Steerpike

James Cleverly, the first official Tory leadership contender, has today ruled out a merger with Reform if he becomes Tory leader in November. After announcing his candidacy in an op-ed for the Daily Telegraph, the shadow home secretary was quick to get across the airwaves today. Cleverly secured a prime slot on the Beeb’s Today programme, and it wasn’t long before the former cabinet minister was interrogated on the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party. ‘What do you do about Reform as a party, not just Nigel Farage, but Reform? You’re quite split, aren’t you?’ Justin Webb quizzed the former home secretary. Cleverly was having none of it. ‘The Conservative Party doesn’t do mergers,’ he replied robustly: The simple truth is that we have got a series of principles.

She's back! It was less than three weeks ago that Liz Truss lost her seat after suffering the biggest ever swing from Tory to Labour in a general election. But in true Truss style, she's picked herself up and soldiered on, visiting the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin last week and doing the rounds with U.S broadcasters. In an interview with Fox which has now gone viral she was asked to comment on Kamala Harri's merits – or lack thereof. 'I think there have been some brilliant American women in politics but I don't think Kamala Harris is one of them,' Truss began, noting how failing to control immigration and inflation resulted in a major backlash against her own party. 'Kamala Harris is going to change none of that,' Truss said. 'She’s been there the last four years.

Labour won the election on a campaign of change and its politicians certainly have a knack for, um, changing their minds. Sir Keir has made some fascinating U-turns over the years, and it now appears that Lisa Nandy has a taken a leaf out of his book – rather publicly changing her tune on the culture wars. 'The era of culture wars is over,' Nandy proclaimed in her first speech as Culture Secretary earlier this month. 'For too long, for too many people, the story we tell ourselves about ourselves as a nation has not reflected them, their communities or their lives. This is how polarisation, division and isolation thrives.' Wise words – but has the Culture Secretary heeded them herself? Apparently not.

To Scotland, where the SNP infighting continues. After dozens of nationalist MPs were ditched this month by the electorate, some are already channelling their disappointment at MSP colleagues. It transpires that ex-MP Mhairi Black – who herself announced she was stepping down at this election due to Westminster's 'toxic' culture – has taken aim at Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and her religious beliefs, describing them as ‘archaic’ and ‘extreme’.

Back to Westminster and the looming Tory leadership contest. No one has officially announced their candidacy yet, but the rumour mill is in overdrive as the list of potential runners and riders continues to grow. And who better to pour petrol on the sparks of speculation then Boris Johnson’s longtime ally, Nadine Dorries? She has today taken it upon herself to write a rather public memo to the much-depleted group of (remaining) Tory MPs. ‘These tweets are for Conservative MPs and party members so apologise [sic] for the length in advance,’ she warned her 195,000 Twitter followers, before launching in.

And so now we have it: the first official contender for the Scottish Conservative leadership contest. Russell Findlay, the party’s current justice spokesperson announced this morning that he was throwing his hat into the ring — after his party’s rather underwhelming general election campaign. In a lengthy article for the Scottish Daily Mail, Findlay first paid tribute to former leader Ruth Davidson, hailing her leadership for making the party a serious force in Scottish politics. ‘We need to build on that legacy, not tear it down,’ the shadow justice secretary wrote. A little less kind to the party’s more recent approach, however, Findlay went on: We’ve not been conservative enough… We haven’t given people a positive conservative vision to believe in.

There are rare few quiet days in politics and today is not one of them. Tonight President Joe Biden has abandoned his campaign to win a second term in the White House, writing that 'it is in the best interest of my party and country' to stand down. President Biden has been fast to endorse his current running mate, Vice-President Kamala Harris, for the nomination – calling his decision to pick Harris as his second in command 'the best decision I've made'. The US President has faced growing calls from across his own party to step down after a series of suboptimal public appearances – but what finally convinced Biden to go? Well, Mr S would point to a rather interesting letter from Congressman Jamie Raskin, published this week in the New York Times.

Well, it's finally happened. After all the speculation, the spin and the denials, Joe Biden has today, finally, announced he is dropping out of the race for the White House. The last President to do so was Lyndon Johnson in 1968, but that was in March of that year, rather than late July. Biden has already endorsed Kamala Harris to succeed him, but not all Democrats will be pleased by her likely candidacy. As key figures react to today's announcement, Mr S has gathered reactions from some of the big players in American politics... Donald Trump Biden's predecessor reacted in his usual magnanimous way, giving the occasion the gravitas it deserved.

Uh oh. While Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity has had a post-election bounce (with an approval rating now at 19 per cent compared to -1 before the Labour win) not everything is looking rosy for the new Prime Minister. Splits over certain policy stances are beginning to emerge and the two-child benefit cap is taking centre stage. Rosie Duffield is one of the latest Labour MPs to hit out at the scheme – blasting it as ‘social cleansing’ and an ‘unequal piece of legislation’.