Steerpike

John Bercow is a big fan of a sporting freebie. The Speaker is a regular fixture in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, and last year Bercow enjoyed thousands of pounds worth of prime tickets to cheer on his beloved Arsenal. Old habits die hard, it seems, with Bercow wasting no time this season claiming some more freebies. In the space of five days last month, Bercow received £660 worth of tickets to football games courtesy of his old friend Frank Warren. Two days later, he was at it again: getting a £400 freebie to a boxing match with hospitality thrown in courtesy again of Warren.

Although Theresa May has found herself in a more vulnerable position since her disastrous conference speech – which featured a collapsing set, prankster and bad cough – the Prime Minister can take heart that her MPs are willing to put on a show of solidarity. At today's Autumn Reception of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Matt Hancock gave a speech on the important progress the group has made on what is one of the more pressing issues of our time. However, midway through his speech one of the backdrop banners fell – and had to be resurrected by an attendee. Not that it put Hancock off: 'That puts me on a par with the Prime Minister, I'm absolutely thrilled – the new new thing is the collapsing backdrop.

Oh to be young and free and a member of Young Labour. Labour's youth wing held its annual conference this weekend. On the menu? Votes for 16-year-olds, comradely debate and... a vote to leave Nato. Yes, in a bid to free themselves of American imperialism, the Labour MPs of tomorrow backed a motion calling for the UK to leave Nato. https://twitter.com/JBickertonUK/status/919659945687121926 No doubt fellow Nato-critic Corbyn will be proud... Update: In other news, the latest young Corbynista fashion trend appears to be a t-shirt calling for the Shadow Chancellor to be given a gun. https://twitter.com/TomMcTague/status/919890652082724865 Viva la revolucion!

Sadiq Khan revealed yesterday that he had never 'knowingly' used an Uber. So Mr S. was curious to find this video clip from 2015 of Khan referring to himself as an 'Uber man'. During an appearance on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show, Khan was asked whether he was an ‘Uber man or a black cab man’. He replied by saying: ‘I’m both an Uber and a black cab man’ Here's the video: Today Sadiq Khan said he's never "knowingly" taken an uber but told us in 2015 he's "a black cab and an uber man" @VictoriaLIVE @BBCNormanS pic.twitter.com/8jJ3Dh7fiF — Louisa Compton (@louisa_compton) October 12, 2017 So which is it, Sadiq? Maybe it's time the Mayor of London made up his mind...

Ten years on from the financial crash and Theresa May is Prime Minister, Jeremy Corbyn is leader of the opposition and George Osborne is editor of the Evening Standard. So, were the policies enacted by Osborne during his time in government partly to blame for this? Speaking to Andrew Neil at a Spectator event, Osborne suggested that this wasn’t the case, although he did admit that a historian looking back might see some link between the economic crash - and the response to it – and the rise of both Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn. The economic shock to the West has thrown up many political changes, suggested Osborne. ‘But I’m just a journalist now,’ he said, before being reminded that he was also an advisor to BlackRock.

Oh dear. After Theresa May refused to say three times in an interview with Iain Dale on LBC whether she would back Leave in a second EU referendum, the Prime Minister has provoked the ire of some in the Brexit camp. But Brexiteers can take heart that May's comments are positively eurosceptic compared with those of her First Secretary of State. Damian Green has been touring the television studios this evening to talk about the government's race disparity audit. Also on the agenda is Brexit. First, the former Remain campaigner told Channel 4 News that he would vote Remain if another EU referendum was held. Now, he has just appeared on Newsnight where he appeared to double down on his comments.

Oh dear. As Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley is expected to foster and maintain good relations with both the media and broadcast industries.  So, Mr S was alarmed to hear that Bradley recently found herself on the wrong side of the TV licensing company. Writing on the infamous Tory MP WhatsApp group, Bradley complained to her fellow MPs she was being hounded by TV Licensing for not having a TV license for her constituency office. The MP for Staffordshire Moorlands asked if she was the only one having this bother – only to be greeted by silence.  A DCMS spokesman says Bradley has since explained to TV Licensing that she doesn't have a television in the office.

Talk of an imminent coup against Theresa May might be somewhat overblown, but most Tories generally accept the Prime Minister won’t be around to fight another election. Not so James Gray. The Tory MP for North Wiltshire thinks May could stick it out for the next five. In an interview with the BBC, Gray said May could go on as Prime Minister for another 25 years: 'She's currently 62, some Prime Ministers have lasted until at least 84 so that gives her 22, 25 years to go...so I very much hope she will continue for many years to come.' If Gray's prediction is correct, it would also make May the longest serving PM ever - six years ahead of Sir Robert Walpole. Mr S thinks it's admirable some MPs are getting behind their leader but still isn't convinced...