Steerpike

Another day, another drama – only this time it's not MPs in the spotlight. Now politician-turned-pundit Nadine Dorries has taken aim at journalist Emily Maitlis and her 'cosy "centrist" podcast' The News Agents. In a scathing attack laid out in the fine pages of the Daily Mail, Dorries slams Maitlis's 'neurotic' perspective of politics, her obsession with 'remaining "relevant"' and her, um, 'orange permatan'. Ouch. The former cabinet minister described how she had been invited on Maitlis' podcast only to be asked, charmingly, whether she was ‘unhinged'. 'I had no particular desire to be on The News Agents,' Dorries fumed, continuing: 'I won't tolerate being spoken to like that by a woman with an orange permatan to rival Donald Trump's.

Dear oh dear. With all that's happening in the US Democratic party just now, one might have thought it would be near enough impossible for politicians elsewhere to catch the eye of the media. Well, fascinatingly, the Green party has defied all odds. The eco-zealots have found themselves in the spotlight this afternoon after a series of rather, er, bizarre responses to the news that Joe Biden will not contest the next election. After the US President announced he would be abandoning his re-election campaign on Sunday night, the Green party was quick off the mark with its press release – circulating it within an hour of the news so as not to disappoint those on the edge of their seats waiting to hear what the eco-activist reaction was.

Over the past four years, Joe Biden has featured on 18 covers of The Spectator. They range from the upbeat – the halcyon days of 2020 and 2021 when he swore to restore the world order – to the sombre – such as the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the chaos in the Middle East. Overall though, they clearly tell a tale of a leader in decline, whose fitness for office came to be questioned increasingly loudly throughout his tenure. Eventually, he was unable to silence the doubters no longer, announcing this Sunday that he would not contest the next presidential election. 1 August 2020 Biden edges ahead in the polls as Covid causes the Trump economy to grind to a halt. 7 November 2020 On polling day, Biden triumphs by 306 Electoral College votes to Donald Trump's 232.

Back to the Commons, where Kemi Badenoch has been making waves. The shadow housing secretary has been ruffling feathers in her own party as its attention turns to a looming leadership contest and Badenoch has not been making life easy for opposition politicians either – and this time it's Angela Rayner in the firing line. In just 13 minutes, Badenoch managed to tear apart the new Deputy Prime Minister, her politics and her party. First congratulating her rival on being appointed to such an esteemed position, Badenoch was quick to point out to how Rayner had grown up with a Conservative government, telling the Commons that the Tories will indeed take some of the credit for her success.

To Scotland, where the Scottish Conservatives are facing problems of their own. North of the border, a leadership contest is looming after outgoing leader Douglas Ross announced his resignation mid-campaign. Since then there have been animated discussions about who his successor will be. And while contenders for the UK party are already making their mark, their Scottish counterparts look set for a fiery leadership race too. Current justice spokesperson Russell Findlay MSP is seen by many as the obvious choice, and his colleague Rachael Hamilton has warmly endorsed him – but others in the party have expressed support for potential rival candidate Murdo Fraser.

Today's King's Speech was filled to the brim with bills – the most jam-packed since 2005. While Sir Keir can't be accused of submitting a lightweight list of announcements, some of his political opponents have been quick to criticise. One of these is former prime minister Liz Truss, who is particularly displeased about how much her own name came up in Labour's legislative agenda. Within half an hour of the announcement, Truss took to Twitter with a scathing post about Starmer's plans. Slamming the Prime Minister for having 'no idea about the change Britain needs', the former Conservative leader blasted today's speech for expanding 'the power of the unelected state' and increasing 'red tape'. Oo er. https://twitter.

What is it with Marjorie Taylor Greene and the Brits? First, she advised the-then Foreign Secretary David Cameron to 'kiss my ass.' Then, she told ex-BBC star Emily Maitlis to 'go f**k off'. And now she has pinned the blame for the Trump assassination attempt on, er, British broadcasters at Times Radio. Clearly the spirit of 1776 is alive and well with this one... In an interview with Times Radio reporter Jo Crawford at the Republican National Convention, Greene bristled at criticism of Trump's pick for vice-president, JD Vance. After Crawford asked about Vance previously likening Trump to Hitler, Greene snapped and suggested that the reason 'I have some of the most highest amount of death threats [is] because of people like you.