Uk politics

In a strongly worded editorial on Tuesday, the Guardian newspaper did not hide its contempt for what it called Boris Johnson’s ‘tasteless newspaper column joke’ which compared women in burqas to letterboxes. ‘Baroness Warsi was absolutely correct to call Mr Johnson out on this on Tuesday when she called the remarks "dog-whistle Islamophobia"', it thundered. All of this somewhat surprised Mr Steerpike. Not because of the sanctimony, but because, as one eagle-eye reader got in touch to point out, the paper had already beaten Boris to the joke. In 2013, it published a column by Remona Aly entitled ‘Nine uses for a burqa … that don't involve bashing them.’ In it, the author suggests several alternative uses for the face-covering.

Oh dear. Of all the figures to come out against Boris Johnson over his comments comparing women wearing the full face veil to 'letterboxes', Ken Livingstone is perhaps the most audacious. Despite his penchant for talking about Hitler and zionism at every broadcast opportunity, Red Ken has today declared that Johnson has gone too far and must go. Speaking on LBC, he said: 'He isn't really a politician, he just wants to be a famous celebrity. Frankly, I think the Tory Party should dump him.' Not the most obvious candidate for taking the moral high ground...

In case you were wondering where the Boris burqa row had left to go, Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police, has waded into the debate. Despite no one actually coming forward to report a crime, Cressida decided to ask her ‘very experienced officers’ if Boris Johnson’s comparing of women in burqas to ‘letter boxes’ could constitute a hate crime. Unsurprisingly, they told her that the threshold for criminality had not been passed and she duly let the world know that the former Foreign Secretary would not be investigated. If Cressida Dick is looking for ways to best fill her time, can Mr Steerpike suggest that she busy herself with actual crimes in London?

As Cabinet ministers and Tory MPs line up to attack Boris Johnson over his burka comments, some are wondering if another politician would merit such a backlash. Right on cue, Johnson's former PPS Conor Burns has popped up to take a pop at his colleagues. Burns says some of his colleagues don't even seem to have read the piece they are 'desperate' to distance themselves from: https://twitter.com/ConorBurnsUK/status/1027147098314170368 Well, at least the Tories this time managed to make it until midweek before blue on blue warfare broke out...

Boris Johnson graces the front pages of not one but seven newspapers this morning as the row over his burka comments rumbles on. It's not gone unnoticed in eurosceptic circles that Remain Tory MPs have been the quickest to pile in on the former foreign secretary over his letterbox comparison. This has led to suspicion that this row is less a serious debate about the burka and more part of a 'stop Boris' campaign. Happily, Munira Mirza was on hand this morning to make sure that there aren't any double standards on display going forward.

Theresa May visited Scotland on Tuesday to hold Brexit talks with Nicola Sturgeon. Not that you would know this from reading today's papers as they are all about Boris Johnson. The Boris and the burka row rumbles on for a third day – after the former foreign secretary refused to apologise for his comments on Monday comparing muslim women dressed in the full veil to 'letterboxes'. Although Johnson not apologising is in some ways unsurprising, what's driving the news is the number of his former Cabinet colleagues who have called on him to do so.

Whether Labour moderates are planning a coup in a Sussex farm house or simply getting together to discuss policy, it’s clear that they are unhappy with the way Jeremy Corbyn is running Labour. Since they failed to oust Corbyn as leader in 2016, Labour’s centrists have generally kept a low profile. But for some, keeping quiet is turning out to be quite the challenge. When a Twitter user wished the plotters attempting to remove Corbyn ‘every luck in the world’ Labour MP Chris Bryant couldn’t resist retweeting his approval: Mr S suspects 'secret plot' could now be shortened to 'plot'...

Former Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell took to social media last week to lament the loss of reasonable discourse in politics. After speaking on Iain Dale’s LBC radio show he praised the host, saying: https://twitter.com/campbellclaret/status/1025417273811652608 So has the earnest Remainer been taking his own advice when it comes to the merits of sensible conversation? Mr Steerpike thinks not. The timely intervention for more decorum came only one day after he unleashed a Twitter broadside against Brexiteer Arron Banks. Apparently not keen to engage with the substance of the debate, Campbell quickly descended into personal jibes, attacking Banks’ weight and drawing attention to his ‘moobs’ (man boobs). https://twitter.

Labour's anti-Semitism row and Theresa May's no deal Brexit woes have had to take a back seat this morning thanks to talk of a good old fashioned Blairite coup. The Daily Express reports that 12 Labour MPs – including Chuka Umunna, Chris Leslie and Liz Kendall – are embroiled in ‘secret plot to oust Jeremy Corbyn’. In order to do this, they have – naturally – been holding secret meetings, some of which have taken place at a luxury grade II listed farmhouse complete with Aga. The topic of discussion at the meetings is how to take back control of the party. If Labour manages to win the next election, they allegedly have a plan to rain on Jeremy Corbyn's parade.