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Farewell to 'the toolmaker's son'

  • Writer: Second Mentions Team
    Second Mentions Team
  • 23 minutes ago
  • 3 min read

Britain is about to get its seventh prime minister in a decade, after Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation this week. Yes, "the toolmaker's son" quit as leader of the Labour party with Andy Burnham's accession to No.10 looking overwhelmingly likely.


To mark the occasion, we looked back at our favourite second mentions for those in charge over the last 10 years. Let us know if you can do better!


David Cameron (2010 to 2016)

Remember him? Well, David Cameron was seemingly a little... forgetful. There was the time he apparently forgot which football team he supported, blaming a 'brain fade' for confusing Aston Villa and West Ham. And then there was the time he accidentally left his daughter in a pub after a mix-up with his wife, Samantha.


For second mentions, therefore perhaps you could try "the forgetful football fan", or "the forgetful father" (for lovers of alliteration).


Theresa May (2016 to 2019)

David Cameron was replaced by Theresa May, who was either "the vicar's daughter" or "the field of wheat-loving, robot-dancing self-confessed 'bloody difficult woman'" for MailOnline at second mention. Which we think sums her up pretty well.


Boris Johnson (2019 to 2022)

In our book, The Little Book of Second Mentions, we charted the evolution of Boris Johnson through the medium of second mentions.


2014: "the blonde politician"

2016: "the harlequined, bladder-parping japester"

2016: "the clown-prince of politics"

2018: "the mop-haired blond"

2019: "the tubby Tory"

2020: "the Olympic gold medallist rhetorician"

2020: "the slippery porcine"

2021: "the slippery escapologist of Number 10"

2022: "the tousled helmsman"

2022: "the defenestrated prime minister"

2023: "the disgraced blond"


Liz Truss (2022)

In September 2022, Rishi Sunak lost out on the top job to Liz Truss, who gained the unfortunate record of the shortest-serving prime minister in British history, lasting just 49 days in office.


On her resignation, some among our followers questioned whether "the costly wooden monstrosity" that featured in the Mirror's coverage of the event referred to the unusual lectern from which she made the announcement, or to the prime minister herself.


In second mentions terms, she became "the short-lived prime minister", "the 49-day prime minister" and "the two-moon PM", as well as "the lettuce-likened premier" in the FT after losing a Daily Star competition to see whether she would remain in office longer than it took a leafy vegetable to compose.


Rishi Sunak (2022 to 2024)

When he became Chancellor at the age of 39, Rishi Sunak became known as "the PM's youthful sidekick" or "the Treasury wunderkind". Once he quit the role in July 2022, he become "the hoodie-wearing, California-loving former Chancellor". Then later, before becoming prime minister, when he was pictured struggling to pay for petrol using a contactless bank card, he was "the out-of-touch Tory leadership hopeful".


Sir Keir Starmer (2024 to 2026)

Sir Keir Starmer has told us so many times about his father's job that he can only be known as "the toolmaker's son" at second mention. There's even a website tracking every time he, or someone else, speaks about it.


We'd love to hear your favourite second mentions for the outgoing prime minister.


Andy Burnham (?)

If, as expected, Andy Burnham takes over the top job, we are ready with second mentions. We asked our followers on X what they would go for, and here is a selection of the responses...

  • "the absconding Mayor of Manchester"

  • "the twice-failed Labour leadership candidate"

  • "the man who fought for the Hillsborough families"

  • "the geographically-obsessed usurper"

  • "the short-shorted politician"


Keep them coming over the next few weeks.


Larry the cat

One constant in Downing Street (since 2011) has been Larry the cat. Here are some of our favourite second mentions for the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office.

  • "the Downing Street guard cat"

  • "the official rodent-catcher"

  • "the famous four-legged feline"

  • "the political top cat"

  • "the burly tabby"

Spotted a good second mention?


Send it to us via the form on our website


The best reader submissions may feature in a future roundup.


And if you'd like hundreds more examples collected in one place, The Little Book of Second Mentions is available now from all good booksellers — or, as one particularly inventive journalist might put it, "reputable distributors of bound word collections."



 
 
 
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