Steerpike

If there's one thing that really gets under the skin of Momentum, the campaign group for Labour's Jeremy Corbyn, it's that the economy has steadily improved under this Conservative government. While the group constantly tries to suggest that only Corbyn can rescue the country from economic peril, statistics that show, for example, that unemployment is falling across the country throw an awkward spanner in the works. The group has therefore recently alighted on a new response to counter suggestions that more people are in work, by pointing out that official employment statistics include people who only work one hour every week: https://twitter.

After spending months insisting that there could never possibly be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar raised eyebrows this afternoon when he suggested that Ireland may have to send troops to the border if there is a no-deal Brexit. The move comes as the EU's own position on the border has wavered in recent days, with Michel Barnier offering contradicting statements about whether the EU would have to check goods in Ireland if Britain left without a deal. Speaking at Davos, Varadkar insisted that if a hard Brexit took place, as well as cameras and physical infrastructure, the border would also need 'people in uniform' and an 'army presence to back it up.

From an outside view, one could be forgiven for thinking now is a good time for academies in the UK. Figures show more than half of England’s children are now educated in academies – state schools run by independent charitable trusts but funded and overseen by central government – while one such academy Brampton Manor, in east London, recently made headlines thanks to 41 of its students winning offers from Oxbridge. However, not everyone agrees. Under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour party is dead set against academies – its official policy is to halt the creation of any new academies or free schools should the party takes power.

While several members of the ERG announced that they were voting against Theresa May in the Conservative leadership vote of no confidence last year, those on the Remain side of the Tory Party have generally been much more supportive of the PM, especially when it comes to public displays of loyalty. Chief Remainer Anna Soubry for one has routinely given interviews in support of May and sent this message on social media ahead of her confidence vote last year: 'We don’t need to change PM but the PM must change course. Get the vote back next week. And when it’s lost take this matter back to the people. It’s the only way out of #BrexitChaos & only way PM stays.' But could this loyalty be on the wane?

Backbench MP and arch-Remainer Dominic Grieve shocked political observers this weekend, when it was revealed that he is planning to take control of the parliamentary timetable to allow a coalition of 300 MPs (less than a majority) to introduce legislation to block a no-deal Brexit. If he succeeds, the former Attorney General will overturn centuries of precedent and completely upend Britain's unwritten constitution which says that whoever wins an election, gets control over introducing legislation in the Commons. Speaking on Radio 4, Grieve defended his plot by saying that his controversial amendment still required a majority to pass into law: 'No business of the House can be decided without a majority.

Jeremy Corbyn is under mounting pressure to back a second referendum. Labour MPs have grouped together to try and persuade their leader to side with the People's Vote campaign in order to break the Brexit deadlock. But so far, Corbyn doesn't seem keen on the idea, preferring instead to sit on the fence. The same isn't quite true of his brother, Piers, who in the early hours of this morning took to Twitter to make his views on a second referendum perfectly clear: Mr S thinks the People's Vote brigade will be hoping that Jeremy doesn't turn to Piers for advice on what to do next...

You would think that after being Labour leader for three years, some of the shine would have worn off Jeremy Corbyn. But among the devoted, 'JC' is still an object of veneration who can do wrong, which means of course that any criticism of him is considered blasphemy. The Corbyn cult were in strong form today, when the Labour leader gave a speech in Hastings to set out his Brexit policy. While the crowd were initially quiet, at the first sign of a journalist asking Corbyn a difficult question (about why he would not talk with the Prime Minister about Brexit) they immediately sprang into action, booing the journalist and shouting 'rubbish' at him. They eventually had to be calmed down by the chairwoman. Kinder, gentler politics once again from Labour members.

Michael Gove ended the no confidence debate in the Commons by denouncing Jeremy Corbyn. But perhaps unsurprisingly his criticism of the Labour leader did not go down well with those on the opposite benches. His comments about Corbyn were shouted down by Labour MPs, who yelled 'shame on you'. Here's what Gove said to rile them up: 'If the leader of the opposition won't stand up against Putin when he attacks people in this country...if he will not stand up for this country when the critical national security questions are being asked, how can we possibly expect him to stand up for us in European negotiations?' Mr S thinks Gove might have a point...

After suffering what could be the largest Commons defeat in over a hundred years - far surpassing anyone's expectations, it's fair to say that Theresa May will not be happy with the way things went this evening. So she might take comfort in the fact that her deal did at least have one positive outcome: providing a small boost to the economy -  though probably not in the way she intended. In response to her Brexit deal being voted down by a massive margin, the pound briefly fell, and then rebounded sharply against the Euro and the Dollar, a clear sign that the uncertainty of the Brexit process was still preferable to her bad deal: Mr S expects we won't hear champagne corks popping in Number 10 at the news just yet...