Louise mensch

Mr Steerpike spotted an interview in today's Evening Standard with ex-Westminster luminary Louise Mensch. Across a double page spread, she offers her tips on keeping a marriage alive. In particular, she suggests relationships based around romantic 'date nights' are a sham: 'By the time you've got to that, you've already lost the battle ... You've got to grab him when he comes out of the shower every day. You can't save it for a special evening' Unfortunately for Mrs. Mensch, her ex-boss feels otherwise. Young Dave has been frequently spotted hitting the town with his better-half Sam on just such a night.

Let me salute Nadine Dorries's principled ambition to bring I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here to a wider audience. For too long this edifying documentary series, which sheds light on the concerns of real voters, has been closed to Westminster’s lumpen commentariat; but no more: by inviting Nadine on the show, ITV has signalled its intention to stop treating MPs, lobbyists and political hacks as if they don't exist. We do exist and we'll be following our plucky heroine as she meets the challenges of the rainforest. We'll be voting as well. (Many times, of course: fixing polls is one of our specialities.

Mr Steerpike is delighted to appear in print this week, with several pieces of juicy  gossip. First off, Team Miliband are serenading Westminster’s favourite left-wing Tory, ResPublica director Phillip Blond: ‘A new rumour suggests that Miliband’s wingman, Lord Wood, has been despatched to persuade the Conservative oddball to disappear into the changing room and re-emerge as a Blue Socialist. ‘Good God no,’ Blond says when I ask if he’s tempted to join the Two Eds’ I also reveal that outgoing Tory MP Louise Mensch attempted to pursue some future employment opportunities before running away to her family in New York: ‘Shortly before the ex-MP dashed off to Manhattan to spend less time with her party, she asked No.

Ed Miliband knows that the Corby by-election is going to be a crucial test for his leadership. If he wins, it will be his first constituency gain since he became leader and serve a nicely timed blow to David Cameron’s autumn relaunch. Expectations are high: Bradford West aside, Miliband has managed to increase Labour’s share of the vote in every by-election held in this parliament so far. If he loses, it will be seen as a bitter blow: voters normally punish the party that caused an unnecessary by-election. With a slim majority of 1,895, the Tory candidate faces an uphill battle to hold the seat.

It’s an open secret in Eurosceptic circles that Nigel Farage has asked James Delingpole to consider standing for UKIP at the 2014 European elections. The prospect of Delingpole sitting on EU environmental committees is enough to chill the spine of even the most devoted pen pusher in Brussels. However, could we see his foray into politics begin even sooner? I was most amused when asked to sign the “Draft Delingpole” petition today. With the departure of Louise Mensch from the seat of Corby, Northants, an internet campaign has been launched to persuade the Spectator’s very own ranter to stand in the November by-election. Mr Steerpike isn’t going to hold his breath, but Delingpole looks very fetching on the site in his World War II fatigues.

It’s Euro-mania in SW1. Always reliable for hard hitting analysis, Tory foghorn Louise Mensch summed up what she saw as her party’s position on the EU: ‘We want a Diet Coke version. A skinny latte. An EasyJet ticket. An IKEA flat-pack. Pain, vin, Boursin. You know. Just the basics.’ And who said a referendum would dumb down a complicated issue? Those paid to walk the line are less happy though. One Tory spinner whispers to me: This ding-dong is almost as interesting as the tennis. Less civilised though...

Christopher Chope is the only officer of the 1922 Committee who will be challenged by the 301 Group backed slate of broadly pro-leadership candidates. It is running two candidates for the two posts of secretary: Charlie Elphicke the popular, campaigning MP for Dover and Karen Bradley, the MP for Staffordshire Moorlands. Where the slate is running the most candidates is for the executive, full list below. But here great care appears to have been taken to come up with an inclusive list. For example, the group is supporting Adam Holloway who resigned as a PPS to vote for the EU referendum motion. It is also endorsing Penny Mordaunt, one of the leading Tory opponents of Lords reform.

There's a new member of The Spectator family, and she's called Spectator Life. This is our new quarterly magazine focusing all the more civilised aspects of life — the arts, culture, travel, etc — and it comes bundled in, for free, with the main magazine. The first issue is available on newsstands this week, but, so you can try before you buy, here is one of its more political articles: an overview of the new generation of Tory rebels, by Toby Young. The Unwhippables, Toby Young, Spectator Life, Spring 2012 On the night of the great Tory rebellion over Europe, David Cameron had good reason to think that Zac Goldsmith wouldn’t join in.

Yesterday's appalling breach of House of Commons security has made the authorities furious – at the person who helped to bring the pictures to the world. He is Paul 'Gobby' Lambert, the BBC fixer who owns the voice you normally hear shouting questions at politicians as they prowl about Westminster. Gobby is known and loved by the best MPs, but is seen as an irritant by those who would prefer more deferential treatment. He is the kind of cameraman who sees a story and goes for it: the recent pictures of the Chief of the Defence Staff on targeting Gaddafi was a Gobby special, as were Cherie Blair's comments on Brown, as was the pie-man yesterday.