Steerpike

When the EU Withdrawal Bill returns to the House tomorrow, Theresa May is hoping Tory MPs – and some Labour rebels – will be persuaded to play ball. However, an appearance on the Daily Politics by Labour's Frank Field and Nicky Morgan offered an insight into the difficulties ahead. https://twitter.com/daily_politics/status/930045852600508416 Only it wasn't the Labour MP doing the attacking. With little love lost between Morgan and May since Trouser-gate – which saw the former education secretary take aim at the Prime Minister for her extensive choice in leather trousers – today Morgan poured fuel on the fire.

It’s safe to say that Alex Salmond’s decision to host a talk show on Russia Today has not gone down well. The former first minister has been widely condemned for taking the controversial gig on the Russian-funded channel. Nicola Sturgeon has also now joined in, saying that she would have advised her predecessor 'against RT and suggested he seek a different channel to air what I am sure he will be an entertaining show’. But somewhat embarrassingly for Sturgeon, Salmond isn’t the only SNP figure to make an appearance on the channel. SNP politicians have popped up on RT nearly 50 times in recent years. Admittedly, Salmond himself accounted for many of those appearances. But a current SNP MP, Douglas Chapman, has also made several appearances on RT.

Priti Patel’s working holiday to Israel – in which she held secret meetings with Israeli politicians, including the country’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu – has landed her in hot water. Despite the backlash to Patel’s foreign escapade, however, it seems her jet set lifestyle shows no sign of stopping. In Parliament this afternoon, Patel had a chance to defend herself and tell MPs what she got up to on her summer trip. The only hitch? She couldn't make it. In Patel’s absence, it was left to her deputy, Alistair Burt, to fill in. So where was Patel? 'She is presently in the air,' he told MPs to laughter in the Commons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

The big story that British journos are now desperate to break is 'How Russia hacked Brexit'. Once that rolls out, Britain can be like America, where nobody knows if Vladimir Putin is their true master or just the bogeyman of a paranoid elite. But newspapers should be wary: Russia collusion stories can make the press look deeply silly. Mr Steerpike hears, for instance, that this summer the New York Times fell hook, line and sinker for a great Trump-Russia hoax in London. Apparently, an unknown source contacted the Gray Lady to say he had Russia-related kompromat material which could bring down the US President -- but he had to give it to them in person. Where? On the Abbey Road, by the famous zebra crossing.

The most regular attack-line used against leading Brexiteers is that they misled the public over how much money could be used to fund the NHS if Britain left the EU. Throughout the referendum campaign, Vote Leave said that we send £350 million a week to Brussels – a gross figure, applied before a rebate etc. But no one knew the real 2016 figure because the data is compiled in arrears. Only today do we have the data, published by the Office for National Statistics. Its figures show… Payment to Brussels, net of rebate and money returned to the UK: £9.4 billion a year, or £181 million a week. Payment to Brussels, net of rebate: £13.9 billion a year, or £267 million a week. Gross payment to Brussels: £18.

As Parliament sleaze dominated Commons business today, John Bercow told MPs 'there is a need for change' – describing allegations of a 'culture of sexual harassment' at Westminster as 'disturbing'. Although the Speaker placed the responsibility on political leaders to clean up Parliament, Mr S hopes that Bercow can also play an important role in helping MPs understand how to treat their female colleagues and staff with more respect. After all, it wasn't so long ago that Bercow found himself in the firing line over his approach to women. In 2009, a 'comical' John Bercow article dating back to 1986 was unearthed.

After the Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris was outed last week for writing to universities requesting details of their Brexit syllabus, the debate on academic Brexit bias is in full swing. Happily Labour's Barry Sheerman was on hand to clear the matter up with an appearance on Yorkshire Sunday Politics. Sheerman said any anti-Brexit sentiment at universities was down to the fact that 'better educated people' back Remain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiRbRWgPKjs BS: The truth is that when you look at who voted to Remain, most of them were the better educated people in our country… TI: This is controversial! Massively controversial. BS: Absolutely! It’s absolutely true. You can actually see the pattern.

If proof was needed that deference is dead in Parliament, look no further than the interview Tom Tugendhat has given to The House magazine. The new chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee uses his first interview since winning the coveted position to make clear he's ready and willing to be Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary or Defence Secretary should his services be required. However, the part that caught Mr S's eye relates to the current occupant of the Foreign Office. Tugendhat – who was elected to Parliament in 2015 – appears to launch an attack on Boris Johnson's modus operandi: 'He’s certainly got a lot of passion for the United Kingdom and has a way of expressing himself which certainly carries a lot of noise.

Oh dear. Since Labour's surprisingly good defeat in the snap election, the hard left has managed to tighten its grip on the party. As last month's conference proved, Jeremy Corbyn's party is intent on socialism for the 21st century. But behind the scenes there are still battles being fought between the moderates and the Corbynistas. On Wednesday night, elections took place for the Labour Party Irish Society executive.

Oh dear. When a Tory MP missed last week's Opposition Day debate on universal credit to referee at a Barcelona match, both the SNP and Labour were quick to go on the offensive – accusing Douglas Ross of failing his constituents. Now it seems that one of Labour's most vocal justice warriors has also fallen foul and missed a debate on universal credit. Laura Pidcock was notably absent from Tuesday's emergency debate on the government's new benefits system. However rather than sickness keeping her away, it was a holiday to Venice.

Oh dear. Although John Bercow has a penchant for winding up Conservative MPs in the Chamber, he also has a habit of taking the SNP to task for failing to grasp Westminster etiquette. However, today he adopted a rather different approach. During questions after Theresa May's statement on the EU Council summit, the Speaker appeared to have an odd turn. Calling the SNP's Alan Brown to speak, Bercow attempted a Scottish accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt2HALDW5a8 Mr S recommends he leaves it to the Scots next time...