Steerpike

The Conservatives' black-tie billionaire-laden black-and-white ball ain't what it used to be. Although Nigella Lawson's former personal assistant once complained that she would 'rather go to jail than live in Battersea', top Tories had to brush such qualms aside as they headed to Battersea Evolution for the annual fundraiser. Happily Mr S had a mole on the inside to keep him up to date on the new look event. In keeping with Theresa May's 'just about managing' agenda, activists were bussed in on cut-price £75 tickets to join the millionaires and frontbenchers at the event. In that vein, the pricier items -- including a private cabaret performance and grouse shooting weekend -- were placed on a silent digital auction.

This afternoon, Theresa May appeared in the Commons to update MPs on her trip to Malta for the EU summit. One of the topics brought up in the session was the UK's attitude to Russia -- and the threat from Putin to Europe. The Prime Minister went on to explain that concerns had been raised at the summit over the role Russia is playing. However, this did little to satisfy Emily Thornberry, who went on to heckle May -- questioning whether the Prime Minister had raised any concerns herself. Happily May was on hand to slap her down -- opting to refer to Thornberry by her official title: 'The shadow foreign secretary is shouting at me 'by you?' Yes, Lady Nugee, by me.' Claws out in Westminster...

After Diane Abbott missed the Article 50 vote thanks to ‘a migraine’, her comrade John Mann accused the shadow home secretary of ‘bottling it’ over Brexit. Since then, a #PrayForDiane email has been doing the rounds among Labour MPs. In a further sign that Abbott's claims of suffering are not being taken entirely seriously by her party, Caroline Flint has just put the boot in on Peston on Sunday. The Labour MP suggested Abbott's migraine was really a case of 'Brexit flu': ‘We used to have man flu, now we have Brexit flu - that Diane has created here.' Flint went on to say that Abbott ought to resign if she can't support Corbyn on Article 50. Tomorrow's PLP meeting should be lively...

Oh dear. Earlier this week, Mr S reported that Derek Hatton -- the ‘socialist firebrand’ who joined Labour with the Trotskyist group Militant (before being expelled) -- had turned on Jeremy Corbyn. The former Corbynite said the Labour leader's Article 50 stance showed 'a real lack of leadership'. In a further sign that Corbyn is losing support among the hard left, Owen Jones has used an interview with the Standard to declare that he would 'find it hard to vote for Corbyn'. Jones, who originally championed Corbyn's leadership bid, has been critical of the Labour leader of late -- but did still vote for him in the most recent leadership election. Alas he's not so sure he would do it again: 'The Left has failed badly. I’d find it hard to vote for Corbyn.

Oh dear. With Diane Abbott currently off work with 'a migraine', the shadow home secretary is facing a growing work headache. After missing the Article 50 vote due to illness, questions have been raised over Abbott's ability to speak at a Westminster Hall debate just three hours before falling so ill she could not vote. But surely her comrades have her back at this difficult time? Apparently not. Labour's John Mann has taken to the airwaves to lambast Abbott for 'bottling it' over Brexit: 'It's quite extraordinary. We have some very, very ill people who turned up to Parliament to vote yesterday, who are so sick they've not been able to carry on their work as MPs. They made it there and they voted and she gave herself a sick note at 5pm. I think we know what's going on here.

It's tough being a woman in the Labour party. As well as having little chance of becoming party leader, it seems that those who do get close to power are often not treated with the same courtesy as their male counterparts. At least that's what Harriet Harman thinks. Speaking at a Press Gallery lunch to promote her memoir A Woman's Work, Labour's former deputy leader recalled the occasions on which she had fallen victim to seemingly sexist behaviour during Gordon Brown's premiership. After being elected deputy leader, Harman had thought she would get to sit next to the Prime Minister at Cabinet: 'You're elected deputy leader, amazingly -- against all the odds and against the runaway favourite. You get to be deputy leader.

Although Nicholas Soames recently urged the Foreign Secretary to show more kindness and understanding when dealing with one's opponent, he appears to take a different attitude himself. Winston Churchill's grandson was today reprimanded by the Speaker after it emerged that he had barked at a female SNP MP as she spoke in the chamber. The incident occurred as Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh responded to Boris Johnson's statement on President Trump's visa ban. Ahmed-Sheikh later raised a point of order: 'I understand that the right honourable member for Mid Sussex, who has always afforded me courtesy and respect, was making woof woof sounding noises to what I was saying -- which I find extremely disrespectful.