Steerpike

David Cameron is making the most of life after Downing Street. Having recently been photographed enjoying the high life in the Royal Box at Wimbledon, the chillaxing former Prime Minister has now been seen letting his hair down at another posh venue: Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire. Glass of wine in one hand and cigarette in the other, Cameron is clearly enjoying himself. But Dave got more than he bargained for on his latest outing. After being asked to pose for a snap with a fellow festival-goer, what he didn’t realise was that the women’s outfit had the Labour leader’s surname - ‘Corbyn’ - emblazoned within a heart on her back.

Theresa May made herself something of a laughing stock during the general election when she was asked what was the naughtiest thing she had ever done. The Prime Minister said her defining act of mischief was running through a field of wheat. Her answer earned her plenty of stick, not least from her political opponents. Now, it's her allies who are pointing and laughing. With the PM on holiday in Switzerland, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has ridiculed Theresa May by running through a field of wheat herself: https://twitter.com/RuthDavidsonMSP/status/892700819258257410 Mr S thinks that with friends like that, who needs enemies?

Ken Livingstone caused a stir this week when he blamed Venezuela's problems on the United States. Now, the former Mayor of London has a new reason for the country's desperate state - and it isn't the fault of the leader Nicolas Maduro. Instead, Red Ken said one of the explanations for Venezuela's woes is simple: they failed to listen to his pearls of wisdom. During an interview this morning on Talk Radio, Livingstone said that he had offered economic advice to the country's minister of finance back in 2008. But instead of taking his suggestions on board, Ken said his wise words were brushed aside - and now the country is reaping the consequences. Here's what he said: 'When I was in Venezuela, I advised their minister of finance...he ignored my advice.

Well, this is going well. As chaos reigns in Venezuela with at least 100 protesters dead in recent months and opposition leaders under arrest, Jeremy Corbyn has come under pressure to speak out against the socialist regime he previously claimed showed a 'better way of doing things'. While the Labour appears to have taken a vow of silence, his shadow cabinet are at least proving more forthcoming. This evening top Corbyn ally Chris Williamson appearing on Newsnight, alongside former Labour MP Tom Harris, to discuss recent events. However, rather than just condemn Maduro's regime, the shadow minister went on the offensive about America. Asked about the political turmoil in Venezuela, Williamson was quick to blame the USA before going on to blame the pesky media: http://www.

Oh dear. We're one day into August – also known as 'silly season' – and Cat Smith has stepped up to the plate so journalists don't have to. The shadow minister for voter engagement and youth affairs has penned a blog for the Huffington Post in which she makes the case for lowering the voting age to sixteen. Her argument? If you're 16-years-old you can have sexual intercourse with your MP... but you can't vote for them: https://twitter.com/CatSmithMP/status/892088118219812864 Putting aside whether this is the best message to be putting out at a time when female MPs have raised concern over abuse, Mr S doubts her claim regarding this great injustice even adds up.

Since Theresa May lost her Tory majority in the snap election, few of her MPs have been more critical of the Prime Minister than Heidi Allen. The MP for South Cambridgeshire has predicted that May will be gone within six months – and said in a speech in the Commons that she could 'barely put into words' her anger at her party's deal with the DUP. Is Allen now distancing herself from the party? There is no mention of the Conservative party in Allen's Twitter bio, and now her attendance at this year's Tory conference is up in the air. The Tory MP tells Bright Blue, the Conservative think tank, that she's 'not certain' she will attend: 'She'd certainly be better suited to being an independent,' mutters one put-out Tory.

Last week, Sir Vince Cable was appointed – unchallenged – as leader of the Liberal Democrats. While some in the party would have preferred a younger leader or at the very least a two-horse race, there is one thing they can all agree on: Cable comes with less baggage than his predecessor. There is a general consensus that the party's 'liberal' appeal was not helped in the election by Tim Farron spending so much time talking about how gay sex and abortion fitted in with his Christian faith. But is it too early for the Lib Dems to breath a collective sigh of relief? A little (yellow) bird tells Steerpike that there is concern at Lib Dem towers that Farron could cause the party more issues yet.

The Conservatives are back on the front foot. After Jeremy Corbyn appeared to row back on an election promise over the weekend that his party would abolish pre-existing student debt, Labour have been under attack in the press. Now brains at CCHQ have released an attack ad on the issue and it will not make for pleasant viewing at Labour towers: https://twitter.com/Conservatives/status/889547927609380864 Labour MPs and activists are trying to play down Corbyn's election comments to NME magazine – claiming that when Corbyn said he would 'deal with' pre-existing student debt there was no suggestion the party would actually do anything about it. However, some MPs may want to look at their own timelines before proceeding with this line of argument: https://twitter.

This weekend, Jeremy Corbyn was full of beans during an appearance on the Andrew Marr show. As well as frank comments on immigration and student debt, the Labour leader found time to turn his ire on the BBC over the gender pay gap. Discussing the disclosure that two thirds of the corporation's highest earners are men, Corbyn said the Beeb needs to 'look very hard at itself' – adding that a Labour government would insist on a pay audit of every organisation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1pvY_Tbmc Strong words indeed. But is Corbyn just repeating empty platitudes? This time last year, Corbyn made a similar pledge.

On Thursday, Diane Abbott came unstuck in an interview with ITV News after she failed to explain how Labour would pay for its policy to put 10,000 more bobbies on the beat. The shadow home secretary's confusion was particularly telling given that she struggled with the same policy during the general election campaign – with a car crash interview on LBC. Abbott has since said that it was the broadcaster who was at fault for daring to ask her to go into specifics on a party policy. But have the powers that be taken a different view? Mr S only asks after the line-up for Radio 4's Westminster Hour was changed last minute. On Friday, Abbott was scheduled to join: https://twitter.

Although Theresa May's former co-chiefs of staff – Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill – both swiftly exited No 10 following the disastrous election result, there are some Conservatives who fret that her Rottweilers still hold influence from afar. So Mr S was curious to come across the latest offering to Eye Spy MP. A follower claims they spied Timothy enjoying a pint with none other than Michael Gove on Thursday night: https://twitter.com/eyespymp/status/888350069296156672 Surely it was just a case of two old friends catching up?