In defence of Keir (Hardie) and genuine Keiths
I’ve spent a life on the left and so in general I vote Labour, although I sometimes vote to the left of Labour where there is a credible candidate and the Tories stand no chance.
I’m not an enthusiast for Parliamentary Socialism(see Ralph Miliband) so I dont have great expectations of Labour leaders. I’m no fan of Keir Starmer but then again one thinks back to the days of Hugh Gaitskell and Harold Wilson (indeed I am 64).
All that said the Labour leader is named after the first leader of the Party Keir Hardie.
He is not called Keith except on social media where he increasingly is.
Nor is Keith an Anglicised imperial alternative to Keir. In fact Keir is the English variant of the Gaelic name Ciar.
It may be a joke but it’s one I dont find all that amusing. Nor one reads does Starmer.
The discussion surfaced on Facebook this week. One quote from the thread:
‘Keith is often applied to people who are generally viewed as quite boring, whatever their class’.
The Fletts originate from Orkney and I’m named after the north-east Scotland town of Keith.
Its home to a brewery and whisky distilleries which may explain something of my later development
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith,_Moray
If Keir could stick to his name I’ll stick to mine.
Please keep in mind that while I do speak in public its never for 90 minutes and I welcome hecklers. It’s a sign someone in the audience is listening. Further I do have a sense of humour and a beard.
Leave a Reply