Steerpike

Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn's clash last night during the ITV debate was notable for its lack of standout performance from either candidate. The audience, however, provided a much-needed dose of reality for both leaders. Corbyn and Boris's campaign soundbites were interspersed with bursts of laughter. Whether that was the result of amusement or frustration remains to be seen. For those fortunate souls who didn't catch the debate, Mr S.

Jo Swinson has branded accusations she fired stones at squirrels as 'very fake news'. Screenshots of what appeared to be a Daily Mirror story have been widely circulated online. The article alleges that a private video of the Lib Dem leader has surfaced on Facebook, showing her pelting the furry mammals with pebbles using a slingshot. The Remain campaigner told LBC's Iain Dale she was becoming increasingly concerned about such viral stories: 'They're quite sophisticated in that people can believe them.

On the Marr show this morning, Jeremy Corbyn was asked – and refused to say – five times whether he would campaign for Leave or Remain in a second referendum. Referring to himself in the third person, Corbyn said the only thing Corbyn could reveal was that we would have a close trading relationship with the EU. Mr S. says that Mr S. thinks this is a bit of a cop out. Here is a clip of part of the discussion: [embed]https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1196011540257722368?s=20[/embed] Andrew Marr: If you become prime minister, when you become prime minister, do you want this country to leave the EU or not? Jeremy Corbyn: We're going to put that choice to the British people and they will make that decision.

Oh dear. It's been a difficult week for Nigel Farage. The Brexit party leader announced on Monday that he would not be standing candidates in Tory-held seats. He had hoped that in return the Conservatives would consider standing down candidates in a number of Labour heartlands where he believed the Brexit party would fare better. The Tories, however, were having none of it. To make matters worse a number of Brexit party candidates have got cold feet about Farage's strategy. All election candidates had to submit their documents by 4pm to stand. Dudley North was seen as a key target seat of the Brexit party. However, the candidate for that seat announced at 3.59pm they would not be seeking election. https://twitter.com/RupertLowe10/status/1195008427778596867?

After being heckled and called a 'terrorist sympathiser' when he was out campaigning in Glasgow today, Jeremy Corbyn was presumably hoping for an easier time once he escaped the crowds outside. Unfortunately though, the Labour leader proved this afternoon that he is more than capable of causing his own gaffes. In a later interview with LBC, Corbyn was reminded of the time he said it was a 'tragedy' that Osama bin Laden had been killed by US special forces in 2011, rather than arrested and tried. Corbyn was then asked if he believed the same about the Isis leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was assassinated by the US last month. In response, Corbyn reaffirmed his belief and said that if it was possible to arrest the Isis leader, that would have been the 'right thing to do'.

When it was revealed this week that the Labour parliamentary candidate in Coventry South, Zarah Sultana, had previously said she would celebrate the deaths of Tony Blair and Benjamin Netanyahu, few would have thought to defend her comments. In fact the candidate herself apologised this week for the remarks she made in 2015. One person though seemed to struggle with how best to respond to the past allegations today. Labour's candidate in Pudsey, Jane Aitchison, was on 5Live today, and was asked by presenter Emma Barnett whether Sultana should be allowed to stand, after these comments had come to light. The prospective MP first pleaded ignorance, saying: 'I think that needs to be looked at' and 'I don't know the details of it'.

Oh dear. It's safe to say the Conservative party's election campaign has not got off to the best start. On the day of the official launch, the Tories have had a cabinet minister resign and a row over who is to blame for the Grenfell fire drag on. Now, they can add to that list: a minister unsure whether Jeremy Corbyn would have wealthy people shot or not. Appearing on the Andrew Neil show on Wednesday night, the Business Minister struggled when the BBC interviewer brought up Boris Johnson's comments comparing Jeremy Corbyn to Stalin on the grounds that he and his supporters hates wealth and aspiration so much that they 'point their fingers at individuals with a relish and a vindictiveness not seen since Stalin persecuted the kulaks'.

Oh dear. Andrew Bridgen is a friend of Jacob Rees-Mogg, but it's unlikely the Tory MP will be thanking his colleague for his latest intervention. Bridgen attempted to defend his chum on BBC's PM programme just now following a furious reaction to Rees-Mogg's comments about the Grenfell fire tragedy. Bridgen said that Rees-Mogg's remarks were 'uncharacteristically clumsy'. He was then asked: Evan Davis: 'Do you think he meant to say that he thought he would not have stayed put?' Andrew Bridgen: 'That's what he meant to say. That's what he meant to say.' ED: 'But in a way that is exactly what people object to, because he is, in effect, saying: I wouldn't have died because I would have been cleverer than the people who took the fire brigade's advice.

When Tory MPs look for reasons to be optimistic about the incoming election, one thing they point to is the fact that this time around Nick Timothy is not involved. Theresa May's former aide is widely blamed within the Conservative party for the 2017 manifesto which saw the Tories shed popularity over the so-called dementia tax. However, those MPs looking ahead to a Timothy-free campaign may need to think again. ConservativeHome reports that Timothy is in the final three to be the Tory candidate for Meriden – a safe seat with a majority of 19,198. Should Timothy succeed, he will have reason to be optimistic.