Steerpike

Chris Grayling recently went down in history as the one of the only men able to lose a rigged election. The former Transport Secretary had been lined up by No. 10 to chair the intelligence and security committee, but ended up being rejected by his fellow committee members when his Tory colleague, Julian Lewis, decided to vote for himself instead. But now things are looking up for failing Grayling. Grayling has got himself a new job advising a ports company for the hefty sum of £100,000 a year. Before critics get too outraged, it’s important to take into account that this is for an exhausting seven hours of work per week.

Robert Buckland was touring the Westminster studios this morning, batting away questions over the Internal Market Bill and touting his new sentencing white paper. What he probably wasn't expecting was yet another flurry of questions about a story that's now more than two weeks old.  Cue Kay Burley and her seemingly never-ending obsession with Tony Abbott, the former Aussie PM turned British trade negotiator. Burley kicked off her cross-examination by saying 'obviously the Abbott question is coming' – although it isn't quite obvious to Mr S why the Sky anchor is still ruminating over confected furore.

It’s that time of year again. It gets darker sooner, the leaves are falling off the trees and a tell-all book has been published. ‘A diary of an MPs wife: inside and outside power’ is Hugo Swire's wife Sasha's account of life as a member of the Cameron set. The book – of which excerpts have been published in the Times –  includes accounts of George Osborne’s fear of croquet and Samantha Cameron skipping out on cooking. The word in Westminster is that many of the disclosures have not been well received by those featured in the tome. Now the former chancellor of exchequer has given a response. Writing in the Evening Standard, Osborne has offered his own diary charting its release: 'September 12 Greg and George text me late.

Oh dear. It seems the whips failed to assuage Charles Walker, vice chair of the influential 1922 Committee of backbench Conservatives. The well-respected Brexiteer told of his frustration over Covid restrictions, as well as his concern over the controversial Internal Market Bill. And Walker certainly didn't pull his punches. He clearly wanted to send a message when he told the chamber: 'If you keep whacking a dog, don't be surprised when it bites you back.'  This shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to Downing Street. Just a fortnight ago, the normally loyal Walker told the Observer that it was becoming increasingly difficult for MPs to defend the government, warning of 'eroded morale' among backbenchers.

When Geoffrey Cox was Theresa May’s Attorney General it was his refusal to go give his blessing to her Brexit deal that ensured her party would not vote for it. His reputation as a man with unbending principles meant many MPs simply took his word for it: if No10 said one thing and Cox said another they’d believe Cox. But now these Brexiteers have a conundrum, because in an article for the Times, Cox has just said he won’t vote for Boris Johnson’s Internal Market Bill. Why not? Because it violates the terms of a treaty signed by this Prime Minister and ratified by this parliament.

The general consensus in the media these days over PMQs is that Keir Starmer is a pro and Boris Johnson verging on incompetent. Today's exchange saw Starmer once again turn the heat up on Johnson's government. During a fiery exchange at PMQs, Keir Starmer criticised the government’s track and trace system. However, it was not what could be described as a slick attack line.  Starmer claimed that 'far from the world beating system we were promised the government can’t even get the basics right. The government is lurching from crisis to crisis'. In the conclusion of this verbal attack, Starmer appeared to slip up. He said that recent escapades show Johnson's government 'still lacks even basic incompetence'. Johnson was quick to pounce.

When Dawn Butler sent a message of support to Extinction Rebellion protesters who had blockaded newspaper printworks, it wasn't long before her tweet was deleted. So what happened?  It was widely assumed that the order to delete the message came from the top of the Labour party and showed all too clearly that things are now very different under the leadership of Keir Starmer. Not so, said Butler.  Instead, the Corbynite Labour MP insisted that the controversial tweet disappeared 'by accident'. She told the BBC's Politics Live: 'Erm, well, there is a story behind that...tweet was deleted by accident but I don't want to distract from that question. But the thing is, I've boycotted the Sun and will never buy the Daily Mail. I support Extinction Rebellion...

It feels good, doesn't it? Hearing Labour say something sensible for a change. Last night, eco agitators Extinction Rebellion targeted newspaper printworks hoping to disrupt the distribution of papers like the Daily Mail, the Sun and the Telegraph.  How did the Corbynite backbencher Dawn Butler respond to this attack on free expression, which has so far seen over 60 people arrested? That's right, by applauding.  But it seems that someone in Keir Starmer's office has reminded Dawn that the party is under new management – her ill-judged intervention has now been deleted. In fact, the party has gone one step further and released a statement condemning XR:  A free press is vital for our democracy.

What a scandalous idea, drinking with someone you might disagree with. Rather than grilling the transport secretary over his own views, Sky's Kay Burley instead decided to attack Grant Shapps over whether he would 'have a drink with' Tony Abbott because of his perceived 'homophobia'. Which seems an odd line of questioning given the fact Burley is a well-known Westminster partygoers and has no doubt attended the odd do alongside someone she disagrees with.  https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/1301771342015062018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw In fact, Burley was once spotted leaving Piers Morgan's Christmas drinks after what looks to have been a night of unconstrained revelry. All fun and games, and Mr S would never criticise someone for enjoying the odd drink. https://twitter.

Oh dear. It's safe to say that Rishi Sunak is not having the best week. Although the Chancellor's made the news every day, it's more because Tory MPs are complaining about various Treasury tax proposals than because they have anything nice to say. While the jury's out on tax rises, it seems that the Chancellor has at least begun to come up with a plan to calm tensions in the party over his Autumn Budget. Sunak was photographed leaving No. 11 today holding written notes – never a particularly good idea for a frontline politician given all the cameras unless of course they have a message they want to get out.  https://twitter.com/PoliticalPics/status/1301140388493877250?

It’s parliament’s first day back, and the government will be hoping to restore an aura of competence, after recent U-turns from exams to face masks – but they have not had a strong start. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was spotted shaking hands with a colleague this morning, while on his way to a socially distanced cabinet meeting. Heading to the Foreign Office in order to follow social distancing rules – because there is more space than Downing Street for all of the cabinet to sit 2m apart – the Defence Secretary seems to have forgotten his own government’s guidance. https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/1300710884516532224?

One of the reasons the Red Wall fell so decisively in favour of the Tories was that Labour failed to understand Brexit voters. That at least is a common theory put forward as to why Boris decisively trounced Corbyn last December. And it certainly seems to tally up with what some current Labour MPs make of Britain's decision to vote to leave the EU – and why, as a result, Brexiteers turned their backs on Corbyn's party. In a now-deleted tweet sent late last night, Labour's Neil Coyle took to Twitter to brand Brexit voters like his parliamentary colleague Jacob Rees-Mogg 'absolute s**tbag racist w***ers'.  Coyle, the MP for Bermondsey, added: 'I have spent years warning local people that these fat old racists won't stop blaming the EU when their s**t hits the fan'.