To think we need to stop calling him Boris

[Earnsomething]

He's not a loveable buffoon, there for our entertainment, he's an important man, with an incredibly serious job to do. He's Mr Johnson or the Prime Minister, Boris isn't even his actual name!

I feel like the more we call him Boris the more we excuse/allow the nonsense.

@middleager to humanise pm's what they aren't human ? Really threads like this make me so cross just complaining for the sake of complaining , call them what you like who gives a crap really

I agree, OP. Calling him Boris is familiar in a friendly-sounding way. I am not bloody friendly with him (I'd be driving off for a minibreak in Durham if I was). I always call him Johnson.

We have the highest Covid19 death rate in Europe, second highest in the world. Totally due to government mishandling, through incompetence at best, with a large element of callousness. What will it take for people to stop thinking there's anything loveable about him?

No his family don't call him Boris, he's Al. Boris is a personal invented for the public.

Of course there are bigger things to worry about than the actual name, but that's why it matters. The character created with the name has so many allowances made for him becuse "that's just Boris"

Persona

Boris is a personal invented for the public.

It's still his actual middle name.

I use my middle name all the time, except for "official" stuff where I am known by my first name. Kind of the opposite of Boris Johnson. Both are my names (not Boris or Johnson, obviously)

Where is all this "let's remember they're human" coming from?

Of course they are. That does not in any way detract from the point that politicians put themselves forward to do a job, they are supposed to work up and gain experience the way every other person does, by the time they get to be Prime Minister - the leader of the country - we have every single bloody right to expect some actual competence. Johnson particularly absolutely lunged for the job, didn't care what he said or did, and stabbed other people in the back on the way to get it. They're damned well paid for it, and given every privilege the country can afford on top.

I don't know why there is so much investment in excusing the incompetence of those who presume to lead us, but that needs to stop as well.

I call him Prime Minister or Mr Boris Johnston as he is a very important person with running our Country. I also say President Trump.

I don't think this is high up on the agenda, and I do often call him 'Boris' out of habit, but in principle I agree with you: he's not my friend. I wouldn't typically call him Mr Johnson, just Johnson, like his predecessors were Blair, Brown, Cameron and May, not usually either 'Mr Blair'. etc. or 'Tony, Gordon, Dave and Theresa'. Oddly enough, the only other PM whom I can think of, who was frequently called by their first name, was the very uncuddly, very un-pal-like 'Maggie' Thatcher. So it doesn't always imply cuddliness, but I think with Boris Johnson, there is a bit of that implication. I have, by the way, always found it rather funny that one of our worst politicians has a name that means 'Prick' to Americans, and one of their worst politicians has a name that means 'Fart' to the British!

Judging from the replies. People will call him whatever name they want. It’s called free choice.

ddl1 - in my house we often talk about how the US president is trumping again.

No time to read all pages in this one so I may be repeating other comments but other than referring to Margaret Thatcher as Maggie, I can not recall any other PM being called (by the public) by their first name.

Whenever I have any discussion on him I say Boris Johnson.

Blow job. Bozo. Cumming's puppet. Cunt

@monkeysox so much this ^

I don't call him anything at the moment.
He's completely messed with my head. He needs to make things clearer to avoid any further heartbreak within families!

P.S. I don't have a problem with his using his middle name: my dad and most of his family members did so; and so did several former prime ministers, including (Leonard) James Callaghan and (James) Gordon Brown. It's just the chumminess of first-name terms at all with that individual that irritates me a bit.

Love your username @AllTheWhoresOfMalta

'in my house we often talk about how the US president is trumping again.'

I heard that on one occasion, an American news reporter was intending to report an instance of the President engaging in his favourite means of communication, and what came out was' 'Today, President Tweet trumped...'

I've always called him Johnson. He wants us to call him Boris, it's all PR.

@Earnsomething thanks, I’m woefully lacking in my knowledge of the PM (and our politics in general, know enough to know he’s a cunt though)!

He’s know as fucking-Boris/that fucking Tory twat etc in this house. I actually think the use of his first name minimises him in some way.

I had a Scottish colleague who had a particular way of saying ‘Tony’ (as in Blair) which instantly conjured the image of his slimy narcissistic persona.

Who is the *we' in your title do you mean all of us be cause I see no need to stop calli g him Boris and resent the implication that all Munsnetters are Left wing fascists.

Blow job. Bozo. Cumming's puppet. Cunt

Yup ^^^

He's known as Baw Jaws in our house...... would prefer bawbag but the kids would hear.

I call him BJ too.

You're right. I call him 'Johnson' because he is one.

But we've always done that. No one ever called David Cameron Mr Cameron or Tony Blair Mr Blair. Why would we suddenly change?