Steerpike

The Tory leadership contest reaches its high point tonight as Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt sit down for one-on-one interviews with Andrew Neil. But even if the pair manage to avoid any slip-ups, the race for No.10 has so far produced plenty of gaffes. As this year’s contest reaches its final stages, Mr S. lists his favourites blunders so far: Rory Stewart's phone gaffe: Rory Stewart made waves with his unorthodox campaign, a back-to-basics pitch that showed up his slicker but less authentic rivals. This facade came crashing down when Stewart tweeted a video of him in Kew Gardens. Eagle-eyed followers noticed something bizarre: while Stewart’s arm was moving around, the camera stayed completely still.

Liz Truss has made her pitch for No.11. But if she gets her wish, who might replace her as Chief Secretary to the Treasury? Step forward, Jacob Rees-Mogg. That at least was who Truss touted as a possible successor at a Press Gallery lunch this afternoon. Truss revealed that preparations for the handover are already underway – and Rees-Mogg's nanny will be pleased to know that she hasn't been forgotten. Rees-Mogg's Bentley is also part of the picture, with Truss jokingly claiming that the Treasury car park has undergone extensive modifications to accommodate Mogg's car: “I’ve been pleased to see that JRM has been touted as my successor.

Although Sajid Javid was knocked out of the Tory leadership contest, the Home Secretary could soon have a consolation prize in the form of the keys to No. 11. Javid is tipped as the frontrunner for the hotly coveted role of Boris Johnson's chancellor. Speaking at Tuesday night's Policy Exchange summer reception, Javid reflected on what he was proud of from his campaign: 'As for the leadership campaign, I’m not sure what more I could have done! I showed off my little dog, Bailey, I showed off my mother and her cooking, even my daughter’s letter. Although I didn’t have to reveal any unusual artistic hobbies that I might have. I made a pitch to my colleagues, and I’m proud of the support that I’ve got from some of the colleagues that I admire most.

Tonight’s ITV debate was a much livelier contest than many expected, as both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt engaged in blue-on-blue warfare as they battled to become the next PM. Even in one of the lighter moments of the evening the candidates struggled to be cordial on stage, with both opting to go on the attack when asked by an audience member what they admired about their opponent. Boris, after struggling for several moments to think up any answer, eventually settled on: 'I greatly admire his ability to change his mind, and campaign for Brexit now' – helpfully drawing attention to the fact that Hunt campaigned for Remain in 2016. While Jeremy Hunt, replied that: I really admire Boris's ability to answer the question.

Leaked diplomatic cables are a hoot, aren’t they? The Mail on Sunday’s big scoop shows that Britain’s man in Washington, Sir Kim Darroch, has been briefing his government about President Donald Trump in much the same way as the average American news pundit on TV on speaks to his or her audience. That is to say, he can’t stand the man in the Oval Office, and he makes his animosity pretty clear. ‘Inept’, ‘insecure’ and ‘uniquely dysfunctional’ — these quotes read like somebody who has just read Fire and Fury, Michael Wolff’s tell-all hitjob on the presidency, before sitting down to write.

White smoke emerged from the European Council in Brussels on Tuesday, as EU heads of state revealed their recommendations for the next European commission president, head of the ECB, president of the European council, and high representative for foreign affairs. The candidates, who included the German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen and IMF head Christine Lagarde, were selected behind closed doors after three days of intense negotiations, and will now need to be confirmed by the European Parliament. But if you were hoping that the EU had selected highly-competent former politicians and officials to lead the supranational body responsible for policies that affect millions, you would once again have been disappointed.

While the cat's away, the mice will play. Or, while the two leadership finalists take part in a hustings in Yorkshire and Humber, their supporters will find time to position themselves for jobs, plot and drink some Pol Roger. On Thursday evening, former Tory leadership candidates and cabinet ministers all descended on 22 Old Queen Street for this year's Spectator summer party, kindly sponsored by The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The battle for the position of Chancellor was clearly underway in the Spectator office as two of the main contenders, Liz Truss and Matt Hancock, worked the room and charmed their Conservative colleagues.

It's hard to go anywhere in Westminster these days without spotting Jeremy Hunt. The Tory leadership contender is popping up in all places, posing for selfies on Twitter and sharing videos of himself out and about on the campaign trail. But while Hunt is doing a good job at stealing the limelight, the same hasn't always been true. On Hunt's Facebook page, there are plenty of pictures of him keeping busy in 2013, 2014 and 2015. And there are lots of pictures from 2017, 2018 and 2019 too. But when Mr S. looked for pictures from 2016, he was left disappointed: there were none on his Facebook page. So what explains the glaring gap in pictures from that year? Surely it has nothing to do with Hunt's support for remain in the referendum campaign?

Today was a big day for Nigel Farage's band of Brexit party MEPs. After 29 of the Brexiteers won their seats in the EU elections in May, they finally headed to Strasbourg today, to take their places in the European Parliament. But it appears that while the party may now be part of the European elite, they haven't quite signed up to the ideals of the European project in spirit. As the new batch of 751 MEPs were sworn in this morning to open the inaugural sitting of the European Parliament term, a stirring rendition of the EU's anthem, Ode to Joy, was played from the centre of the Chamber. And while there was the usual showing of solidarity, with MEPs standing to listen to the anthem, one party were not playing along.

It may not seem long ago that the Tory leadership candidate Matt Hancock was positioning himself as a key opponent of the frontrunner Boris Johnson, and saying 'f*** f*** business' in contrast to Johnson's alleged 'f*** business' remark. A key thing has changed since then though: with Johnson's victory looking increasingly likely, Conservative MPs have begun jockeying for the Cabinet positions that will soon be available in his next government. Which may explain why Hancock, after being booted out of the leadership contest, suddenly lined up behind his former opponent, and with his eye on the Chancellor position, became a key cheerleader for Johnson in the press.