Steerpike

To Scotland, where some rather curious polling has been published – suggesting that after next year’s Holyrood election, Reform UK could become the largest opposition party north of the border. The Survation survey for True North projects the current party of government, the SNP, will become Scotland’s largest party – taking a third of the constituency and regional list vote and winning 58 seats – with Nigel Farage’s lot leapfrogging both the Tories and Scottish Labour to end up in second place, taking a fifth of the vote to end up with 21 seats. It’s quite the turnaround! Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour lot may be punished at next year’s poll for Sir Keir Starmer's unpopular policies, with the reds predicted to take less than a fifth of the vote and win just 18 seats.

Well, well, well. The conflict in the Middle East has caused splits among the Labour lot and now it seems serious divides are forming in the Conservative party over the issue. As reported by the Guardian, it transpires that more than a dozen senior Tory MPs and peers have broken ranks and written to Sir Keir Starmer calling for the UK to immediately recognise Palestine as a state. The seven MPs and six House of Lords grandees have signed a letter that insists 'recognising Palestine would affirm our nation’s commitment to upholding the principles of justice, self-determination and equal rights'.

It's been a whirlwind few days for Sarah Pochin who has become Reform's newest MP after winning the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by just six votes. It was only on Friday morning that Pochin discovered she had clinched the victory in the Labour safe seat – and today, Runcorn's new representative has been sworn in as a Member of Parliament in the Commons. In an excruciatingly close contest, Pochin overturned a 15,000 Labour majority to beat Sir Keir Starmer's candidate to the Cheshire seat. The count took a dramatic turn after 'doubtful' votes led to a recount that saw Nigel Farage's party swoop to victory early on Friday morning. Pochin replaces ex-Labour man Mike Amesbury as the constituency MP, after he was caught on CCTV punching a local.

Uh oh. Commons Leader Lucy Powell has found herself in hot water after making some rather careless remarks on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions yesterday. The Labour politician sparked outrage over her reaction to a point by Tim Montgomerie – the founder of Conservative Home who has since aligned himself with Reform – who brought up a recent Channel 4 documentary on grooming gangs.  Cutting across him, Powell replied: ‘Oh we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we?’ ‘No,’ Montgomerie responded. ‘There was a real issue…’. Not that Powell appeared willing to listen, interrupting again: ‘Let’s get that dog whistle out, shall we?’ Oo er. Talk about flippant!

Prince Harry has said he 'would love a reconciliation' with the Royals after losing a legal challenge over his security in Britain. The Duke of Sussex told the BBC that King Charles 'won't speak to me because of this security stuff', but insisted he would love to get back on speaking terms with his family: 'It would be nice to reconcile,' he said. 'There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,' said Prince Harry 'There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,' said Prince Harry. Asked whether his wife Meghan and children would come to Britain, Harry said: 'I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point. And the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything.

Dear oh dear. Rachel Reeves has found herself in yet another spot of bother, as it transpires that the Chancellor is under investigation for a late declaration of theatre tickets. The Labour politician is being probed by Westminster's standards watchdog for belatedly declaring two sets of gifted tickets from the National Theatre after the freebies from last year were only registered last month. How very interesting… Reeves was given free tickets to a December showing of Ballet Shoes last year, worth £276, as well as freebies worth £266 to Nye – about the founder of the NHS – in March 2024. Yet despite MP guidance stating that politicians must declare any hospitality within 28 days of receiving it, Reeves took much longer to record her freebies.

Is the era of political satire over? The Kingston Riverside TownSq venue seems to think so. It transpires that the Surrey events space has cancelled an exhibition of political cartoonists' work called Licence to Offend in case, er, anyone was offended. You couldn't make it up… The Kingston TownSq venue has cancelled an exhibition of political cartoonists' work called Licence to Offend in case, er, anyone was offended. The showing featured work from celebrated newspaper cartoonists including the Spectator's JG Fox, Morten Morland, also formerly of the Spectator, the Mail's Mac and Pugh, and the Guardian's Martin Rowson.