Steerpike

Is Keir Starmer a Tory? That's the question much of Westminster is asking after his recent talk of welfare cuts, planning reform and raiding the aid budget to pay for defence. But while the Labour leader seems happy to talk the talk, some of his ministers are less keen to walk the walk. For while the PM was trumpeting his plans yesterday to abolish NHS England, it should be noted that his government has created at least 27 new quangos since July 2024. Hardly a bonfire eh? Among those new vehicles created is the ironically-named Office of Value for Money: a body whose first act ought to have been recommending immediate self-immolation. Alas, it limps on, under the chairmanship of the man who saw the 2012 Olympics budget treble on his watch.

Well, well, well. After Guido Fawkes revealed that Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds had previously – and inaccurately – referred to himself as a solicitor, the Labour man has now been forced to rather publicly correct the record. While the Stalybridge and Hyde MP did receive solicitor training at Addleshaw Goddard for ten months, he left without qualifying to pursue a political career. Yet, similar to another of his colleagues, Reynolds was later found to have embellished his CV – even referring to himself as a 'solicitor' in a spoken contribution in the Commons. Not only has Reynolds never been registered on the Solicitors Regulation Authority's register, the job title is legally protected – and using it incorrectly puts one at odds with the Solicitors Act 1974.

There's drama in Labourland today as one backbencher appears to have had second thoughts about her stance on benefits payments – after the Get Britain Working group's open letter went out with her name on it. The letter, which has called upon Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to introduce a 'new social contract' to get disability benefit claimants back to work, has ruffled feathers both with left-wing MPs and, er, one of its own signatories. Allison Gardner has taken to social media today to fume that her name 'shouldn't have been added' to the petition and assure her constituents she has requested its removal. Talk about a reverse ferret, eh? Slamming the note, Gardner raged: My name shouldn't have been added to that letter.

Today brings the news that the flailing Guardian Media Group has had to pay out ‘substantial damages’ to The Spectator’s Douglas Murray – after the Observer was found to have defamed him. In a court statement, lawyers for the paper said it ‘apologises unreservedly’ for the ‘false’ allegations it made about Murray in a piece about last summer’s riots. Oh dear… Last August, the Sunday newspaper published an article by journalist Kenan Malik on the summer riots, titled: ‘The roots of this unrest lie in the warping of genuine working class grievances.’ In his piece, Malik alluded to an interview between Murray and the ex-deputy prime minister of Australia John Anderson – in which the pair discussed Israel, Islam and immigration.

To the Covid Inquiry, the longest-running farce outside of the West End. With costs for the great gravy train now expected to top £200 million, Fleet Street hacks are certainly getting their money's worth. There was the mammoth grilling of a brooding Boris Johnson in December 2023. The ritual humiliation of 'simple' Simon Case back in May. And the spectacular sniping of Matt Hancock too at which the former Health Secretary concluded almost everyone was to blame except, er, himself! So who would be the latest ex-politician to enter into the crosshairs of Baroness Hallett today? Step forward Michael Gove, up before the inquiry to face questions about his role in Covid contracts.

Oh dear, it looks like the civil war engulfing Reform UK is showing no sign of simmering down. On Friday, the political party currently leading in the polls went into complete meltdown after it announced that it had reported one of its MPs, Rupert Lowe, to the police and was suspending the whip. Party chairman Zia Yusuf and chief whip Lee Anderson alleged that they had received complaints about serious bullying from Lowe, and accused him of making ‘threats of physical violence against our Party Chairman.’ For his part, Lowe has completely denied the allegations which he says are ‘untrue and false’ and says he is seeking legal advice.

It's a day ending in 'y', which means the Scottish Nats are arguing amongst themselves again. Ex-SNP MP Mhairi Black has taken a pop at the party's former Dear Leader Nicola Sturgeon in a new BBC documentary released this week about her time in politics. In the programme – in which Black blasts Westminster culture and laments the toll it took on her mental health – the outspoken nationalist took a pop at Sturgeon over the SNP's careerist culture. In the Beeb's new show, one of Black's friends read out an article about the former first minister's comments that there were too many careerists in the Scottish National party.

Oh dear. Poor Richard Tice is the latest politician to have an embarrassing memory lapse. During his first trip to Scotland of 2025, the Boston and Skegness MP appeared in Glasgow this morning to reveal his party’s newest defectors. Except, er, he couldn’t quite remember their names… When he was grilled by one Scottish hack about the surnames of new recruits ‘John and Ross’, Tice couldn’t recall them. In fact, the party’s deputy leader didn’t appear to know all that much about the pair at all. ‘What are their surnames?’ the journalist pressed. ‘I’m answering policy questions,’ an irate Tice shot back. An excruciating back-and-forth ensued – during which Tice attempted to shrug off the reporter after he quizzed him on which councils his defectors were from.