Steerpike

Whether it's the Remainer group's shambolic name change, it's bizarre choice of logo, or unwise decision to snub an electoral pact with the Lib Dems, Change UK / TIG has not exactly established a reputation for competence in the few months since it was founded. But it appears the group hasn't given up making new gaffes just yet. Following the political party's decision to change its name from the Independent Group to Change UK, it decided to update its Twitter handle today: from @TheIndGroup to the rather strange @ForChange_Now. Unfortunately, it seems the breakaway MPs didn't realise that someone might take over their old account handle once it had been vacated. And, in a matter of minutes, the @TheIndGroup account was hijacked by an individual campaigning for a hard Brexit.

With a Peterborough by-election scheduled for early June, there's talk that it could lead to Parliament's first Brexit Party MP. After disgraced former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya was forced out following a recall petition in light of her conviction for perverting the course of justice, Labour, the Conservatives and Nigel Farage's Brexit Party are all vying to clinch the Labour/Tory marginal. The Brexit Party are currently surging in the polls – and could fare well in the Leave constituency. So, what better platform on which to reveal the party's new candidate than Tuesday night's Brexit Party rally in... Peterborough? So far, the rumour mill has been in overdrive with Nigel Farage, Annunziata Rees-Mogg and even George Galloway tipped for the role.

When the former defence secretary Gavin Williamson was fired from his position on Wednesday, for allegedly leaking information related to Huawei, China hawks in the Cabinet lost a key ally in their fight against the company's involvement in the UK 5G network. The defence secretary was said to be one of five Cabinet ministers against Huawei's bid, with Jeremy Hunt, Liam Fox, Sajid Javid and Penny Mordaunt also allegedly wary of the company's closeness to the Chinese state, and the possibility it could use the network to spy on UK citizens. But while they may have been disappointed to lose another voice in Cabinet against the Chinese telecoms behemoth, elsewhere in London it appears that champagne corks may have been popping at the defence secretary's demise.

Things are going from bad to worse for Jeremy Corbyn. Labour has had a dismal night in the polls, losing nearly 100 councillors when the party had hoped to make gains at the Tories' expense. And now Tony Robinson – the actor best known for playing Baldrick in Blackadder – has said he is quitting Labour after nearly 50 years. Here is his verdict on the party: https://twitter.com/Tony_Robinson/status/1124297214472400898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Can things get any more miserable for Jeremy Corbyn? As an exasperated Blackadder might say, I think the phrase rhymes with Clucking Bell...

Voters have been heading to the polls for the local elections today, as a long and gruelling campaign for the two main parties is wrapping up. Activists have been touring the doorsteps issuing heartfelt promises to repair potholes and collect bins faster. It’s been a familiar script – the Tories accuse Labour of waste, and Labour accuse the Tories of cutting services. Something that’s been conspicuously absent though, is any mention of the two main parties' leaders. Mr S was curious to see how prominent Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn were featuring in the campaign literature in this election, but after a search of over 50 randomly selected election leaflets, failed to find a single mention of either of them over the past two months.

Theresa May once said that 'no deal is better than a bad deal', but did she really mean it? The Prime Minister was asked to clarify those comments in front of MPs this afternoon. May said that while she stuck by what she said at Lancaster House in January 2017, she was actually 'talking in the abstract': 'I stand by the references I have made in the past, that 'no deal is better than a bad deal', but I happen to think we have a good deal. When I first made that reference, I was talking in the abstract. We now are no longer talking in the abstract. We are talking against the background of a negotiated deal, hard-fought, which I believe is a good deal for the United Kingdom.' Mr Steerpike is glad that May has finally cleared that up. The Prime Minister didn't stop there though.

Today is a key crunch point for Labour, as the party rules on whether it will fully endorse a second Brexit referendum ahead of the EU elections next month. Until now, the party has been happy to stick with its tortuously worded conference Brexit policy, which both sides on the referendum debate have said backs their own position. But with election leaflets ready to print, the party has finally been forced to put its policy on paper. Already though, it appears the process is causing rifts within the party. The Mirror's Pippa Crerar reports that deputy leader Tom Watson, who backs a second Brexit vote, has just stormed out of a shadow cabinet meeting, after Labour's EU policy was displayed on a big television screen, rather than on paper.

The hunt is on within government to discover which individual leaked details of a meeting of the National Security Council on allowing Huawei to help build Britain's new 5G network to the press. With an inquiry under way, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt today announced that he would be happy to hand over his phone as part of the investigation. Still, should any government ministers or aides currently find themselves less enthusiastic about aiding the inquiry (and sweating it out that the net is closing in), perhaps they can find some relief in a column former No 10 aide Kate Perrior has penned for the Times. Perrior says that during her time working for the Prime Minister, she had to take part in three leak inquiries.

Although Jeremy Hunt is often depicted as a more statesman-like figure than his predecessor at the Foreign Office, the Foreign Secretary has had his fair share of gaffes. Not long into the brief, Hunt made headlines when he mistakenly identified his wife as Japanese when she is in fact Chinese. At Thursday's Press Gallery lunch, Hunt attempted to make light of the situation – insisting that his wife has since forgiven him for the slip. But will she forgive him for his latest error?

The European elections are shaping up to be a colourful affair with both the Brexit Party and pro-EU Change UK revealing a spate of new candidates this morning. Along with Jacob Rees-Mogg's sister Annunziata, libertarian Claire Fox will stand for Nigel Farage's party. Meanwhile on the Remain side, a member of a political dynasty has decided to try and win election as an MP for Change UK. Step forward Rachel Johnson. Johnson is to follow in the footsteps of her father Stanley and brothers Boris and Jo by entering the political arena. The writer has revealed she will stand as a European election candidate in the South West region for Change UK, set up by the Independent Group MPs.