Steerpike

Although David Cameron is keen to suggest of late that the dubious bunch backing Brexit includes Vladimir Putin and Isis, he may have more trouble brushing aside the latest figure to support Leave. The Prime Ministers former director of strategy Steve Hilton has penned an article for the Daily Mail in which he reveals why Britain 'must' quit the EU. Hilton -- who is one of Cameron's closest friends -- says the UK is ‘literally ungovernable’ as a democracy while it remains in the EU: ‘I believe it is [about] taking back power from arrogant, unaccountable, hubristic elites and putting it where it belongs – in people’s hands.’ Hilton also takes aim at the results of Cameron's renegotiation.

Oh dear. Spare a thought for whichever bright spark at Labour HQ is responsible for today's email on the EU referendum. The message -- which has been sent out to party supporters -- asks voters to help Labour campaign to remain in the EU. To do this, they are keen to take the personal approach -- inviting readers to share the reasons they will be voting In. The email also urges recipients to donate money. Alas, a technical glitch means that the email has struck the wrong chord with would-be supporters. Instead of individually addressing each email to the recipient by name, all the emails begin with 'Dear Firstname': A second email has since been sent out presumably with the aim of correcting the technical blunder. Alas, this email also begins 'Dear Fristname'.

In the General Election, a number of Labour supporters defected to Ukip over growing concerns that the party was no longer able to address the issue of immigration. Given that uncontrolled immigration is a big issue in the EU referendum debate, Labour's Remain-ers need to win back trust here. Alas, Pat Glass appears to have done the In camp no favours today while out on the campaign trail. The Shadow Europe Minister described a voter she met on the campaign trail in Sawley, Derbyshire, as a 'horrible racist' after they described a Polish family in the area as 'scroungers'. Speaking to BBC Radio Derby, Glass said: 'The very first person I come to was a horrible racist. I’m never coming back to wherever this is.

Labour's high command are not showing themselves to be the most statesman-like of figures today. After Jeremy Corbyn was caught on camera ignoring David Cameron's attempts at conversation, his shadow Defence Secretary struggled to control herself in today's Queen's Speech debate. Emily Thornberry took offence after Cameron described her as a 'shadow defence secretary who doesn’t believe in defence'. She protested to his comments by mouthing 'bollocks' from the Labour frontbench: https://vine.co/v/i0xEIb9Eg9U Mr S suspects that next time she has a point to make in the Commons, Lady Nugee ought to take a more dignified approach when it comes to airing her grievances.

When the SNP 56 were elected to Parliament, they were heralded as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise archaic institution. The nationalists made clear that they were unhappy to be moved to Westminster, let alone indulge in its pleasures. Despite this, they appear to have grown accustomed to their surroundings over time, with reports surfacing of their taste for Parliament's many taxpayer-subsidised bars. Now it appears that other Westminster indulgences are also proving too hard to resist. The Daily Mail reports that Angus MacNeil and Stewart Hosie have both separated from their wives after enjoying the company of the same woman.

Just over a year ago, Ed Miliband had the world at his feet. The MP for Doncaster North was one of the most powerful men in the country -- hoping to lead Labour to victory in the General Election. One lost election later and a lot has changed for Red Ed. Now a backbencher, Miliband doesn't appear to hold much sway anymore -- even in his constituency. Miliband has dropped from number four to number 40 in the Doncaster 'Power List' which lists the 50 most influential movers and shakers in the area. At number 40, Miliband can at least take heart that he has been deemed more influential than Radio Sheffield's Toby Foster as well as Peter Burrows -- the Bishop of Doncaster. As for those who are now more influential than the former Labour leader?

Throughout the EU referendum campaign, Labour figures have been somewhat underwhelmed by the efforts of their party leader to fight for Britain to remain in the EU. However, progress did appear to be made on Monday when Jeremy Corbyn launched Labour's big EU battle bus. The bright red bus will tour Britain for six weeks as they try and rally support for remain. Alas word reaches Steerpike that behind the scenes things are not so rosy. A little birdy tells Mr S that the Labour leader has raised concerns that the bus is not to his taste and is 'too corporate'. The Labour leader apparently takes issue with the sheer size of the vehicle as well as the branding. However, the jury's still out when it comes to whether he is happy with the 'vote remain' message.