Steerpike

While Number 10 has refused to comment on the claims made in Lord Ashcroft's David Cameron biography, the Prime Minister did manage to make a small reference to the book at a dinner last night at the Carlton Club. James Landale, the BBC's deputy political editor, says that Cameron appeared to acknowledge his old foe Ashcroft's book -- which includes accusations of drug taking and intimate relations with a dead pig -- during a speech at a Conservative fundraising dinner at the London club: 'He told the 300 guests that he had had to go to hospital earlier in the day for a bad back, the result of some over-energetic wood chopping in his constituency at the weekend. The surgeon told Mr Cameron that he would need an injection and asked him to lie on his front.

With the Downing Street press office declining to comment today on allegations from Lord Ashcroft involving the Prime Minister and a dead pig, Labour has also stayed quiet over the claims. However, members of the Labour press office were unable to resist ignoring the alleged incident completely, with press officers giving out sweets to hard-working lobby journalists. The choice of candy? Percy Pigs, of course.

Ahead of the Labour leadership election result, David Cameron warned that Jeremy Corbyn would take Britain back 'to the days of Michael Foot and Arthur Scargill' if elected. Well, a week into Corbyn's leadership of the party -- and several gaffes later -- it turns out that there is one small snag with regards to Cameron's premonition; Corbyn is just not left wing enough. Arthur Scargill -- who founded his own Socialist Labour Party after the party changed the wording of Clause IV -- says Corbyn is 'not left wing enough to lure people back to Labour'. https://twitter.

Mhairi Black won millions of fans with her maiden speech in Parliament criticising George Osborne over his cuts to the welfare system. However, today she has offered the nation a glimpse of her softer side, professing her love for Titanic. In a somewhat bizarre interview with Jon Snow, Black plays My Heart Will Go On -- the theme from the blockbuster film -- on a piano which just happens to be in the interview room: “I’ve always been obsessed with Titanic…it's one of the few areas of my life there's not politics". The SNP’s Mhairi Black MP spoke to Jon Snow on the anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum.

Jeremy Corbyn's first PLP meeting as the leader of the Labour party got off to a shaky start as MPs failed to applaud him. Happily, the attention was soon taken away from him, as a row erupted between his shadow international development minister and a Labour backbencher. Diane Abbott attempted to scold the newbie Labour MP Jess Phillips for asking a 'sanctimonious' question about why all the top four shadow cabinet jobs had gone to men. With Phillips telling Abbott to 'f--- off', Corbyn has since been criticised for not stepping in to stop the argument. Today's Times suggests that Corbyn's romantic fling with Abbott back in the 70s could have played a factor in his decision.

Many on the right have raised concerns that a Jeremy Corbyn led opposition could force the government to lurch more to the left in order to pick up votes from disillusioned Labour supporters. But with Corbyn already making waves by hiring a socialist shadow chancellor as well as a vegan shadow Defra secretary, will David Cameron take inspiration from their appointments? Judging by an article written by Cameron that was published today, they could be onto something when it comes to the environment at least. The Prime Minister has listed his favourite children's book in a piece for the activity group Super Camps.

Ahead of the general election, David Cameron used a fire metaphor to describe what he offered the nation in comparison to the chaos — he claimed — Ed Miliband would unleash on the country: 'I feel like the firefighter, hosing down the burning building, and there's Ed Miliband - the arsonist - saying "why aren't you doing it quicker?"' Well, Miliband may be gone but the threat of fire certainly hasn't. With Corbyn just three days into his leadership, rumours abound that many staff members may face the axe under the new regime. However, it was another disaster which caused Labour bods to flee their office this afternoon. Staff were evacuated from the Labour headquarters in Brewers Green in Westminster over the threat of a fire in a neighbouring building.