Steerpike

With Brexit negotiations stuck at a stalemate and a warring cabinet to contend with in the UK, the famously robotic Theresa May could be forgiven for wanting to let her hair down as she begins her tour of South Africa today. Which could possibly explain why she decided to throw caution to the wind, and join in with a spot of dancing when visiting a senior school in Cape Town this morning: https://twitter.com/DIRCO_ZA/status/1034341700532142085 Although, Mr Steerpike thinks if her dance moves are anything to go by, the ‘Maybot’ may be struggling to fully let go of her inhibitions.

When the Liberal Democrats unveiled their new slogan – 'Demand better' –earlier this month, critics were quick to point out that it might not have the desired effect. One Lib Dem source soon snarked to Mr S that many Lib Dems do want to demand better – at least, of their lacklustre leader Sir Vince Cable. So with party conference now just weeks away and the prospect of Cable having to stand next to a lectern which reads 'demand better' nearing, it appears Cable may have taken the message to heart. Reports are swirling that the Lib Dem leader will signal next month that he plans to step aside before the next general election. What's more, he will try to change party rules in an attempt to create a mass membership movement and allow a non-MP to take charge.

David Lammy has always had Jeremy Corbyn’s back, but it seems his patience in the Labour leader might be wearing thin. In a story that emerged yesterday, Corbyn was caught on tape claiming that Zionists ‘don’t understand English irony’ despite them having lived in Britain ‘for a very long time’. It appears that Corbyn’s remarks – which are being taken by some as a reference to Jews, rather than merely Zionists – are a step too far, even for Lammy. The Labour MP condemned the comments and called them ’insidious’: https://twitter.com/DavidLammy/status/1032970292820369408?

This summer, Jeremy Corbyn has struggled to get much coverage of his plans for domestic policy thanks to the fact Labour's anti-Semitism crisis has dominated the headlines. So the Labour leader can take heart that one of his policy ideas has finally started to make waves. In a speech on the UK press on Thursday, Corbyn will call on the BBC to declare the 'social class' of all its presenters and journalists as part of a bid to improve its diversity – including whether they went to private school and their parent's occupation and education. Mr S has no doubt that Corbyn plans to lead by example and do the same with his office.

There’s something going on across the pond. Less than twenty-four hours after Mr S informed readers of the New York Times’s struggle with the London foodie scene, Steerpike has come across another incident of an American journo who seems divorced from reality. The American Enterprise Institute's Dalibor Rohac has waded into the debate over where Theresa May, by the time she hangs up her heels and looks back on her legacy, will find herself in the pantheon of great British Prime Ministers. In the UK, that debate has been pretty much limited to three from bottom, two from bottom, or bottom. But across the pond, a more optimistic view is being taken.

Have you ever looked at a job advert with a temptingly high salary, and thought to yourself… you’d have to be mad to apply to that. Mr Steerpike suspects many Labour staffers had a similar reaction this week to a job posted on the Labour website. Labour HQ are on the lookout for a new ‘Head of Disputes,’ and they’re willing to pay over £50,000 to the person mad enough to take it. The new job holder will be responsible for internal disputes, disciplinary affairs and, rather ominously, ‘undertaking investigations as necessary’ within the party.

When Alex Salmond stepped down as First Minister, he famously unveiled a commemorative stone engraved with the message ‘The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students.’ If he wants to see melting, he should go to the UCAS website and look at the courses up for grabs in the clearing system – then change the settings to say you’re Scottish. The courses melt away. (For example, here is the English version of Glasgow University clearing courses: law, history, all sorts of gems. And here is the Scottish version). Why the difference? Because England’s students bring fees. As a direct result opportunities are created for them – even in Scotland.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown is at the Edinburgh International Book Festival today to give a talk called ‘First Among Equals.’ Audience members will be charged £12 to hear Brown’s ‘painfully honest account’ of the ‘highs and lows’ of his political career. Alas, Mr S has reasons to believe though that Brown may be offering a rather specific account when he speaks today. On the festival website he is hailed as ‘one of the most formidable chancellors that Britain has ever seen’ by an unnamed political journalist. It’s a quote Brown has used once before, to promote his book My Life, Our Times which came out in November 2017. But who is the journalist, and where does the quote come from?

Jeremy Corbyn is facing mounting criticism over whether he did or didn’t lay a wreath at the grave of one of the Munich terrorists, but helpfully his acolytes are staying faithful. Still, while the loyalty of the likes of Chris Williamson isn’t in question, Mr S isn’t so sure that their support is actually all that helpful. In an interview on The World at One this afternoon, Williamson appeared to refer to one of the Munich killers as an ‘alleged terrorist’: But Williamson didn't stop there, going on to compare Corbyn to Nelson Mandela... Oh dear. Still, at least that should take some of the heat off Corbyn for a bit...

Today, Jeremy Corbyn confirmed that he had been at a ceremony which commemorated the deaths of several terrorists linked to the 1972 Munich massacre. But it seems that Jeremy has had trouble recollecting what actually happened while he was there. So, to help jog Jeremy’s memory and to let our readers make up their own minds up about what happened on that day in 2014, Mr S has compiled every version of Jeremy’s story: 1. In 2014, soon after the visit to Tunisia, Corbyn wrote an article for the Morning Star, which said: ‘After wreaths were laid at the graves of those who died on that day and on the graves of others killed by Mossad agents in Paris in 1991…’ 2.

When Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader in 2010, he must have imagined himself headlining Labour conferences for years to come. He would stand on stage delivering the defining political speeches and bold policy moves that would propel him to victory in a general election. Alas, many bacon sandwiches, conference gaffes, and an EdStone later, it didn’t quite end up as he wanted. Miliband can take heart that he is still on the line-up at this year’s Momentum sponsored conference ‘The World Transformed,’ but probably not quite as high up in the billing as he pictured eight years ago.