Steerpike

Over the weekend, Donald Trump endorsed Boris Johnson's leadership campaign. Boris 'would do a very good job', Trump said. At today's press conference, Jeremy Hunt was also backed by Trump. But one person who didn't quite make it was Michael Gove. When asked about the Tory leadership contest, Trump had this to say: 'So I know Boris. I like him - I've liked him for a very long time. I think he would do a very good job. I know Jeremy - I think he would do a very good job. I don't know Michael. Would he do a good job, Jeremy? Tell me.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeA1DS2C_UA&feature=youtu.be Michael Gove would be forgiven for feeling a little hurt given that he has met the president more than once.

Sam Gyimah, the former Minister for Universities who quit in protest at Theresa May’s deal, has become the thirteenth Conservative leadership candidate, announcing his decision live on air on Sky today. When asked by Niall Paterson if he would like to be the next Conservative leader, Gyimah replied "Well, yes. I will be joining the contest to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister to broaden the race." He wishes to be the champion of that cause the Tory members are crying out for: a second referendum. "There is a wide range of candidates out there, but there is a very narrow view on Brexit being discussed” he said.

Will anything end Nigel Farage's winning streak? The Brexiteer famously walked into a Ladbrokes in June 2016 and placed a £1,000 bet on Leave winning the EU referendum campaign – a decision that pocketed him a tidy £2,500 sum. In April, ahead of the European parliament elections, the Brexit party leader decided to chance his arm once again, revealing that he had placed a £1,000 bet at 3/1 on the Brexit party winning the most seats in the European parliament. And, as the results on Sunday night showed, it was yet another act of foresight as his party came top in the UK with 29 seats, 13 ahead of the second placed Lib Dems. All of which would leave the Brexit party leader £3,000 better off at the end of the night.

Alastair Campbell has been something of a Labour party fixture for the last twenty years – but not any longer. Blair's former spin doctor has just been given the boot from the party for revealing that he voted Lib Dem at the European elections. Campbell said he was 'sad' and 'disappointed' to get an email from Labour expelling him from the party: 'I am and always will be Labour. I voted Lib Dem, without advance publicity, to try to persuade Labour to do right thing for country/party. In light of appeal, I won't be doing media on this. But hard not to point out difference in the way anti-Semitism cases have been handled.

There's a lot of soul-searching in the Labour party after Sunday's abysmal results in the European elections. On Monday, Corbynista commentator Paul Mason was one of the first out of the blocks, with a lengthy autopsy of Labour's electoral failure. He placed the blame squarely on Corbyn's Brexit-leaning advisors, and urged those responsible to be fired. 'Three point plan for Labour. 1. A members ballot on Remain/Reform as the new line. 2. Sack the officials responsible for this fiasco. 3. Defend Corbyn against the inevitable coup. More from me tomorrow - sign our petition here https://www.left2030.org/petition/ ' https://twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/1132940829335654400 Unsurprisingly, the column didn't go down well in all quarters of the hard left.

Tonight was a vital night for the fledgling Remain party Change UK. After the resurgence of the Lib Dems in the local elections, Chuka Umunna and Heidi Allen's party had to fight to justify its existence, and prove that it wasn't simply another party which was splitting the Remain vote. Alas, it appears that that party hasn't even managed to meet its own low expectations tonight - it may be that it can't even muster enough votes to justify going into a coalition with the Lib Dems at the next general election. Here are five reasons that suggest tonight could mean the end of Change UK: Number of seats: 0 As of writing, Change UK have failed to get a single seat across the entirety of the UK. Overall the party has received only 3.

It’s one day since Theresa May set an exit date for her departure from 10 Downing Street and the leadership contest to replace her is already heating up. This morning, Rory Stewart - the International Development Secretary - performed a media round in which the Tory MP declared that he would not be able to serve in a Boris Johnson-led government. The reason? BoJo, the current favourite, would explicitly push for a no deal Brexit - something Stewart could not contemplate. Besides Stewart is planning to run himself. However, he is seen as an outside bet as someone who voted Remain and backs Theresa May’s deal. He has previously hit out at certain Brexiteers for - in his eyes - over-simplifying issues raised by Brexit.