), Sloppy Steve (Bannon), Sleepy Joe (Biden), Lyin Ted (Cruz) and Low-Energy Jeb (Bush) were all monikers that were hard to overcome.
Thatcher’s ‘Iron Lady’ epithet was originally meant as an insult
Political nicknames didn’t start with Trump, of course.
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