How to talk about the PM of the UK.

https://lemmy.world/post/17260794

How to talk about the PM of the UK. - Lemmy.World

I’m seeing a lot of international messages getting this wrong, so this is how you refer to the Prime Minister of the UK. First, we normally refer to the PM just by name, like anyone else. So, “Keir Starmer” or “Mr Starmer”. “Prime Minister” is not used as a title like “President” is. He’s not “Prime Minister Starmer”. He’s just “the Prime Minister” or “the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer”. Unusually, this new PM is also a knight. Of course, this has its own rules. If you want to use this title, it’s not quite as simple as replacing “Mr” with "Sir’. The first name is more important than the surname here. He’s not “Sir Starmer”. He’s “Sir Keir Starmer” or “Sir Keir”. Hope it helps!

I’m not too familiar with knighthood. How did he become knighted?
He did a fairly good job as the head of criminal prosecutions in the UK for around 5 years, and he was knighted to recognise that when he stepped down

That’s… it? You can get knighted for being “fairly good” at your job for half a decade, and then quitting?

Heck, I’m “fairly good” as a software developer. I’m pretty darn good actually, and have been working for more than half a decade, and I don’t intend to quit. Where do I queue for one of them knightings? 😅🗡️

And how many millions of people are fairly good at being a software developer?

I think “fairly good” was an understatement on my part… Tim Berners-Lee got a knighthood for being “fairly good” as a software developer, as he invented the worldwide web. Kier Starmer got a knighthood for being “fairly good” as a public procecutor for handling a number of cases of national importance extremely well. What have you done that has significantly changed the country for the better?

Sorry if it isn’t obvious – I’m facetiously joking in all of these comments. 😇 Just playing on the “fairly good” phrasing and memeing on it. 😉