Steerpike

Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

Jeremy Corbyn’s new Shadow Defence Secretary goes MIA on first day

Given the flak that Tom Watson  received for partying until 4am at Glastonbury on Saturday as his party imploded, one could be forgiven for thinking that any remaining Labour MPs at the annual festival would have got out of there as soon as possible. However, there is a rumour doing the rounds that Corbyn's new Shadow Defence Secretary Clive Lewis will not make it to Defence Questions today as he is... still on his way back from Glastonbury. While Lewis's office is yet to respond to Mr S's request for comment, Corbyn can take heart that the Labour MP has at least been flying the flag for him at the music festival.

Sam Cam’s sister switches sides over Brexit – ‘how quickly can I join the Labour party?’

Ahead of the EU referendum, David Cameron's sister-in-law declared that she would never vote Conservative again if Leave won. Now that Brexit is firmly on the agenda -- and her brother-in-law set to stand down -- Emily Sheffield is preparing to join the Labour party. Samantha Cameron's sister has taken to Twitter to ask how quickly she can join, adding that she only ever voted Conservative for David: While this news doesn't come as a huge surprise -- given that she tweeted a Sadiq Khan campaign messages during the London mayoral election -- it does beg the question of her sister's voting preference. After all, back in 2010 Ed Vaizey claimed that Samantha 'may have voted Labour' in the past. Will she too be tempted to vote red now the Brexiteers have won?

Simon Danczuk comes to Jeremy Corbyn’s rescue

Today Jeremy Corbyn has had not one, not two, not three but ten Shadow Cabinet members hand in their resignation. What's more, with a growing number of Labour MPs confessing to having lost faith in the Labour leader over the EU referendum result, he now faces a difficult task trying to fill the vacancies. Happily, one man has nobly volunteered his services. Step forward Simon Danczuk: https://twitter.com/SimonDanczuk/status/747096352568512512 Yes, the MP -- who has proved to be a thorn in Corbyn's side ever since he was elected as Labour leader -- has declared that he is 'prepared to serve'. It's unlikely Corbyn will be too eager to take him up on the offer given that Danczuk regularly writes articles for the tabloids in which he documents their private conversations.

What Labour coup? Tom Watson parties the night away at Glastonbury

As Jeremy Corbyn tries to hold off the threat of a coup from members of his shadow cabinet, it's probably for the best that he pulled out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury today. However, not everyone in Labour's top command appears to have received the memo about putting the party's woes above the annual music festival. Step forward Tom Watson. Labour's deputy leader had no qualms about living it up at Worthy Farm last night. In fact, Labour's worries over Europe appeared to be far from Watson's mind as he used snapchat to document his crazy night on the -- muddy -- tiles: https://twitter.com/SophyRidgeSky/status/746998561687109632 https://twitter.

Watch: Jeremy Corbyn heckled over Europe at London Pride – ‘it’s your fault!’

It's not turning out to be a great weekend for Jeremy Corbyn. First he had to pull out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury on Sunday to focus on Brexit, now his visit to London Pride has, too, been ruined by the referendum result. On meeting with members of Labour's LGBT community at Pride, Corbyn was repeatedly heckled over Remain losing the EU referendum. In a video shared on Twitter, Labour members repeatedly shout at the party leader: 'It's your fault Jeremy! It's your fault! When are you resigning? I had a Polish friend in tears because you couldn't get out the vote in Wales, the North and the Midlands.' https://twitter.com/TomMauchline/status/746674742204239872 https://twitter.

Breaking: Jeremy Corbyn cancels his Glastonbury gig

Given that the result of the EU referendum was likely to have a monumental impact whatever the outcome, Jeremy Corbyn's plan to speak at this weekend's Glastonbury festival was always a curious choice. Now faced with Labour MPs calling for his removal, it seems Corbyn has had second thoughts. The Labour leader has pulled out of his planned appearance at Glastonbury festival on Sunday to focus on the issues thrown up by the 'momentous' EU result. The news will just add to the woes of its festival-goers. When the result reached Worthy Farm this morning, tears were shed across the site. Mr S has since been passed a photo of an article on the matter from the Glastonbury Free Press.

