Steerpike

'Too clever by half' was the verdict of many pundits when it was revealed that Sir Keir had been tapping up Sue Gray as his chief of staff. And it seems that the Labour leader is at it again, holding a big press conference today to talk about his 'mission' to tackle crime – less than 24 days after Boris Johnson's evidence session in an all-too-obvious contrast. Unfortunately, while Sir Keir likes to talk tough on crime, his record is anything but. Straight after delivering his speech, the Labour leader refused to apologise for signing a letter in 2020 calling for 50 dangerous offenders not to be deported on a flight to Jamaica. Instead Starmer chose to boast; I stand proudly by my record...

It's a good day to bury bad news. After months of stalling, No. 10 have chosen today of all days to publish Rishi Sunak's long-awaited tax bill – slap bang in the middle of Boris Johnson's evidence session at the Privileges Committee. The records show he paid more than £1million in UK tax over the previous three financial years. Cha ching! Sunak first made the pledge to publish these returns during his initial unsuccessful campaign to be Tory leader last summer. He is one of the richest MPs in the current parliament, with Labour showing little reticence in using Sunak's wealth as a political attack line. And today's disclosures will only encourage the Starmer army further, with tax records showing that Sunak earned £4.

'Cuts', 'retrenchment' and 'savings' are very much the buzz words over on King Charles Street. There's lots of talk about 'fierce and draconian' reductions in foreign aid spending with James Cleverly warning that 'money is tight.' So Mr S was surprised to discover that the Foreign Office will spend at least £2.5 million on the controversial 'Global Disinformation Index.' What's that, you might ask? The GDI is a (supposedly) non-partisan, non-profit which aims to provide 'independent, neutral and transparent data and intelligence to advise policymakers and business leaders about how to combat disinformation.' The British-based outfit recently hit the headlines on the other side of the pond after ranking leading American publishers among the 'most risky' sites in the United States.

It wasn't so long ago that the Conservatives won a landslide on Boris Johnson's pledge not to put up income tax, national insurance or VAT. But four years on, and after 13 years in office, it seems the Tories have lost their hard-won reputation for low taxes. Mr S has done some polling and last week's Budget only served to harden the increasingly common view of the Tories as a party of high taxers. A whopping 50 per cent of voters now associate the Tories with raising taxes, up from 42 per cent who thought so a week prior to the Budget. More than a third of voters – 38 per cent – associate 'advocating for lower taxes' with the Labour party (shock!) while just a fifth – 20 per cent – associate it with the Conservative party.

In her eight and a half years at Bute House, Nicola Sturgeon has never been one to show much in the way of grace towards ministers down in London. There were the Brexit debates, where she endlessly sought to undermine those involved in negotiations with Brussels. There were the Covid crises, where she sought to claim the moral high ground by pipping Westminster with unannounced rule-changes. And then there was the Gender Recognition Reform Bill where she paid no heed to constitutional law – and ended up paying the price. So it was no surprise then that Sturgeon's final act in office – her resignation – was carried out in a similar vein.

Well, well, well. It’s been a tumultuous time for the SNP recently, and no one knows that better than their own spin doctor Murray Foote. But it all seemed to prove too much this evening as he announced his shock resignation. Standing down after four years of spinning for the party, Mr Foote issued a rather, erm, coded statement. Acting in good faith and as a courtesy to colleagues at party HQ, I issued agreed party responses to media enquiries regarding membership. It has subsequently become apparent there are serious issues with these responses. Consequently, I concluded this created a serious impediment to my role and I resigned my position within the SNP Group at Holyrood.

It's a big week for Boris Johnson as he prepares to give evidence before the Privileges Committee next Wednesday. So it will have been to some relief tonight that he easily won re-adoption as the candidate for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat which he currently represents in parliament. The association have now released the following statement: Tonight the Uxbridge & South Ruislip selection committee re-adopted Boris Johnson as our parliamentary candidate. We look forward to continuing to work alongside him to deliver for the residents and communities within the constituency, where he has strong connections and involvement. His commitment to deliver a new Hillingdon Hospital for Uxbridge & South Ruislip residents remains at the forefront of his work as our local MP.

It says a lot for the SNP's commitment to transparency that even its leading lights don't trust its electoral processes. Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have today written to the party's chief executive Peter Murrell asking for information about the party’s membership and the leadership ballot. Regan, in a letter which was sent with the backing of Kate Forbes’s campaign team, said that the information was 'necessary for ensuring a fair' contest. Murrell is, of course, Nicola Sturgeon's better half, with some of Forbes and Regan's supporters fearing that the party machine has resolved to crown Humza Yousaf as her replacement.

During Boris Johnson's tenure, No 10. Downing Street seemed to anthropomorphise into being political actors itself. From partygate to wallpapergate, Britain's most famous address frequently featured in the headlines amid a myriad of Brexit and Covid dramas. So perhaps it is no surprise then that Rishi Sunak has already begun putting his stamp on the building and making the house feel like home. Mr S can reveal that the Prime Minister has raided the Government Art Collection to hang an eighteenth century print of 'The South West Prospect of Richmond' on his walls, in a nod to his Yorkshire constituency. Other artwork now proudly displayed in No. 10 include Graham Sutherland's painting 'Origins of the Land No.