Steerpike

The general election may be done, but that doesn’t mean party drama has come to an end. Suella Braverman is back in the limelight today after an appearance on GB News in which she, er, refused to shut down rumours that she could defect to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. How curious... The newly elected MP for Fareham and Waterlooville lamented her party’s fall from grace, telling Camilla Tominey that ‘we didn’t deliver on our promises and we were not a Conservative party’. She went on:  Whoever’s leading the party, whoever’s in the party, needs to acknowledge this simple truth: we are facing an existential threat from Reform. And we need to change ourselves to ensure that we neutralise that threat, that we bring those people back home.

It’s the Portillo moment of 2024. Liz Truss sensationally lost her safe South West Norfolk seat this morning, less than two years after serving as prime minister. Amid much online excitement about her prospects of losing, Truss was initially not seen at the count at 6 a.m, forcing the result to be delayed by several minutes. Some of those watching began slow clapping before she appeared, not wearing a Conservative rosette. There were gasps and cheers as the results were read out, as Truss became the biggest Tory casualty on a painful night for the party. Labour’s Terry Jermy won by more than 600 votes in a seat that previously had a Conservative majority of 26,195, making it the 13th safest Tory seat nationally.

They may not command the power that they once did, but newspaper endorsements are still highly-prized by political parties. Labour is trying to convince voters that they have moved on since the Corbyn era, with the backing of Fleet Street's titles being a useful way of demonstrating this to their readers. The endorsement of the Sun this week comes after four years of effort by Keir Starmer's to show that his party has truly changed. Facing a landslide loss, the Conservatives meanwhile are getting only semi-enthusiastic support from the Tory press. The Daily Mail for instance is advocating tactical voting for the Tories to ensure it provides an effective opposition to a prospective Labour government, while conceding that the party is not realistically likely to win the election.

Uh oh. Amid the longstanding inquiry into Captain Sir Tom Moore's family, one rather damning conclusion has so far been reached. It has been revealed today that Captain Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband have been disqualified from being charity trustees as part of an ongoing investigation by the Charity Commission. Talk about a fall from grace... Interest in the Captain Tom Foundation – set up in 2020 after the army veteran fundraised £38.9 million for the NHS during lockdown – piqued after concerns arose about the management of the charity and its independence from the ex-soldier's family. Sir Tom Moore passed away in February 2021, shortly after his 100th birthday and six months later, his daughter was made CEO of the charity.

'Sir Sleepy', it seems, is back. On the eve of taking up the most important job in the country, Keir Starmer has revealed that he will refuse to work around the clock should his party win Thursday’s election. Speaking to Virgin Radio this afternoon, the Labour leader contrasted himself with the current premier, well known for keeping long work hours. Starmer, who has two teenage children, said that he 'will not do a work-related thing after 6pm [on a Friday] pretty well come what may.' He claimed that spending time with his kids 'takes me away from the pressure [and] relaxes me', adding that the time away from work made him a better decision maker.