Steerpike

It's Rishi Sunak's final day in Washington. Having ducked an invitation to throw the first pitch at a baseball game last night, he will today sit down for a formal 'bilat' with Joe Biden at the White House, host a joint press conference and hobnob with business bigwigs at a roundtable. What larks! But while Mr S applauds Sunak's transatlantic travels, is there a danger perhaps that our California-lovin' PM is getting a little too Americentric? The Tory leader yesterday shared a post to mark the anniversary of D-Day when, in his words, 'British and American soldiers were landing on the beaches of Normandy.' He tweeted images of himself laying a remembrance wreath along with emojis of the British and American flags. But where exactly was the Canadian one?

You can’t leave Scotland alone for five minutes without another front opening up in the gender wars. Between legislating for doctor-free gender changes at 16 and housing trans rapists in women’s prisons, the Scots are apparently eager to rebrand themselves as the world’s most achingly progressive nation: Canada without the mounties. Even Justin Trudeau would find all this allyship exhausting.  The latest skirmish is over one of the more colourful imports from the US culture wars, Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), in which drag artists read to children down the local school or library. Some say this is inappropriate while others insist it’s no different from pantomimes, except Widow Twankie is reading the kids some Dr Seuss.  Douglas Ross disagrees.

‘I was in two minds about accepting this acknowledgment,’ says the now Dame Jacinda Ardern, reflecting on how ‘humbled’ she feels today to receive the Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. ‘For me this is a way to say thank you – to my family, to my colleagues, and to the people who supported me to take on the most challenging and rewarding role of my life.’ Rewarding, eh? Note Dame J’s use of the world ‘acknowledgment’ – rather than, say, honour – a deft nod to her republicanism. It also, with less subtlety, reveals a certain arrogance. Is it really ‘humbling’ to be merely ‘acknowledged’? Mr S thinks not.  Ardern has come a long way.

Oh dear. The long-running feud between Keir Starmer and Andy Burnham has blown up again this weekend, this time over a row about the decision to block a sitting mayor from standing for a new role in the North East. Jamie Driscoll, the serving North of Tyne mayor, revealed on Friday that he has been 'barred' by the Starmer army from running as the Labour candidate to contest the North East mayoralty but that 'no explanation has been given'. Talk about bad manners... Driscoll, who has been described as the 'last Corbynista in power', was not included on a long list to be the next North East mayor – a new role that was created as part of a £1.4 billion devolution deal for the region.

Labour has been clapping themselves on the back today after suspending backbencher Geraint Davies following claims of 'completely unacceptable behaviour.' It followed a report by Politico, which claimed the Swansea West MP had subjected younger colleagues to unwanted sexual attention. Politico said it had spoken to more than 20 people who worked with Davies in Parliament, including serving MPs and current and former Labour party staff. Labour's line is that the claims are 'incredibly serious' and that it acts swiftly and decisively when it comes to sexual misconduct. But how true a picture is this? Sky News is reporting that it has seen conclusive evidence that the whips office – which partly oversees standards and behaviour – was aware of these allegations many months ago.

Talk about going down to the wire. With today’s deadline fast approaching, the SNP Westminster group has made, at the eleventh hour, a significant announcement: they have finally submitted their audited accounts. Had the group been unable to do so, they would have missed out on £1.2 million of public funds, so-called ‘Short money’, making it a little more difficult for them to carry out parliamentary work. Now, at least one SNP crisis has been averted and the Westminster group’s treasurer, Peter Grant MP, couldn’t sound more relieved: I’m pleased to confirm that the annual return for the SNP Westminster Group’s ‘Short money’ for 2022/23 has received a clean audit certificate and has been submitted, on time, to the parliamentary authorities.

Oh dear. It seems the dreaming spires are having a nightmare. Professor Kathleen Stock is addressing the Oxford Union tonight, but not all students approve. One trans activist, Riz Possnett, glued themselves to the floor of the Union in protest before Stock even began speaking.  Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words ‘No More Dead Trans Kids’, Possnett refused to move despite boos from members of the audience.  One attendee called for ‘free speech’ and another urged attendees to ‘listen to Kathleen Stock’. Free speech at a university? It’s a novel thought…  Outside, hundreds of trans activists reportedly began a march on the, chanting ‘cut your system, fuck your hate, we are not open for debate.’ With logic like that, who is Mr S to disagree?

Saturday saw Celtic lift the Scottish Premiership trophy after a 5-0 victory over Aberdeen. Fans crammed into Parkhead, in Glasgow’s east end, to watch goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Hyeon-Gyu Oh and Carl Starfelt. By way of celebration, Hoops supporters painted the town green — and then some.  Ten people were arrested on suspicion of assault, police assault and public order offences. Three men were hospitalised after being ‘seriously assaulted’. Video footage shows a firework being set off among a crowd of fans while a viral clip has captured the scale of the clean-up operation faced by Glasgow City Council after supporters dumped litter throughout the city’s streets.