Andrew Cooper bizarrely sets bar for Cameron: win referendum by 10 points

In last year's general election, Andrew Cooper was left red-faced after his firm Populus's final 'prediction' of a 0.5 per cent chance of David Cameron winning a Tory majority turned out to be somewhat, em, pessimistic. Since then, Lord Cooper of 0.5 per cent has been on a PR offensive in an attempt to rebrand himself as the next Lynton Crosby -- helped by his pal and former flatmate Lord Fink. So, with another election result looming, one could be forgiven for thinking Cooper may wish to be a bit more circumspect this time. It seems not. Today Populus has sent round its final poll for the EU referendum, showing that Remain should win by an astonishing ten points.

Is it a case of Tim-Nice-But-Dim for Remain?

Another day, another Brexit poll. This time YouGov claim to have discovered what a name can tell you about someone's voting tendency. If you're called Sheila or Graham you're most likely to vote Leave, whereas those by the name of Kathryn and Samantha are most likely to fall into the undecided category. However, the poll finding that caught Mr S's eye relates to Remain. It claims that when it comes to men, those by the name of Tim are most likely to plump for In. So, is it a case of Tim-Nice-But-Dim for Remain?

The Queen’s Brexit challenge to dinner guests: ‘give me three good reasons why Britain should be part of Europe’

Although the Sun were only recently found guilty of 'significantly misleading' its readers with its 'Queen backs Brexit' splash, it seems the red top was onto something after all. While the paper reported that Her Majesty had expressed Eurosceptic views at a private meeting prior to a referendum being on the table, it appears that she does still harbour doubts when it comes to the EU. The Queen's biographer, Robert Lacey, reports that Her Majesty has been presenting her dinner guests with a special EU challenge of late. She has reportedly asked dinner companions: 'Give me three good reasons why Britain should be part of Europe'.

Breaking: Stuart Rose manages to be of help to Remain

It's fair to say that Stuart Rose has not been of huge help to Remain in the EU referendum. Despite being tasked with heading up ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’, Rose has made a series of comments that have boosted the other side. Meanwhile in recent weeks he has retreated from the media spotlight, instead seeking solace in private members' clubs. Happily, Mr S can now report that Rose has managed to be of assistance to the In campaign in the form of cold, hard cash. A man by the name of Stuart Rose has popped up in the Electoral Commission’s summary of recent donations. Rose contributed £24,756 to the cause.

Another day, another private members’ club visit for Stuart Rose

In recent weeks, there has been a genuine concern among Brexiteers that the In campaign are hiding Stuart Rose out of harm's way in a secret location. The hapless Britain Stronger in Europe chairman has all but disappeared from the media spotlight after a series of campaign blunders -- from forgetting the name of his own campaign group to mistaking Sweden for Switzerland. Despite this, Rose has become a topic of conversation in nearly every EU television debate thanks to his less than helpful claim that wages would actually rise in the event of Brexit. So, Mr S was relieved to locate Rose just last week -- sun-kissed and smiling at a fashion bash at Mark's Club for London Collections.

How Sayeeda Warsi duped The Times

Today The Times have splashed on the revelation that Baroness Warsi is defecting from Out to In as a result of the 'hate and xenophobia' peddled by Leave. Given that the paper have run the news on its front page, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Leave camp really are 'in turmoil' over the defection of a 'leading Tory'. Only there is a small snag. Vote Leave say they were never aware she was a supporter, while Dan Hannan says Warsi declined his invitation for her to join the Leave campaign: https://twitter.com/DanHannanMEP/status/744648993381191680 Now even The Times don't seem so sure about the report.

Sam Cam’s sister vows never to vote Tory again if Leave win

There's a lot at stake for David Cameron when it comes to the EU referendum. As well as having to try to mend party divisions, a vote for Brexit could bring an end to Cameron's time as Prime Minister. Now he has another problem to deal with should the nation vote to leave -- his sister-in-law will never vote for his party again. Although Cameron can at least count on Emily Sheffield's support in the EU referendum, this will change if Leave win. Samantha Cameron's sister -- who is the deputy editor of Vogue -- has been doing her best of late to motivate voters to back Remain. Alas if things don't go to plan on Thursday, she has vowed to never vote for the Tories again.

