Red Ed to get nose op to fix his whiny voice

[longfingernails]

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/04/22/ed-miliband-set-for-adenoids-operation-to-cure-bunged-up-voice-115875-23078297/

I do hope it isn't on the NHS. It is exactly the sort of elective surgery which should certainly be private. That said, he is a Labour leader - squandering other people's hard earned tax money without a second thought should come naturally to him.

Just looked it up. SpringHeeledjack is right, it was his original first name and he changed it to sound less posh.

'Originally named Gideon Oliver,[2] he changed his name to George when he was 13. In an interview in July 2005, Osborne said: "It was my small act of rebellion. I never liked it. When I finally told my mother she said, 'Nor do I'. So I decided to be George after my grandfather, who was a war hero. Life was easier as a George; it was a straightforward name'

racist.... why?

George Osborne is a weedy spineless character in Vanity Fair, iirc

I'd've stuck with Gideon, meself

Well, surely Gideon is a Jewish name, so by calling him Gideon you're making the point that he's Jewish.

Why on earth would it be racist?

I don't think it is a Jewish name and in any case it is his actual name. How can calling someone by the name they were christened with be racist...?

if he's jewish, he wasn't christened

[pedantic]

LFN, every thread you start makes the right look so spiteful and abhorrent that I used to think you were actually working for the Labour party.

You have outdone yourself with this one- I am now convinced that you are actually Bob Crow

Besides, the only operation Ed could have which would improve the electability of the Labour party is to have his brother's head grafted onto his shoulders.

d'you know Tethers, was just thinking the exact same thing

(the first bit, not the last)

[hopelessly naive emoticon]

The impression created in me by constantly referring to him as Gideon is that the poster wants to make the point that he is Jewish. I don't even know if he is or not! But I can't see why you would keep calling him Gideon. It's not a posh English name like Tarquin or whatever, so what's your point? That he's changed his name to sound more English, like St George? Or what? I'm genuinely asking - it just seems a strange thing to do, if it's not an anti-Jewish agenda.

From Wikipedia, doesn't look like he is Jewish. So what's the point of calling him Gideon, then?

omg are you paranoid about anti-semitism or something? Gideon is DEFINITELY a posh/unusual name to most people, and makes him sound more of a ponce than George, which is quite a plain name

He isn't even Jewish (according to wiki)

So is it just hatred of difference, then? People who change their unusual sounding names to more English sounding ones?

Yes. Yes that's exactly what it is.

he's widely referred to as Gideon, to emphasise his poshness.

It is a posh name. I've just asked dp what it made him think of, and he said posh

(ds overheard, and has just shouted downstairs "wanky". Just off to and chastise him)

anna, why don't you just email Gideon, and ask him if he changed it to George because:

a) it was too posh,
b) too Jewish or
c) wanky?

If you had looked at his wiki page you would know he is English through and through. English as an English thing. His father is in Debretts ffs. He is an English aristocrat.

People like to emphasise this aspect by referring to him by his given, quite pretentious name, to 'prove' that he can't know anything about the real world, too rich, out of touch, Eton etc.

I think that is quite interesting politically, if he is widely referred to as Gideon.

we don't call him Gideon in this house. Normally it's "that cunt Osborne"

...can we get back to Ed's sinuses, please?

I honestly don't see Gideon as a posh name. I do see George as quite a posh name, in fact.

OK, well you are in a minority

I don't really care whether he's posh or not

Churchill was very posh and he was good

Interesting dog whistle, though.

If you were called George at my school, you would probably have done ok

If you were called Gideon, however, you would have had your head kicked in in Reception

...that's my Poshness Test (I nearly copped it myself, as my name ends in 'a')

But you might have had your head kicked in because you sounded different, not posh.

'(I nearly copped it myself, as my name ends in 'a')'

Blimey, is Emma no longer safe?