Steerpike

Once upon a time, Labour politicians were lining up to praise the socialist achievements of the government in Venezuela. These days it's a much harder sell thanks to the fact that 82pc of households live in poverty. Happily, John McDonnell has found a workaround. Speaking on the Sunday Politics, the shadow chancellor rejected the idea that Venezuela was an example of  the failed socialist economic model. Instead the issue is apparently that when Nicolás Maduro took over from veteran socialist leader Hugo Chávez it ‘took a wrong turn’ and now ceases to be ‘a socialist country’. Only Mr S isn't so sure this defence holds up. For one, someone forgot to tell McDonnell's comrades: 1.

Oh dear. Although Theresa May's divided government is currently in a state of deadlock over Brexit, the Prime Minister can at least take heart that the Tories aren't the only party experiencing difficulties here. This morning Barry Gardiner was the victim of a car crash interview on the Andrew Marr show. With Marr on sick leave, Emma Barnett was Gardiner's interviewer – and she did not hold back. The BBC presenter took the shadow International Trade secretary to task over comments he made about the Irish border in March while at an event held by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. At the event, Gardiner described the Good Friday Agreement as ‘a shibboleth’ in the Brexit negotiations and said the issue was being 'played up' for 'real economic reasons'.

This week Rod Liddle took over the London Palladium for one night only. Mr S's colleague and comrade spoke to a sold out audience about his approach to writing and politics – as well as his managerial style at the BBC (clue: not legal). For those readers unable to bag a ticket, Mr S is pleased to share one of the highlights from the evening. In a video, Liddle revealed his dog Jessie's feelings toward various politicians – and there's one in particular that caused a strong reaction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LtAM3LxTUg&feature=youtu.be Well, let it never be said that Corbyn's Labour is going to the dogs...

Benedict Cumberbatch has a reputation as one of Britain's finest actors. The Sherlock actor has won plaudits across the world. He is also politically engaged – previously ranting on-stage about the government’s response to the refugee crisis following a performance of Hamlet at the Barbican. According to the Daily Mail, Cumberbatch let it be known that he thought the government’s pledge to take 20,000 refugees was not enough, before — eloquently — concluding: ‘f— the politicians’. The comments led Mr S to ask: is Benedict Cumberbatch the new Russell Brand? So, is his next job his greatest challenge yet?

Brexit Britain is a more racist country than before the referendum, according to the United Nations, whose inspector told us on Friday that anti-foreigner rhetoric has now become ‘normalised’. But how did Tendayi Achiume, the UN’s special rapporteur on racism, manage to make such a stark finding having spent just 11 days in Britain? After all, if her 'end of mission statement' is anything to go on, Mr S. thinks her conclusions might have been somewhat cobbled together. Achiume, it seems, didn’t even get a chance to run her damning report through a spellcheck before publishing it. Referring to a study by Warwick University, Achiume managed to misspell the university’s name as 'Warrick'...

Awkward scenes in the Commons just now where Conservative MP James Duddridge has called for a debate on John Bercow’s replacement as speaker. After being picked by Bercow, the Tory MP told Parliament: 'Given your manifesto commitment to go by the 22nd June, can we have a debate…about what we want from a speaker, what type of speaker we want before we move to a secondary discussion about who we want to replace you.' His comments did not go down well with Bercow's chums on the other benches, with one MP calling the intervention 'ridiculous'. Unsurprisingly, too, Bercow – who was sitting slumped down in his chair – was not impressed either. He told Duddridge: 'I...

Tory Brexiteers and Remainers might share the same benches in parliament but they don't always see eye to eye these days. Which makes Mr S pleased to see the likes of Crispin Blunt and Ken Clarke find common cause this afternoon. So what did they finally manage to agree on? Blunt and Clarke – as well as outspoken Brexiteer Peter Bone and the Remainer Tory MP Dominic Grieve – rebelled against the government by voting in favour of Leveson 2. It's just a pity that they were all on the losing side...

Poor old Theresa May. Last week, a portrait of the Prime Minister was unveiled at Oxford University as part of their 'wall of geography women'. But the PM's time on the wall at her former university has been short-lived. A group calling themselves 'Not all Geographers' is claiming success after May's portrait was taken down following an outcry from angry students. A spokesman for the group had told Oxford student paper Cherwell: 'The main, and most basic, issue comes with the celebration of a sitting Prime Minister. Should a department align itself with the power of the day, when there are those who actively challenge it? It is unprecedented to celebrate state power in such a way (regardless of one’s political affiliation).' https://twitter.