Steerpike

When Vince Cable lost his seat to the Tories in the general election, it was a a victory that brought much entertainment to the Conservatives, with David Cameron's former head of strategy Steve Hilton making light of it at his book launch. Now, the Liberal Democrats finally have reason for cheer, and while it might not be the election they had hoped to win, they have finally beaten the Tories in one battle. After Tania Mathias, who won the Twickenham seat for the Tories in the election, gave up her council seat in Hampton Wick, a by-election took place yesterday. Despite the ward being a traditional Tory stronghold, the party failed to retain the seat, and Lib Dem candidate Geraldine Locke won it by just over 100 votes: https://twitter.

When George Osborne covered for David Cameron at PMQs last month, it was seen as his chance to prove to his critics that he was prime ministerial material. Alas, his attempt at a joke about Labour's Bennites in answer to a question from Hilary Benn about suicide bombers has hit a particularly sour note with Labour.

Ed Miliband was praised for his integrity by George Osborne after he returned to the Commons and gave a speech so soon after his election defeat. Although the Conservatives have been happy to pile on the praise towards their old foe, Mr S suspects their enthusiasm will begin to wear thin by the end of the week. The former Labour leader is to dip his toe back into frontline politics by leading a commons debate tomorrow on Hatfield Colliery, the Doncaster coal mine which is closing this week leading to the loss of 430 jobs. Judging by Miliband comments so far on the mine's early closure, the Tories will be in for a rough ride during the adjournment debate: https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/615761740081410049 https://twitter.

After Dennis Skinner successfully won the SNP turf war over his favoured seat in the Commons, the Labour backbencher has been relatively quiet of late. So Mr S was pleased to see him back on fighting form this lunchtime during Business Questions. In what could only be described as an ambitious move, the Beast of Bolsover decided to take on Anna Soubry over George Osborne's pet project, the Northern Powerhouse.

Never let it be said that Jeremy Corbyn is the most anti-business of the four Labour leadership candidates. The left-wing politician appeared to endorse BT today on Twitter: So, is this corporate sponsorship for his campaign, a tech-savvy leadership pledge or simply the result of a Twitter hack? Given that he has since deleted the tweet, Mr S suspects the latter.

After anti-austerity protesters turned on Russell Brand for endorsing Labour at a protest on Saturday, it was only a matter of time til Ed Miliband faced a similar backlash over his party's defeat. Alas for Miliband, his takes musical form. Sleaford Mods - the working class mod band - have attacked the former Labour leader in their new album, with the song In Quiet Streets: 'Miliband got hit with the ugly stick, not that it matters. The chirping c--t obviously wants the country in tatters' Boris Johnson is also in their firing line with the song Rupert Trousers inspired by his speech at last year’s party conference, where he used a brick to demonstrate his plan to build more homes.

These are dark days for the Labour party, following their brutal election defeat and the recent turmoil within the party. For Miliband in particular, the pain of the past few months must be particularly acute. Still, there's at least one area of politics he can draw comfort from: Milifandom. Abby Tomlinson, the founder of the cult movement, has today met her idol at the Palace of Westminster. There's life in the movement yet, it seems: https://twitter.com/twcuddleston/status/614044576488247296/photo/1 https://twitter.com/Ed_Miliband/status/614043740467011584 Tomlinson became quite a star during the election, following a spat with Louise Mensch and a number of opinion pieces written about her strange obsession.

Amal Clooney has been giving Westminster an unusual touch of glamour this week, with the world's most famous female barrister putting them away in the Red Lion pub on Monday night. In a pub normally dominated by spotty parliamentary researchers and ale swilling trade unionists, it wasn't hard for the human rights barrister to cause a bit of a stir. 'I played it cool,' says Mr S's spy in the watering hole. While Steerpike hears the woman that managed to tame Hollywood heart throb George Clooney, has been appearing at the Supreme Court, on Parliament Square, today she has found time to visit the House of Commons to see PMQs: https://twitter.com/LOS_Fisher/status/613662643690340353 Mr S expects a picture of Amal with the Speaker to appear any moment now.

Lord Chancellor Michael Gove was criticised over the weekend for issuing a set of grammar rules for civil servants. The list, which appeared on the Ministry of Justice intranet, warned staff to refrain from beginning sentences with 'however' and using the words 'ensure' and 'unnecessary'. It also encouraged civil servants to avoid excessive use of hyphens. Not everyone was enamoured by his guidelines; the Guardian likened him to a Harry Enfield character, while Oliver Kamm claimed in the Times this morning that his grammar rules were simply nonsense.