Steerpike

Corbynite ultra Diane Abbott has given an interview to Newsnight in which she denounces Labour leader Keir Starmer in her own particular, Abbott-esque way. Starmer's problem? Ambition. Oh, and also being named 'Keir' by his mother.  In reality, this is just a return to form for Diane. Her political career has been defined by the struggle against the prevailing Labour leader — that is, every leadership except Jeremy's.  https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/1318261069048139777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Her criticisms come hot on the heels of reports that the Corbynite rump of the parliamentary Labour party are forming their own socialist ERG to take on Starmer. Hear that? That's the sound of harmony being restored...

It can be a hard task adjusting to life on the backbenches after leaving front-line politics. One minute you’re running the country, the next you’re being batted away by busy ministers. Former Prime Minister Theresa May appeared to learn that lesson this afternoon in the Commons, when submitting a question on Brexit to Michael Gove. May was quizzing the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on security arrangements after Britain leaves the EU and wanted to make sure the UK is still able to access European police databases in the event of no deal. But the former PM appeared less than pleased with Gove’s response, when he suggested that we could police our borders more effectively outside of the EU. A glowering May could even be spotted mouthing ‘What?

Nicola Sturgeon's problems are mounting rapidly. The first minister is embroiled in a row over when she knew about the allegations of sexual misconduct against her predecessor Alex Salmond. Sturgeon is also under pressure over her government's handling of the pandemic, as cases continue to mount. And disgraced SNP MP Margaret Ferrier – who boarded a train after testing positive for Covid-19 – has defied Sturgeon's calls for her to quit. Now Sturgeon is in a new battle: with the Scouts. The SNP's latest TV advert which appeared last night features a woman named Helene from Kirkhill, dressed in a Scouts uniform.

The Labour MP for Chesterfield caused a rush of sniggers in the Commons this afternoon when he told colleagues that:  People don't generally go to the pub in order to meet their own wife, they will go to the pub to meet with other people... Little wonder fellow MPs started laughing given Toby Perkins's own love life...  https://twitter.com/SunPolitics/status/1084772123317555201?

Matt Hancock broke his own 10 p.m curfew to continue drinking at a parliamentary bar, according to reports in the Mail on Sunday.  A senior Tory MP told the paper that the Health Secretary continued to nurse a large glass of white wine until at least 10.25 p.m. during a late night tipple that saw Hancock mock the government's own failings, saying: 'Drinks are on me — but Public Health England are in charge of the payment methodology so I will not be paying a thing.'  A spokesperson denied the allegations and insisted that Hancock left the parliamentary estate following a 9.42 p.m. Commons vote.  Meanwhile, lockdown rebel Charles Walker and chair of the Commons' Administration Committee pledged to investigate the claims.

Rishi Sunak received a fair amount of flak this week, after ITV reported that he’d told struggling musicians to retrain and find other jobs. The Chancellor appeared to actually be speaking more generally to the broadcaster about job losses when he said that ‘I can’t pretend that everyone can do exactly the same job that they were doing at the beginning of this crisis.’ But that did not stop a troupe of outraged musicians calling for Sunak’s head, with DJ Calvin Harris even piling in on the Chancellor. Sunak should fear not though, at least one member of the music aristocracy still has his back. Today, Brian May of Queen appeared on ITV’s This Morning, and was asked about Sunak’s remarks.

Boris Johnson had a strong message today during his Tory conference speech, for those who believe he lost his mojo after contracting Covid and being hospitalised. The Prime Minister described claims he has lost his lustre as ‘nonsense’, ‘self-evident drivel’, and even ‘seditious propaganda’ from the kind of people who wanted to stop Brexit being done. Mr S isn’t quite sure that quite describes those unhappy with Boris’s recent performances in the Tory party… To back up his claim that he’s still fighting fit, the PM promised that he’d be more than happy to arm or leg wrestle any doubters.

Oh dear. It's fair to say Matt Hancock isn't exactly flavour of the month in Westminster. There are plenty of MPs on both sides of the House who blame the Health Secretary for tough restrictions and failures on testing. Matters have only been made worse with the revelation that 16,000 cases of coronavirus went unreported as a result of an administrative spreadsheet error. Hancock appeared at the despatch box on Monday afternoon to face questions from MPs on the blunder. Alas it wasn't what one could describe as a charm offensive. When Labour's Stella Creasy put to him that a week had effectively been lost as a result of the mistake and the companies responsible should be held to account, Hancock had a curious reply.

‘I don’t want a Home Secretary who can’t pronounce a G at the end of a word,’ said Alastair Campbell earlier this month after listening to Priti Patel. Today it was the Home Secretary’s turn to hit back at Tony Blair's former spin doctor. In her speech at Tory conference, Patel had a message for Campbell, ‘lefty lawyers’ and her Twitter detractors: For those defending the broken system: the traffickers, the do-gooders, the lefty lawyers, the Labour party – they are defending the indefensible.  If at times that means being unpopular on Twitter, I will bear it. If at times it means Tony Blair’s spin doctor mocking my accent, so be it.

Things have gone from bad to pretty much as grim as things can get for an MP — isolating back in Scotland, Margaret Ferrier has been told to resign from parliament by her (now former) party leader Nicola Sturgeon.  https://twitter.com/NicolaSturgeon/status/1311957095231696896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The interjection comes following a torrid night for the Rutherglen and Hamilton West MP. Yesterday evening she released a statement in which she admitted travelling down to London by train while suffering from Covid symptoms — where she then spoke in the Commons — before receiving a positive result for a test she took before she went to London. It goes without saying that that decision is already in breach of Covid laws.

The SNP's Margaret Ferrier has released a statement admitted that she travelled down to London after suffering from Covid symptoms. She then returned to Scotland by train after receiving a positive test result... The MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West apologised for failing to follow the guidance, set down by her own party leader in Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. She also said she has referred herself to the police.  In the statement, Ferrier said: I apologise unreservedly for breaching Covid-19 restrictions by travelling this week when I shouldn't have. There is no excuse for my actions. On Saturday afternoon, after experiencing mild symptoms, I requested a Covid-19 test which I took that day.

When former Tory MP Charlie Elphicke was found guilty of sexual assaulting two women, his wife Natalie – who has succeeded him as MP in his Dover seat – immediately announced the end of their marriage. Three days later, Natalie then gave a tell-all interview to the Sun, in which she explained why she had to leave her husband. Speaking for the first time of what she described as her 'horrible, humiliating and unpleasant' court ordeal, Elphicke told the paper:  'Charlie was keen to get things back on track but I had already made clear to him I was very, very hurt by the allegations and by his behaviour with other women.' Now it can be revealed that Natalie Elphicke received £25,000 for the interview with the paper.