Steerpike

The cost-of-living crisis has begun to bite but lucky MPs will be (partly) protected from the pinch. Their salaries are set to be hiked next month by £2,200 from £81,932 to £84,144 a year, following a review by IPSA, the independent watchdog established in the wake of the expenses scandal. The hike is set to coincide with energy bills soaring for millions of families and a National Insurance hike tax for workers – plus the consequences of whatever sanctions Mr Putin decides to inflict on us. Understandably there's been a bit of a backlash against the pay increase, with some in the Commons pledging to donate the extra cash to local charities. But the salary hike isn't the only funding increase our elected masters will get to see.

With her many Instagram snaps, personal videographer and army of special advisers, Liz Truss knows a thing or two about spin. But now it seems the Foreign Secretary has applied her love of brand management to the department she runs too. The invasion of Ukraine last month was preceded and met with a bombardment of pro-Moscow propaganda on traditional and new media from the Kremlin’s useful idiots, excusing and justifying Putin’s actions. And now it seems Truss and her department have decided to fight fire with fire, turning back to the Cold War playbook to counter an old enemy in new forms. For the Foreign Office has, in recent weeks, set up a dedicated team to push back against the lies pedalled by the enemies of Britain and its enemies. Heartening stuff.

After surviving his Covid scare in spring 2020, Boris Johnson was positively evangelical about the importance of weight loss. Launching a campaign to cut Britain's obesity rates in July that year, the Prime Minister told the country that he was 'way overweight' when he was hospitalised, backing a war on waistlines to cut the number of Britons entering intensive care units. Two years on though, Johnson seemed to have cooled on the idea somewhat. Last month, as he battled to save his embattled premiership, he was reported to be considering whether to drop plans to ban 'buy one, get one free' deals on junk food, and other anti-obesity measures. Perhaps though that’s for the best, given, er, the snacking habit of our own MPs.

It's now a week since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and there's no sign of an end in sight yet. The casualty lists have mounted on both sides, with the Kremlin admitting to 500 Russian dead, compared to America's estimate of 2,000 on Moscow's side. One millions Ukrainians meanwhile are estimated to have fled the country in the past seven days, with Kiev claiming that 2,000 civilians have been killed in Russian attacks. Sanctions meanwhile continue to be applied by a raft of European and Western powers against the embattled Putin regime. Such suffering now appears to have extended all the way up north to the Scottish parliament, where staff and MSPs are being told they can now receive counselling if they have been affected by the 'distressing' 'evolving situation in Ukraine.

Another day and still Ukraine holds on. Russia last night stepped up its attacks on key target cities, with fighting raging for a seventh day in the north, east and south of the country. It was in those sombre circumstances that MPs in London met today for the ritual weekly jousting of Prime Ministers' Questions. But before the usual punch and judy show kicked off between Boris and Keir, Speaker Lindsay Hoyle had a few words to say first, as he welcomed the Ukrainian ambassador Vadym Prystaiko to Parliament. Barely had the Speaker begun then a wave of applause rang out across the chamber, building to a crescendo as members across the House rose to their feet to applaud Ukraine and its people for their resistance to the Putin regime.

As the Ukraine crisis worsened last night, where else would politicos be except the British Kebab Awards – which celebrate all that is good about the humble kebab shop. Alongside journalists, bag-handlers and spinners, a raft of politicians were queuing up to pay tribute to the industry including shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy and education minister Nadhim Zahawi, who delivered a fiery denunciation of Putin from the lectern. The guest of honour though was Speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle. The Chorley MP used the occasion to both condemn what was happening in Ukraine and then reveal his own love of cooked meat dishes. He told the raucous attendees that: I've got to tell you: I love a kebab.

It's five days since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and there's no sign of the pressure letting up. Arms continue to be exported across Europe to aid Kiev's war effort while financial penalties continue to be applied. The latest sanctions levied against Russian banks include cutting them off from Visa and Mastercard, and consequently Apple Pay and Google Pay.   But it's not just in the military, diplomatic and economic spheres that Moscow is being targeted. Cultural boycotts threaten to wreck Russia's aspirations of World Cup glory in Qatar this summer while Eurovision has also announced the country will not be welcome. One act of individual defiance is the return of honours given by Putin's state to notable individuals across Europe.

As the Ukraine crisis rages, Labour has chosen to focus on the issue of visas for fleeing Ukrainian refugees. Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper went for her opposite number Priti Patel on it in Parliament yesterday, demanding 'clear answers' for those 'urgently seeking sanctuary or to rejoin relatives.'  It looks like Patel will now be forced to give a ministerial statement today, updating the government's position on the issue: a win for Cooper and those demanding more action. Still Mr S couldn't help but think back to Cooper's own record when it comes to refugees.