Steerpike

Oh dear. It's no great secret that under Jeremy Corbyn there is little love lost between the Labour party and the mainstream media. The Labour leader and his supporters rarely miss a chance to take a jab at hacks – whether it's calling for press reforms or simply booing journalists at party events. However, the latest episode in the saga still manages to surprise. Labour MP – and Corbyn ally – Kate Osamor did not take kindly to a Times reporter turning up her address to ask her for comment on reports that she appeared to issue false statements over her son’s conviction for drug offences. Osamor told the reporter, she 'should have come down here with a bat and smashed your face in' before concluding that he should 'f--- off'.

With the 2017 Parliamentarian of the Year winner Ruth Davidson on maternity leave, Liz Truss stepped in to present this year's awards – taking the opportunity to send up her cabinet colleagues, fellow MPs and the US president. Below is her speech in full: It's fantastic to be here this evening. I have to admit it was quite late when I got booked in as your guest of honour. And I did wonder whether or not I was first choice, or if Fraser had had to ring as many people as the Prime Minister did to recruit the new Brexit Secretary. I hear that Ruth Davidson was unavailable. As you pointed out she's got a lovely new baby son and I do hope that he will grow up to see the day when we're out of the backstop.

Earlier this month Mr Steerpike noted that here might be some domestic troubles in one Westminster household, after MP Jack Lopestri came out in support of May's Brexit deal - unlike Andrea Jenkyns, his Brexiteer wife. Now it appears that Number 10 were paying attention too: today they announced that Lopestri has joined the government, as PPS to the new Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay. But while Jenkyns took to social media to say how pleased she was that her husband was promoted, she also suggested that his talents might not be the only reason he was given the job. In fact, it might even be a ploy by the Conservative whips to cause martial strife: https://twitter.com/andreajenkyns/status/1067838439066877952 If so, Mr S suspects Jenkyns will be able to take it in her stride...

Theresa May has managed to anger quite a few MPs in recent weeks with her withdrawal agreement, but none more so than the DUP, who are livid that it creates regulatory barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. And judging by the reaction of one DUP MP in the chamber today, it doesn't look to Mr S like the two parties are going to resolve their differences any time soon. When the DUP's Nigel Dodds asked Theresa May which parts of the backstop (in the words of the Chancellor) would be bad for the union and bad for the economy, he was not impressed that the Prime Minister thought he was talking about the European 'Union' rather than the UK. He was even less impressed though by her eventual answer that the backstop would stop the UK from striking trade deals in future.

Oh dear. Over the weekend No.10 came under much criticism after it emerged that John Hayes had been awarded an impromptu knighthood. Unkind souls were quick to suggest that the motivation for giving the long time Tory Eurosceptic the honour was less than pure. With the crunch Brexit deal vote coming up the track, Tory Brexiteers claimed this was part of a cynical attempt by Downing Street to win a vote in favour of May's deal. Alas, it seems that were these No.10's intentions, their efforts will go unrewarded. Hayes tells the Mail on Sunday that he has no plans to vote for May's deal: ‘As I’ve made very clear before my honour, I cannot support the deal as it now stands.’ So much for the chumocracy...

On Friday evening, Philip Hammond headed to DUP conference in a bid to win over Arlene Foster’s party after they went on strike over the Irish backstop. With Foster telling the BBC that the DUP’s confidence and supply agreement could be over permanently if Theresa May’s deal is voted through, the future does not look bright when it comes to Tory/DUP relations. But could a new leader change all that? In recent weeks DUP politicians have been keen to stress that their agreement is not with Theresa May specifically – but with the Conservative party as a whole. So, it was an interesting move by Boris Johnson to speak at the conference this weekend. Attendees at the events report of Boris-mania sweeping the venue.

Diane Abbott has a stark warning for those clamouring for a second referendum: be careful what you wish for. The Labour MP's warning won't go down well with those from the 'People's Vote' campaign, who desperately need the support of the Labour party if their wish is to come true. On Nick Robinson's podcast, Abbott was asked what would happen if another vote took place. Here's what she said: 'My view is that if we had a second referendum tomorrow, Leave would win again. And not only would Leave win again, but Leave voters would say: what didn't you understand about Leave the first time?' Mr S thinks Abbott is talking sense...

Theresa May is in the Commons attempting to convince MPs to back her Brexit plan. But it isn't going well. Iain Duncan Smith was particularly critical of the PM's backstop blueprint, telling May that while he appreciated her efforts it wasn't good enough. Here's what he said: 'For all of the effort and work, the reality is that this is not the withdrawal agreement, and the withdrawal agreement will make it very clear that, should we struggle with a negotiation for a free trade arrangement and not complete that process, we will fall into the Northern Ireland backstop as it exists at the moment. And that will mean we are bound by those restrictions which force Northern Ireland through a separate arrangement.