Whitto reveals how he got his black-eye

Aside from the EU debate, it's John Whittingdale who has become the talk of the Commons this week thanks to the black-eye he's been sporting. While there has been much speculation as to how he came to get the bruise, his aides have insisted that it was simply won through an altercation with a lamp post. Tonight at the UK Music summer party, the Culture Secretary's colleague Nigel Adams -- chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Music -- appeared to hint at another cause. 'Let's welcome our fantastic secretary of state, who you will see got on the wrong side of an argument with a remain-er in the last week or two,' Adams joshed to partygoers in the Lords. Happily Whitto was on hand to put forward his version of events, in his party speech.

Watch: Andrew Neil grills Ed Vaizey for a second time over George Osborne’s EU spin

The last time Ed Vaizey appeared on the Daily Politics to defend one of George Osborne's dodgy dossiers, the result was not pretty. The culture minister's bumbling performance was compared to that of The Thick of It's Ben Swain, in his Newsnight interview. So, it was an interesting decision to send Vaizey back onto the airwaves today to defend Osborne's new Brexit 'punishment budget'. With the Chancellor of the Exchequer promising to go back on election promises and raise taxes if the people dare to vote for Brexit, Andrew Neil put to Vaizey that it didn't add up: AN: Why does a shallow recession result in this massive punishment in tax rises and spending cuts amounting to 30 billion?

Battle of the Thames! Nigel Farage and Bob Geldof take their EU differences to the river

Forget the big EU debates, the most important face-off ahead of polling day is playing out on the Thames right now. Nigel Farage has taken to the water today as part of a Brexit flotilla, organised by the Fishing for Leave campaign. The stunt sees Scottish skippers boarding Brexit boats as they make the case for Out. https://twitter.com/kayaburgess/status/743012072976470016 However, not wanting to be outdone, the Remain camp are fighting back with their own attempt at some gentle naval warfare. Bob Geldof is leading the charge today -- sharing an In boat with Rachel Johnson. He has attempted to win over voters by playing Chicago's 'If you leave me now' at full volume from the vessel. Alas Mr S understands that not everyone is so impressed by Geldof's efforts.

Hapless Remain chief makes a comeback… to attend fashion bash

With the Remain camp now seen to be lagging behind Leave both in terms of momentum and polling, it's a case of all hands on deck with the In crowd. However, as Mr S has previously noted, Britain Stronger in Europe's chairman Stuart Rose has been nowhere to be seen of late. After a number of embarrassing slips -- from claiming wages would rise if Britain leaves the EU to forgetting the name of his own group -- Rose has retreated from the limelight. However as polling day nears, Remain-ers can take heart that he has made a return to the spotlight. Only rather than getting out on the campaign trail, Rose instead decided to go to a fashion party at Mark's Club for London Collections.

Owen Jones fails to practise what he preaches on LGBT voices

In the aftermath of the Orlando shootings, Owen Jones appeared on the Sky News paper review on Sunday night to share his thoughts on the terrorist attack which left 49 dead. However, he ended up walking off set live on-air after growing frustrated over the broadcaster’s refusal to describe the shooting as an attack on LGBT people. Since then, Jones has penned a piece for the Guardian calling for the media focus to be on homophobia as the LGBT community try to deal with this attempt at the 'erasure' of their people. However, it turns out that Jones isn't so fussed about the silencing of certain members of the LGBT community.

Listen: Priti Patel’s robotic turn on Today – ‘let me be clear!’

Oh dear. Although Leave are currently speeding ahead of Remain in the polls, now is not the time for the Out campaign to rest on their laurels. Alas Priti Patel's performance on the Today show this morning is unlikely to do them any favours. The work and pensions minister was taken to task by Mishal Husain on the BBC  programme over Vote Leave's spending promises. When Husain put to Patel that the Out campaign were making spending promises they lacked the authority to see through, a defensive Patel responded by putting in a robotic performance.