Steerpike

Monday will officially mark a 'Year of Keir' as Starmer celebrates the first anniversary of his election as Labour leader. It's been 12 months of frequent clashes with the party's once powerful left faction including the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey, the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn and the decision to abstain on the 'spy cops' bill. Moderates meanwhile grumble about Starmer's decision to attack the government on competence rather than values – a decision that backfired once vaccines arrived in December. Surely then an Easter trip to a church offered Starmer a chance to have his party singing for once from the same hymn sheet? Alas not. It seems the Leader's Office managed to choose the wrong church, judging by the reaction on social media.

It is Good Friday today but a bad one for Labour frontbencher Charlotte Nichols. The 29-year-old Warrington North MP was elected in 2019 and despite her Corbynista credentials was named shadow minister for women and equalities by Keir Starmer in November. Six months on, Starmer may be having cause to regret such a rapid promotion today after Nichols inadvertently caused a storm over a classic 'great response on the doorstop' style tweet while out campaigning in Orford. https://twitter.com/charlotte2153/status/1377713847142858752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw A Labour campaign leaflet which she was pictured delivering told residents Labour is 'dealing with Traveller incursions' causing an outcry from Labour Gypsy, Roma and Traveller campaigners.

George Eustice has had a rocky relationship with farmers since taking over as environment secretary last year. Trying to balance agricultural interests with Boris Johnson’s vision of ‘Global Britain’ has proven a difficult challenge at times, with Eustice facing flack over the lack of food safety protections in the Trade Bill and criticism over his suggestion that lamb farmers rear cows in the event of a No Deal Brexit. The industry itself has endured a difficult time during Covid, with the pandemic forcing supply chains to be drastically restructured to take account of the closure of bars and restaurants. So Mr S was pleased to read this morning that the Eustice family farm Trevaskis is doing rather better at present.

Sadiq Khan is all set to win by a landslide in London, so why not allow a failed election candidate a moment or two in the sun? Mr S was intrigued to see Georgian Democrat Stacey Abrams pop up on his timeline this afternoon in a classic Twitter ‘Get out the vote’ campaign message. Steerpike suspects there aren’t many political anoraks in London who have actually heard of the onetime gubernatorial nominee who aren’t already registered to vote but was more interested in Abrams’ call for Londoners to cast a postal vote in May’s mayoral race. Coming from a state long bedevilled by allegations of postal fraud, who better to front up a campaign for mail in ballots? https://twitter.com/SadiqKhan/status/1377310945815494659?

This afternoon the Prime Minister chaired the second meeting with business bigwigs on his 'Build Back Better' council, whose membership includes John Lewis supremo Sharon White, Heathrow chief Lord Deighton and Charlotte Hogg of Visa. The dry-as-dust press release to mark the occasion is replete with the usual jejune platitudes beloved of Whitehall mandarins for the government's 'Plan for Growth' and forthcoming 'Innovation Strategy.' What the dispatch did not mention however was a typically Johnsonian jibe at the expense of his former chief adviser.

All eyes were on Downing Street’s spanking new £2.6 million media suite, unveiled for the first time at this afternoon’s press conference. Speaking in front of a sea of blue backdrop, Boris Johnson was flanked by a brace of Union Jacks and his covid lieutenants Professor Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance. Johnson revealed that a deal has been agreed to support the manufacturing of up to 60 million doses of the Novavax coronavirus vaccine in the UK. Big pharma behemoth GlaxoSmithKline will provide ‘fill and finish’ manufacturing capacity from the beginning of May – the completion stage of vaccine manufacturing, preparing vials of the final vaccine and packaging them for distribution and use. And where will such capacity be based?