Steerpike

They always return to the scene of the crime. Less than a fortnight after the alleged ‘pork pie’ plotters met to discuss Boris Johnson’s future at the Carlton Club, several of their number gathered there again last night. But this time it was revelry, not regicide, on the agenda as a smorgasbord of backbench talent toasted the launch of the Global Britain Centre.  Among the stars out in show was Australian High Commissioner (and Liz Truss bestie), George Brandis, loudly banging the drum for the recent Australia/UK/US defence partnership Aukus, as part of the self-described 'raucous sqwarkas Aukus caucus.

Boris Johnson doesn’t even like parties, by all accounts. He prefers to be left alone with women. Yet parties are killing him. His premiership seems horribly stuck in the news huis clos that is partygate: every time he thinks he’s out, those rule-breaking sessions in Downing Street pull him back in. His various stratagems aren’t working. The kicking-the-can ‘wait for Sue Gray’ approach only drags the crisis on. The sabre-waving at Putin over Ukraine isn’t doing much either. It’s all a bit complicated. The media and (let’s admit it) quite a lot of the public would rather gawp at party photographs and talk about how much we, the people who didn’t make the rules, sacrificed while they, the people who did, lived it large.

The release of Sue Gray's summary into the No. 10 parties has meant Boris Johnson is up before the Commons this afternoon, to give his reply. In classic Johnson style, he blustered his way through it, claiming it qas an opportunity to rewire the wiring of Whitehall and create a new 'Office of the Prime Minister.' But while Johnson suffered from Sir Keir Starmer's attacks on his integrity, it was Theresa May's intervention which proved to be one of the most wounding.  The former Prime Minister was clearly itching in the House to intervene, removing her mask as soon as she got the nod from Lindsay Hoyle.

The current impotence of the Prime Minister can be measured in many forms. But one of them is just how few Cabinet ministers are willing to go out and give Boris Johnson their full-throated support on various media platforms.  It’s telling that of the 30 or so ministers attending Cabinet, only two seem to be shouldering most of the responsibility: Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nadine Dorries. But while Mogg tends to focus his energies on traditional broadcasters, Dorries prefers taking to Twitter to proclaim her loyalty and decry the waverers. Unfortunately, the recently-appointed Culture Secretary appears to be embracing her social media brief a little too enthusiastically.

Roll up, roll up: the biggest prize in political journalism is up for grabs. Laura Kuenssberg is stepping down as BBC political editor after more than six-and-a-half years, which means a bun fight over who gets to replace her. Highly-rated internal candidates include Jon Sopel and Alex Forsyth, after the favourite, Kuenssberg's deputy Vicki Young, ruled herself out of the race. The job advert went live six hours ago so Mr S has been taking a dive into what the corporation wants from its political editor in 2022. Scoop-getting is clearly top of the bill, with the Beeb demanding 'a strong track record of breaking stories first' and 'an extensive contacts book at the most senior level of government.

Polls might show that two in three voters think Boris Johnson should quit over No. 10's parties but crucially less than 15 per cent of Tory MPs share that opinion. And, as Westminster awaits the release of Sue Gray's report, it's clear that there are still plenty of backbenchers willing to go out on the airwaves to put their necks on the line. Let the bodies pile high, indeed. Unfortunately, given the number of alleged gatherings and the speed with which details have emerged, some long-suffering Tories have been left looking slightly ridiculous when trying to defend their beleaguered PM. That has been particularly difficult since Monday when ITV reported up to 30 people brought a cake along to mark Boris Johnson's 56th birthday in June 2020.

Inflation, fuel prices and a looming cost of living crisis: it's a grim economic outlook for many out there. Fortunately, MPs are doing their bit to help, namely by giving extra cash handouts to the staffers in the offices. Steerpike has spotted that almost a million pounds – £951,000 – was shelled out in 'reward and recognition' payments last year, according to the 2020/21 figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA). A follow up request from Mr S has established the identity of the most generous bosses in parliament, with Sir Keir Starmer in the top ten of the 352 MPs who sanctioned such payments last year.