Steerpike

If you're going to sell out to the establishment, you might as well do so on an industrial scale. As the PM told the Guido Fawkes blog's ten -ear anniversary party at the Institute of Directors last night, via video link, 'what better way' to celebrate 'rejecting' the cosy political classes than a posh dinner of caviar and champagne in the heart of Westminster. Guy Fawkes would have been turning in his grave, as cabinet ministers including Francis Maude and Liz Truss, and mysterious billionaires such as Michael Hintze and Lord Ashcroft, along with 200 of Westminster's finest, came to pay homage to a decade of sniping from waspish troublemakers. The Mayor of London, the star turn, was in usual form, conceding that eventually all politicians end up talking to terrorists.

Phillip Blond, sporting tinted specs for this morning's devolution debate, is famed in the wonkier side of Westminster for his unique style. The self-styled 'Red Tory', who split with the Cameroons in favour of 'a new Tory economics that distributed property, market access and educational excellence to all', has his shirts and jackets handmade, adding a splash of colour to the somewhat drab think-tank world. There is even a musical tribute to the 'intellectual curio of the Conservative Party' and his clothes: Though Mr S thought it only kind to point out that you're meant to give those glasses back at the end of the film, Phillip.

Al Gore is an unlikely source of inspiration for Ukip - in fact the party once pledged to ban the former Vice President's controversial climate change documentary from schools, calling it dangerous global warming 'propaganda'. But might they have more in common than either of them would care to admit? During the count for the Heywood and Middleton by-election last night, Nigel Farage conceded defeat in the race early in the night, only to demand a recount hours later once it started looking very tight; just as Al Gore did in the 2000 US election. Not that it did either of them much good.

Douglas Carswell is not like normal politicians; he’s authentic, genuine and in touch with real people. Or so the spin goes. So what was today’s by-election-day stunt at a polling station in Clacton all about? Emerging with his thumbs up, Ukip’s soon-to-be-MP for Clacton looked every inch the candidate, taking part in the usual election-day voting photocall. Except Carswell is not eligible to vote in the constituency, as he lives in Fulham and rents a house that falls just outside the boundary of the seat. And surely the authentic and genuine Mr Carswell did not deliberately leave the village where he really lives off of the statement-of-persons document that anyone standing for Parliament has to fill in?

Far from it being Mr Steerpike's prerogative to call a former editor of the Spectator a wally, he was rather amused by Boris's latest escapade. Now we can all relive those classic moments when the Mayor of London was hunting for a seat in Parliament, with 'Where's Boris?' - a Wally-style search-and-find picture book, out next month from Orion. Another step toward immortality for BoJo. How many other wannabe PMs have made it into children's book hero format?

What exactly is going on with Nick Clegg’s conference get-up in Glasgow? As of this writing, the Deputy Prime Minister is wearing his third outfit of the day -- casual jeans and a dark shirt. Mr S is sure he’s seen something similar to this hideous apparel somewhere before. Given the Liberal Democrats are spending this week laying into the Tories as part of the differentiation strategy from their coalition parties, was it really wise for their leader to dress up in his own version of David Cameron’s much lampooned holiday gear?

After David Cameron’s conference speech, Mr S noticed a YouTube video of the Prime Minister all over Facebook and Twitter. For a moment it looked like a great coup for Cameron. Except the video wasn’t showing Cameron’s actual speech but rather a ‘comic’ hip-hop mashup of his words. It features the Prime Minister’s Home Counties accent rapping the lines ‘I’m hardcore/I know the score/and I’m disgusted with the poor’ to the bouncy beat of Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’. Strong flow and excellent lyricism from MC Dave but sadly not the election winning stuff that he hoped for. Cassetteboy’s ‘Cameron Conference Rap’ video has racked up two million views in only 3 days.

Many Tories had begun to wonder where Michael Gove had got to. The Chief Whip’s move from the Department for Education was heralded with a briefing that he would be doing far more broadcasting, representing the government front and centre on the airwaves. However, there was only silence. Though he has been dealing with defections and whipping up the air strike vote, the darling of Tory conferences past was mysteriously missing from the official platform schedule in Birmingham. Until this afternoon. Taking to the stage to introduce the Prime Minister, Gove received the warmest applause yet from the crowd. The left loathe Michael Gove, something that only bolsters his credentials in Tory-land.